Steel Buildings in Europe

Part 2: Concept Design 2 - 13  Energy efficiency in building operation, including improved air-tightness  Measures to reduce water consumption  Improvement in indoor comfort  Overall management and planning criteria, such as public transport connections, aesthetics or preservation of ecological value. Steel framed buildings can be designed to satisfy all these criteria. Some of the recognised sustainability benefits of steel are:  Steel structures are robust, with a long life. Properly detailed and maintained, steel structures can be used indefinitely  10% of structural steel sections are re-used [1]  Approximately 95% of structural steel sections are recycled  Steel products can potentially be dismantled and reused, particularly modular components or steel frames  Steel structures are lightweight, requiring smaller foundations than other materials  Steel is manufactured efficiently in factory controlled processes  All waste is recycled in manufacture and no steel waste is produced on site  Construction in steel maximises the opportunity and ease of extending buildings and change of use  High levels of thermal insulation can be provided in the building envelope  Prefabricated construction systems are rapidly installed and are much safer in terms of the construction processes. Different sustainability assessment measures exist in various European countries [2] .