
The principles of civil engineering are as solid as the structures they produce. From the Great Pyramids to the Eiffel Tower, or the Hoover Dam to the Panama Canal, civil engineers understood the foundation, developed the design, sourced the materials and built the structures. These essential areas of knowledge have produced the infrastructure society relies on every day.
Yet even as the underlying principles of civil engineering remain the same, the world in which civil engineers operate has changed. The rising demand for and growing scarcity of construction materials, the environmental impact of building, extreme weather events, and a changing climate are impacting infrastructure design and construction.
According to the World Green Building Council, building construction and operations account for 39% of energy-related carbon emissions globally. Civil engineering strives to address these emissions by embracing sustainable, resilient design and building strategies. However, adapting and incorporating new concepts and methods into civil engineering may be easier said than done.
The ancient practice of civil engineering leverages time-tested theories and introduces new, often subjective, concepts that may prove challenging. But the effort to make sustainability and resilience practical and useful across all civil engineering disciplines is time well-spent.