Com o crescimento da construção civil, a geraçãode resíduos provenientes deste setor passou a consistir em um importanteproblema a ser sanado. Formas de reaproveitamento destes resíduos e odesenvolvimento de modelos de gestão têm sido a tônica de diversos trabalhosapresentados ao meio técnico no intuito de se mitigar os efeitos causados peloimpacto da construção civil no meio ambiente, tanto natural, quanto urbano.Contudo, a ausência de políticas públicas objetivas que considerem comoproblema real a geração, manuseio e deposição destes resíduos ainda constituem-secomo importantes empecilhos na adoção de práticas de sustentabilidade. Estetrabalho apresenta o estudo da viabilidade econômica do reuso de resíduos dedemolição na construção do contrapiso do subsolo de um edifício localizado nazona leste da cidade de São Paulo. Por meio dos estudos conduzidos pôde-seconcluir que a reutilização “in loco” dos resíduos gerados na obra conduziu avantagens econômicas significativas, uma vez em que foram reduzidos os custosde transporte, necessário para disposição final destes, e custos de aquisiçãode matérias primas naturais

This paper presents the evaluation of compressive strength of soil-cement bricks obtained by the inclusion in their mixture of PET flakes through mineral water bottles grinding. The Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) has been characterized by its difficulty of disaggregation in nature, requiring a long period for this. On the other hand, with the increase in civil construction activities the demand for raw material also increases, causing considerable environmental impacts. In this context, the objective of this research is to propose a simple methodology, preventing its dumping and accumulation in irregular areas, and reducing the demand of raw materials by the civil construction industry. The results showed that compressive strengths obtained were lower than recommended by NBR 8491 (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas [ABNT], 2012b) at seven days of curing time. However, they may be used as an alternative solution in masonry works in order to not submit themselves to great loads or structural functions. The studied bricks also presented water absorption near to recommended values by NBR 8491 (ABNT, 2012b). Manufacturing costs were also determined for this brick, comparing it with the costs of other brick types. Each brick withdrew from circulation approximately 300 g of PET waste. Thus, for an area of 1 m 2 the studied bricks can promote the withdrawal of approximately 180 beverage bottles of 2 L capacity.

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PurposeThis research aims at studying the influence of a classroom’s inner environmental conditions on undergraduate students’ performance using an experimental methodology.Design/methodology/approachThe Uchida-Kraepelin test (U-K test) was applied to measure the performance of a group of 47 students in a selected classroom that was arranged according to the following experimental conditions: air-conditioning on, and doors and windows closed (D1); doors and windows open, and air-conditioning off (D2); air-conditioning off, and doors and windows closed (D3). After completing the tests, questionnaires were distributed to evaluate the students’ assessment of each set of environmental conditions.FindingsOn-site measurements of humidity and carbon dioxide levels stress the importance of ensuring good natural ventilation through open doors and windows, independently of whether the air-conditioning system is operated or not. Also, the authors find that the students’ self-assessment regarding the inner environmental conditions for each studied set was entirely accurate, with set D3 being assessed as the worst. The U-K test scores for each environmental set did not show statistically significant differences, which means that, in the studied conditions, the student’s performance in the tests was not affected by the inner environmental conditions.Practical implicationsThere is a direct relationship between the building’s indoor conditions and an occupant’s health. Factors such as poor maintenance, bad indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and building age will worsen the building’s condition and negatively impact the occupant’s health. Educational buildings with poor IEQ can reduce the concentration and performance of occupants.Social implicationsSchool is an important place to help students grow in their various capabilities. They spend approximately 30% of their daily lives in schools for their educational activities. Since most of their activities are performed indoors, indoor environmental attributes, such as light, heat, air and sound, should be maintained as required. In general, schools are not thermally comfortable. The extreme thermal environment of classrooms affects students’ concentration. Thermal discomfort may also cause irritation. In addition to reduced concentration, such an environment could also cause tiredness, sluggishness and health problem.Originality/valueDespite the importance of the issue, scientific investigations of the correlations between students’ performance and the quality of scholar buildings’ inner environmental conditions are still relatively recent. In this context, this research further explores the effect of a classroom’s different environmental inner conditions on the performance of undergraduate students at a university in São Paulo/Brazil.

ResumoA construção civil é responsável por um considerável impacto ambiental, quer seja pela demanda por matérias primas naturais ou pela geração de resíduos de suas atividades. A resolução no 307 de 5 de julho de 2002 do Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente classifica os resíduos de construção civil em diferentes classes em função de suas características, além de apresentar formas para sua destinação final.Esta resolução destaca que os resíduos de construção civil não poderão ser dispostos em aterros de resíduos domiciliares, em áreas de "bota fora", encostas, corpos d'água, lotes vagos e em áreas protegidas por lei. Dessa maneira, fica de responsabilidade do gerador destinar de forma correta os resíduos produzidos de acordo com sua classificação. Esta pesquisa apresenta a viabilidade econômica de utilização de resíduos de demolição reciclados na substituição de material natural para a execução base do contrapiso do terceiro subsolo um edifício localizado em São Paulo. Por meio dos estudos conduzidos pôde-se concluir que a utilização dos resíduos reciclados conduziu a um custo 64% inferior à utilização do material natural, pois possibilitou a redução dos custos com aquisição de material natural e transporte.Palavras-chave: Resíduos de construção civil, gerenciamento de resíduos sólidos, sustentabilidade. AbstractThe civil construction industry is responsible for a considerable environmental impact, whether the demand for natural raw materials or the generation of waste from its activities. The Resolution 307 of 5 July 2002 of the National Environmental Council classified construction and demolition wastes into different classes according to their physical characteristics, and forms to submit its disposal. This resolution highlights that construction waste can´t be disposed of on domestic wastes in landfills, slopes, water bodies, and areas protected by law. Thus, it is the responsibility of the waste generator provide the correctly destination of the produced waste according to their classification. This research presents the economic feasibility of using recycled demolition waste in replacing natural material for the base implementation of the third basement subfloor a building in Sao Paulo. Through the conducted studies it was concluded that the use of recycled waste has led to a cost 64 % less than using natural material as possible to reduce the costs of acquisition and transportation of natural material.