The assessment of the relevance of building components and life phases for the environmental profile of nearly zero-energy buildings: life cycle assessment of a multifamily building in Italy

Studies of the elements that make up the structure of a building have generally focused on topics related to their physical and structural capacities. Although research has been carried out into environmental impact during the life cycle stages, the environmental profile is far from established. This research aims to reduce the gap in the knowledge of this subject, offering useful information to professionals in the construction industry, which will enable them to consider environmental aspects when choosing the best construction systems. The present study applies the methodology of the life cycle assessment (LCA), to analyze and compare four floor construction systems in two different scenarios (“A” with a functional homogeneous unit of 1 m2 and “B” with 1 m² made up of the percentages of the floor system and the special areas of the building). The analysis is performed using the LCA Manager software, along with the Ecoinvent 3.1 database and with a cradle to handover perspective (A1–A5). Comparison was made using two environmental impact methodologies, Eco-indicator 99 and CML 2001. The results highlight the stages A1–A3 as those that generate the greatest environmental impact. Comparing the environmental profiles of the different floor systems, one-way floor systems I and II had the best environmental scores, 30% less than two-way floor system III and 50% less than slab floor system IV.

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ASSESSMENT OF ADDITIVE AND CONVENTIONAL MANUFACTURING: CASE STUDIES FROM THE AEC INDUSTRY

Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction ◽

10.14455/isec.res.2017.201 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nataša Mrazovic ◽

Danijel Mocibob ◽

Michael Lepech ◽

Martin Fischer

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Case Studies ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Assessment Process ◽

Manufacturing Cost ◽

Foreseeable Future ◽

Assessment Approach ◽

Building Components ◽

Future Work

Given the development of Additive Manufacturing (AM), popularly known as 3D Printing, the coexistence of AM and conventional manufacturing (CM) in AEC will be a reality for the foreseeable future. Case studies on two AM metallic building components demonstrated that AM for building components is technologically feasible but cost-prohibitive today, and, in some cases, has lower environmental impacts than CM. Firstly, a feasibility study was conducted to assess the applicability, time to manufacture, and manufacturing cost of AM vs. CM of specific metallic building components. Secondly, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to assess environmental impacts of AM and CM for those two cases. The case studies were the first well-documented comparative analyses of AM vs. CM for building components, and they contribute to the emerging "AM-in-AEC" knowledge base with their assessment approach, findings and documented baseline efforts for the analyses. The studies also revealed that AEC practitioners lack a systematic way to rapidly and consistently assess the applicability (A), schedule (S), environmental impacts (E), and cost (C) of AM compared with CM to produce building components. Future work includes formalization of such an ASEC multi-criteria framework and impact assessment of the formalized assessment process on the effort and the consistency of the assessment between different assessors.

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