Masonry Wall Systems: The Strategic Placement of the Masonry Product and Design Decisions for Wall Systems in an Industry Evolving Towards Sustainability and Environmental Concern

This internship project will research how trends of environmental sustainability within the commercial construction industry may affect design decisions for building envelopes. To remain competitive in the global marketplace, commercial construction players are increasingly challenged to adapt their businesses within an industry evolving with new standards and regulation. The Saskatchewan Masonry Institute (SMI) has identified the need to determine the role of masonry products within these evolving trends. A project with SMI is currently underway to quantify the full Life Cycle Cost (LCC) of various masonry envelope systems and competitive alternatives. The internship project will work in tandem with the broader LCC study. The specific objectives of the project are: (i) to research the evolution of industry standards for building envelopes in the context of environmental footprint, (ii) to model, quantify and compare energy consumption of buildings with a masonry envelope system and other alternatives, and (iii) to quantify the performance of the alternative building envelopes in terms of relevant environmental standards and integrate these findings within the broader LCC study.

Faculty Supervisor:

Gordon Sparks

Student:

John Coode

Partner:

Saskatchewan Masonry Institute Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure

University:

University of Saskatchewan