The production of building materials is a significant component of the impact the construction sector has on the natural environment. Steel is among the most utilized materials, having various applications specific to the built environment. Therefore, understanding the impact of this structural material represents an important step in achieving global sustainable development. The paper aims to analyze the effects of different steel structural elements on the Earth’s ecosystem with respect to concerns over sustainability. In order to reach this goal, the authors have analyzed a dwelling steel structure based on cubic modules with high structural modularity. In addition, the study looks at the influence of an over the floor reinforced concrete slab in order to gain an overall view regarding environmental performances. The impact on the natural environment has been analyzed by considering the cradle-to gate with options Life Cycle Assessment study. The paper provides up-to-date knowledge on the environmental performances of the analyzed structure, presenting encouraging conclusions for construction sector specialists with respect to the use of steel as a material that can represent a solution in the current global effort to minimize the environmental burdens imposed by the construction sector.

In the last decades, man-made environmental burdens have led to a significant increase of negative effects felt by the human race. Thus, some industrial sectors have developed and implemented a series of solutions with the goal of minimising their negative ecological impact. Taking into account that the construction sector is one of the most important economic players in every national economy, one that has a tremendous negative impact over the environment, in the last years, various recommendations and limitations have been drawn in order to reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy. In order to constantly reduce the impact of the built environment over the natural one, civil engineers should develop and promote sustainable solutions that have a direct effect on improving the environmental performances of the built environment. One such solution is the use of cold formed steel sections (CFS) for building new structures. This paper analyses the linear thermal transmittance of the thermal bridge formed by the vertical steel studs inside the external walls. The results show that these steel elements can be used in order to build energy efficient buildings.

One of the most important environmental problems of the big urban areas is represented by the large volume of waste resulted from different human activities. In the last decades, different technologies have been developed to resolve this significant issue, and the most representative is the conversion of municipal solid waste (MSW) in different types of by-products. The first part of this paper presents the current state of plasma conversion technology that can be used for processing waste, and also, its potential in the construction sector which could be taken advantage of the by-products (syngas and slag) resulted from the plasma gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW), to enhance energy-efficiency in this domain. In the second part of the paper, there are analyzed different technologies for managing and processing municipal solid waste (MSW), which can be used nowadays, and the parameters, related to the costs, the period of use, the energy consumption and the environmental impact. All these aspects are compared with those of plasma conversion technology. The plasma conversion system can be commercialized successfully, and its costs can be reduced by generating income in the form of by-products and added-value in producing performant products in a circular economy.

During recent years, it appears in the background of global discussions the negative impact resulted from the daily humans’ activities. Taking into account the present surface of the built environment and also the fact that this area will significantly increase shortly, it can be considered that using the buildings to develop new solutions like green roofs. The expanding benefits of a green roof emphasize the key role of this structure in the overall thermal performance of buildings and microclimate conditions of indoor spaces. The main objective of the study is to analyse and to interpret the influence of all three main categories of a green roof on the heat flow, in the thermal bridges developed structurally in buildings. The study based on the structural elements of each type of roof, their thermic characteristics and the principal types of thermal bridges will represent a comparison between the thermal impact of a classical terrace roof and that of the extensive, semi-intensive and intensive green roof. In conclusion, the unpredictable results obtained for the analysed thermal parameters let conclude that the green roof solution in all the three forms has an environmental impact, in terms of both sustainability and aesthetics.

In the last years, research applications in the construction sector have taken a different turn due to rapid urbanization and the necessity to protect the environment and create a balance between the natural and built environments. Taking into account the fact that the thermal efficiency of buildings has an important influence over the environmental performances of the construction sector, the civil engineering specialists have tried to develop and use different new solutions in order to improve this essential building characteristic. Thus, different new materials have been used with the goal of reducing the overall thermal transmittance of the envelope elements and of the total energy consumption needed for heating and cooling. Perlite is one of the materials that have been considered for developing new energy efficient construction applications. The main goal of the present paper is to present all the relevant solutions that have been developed and used in the construction sector that consider perlite as a component part. The present study is the first part of a more extensive research program that takes under evaluation the possibility of using perlite as a thermal insulating material for different constructions.