Ian Mountfort, P. Eng, Skylar Mason, BSc (Eng) / Blackwell Structural Engineers, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Simon Bunieski P. Eng, Neil Isenegger, P. Eng / Menard Canada, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
ABSTRACT
Foundations of buildings can be supported with a wide range of solutions. The foundation support options that are considered for a given development project depend on the structure to be built, as well as the ground conditions and the access conditions to the future jobsite. Total embodied carbon has recently emerged as another important criterion for evaluating foundation strategies. Some municipal regulators in Canada have started to add limits to embodied carbon in
new construction projects. The article highlights projects where more than one foundation support solution is considered and provides a clear comparison of the carbon impact of the alternative strategies. The comparisons are based not only on the ground-related works but also on the structural implications of the foundation strategy. The aim of the article is to provide metrics to evaluate the carbon impact of foundation support solutions at the project conception phase.
To read the entire article, please download the pdf
