EOS FRAMING
The Ram Quarter , Wandsworth – residential development
ADDING LONGEVITY TO THE SUSTAINABILITY DEBATE
STEVE THOMPSON , MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR SPECIALIST STEEL FRAMING MANUFACTURER EOS , ADDS LONGEVITY AND BUILDING PERFORMANCE TO THE SAFETY VERSUS SUSTAINABILITY DEBATE
It is a fundamental of good design that buildings and structures should be safe and that measures to enhance their environmental performance should not compromise this essential requirement .
National targets for carbon emission reductions and the drive for buildings that are ‘ low carbon ’ in operation present a huge challenge to the construction industry – a challenge which the steel construction sector is playing a major part in overcoming .
Buildings should not only be inherently safe but should also be constructed to last a long time and therefore be inherently sustainable . Buildings are responsible for almost half of the UK ’ s carbon emissions and around a third of its landfill waste . This means that the UK ’ s sustainable development targets cannot be met without a major change to the way in which buildings are designed , constructed and operated .
Steel can be recycled or reused endlessly without detriment to its properties . This unique characteristic gives steel a high value at all stages of its life cycle . The recovery infrastructure for steel recycling is highly developed and extremely efficient and has been in place for decades . Current recovery rates from demolition sites in the UK are 99 % for structural steelwork and 96 % for all steel construction products – figures that far exceed those for any other construction material .
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