Sustainable Construction as a Research Area

The leitmotiv of the renoma ICMR Akita International Conference since 1991 is the beneficial integration of separate idea into new concept, which could provide for sustainable development of human being. Authors try to reply to this Conference main idea on the arena of sustainable construction discussed as the research area. The notion of sustainable development aspires to the role of a leading civilisational idea. Sustainable development "implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (UN, 1987) [1]. The term is the most frequently found expression in forecasts and similar studies. It follows from philosophical premises and-in Poland-it is a constitutional prerequisite: "The Republic of Poland shall safeguard the independence and integrity of its territory and ensure the freedoms and rights of persons and citizens, security of citizens, safeguarding of Poland's national heritage, and ensure the protection of the natural environment pursuant to the principles of sustainable development." Therefore, sustainable development constitutes a principle that is to be followed by the Republic of Poland, in turn safeguarding fundamental values. In the Environmental Protection Laws, the definition of sustainable development is expanded further: such socio-economic development, in which-in order to equalise the opportunities to access the environment by individual communities or their members-both of contemporary generations and those still to come-a process of the integration of political, economic, and social actions takes place, maintaining the natural balance and continuity of vital natural processes [2]. Brundtland's definition of sustainable development [1] points out some ethical and ecological aspects. Cywiński, in his philosophy of sustainability [3], underlines the need to generalise the definition of sustainable development and to also consider human spiritual needs. According to Cywi.ski, sustainable development fulfils the comprehensive, spiritual, and material needs of today's people, without limiting the ability of future generations to satisfy their own respective needs. As a consequence, engineers must be prepared to respond not only to the 'material' question of 'how' but also be able to successfully cope with the 'spiritual' challenges of 'why'. [4]. The principle of sustainable development can also be approached from the point of view of the caution that is included in the second law of thermodynamics. In Clausius'version, the law implies that in isolated systems, processes can only occur if entropy is increased at the same time. There have always been civilisations that have declined and fallen. In our times, the imperative of the constant growth of scale and sophistication might also bring about a disaster. Daly [5] formulated the following general principles of sustainability (Table 1): renewable resources (e.g. water), including food (e.g. fish), must not be used faster than the rate at which they can be regenerated, non-renewable resources must not be used faster than they are replaced with renewable substitutes, pollution and waste must not be produced faster than they can be absorbed by nature, recycled, or rendered harmless. Sustainable development is a life necessity. The above summary reflects a general research inspiration, comprising such areas in construction as the rationalisation of energy management (energy + mass), structural durability, maintenance, renovation, repairs, modernisation (including revitalisation), working life, Sustainable Construction as a Research Area