Research links building live load consistency to lower embodied energy

Sources: Charles Pankow Foundation, McLean, Va.; CP staff

The Portland Cement Association Education Foundation and Magnusson Klemencic Associates Foundation are lead supporters of a six-month, $100,000 research project, “Assembly Live Load Consistency for Buildings: Gateway to Reducing Embedded Energy.” Work will proceed under University of Colorado’s Dr. Ross B. Corotis, P.E., with cooperation of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7-22 Subcommittee on Dead and Live Loads.

The Charles Pankow Foundation announced the research grant, noting the long history of live load surveys and analyses of area-dependent loads in office buildings, versus “no systematic review and consideration of reliability-based scenarios for assembly requirements. The benchmark of success for this research will be a more consistent, reliable and economic design load for assembly areas in buildings, enacted first through the ASCE/SEI 7 Standard, and subsequently by adoption into the International Building Code and materials standards.”