Collaborative Research: Workshop on Construction and the Environment:Research Foci for a Sustainable Future

建筑业是美国经济的重要贡献者。据大多数估计，它每年产生约8790亿美元的收入（NIST 1998年，美国人口普查局2000年），直接雇用约700万人（美国人口普查局2002年，美国劳工部2002年）。建筑业为国家创造了物质基础设施，构成了经济活动和我们生活中其他基本活动的基础。据估计，建筑行业生产的结构占国家财富的62%以上（NIST 1999, NIBS 1996）。因此，美国建筑业的效率和生产率的持续提高可以对国民经济产生重大影响。然而，建筑对周围环境的有害影响是有充分记录的（例如，Tan和Thirumurthi 1978； Shields和Sanders 1986； Barrett等人1995和Hendrickson和Horvath 2000）。必须进行研究，开发新的方法，尽量减少这些影响。该研讨会将联合学术界的建筑和环境团体，并将他们与工业和监管部门联系起来，为未来制定“建筑与环境”研究计划。为期两天的工作坊将让有关的专业人士就建造业面临的主要议题进行互动，因为建造业的重点是环境保护和未来的可持续发展问题。研讨会将为该领域的未来研究提出明确的建议，包括建议的时间表和这些研究工作的优先次序。本次研讨会产生的报告不仅将有助于美国国家科学基金会的研究议程，还将成为其他有兴趣促进这些领域新研究的组织的工具。知识价值：该研讨会为一项新的研究议程奠定了基础，该议程主要关注建筑和环境，可以由国家科学基金会实施。塑造未来的研究重点对于推进环境敏感型建筑的实践现状至关重要。讲习班将为进一步研究和教育提供基础，例如研究创新的现场雨水管理和利用目前无法获得的改良生态材料的建筑。研讨会委员会由一组不同的学者组成，这些学者对这项特殊的研究具有独特的资格。委员会所有成员都具有土木工程背景，在环境学科或建筑相关实践方面具有丰富的经验。此外，研讨会参与者将涵盖广泛的知识专业知识，包括该问题的监管和实施观点。更广泛的影响：除了对环境和建筑行业的直接好处外，研讨会将有助于了解实现这种合作利益的障碍，并将产生的想法传播到不同的行业部门。在平衡研究和教育活动方面也将发展有价值的见解。该研讨会将为来自全国各地的约20名行业专业人士，研究生和本科生提供直接利益。本次研讨会制定的研究计划也将对未来十年的研究界产生深远的影响。崇拜的主旨之一是将研究议程与教育努力结合起来。这将确保拥有一支愿意接受建筑业环境问题的劳动力队伍，并成为无害环境建筑的“冠军”。随着该领域的成熟，从这些研究项目中传播的信息将进入课堂和文本，导致在该领域受过教育的工程劳动力对建筑和环境相关问题更加敏感。

The construction industry is a significant contributor to the economy of the United States. By most estimates it generates about $879 billion dollars in annual revenue (NIST 1998, US Census Bureau 2000) and directly employs approximately 7 million people (US Census Bureau 2002, US Department of Labor 2002). The construction industry creates the physical infrastructure for the nation that forms the foundation of the economic activity and other essential activities in our lives. By some estimates, the structures produced by the construction industry represent over 62% of the nation's wealth (NIST 1999, NIBS 1996). Therefore, continuing improvements in the efficiency and productivity of the United States construction industry can have significant impact on the national economy. However, the deleterious impact construction has on the surrounding environment is well documented (e.g., Tan and Thirumurthi 1978; Shields and Sanders 1986; Barrett, et al. 1995 and Hendrickson and Horvath 2000). Research must be conducted to develop new means to minimize these impacts. This workshop will unite construction and environmental groups in academia and connect them with industrial and regulatory input to develop a 'construction and the environment' research plan for the future. The two-day workshop will allow for the interaction of concerned professionals over the key topics facing the construction industry as it focuses on environmental protection and future sustainability issues. The workshop will produce clear recommendations for future research in the area to include suggested timelines and prioritization of these research efforts. The report generated by this workshop will not only aid the National Science Foundation in its research agenda, it will also serve as a tool for other organizations interested in promoting new research in these areas. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The workshop lays the foundation for a new research agenda focused on construction and the environment that can be implemented by the National Science Foundation. The shaping of the research priorities for the future is critical to advance the current state of practice in environmentally sensitive construction. The workshop will provide the basis for further research and education into such areas as the study of innovative on-site storm water management and construction utilizing improved eco-materials that are currently unavailable. The workshop committee is composed of a diverse set of academics uniquely qualified for this particular research. All of the committee members have a civil engineering background with extensive experience in either the environmental disciplines or construction related practices. Additionally, workshop participants will encompass a wide range of intellectual expertise including the regulatory and implementation viewpoint of the issue.BROADER IMPACT: In addition to direct benefits to both the environment and the construction industry, the workshop will aid in developing an understanding of barriers to realizing the benefits of such collaborations and the diffusion of the ideas generated into diverse industry sectors. Also valuable insights in balancing research and educational activities will be developed. The workshop will result in providing direct benefits to approximately 20 industry professionals from across the country, graduate and undergraduate students. The research plan produced by this workshop will also have profound effects on the research community for the next decade. One of the thrusts of the worship will be to synthesize the research agenda with an education effort. This will assure the availability of a workforce ready to embrace environmental issues in the construction industry and become "champions" of environmentally sound construction. As the field matures, information disseminated from these research programs will work its way into classrooms and texts, leading to an engineering workforce educated in this field and more sensitive to issues related to construction and the environment.