How innovative engineering saved Tokyo from the earthquake.

The recent spate of devastating earthquakes has left many wondering if their homes would withstand violent tremors. The severity of the tragic Japanese earthquake was reduced only by the integrity of Japanese buildings. Stringent building codes and advances in structural engineering have resulted in buildings that are able to withstand debilitating earthquakes. Each year, over 500 000 earthquakes occur; of which 100 000 can be felt. Add this to the increasing number of severe storms and natural disasters becoming a concerning part of everyday life. There are several steps that can be taken to ensure that your home will withstand an earthquake or violent storm.

One of the greatest dangers during hurricanes and earthquakes is falling glass shards. Glass with rounded corners is now being installed in traditional window frames. The rounded corners enable the glass to move inside the frame. This reduces pressure and prevents the glass from shattering.

Bolting your house to the foundations will help it to withstand the increased side loads experienced during earthquakes. Homes built before the 1940s may not have sill bolts installed. Sill bolts can be retrofitted to foundations. Ideally they should be at least 5/8 of an inch in diameter and need to be installed at least seven inches into the foundation at four foot intervals.

New homes should be constructed using insulated concrete forms (ICFs) to withstand winds up to 600 mph during hurricanes. ICFs are attached to the foundation though rebar reinforcing, negating the need for sill bolts. Studies have shown that ICF walls are able to withstand six to eight times the lateral force when compared to frame wall panels; allowing houses built with ICFs to resist winds and earthquakes of greater magnitude which save lives and property.

Japanese engineers are at the forefront of earthquake and hurricane technology for high rise buildings. Their innovative ideas include resting foundations on rubber or fluid filled shock absorbers to allow the buildings to absorb lateral motion during earthquakes and to dissipate the energy as heat. Mass Dampers are also an innovation of Japanese technology which helps to reduce vibrations in very tall buildings.

A grand testament to Japan’s stringent building codes and engineering innovation is the fact that not a single building collapsed in Tokyo during the massive 8.9 magnitude quake on March 11 in nearby Sendai. Not resting on their laurels, the Japanese are already planning to rebuild Sendai and say that it is an opportunity to build a stronger, better Sendai.

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Meet our Contestants for the Greenest Commercial Spaces in the World

You’ve heard of net zero eco-friendly homes, now commercial buildings are getting in on the act. Let’s take a look at three new developments in green building technology that are spear-heading the drive to a more sustainable future.

Bachelorette number one gets points for being an exceptional retrofitted green beauty. The Old Corn Mill in Millhouse Green, South Yorkshire just became one of the 14 greenest buildings in England. It’s no mean feat for a building to earn an A+ energy performance rating, especially one that’s 250 years old, but Old Corn Mill has done just that. A combination of renewable energy sources and energy efficient technologies ensure that the Old Corn Mill produces more energy than it consumes.

The building makes use of a solar power system, two small wind turbines and a geothermal water source under the carport to provide energy. Zero energy or passive buildings also need to be well-insulated and, to that end, Old Corn Mill uses substantial wall, floor and ceiling insulation.

The Mill is an excellent example of the trend to build zero energy or net energy buildings. These buildings offer substantial savings by creating their own renewable energy, they save on raw materials by recycling and have a considerably positive impact on the environment.

Bachelorette number two is the Mac-daddy of green offices; the Frontier project. The very purpose of this initiative by the Cucamonga Valley Water District is to educate the uninitiated on sustainable building technology. This building employs every trick in the book including a green roof and solar array. The green roof insulates and filters rainwater. The eco-friendly kitchen utilizes energy efficient appliances. Natural lighting and a cooling tower further reduce energy consumption. A comfy insulated envelope is the building block of every eco-friendly building and the Frontier Project is no exception. ICFs or insulated concrete forms provide maximum insulation from the diverse climactic elements of the Californian desert.
ICFs are becoming the building blocks of choice as they impart exceptional insulation and strength. They are virtually indestructible and offer additional protection from tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes. Schools in Mexico constructed from ICFs double as storm shelters for local residents in inclement weather.

Our last and loveliest bachelorette is the Tianjin Eco-City in China. Although not sustainable, this building uses green building technology that will make it the most eco-friendly building in China. The 44 floor office tower is being developed by Tianjin Real Estate Development and will be completed by 2013. Inspired by local bamboo forests, the building generates 20% of its own clean energy through wind turbines, hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels. It also consumes 20% less energy to make a total energy saving of 40%.

