Exploring the sustainability aspects of geotechnical engineering in New Zealand

The combined use of the terms resilience and sustainability has been extensive in recent years. However, a resilient design does not necessarily result in the best outcome in terms of sustainability. In this paper, Alexei Murashev, Technical Director – Geotechnics and Tunnels, explores the concepts of sustainability and resilience, the contribution of geotechnical engineering in improving the development of sustainable infrastructure and rehabilitation, and the importance of considering sustainability during all life-cycle stages of structures including all steps of the design process.

New Zealand | Tuesday, 19 October 2021

Alexei M geotech paper - image for website

“Geotechnical engineering should contribute to the improvement of sustainable infrastructure development and rehabilitation; simply providing good geotechnical engineering design based on compliance with regulatory requirements or resilience principles is no longer enough,” says Alexei.

“We’ve seen that inadequate performance of geotechnical systems in earthquakes results in substantial damage to New Zealand’s road, rail, and harbour transportation network and a large number of buildings. Many seismic failures of infrastructure occurred due to poor performance of soils, slopes, and foundation systems. These events have highlighted the need to develop a sustainable and resilient geotechnical design framework.”

Download the full paper (1.8 MB)