Lessons from Innovative, Sustainable Projects

Across the world, infrastructure engineers and contractors are rethinking how projects are planned, built, and reimagined. There are so many macro factors impacting the built environment—from climate pressures, to growing urbanization, to new community expectations, and to the need for greater sustainability. We are seeing the rise of new projects, new technologies, and new methods for bringing smarter, more sustainable infrastructure to market.

One recent example is GeoStruXer’s seismic rehabilitation initiative in Saudi Arabia, which uses a sustainable micropiled PTRaft system to stabilize creeping ground. While this project was recognized through the Bentley-Envision Award for Sustainable Infrastructure from Bentley Systems, its significance extends beyond accolades. It reflects several larger industry trends that are pushing sustainability from an optional consideration to a core design driver.

Let’s unpack this for a couple of minutes, but first, a few details about the awards program. All Bentley-Envision submissions were reviewed by ...