Build21 AMA: Sustainability and Blockchain with Horia Mihnea
The first guest in the AMA Build21 series is structural engineer Horia Mihnea.
At Build21, Horia serves as an Advisor.
What follows are some interesting aspects discussed during the session.
To listen to the entire event on X, click here.
Enjoy! It's time to build!
April 17, 2024
AMA
Raluca: I know you've designed millions of square meters for various buildings across Europe... that you have strong expertise in the technical assessment of existing buildings... I know you're passionate about historic monuments and that these buildings are very dear to your heart, and you're concerned about how to extend their life and add value in Romania.
Horia: Yes, I'm an engineer with extensive experience in design, and I've encountered most of the situations that can arise from the perspective of buildings. Now, of course, any new experience is a challenge.
Raluca: To give you an idea of how we'll operate, I think you've already seen that we have some questions on the Telegram group, and you're also a member of our Telegram group. For those who are not, I encourage them to search for Telegram Build 21 and join the community... What does a structural engineer do?
Horia: ...primarily deals with conceiving and thinking about how... to evaluate and construct a building's structural system. Simply put: it's about where to pour, how to pour the concrete, how big the column is, how big the beam is, how big the slab is, so that buildings can be executed and used... To provide the building's structural integrity.
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Raluca: If you could answer from your perspective as a structural engineer, how would you explain in the simplest way what we will build at Build21?
Horia: From a unique perspective, that of a structural engineer. We're talking about sustainability. It's the key element that can define the way buildings are constructed... what we do at Build21 is viewed from multiple angles. And it's not just from the engineer's angle. It rather focuses on communities, so a specialist's vision is only part of the vision that defines Build21... about creating communities and about the long-term utility of buildings... This is again another quite important topic we need to address, their durability and how they are perceived over time.
Raluca: What's the lifespan of a building?
Horia: Generally... now speaking strictly from the behavioral pattern of investors, it's oriented towards a designed lifespan, a standard, which is 50 years, meaning in 50 years this building is expected to be decommissioned both morally and not just morally, but also technically, as all technical references regarding how buildings are constructed relate to this lifespan of 50 years, a lifespan that, in most situations, is exceeded, because on the time scale of a building, 50 years is not a very long time; rather, after 50 years, you can begin to appreciate the values of the period in which it was built.
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Raluca: ...a strong theme for the European Union. From your point of view, what does sustainability mean and how is sustainability manifested in real estate?
Horia: ...reducing the carbon footprint. However! It's something that needs to happen over time and any action we take must be balanced. This is done on the structure... The structure generally may represent half the total weight of a building. If it represents half the weight of a building, it more or less represents half the carbon footprint that a building leaves on the natural environment... To make a simple association. Raw force, put a lot of concrete to make it resistant. But there are also other solutions to make buildings resistant. And here are many other companies that have found some good recipes in this regard. One such company is the Japanese company. Another is the Norwegian company, which have found some solutions in this sense.
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Raluca: What is the long-term impact of integrating blockchain in Real Estate, in the context of transitioning to a greener and digital business model?
Horia: ...Digitalization and especially blockchain can have a very positive long-term impact, through potential technologies that may develop around it. A feature of the blockchain is the impossibility of interfering with previously recorded data. This overlaps very well over key elements of constructions, such as degradations and the moment they occur, i.e., marking degradations, without the possibility of being hidden, so that any long-term monitoring of a building using blockchain technology can produce extremely favorable effects. Similarly, for any document related to this construction, the use of blockchain technology is extremely useful and combined with the direction of digitalization of the construction sector...