Metal building construction often outperforms other materials in terms of longevity. However, sustainability can be a difficult trait to determine, and facility managers often have to decide which sustainable characteristics have the highest return for their organizations.
Designers and architects say that questions should be asked in more than a rhetorical manner. Does a given level of sustainability reduce material consumption? Improve building longevity? Does it lower energy use? Or something else entirely? With metal building construction, conscientious and careful design can yield sustainable benefits.
Take roofing as an example. Firstly, a longer lifespan means fewer reroofing jobs. Metal roofing at the conservative end of the scale will last 20 to 30 years. Another benefit is recyclability. Everything in the shell can be recycled.
In addition, consistency during construction results in a dramatic reduction of scrap, down to as little as 2% for metal buildings. Also, unlike masonry, where bits of broken unusable materials end up in landfills, every piece of metal scrap can be recycled. Smart facility managers know these characteristics can translate into reduced costs on the jobsite because nobody has to cull unused masonry or wood or pay fees for the disposal of discarded material.
If you are a building owner, you may be concerned about the appearance of metal building construction. However, new steel-forming technologies can alleviate these worries. For example, many contemporary churches are made of metal because it is economical and has the ability to span large spaces.