In the verdant Gaspereau Valley, overlooking the Minas Basin, nestles the vineyards of the Luckett family. The beauty of the place is salient and the wines; superb. But beneath the pronounced resplendence, the Luckett vineyard harbours a very precious secret — it is the greenest vineyard in all of Nova Scotia!

Pete and Sue Luckett have taken a fantastically novel approach by using advanced green building technologies to reduce the energy used to grow fine wines. Their secret? Building with Amvic insulated concrete forms (ICFs). After successfully constructing their cosy home with ICFs, the Lucketts decided to utilize the same technology when construction began on their winery in April last year. The building was complete in seven months (ICFs reduce construction time) and the Lucketts were able to start concocting their heavenly nectars. Said Pete Luckett; “The main advantage is that they (ICF blocks) give an incredible, well structured building that we anticipate lasting much longer than a conventional building. The finished product is absolutely incredible — ICFs give us a solid building like no other.”

While the initial cost of construction with ICF was slightly higher than conventional  construction the many advantages with this product more than made up for the difference. Wine requires a constant temperature to maintain its integrity. The ability of the owner to control the temperature and humidity levels in the building made Amvic ICFs the ideal choice. The ICF concrete construction provides superior insulation which, coupled with the winery’s infloor heating and an energy efficient electric boiler, saves 30 – 50% on heating and cooling costs. The initial costs are recovered within a couple of years and your wines are kept snug and warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

The ICF winery offers other advantages too; “As a result of the ICF method, the building is very quiet and has a feeling of solidity and toughness. The appearance of the building is fabulous — it looks very solid and very chunky. Disadvantages? I cannot see any as yet!” Said Pete Luckett. When asked if he would recommend this method to other wineries he responded with a resounding “Yes! Absolutely!”

The Lucketts have been nursing some very fine wines through the winter months. These include L’Acadie Blanc — Nova Scotia’s signature wine, Ortega — an aromatic white, and Phone Box Red which is a lusty, lively robust red. If you would like to see this revolution in wine production, join them for their grand opening on July 1, 2011 when you can have your cask and drink it too, knowing that you are enjoying the greenest of all the reds and whites.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology gets their hands dirty as they investigate which buildings produce the most carbon emissions.

Buildings are by far the greatest contributors to global greenhouse gases. They account for a mammoth 39% of COâ‚‚ emissions in the U.S. It is for this reason that MIT’s Concrete Sustainability Hub undertook a study of both residential and commercial buildings to garner a greater understanding of how these buildings function, with a view to finding ways to build greener in the future.

The study differs from others of its kind as it takes into consideration the entire life cycle of the building from construction, through operation and on to disposal. This means that all materials used to construct the building must account for their energy usage from extraction, to processing, transportation and finally to construction. This is an important point for the ICF or insulated concrete form construction which has often been criticized for the high energy output required to produce concrete. ICFs are a Polystyrene casing filled with concrete which create walls that use thermal mass to insulate homes. Critics have argued that the creation of concrete takes more energy than the timber used for conventional buildings. The study also calculated operating costs for both types of homes and the cost of disposing of the home after a 75 year period.

The year-long study has looked at single and multiple family homes constructed using traditional wood frame methods and insulated concrete forms. The study scrutinized homes in both hot and cold climates.

The findings revealed a significant saving on energy and ventilation costs for homes constructed using ICF technology. Although the concrete used in the ICF construction used more energy to produce than a wood frame home, the 20% or more saving on energy recovered initial carbon emissions within a few years. One must also be cognisant of the fact that about 90% of the COâ‚‚ emissions were due to use rather than construction and disposal emissions.

Wood frame construction

This initial report was released in December and shows the overwhelming improvement ICF construction offers in energy consumption. The study is ongoing as MIT investigates other climates and technologies in passive or net zero homes (homes that use very little energy). These homes combine the insulation offered by ICFs with renewable energy to create zero energy homes that are self-sufficient. Co-director of the project, John Ochsendorf was excited about the findings and said he hopes “… to create a roadmap for better infrastructure in the future.”