OasisLMS

Precast and prestressed concrete systems offer architects a proven path to sustainable building performance by delivering climate-ready resilience, long-life performance, and lifecycle efficiency. This presentation examines precast concrete through a first-principles, performance-based lens—connecting its inherent material and system attributes to contemporary sustainability and resilience goals.

Rather than focusing narrowly on individual metrics, the session explores how precast concrete contributes to long-term environmental, economic, and human-health outcomes through structural resilience, off-site manufacturing efficiency, and predictable long-term performance. Participants will also gain perspective on how recent industry efforts related to environmental transparency and embodied carbon benchmarking fit within a broader commitment to continuous improvement and informed material selection.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the conclusion of this program, participants will be able to:

​Identify how the inherent material and structural properties of precast and prestressed concrete contribute to building resilience, including long-term performance, life safety, and multi-hazard performance.
​Evaluate how off-site manufacturing and system-level efficiencies in precast concrete construction can reduce construction risk, improve long-term operational performance, and support lifecycle sustainability objectives.
​Describe the ways precast concrete systems support long-life building performance including design strategies that allow for future use, modification, and reduced lifecycle disruption.
​Recognize how current industry initiatives—such as regionalized environmental data and emerging GWP baseline efforts—support transparency and informed decision-making within a performance-based sustainability framework.

Credit:​1 AIA HSW/LU; 1 PDH

Presenter: Thomas Ketron, LEED® AP,​Director of Resilience & Sustainability at PCI