Design Builder Request for Proposal for University of Maryland’s IDEA Factory; Sustainable Building Material Alternatives to Concrete

The construction industry has played a key role in shaping today’s society due to the way in which it is responsible for the creation of almost all of the world’s infrastructure. Without it, society would not be as advanced as it is today and the way in which technological artifacts and social groups interact would not be the same. Both my technical report and STS research topic relate to the construction industry and are loosely related to one another. For my Capstone project, my teammates and I were tasked to act as a general contracting firm within the present day construction industry and create a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a design-build project. With this task, my team and I were responsible for both the design and construction of the project. The project used for this simulation was the IDEA (Innovate, Design and Engineer for America) Factory, which is currently present on the campus of the University of Maryland. For the Capstone project, we presented a pitch along with the RFP that included the deliverables of creating a groundwater mitigation plan, project schedule, budget, site logistics plan, and making foundational and structural system decisions. These RFP deliverables are fully encapsulated within my technical report. Specifically, for the structural system decision, we had to choose between steel and concrete. This prompts my STS research topic, concrete. Concrete is the most commonly used building material in the construction industry. This is mainly because of its cost effectiveness, durability, versatility in uses, and overall reliability. However, concrete is very unsustainable for the environment due to its immense carbon emissions. Knowing the harm that concrete has caused our environment, I decided to research more sustainable alternatives to concrete analyzing the benefits and disadvantages of each. My research paper explores various alternatives like 3D printing and repurposing waste tire rubber while also examining the way in which concrete impacts and is impacted by various societal groups like the government, environment, construction industry, and the public. With these groups, many problems are addressed regarding concrete and potential solutions are given. However, it is important to remember that it is up to us as a society to make any positive change in the world and the solutions presented in my research paper are proof of this.