Concreto sustentável: uma contribuição interdisciplinar para a Catedral Cristo Rei em Belo Horizonte - MG

Abstract

The influences of Architecture, Engineering and the Civil Construction industry, show the path of concrete’s consolidation as an element intrinsically connected to its own timelessness. Often, the result is a built environment to which many historical, cultural and economic values are attributed, with a strong focus on its mass usage. However, when taken from an Environmental perspective, the degradation and pollution surrounding the process of extracting its raw materials, plus its production and transport, reflect that the concrete as we know no longer meets all the current and future design demands, given its cycle and the life’s expectancy associated with it. The present study aims then to present an arrangement of possibilities, where the use of concrete in a sustainable way shows a great potential in its feasibility, and also a strong incentive to encourage cleaner production chains in the Civil Construction sector. The research methodology starts with a literature review, followed by the presentation of a case study and ends with a purposeful analysis. The study in question refers to the implementation of the concept of “sustainable concrete” in the construction of the “Catedral Cristo Rei”, by architect Oscar Niemeyer, located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. It is an ongoing construction, one that’s been widely publicized in the media, and whose imposing structure demands general use of concrete. This necessarily means a high consumption of the material and, consequently, also a high energy expenditure and a high volume of carbon dioxide emissions. The exercise of applying different types of concrete through the characteristics of each constructive element, shows here a strategic alternative of great adaptability, diversity and even resignification. Alongside other sustainable practices, it was possible to illustrate its life cycle, including its immediate use and proposed maintenance, with a building of high energy performance, the materials applied, and less environmental impact - which also favors its value in the community and in the industrial sector.