Integration of BIM and LCA: Evaluating the environmental impacts of building materials at an early stage of designing a typical office building

Sustainable development is a priority for the future of our society. Sustainable development is of particular importance to the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, both for new buildings and for the renovation of existing buildings. Great potential for sustainable development lies in the renovation of existing office buildings. This paper introduces a new framework for identifying the best set of renovation strategies for existing office buildings. The framework applies selected green building rating system criteria and cost-effective sustainable renovation solutions based on cost-benefit analysis (CBA), and thus provides a novelty in decision-making support for the sustainable renovation of office buildings at an early-stage. The framework covers all necessary steps and activities including data collection, determination of the required level of renovation, selection of the green building rating system, identification of impact categories and criteria, and final evaluation and decision-making using CBA. The framework can be used in conjunction with different systems and according to different regional characteristics. The applicability of the addressing procedure is shown through a case study of a comprehensive renovation of an office building in the city of Maribor.

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Sustainable Construction - Environmental Impacts Assessment of Architectural Elements and Building Services

International Journal of Engineering Research in Africa ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/jera.47.77 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. 77-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrea Moňoková ◽

Silvia Vilčeková

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Building Materials ◽

Sustainable Construction ◽

Building Structures ◽

Single Family ◽

Architectural Elements ◽

Ozone Formation Potential ◽

Environmental Technologies

Increasing concerns about negative environmental impacts of building structures call for higher demands on the design of environmental friendly buildings. This article is aimed at assessing the overall environmental impact of buildings throughout its life cycle as well as on environmental impact of all building materials and building services for single-family homes. This analysis examines the role of utilized green environmental technologies for the following selected impact categories: GWP - global warming potential, EP - eutrophication potential, AP - acidification potential POCP and photochemical ozone formation potential expressed in kg CO2eq, PO43-eq, SO2eq and ethylene within the “Cradle to gate with options” boundary. The LCA assessment methodology and eToolLCD software have been used to model the effects of houses’ life cycle.

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An Experimental Study of Pig Blood–Lime Mortar Used on Ancient Architecture in China

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.997.496 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 997 ◽

pp. 496-499 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Peng Zhao ◽

De Qing Xie ◽

Guang Yan Li ◽

Yun Sheng Zhang

Keyword(s):

Building Materials ◽

Early Stage ◽

Architectural History ◽

Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽

Environmental Scanning ◽

Historical Buildings ◽

Lime Mortar ◽

Mechanism Of Interaction ◽

Scanning Electron

Portland cement has low chemical and physical affinity for traditional building materials. This hinders the restoration of historical buildings and modern rustic architecture where blue bricks are used. Pig blood–lime mortar is one of the most important technological inventions in the Chinese architectural history. Mortar in this work was fabricated according to formulas of the literature, and some analyses were conducted for further understanding their microstructure. Environmental scanning electron microscopy was utilized to analyze mechanism of interaction between key components of ancient mortar bonding materials. Results show that pig blood accelerates the formation of microstructure at early stage. Pig blood plays the role of biological templates which regulates the growth of calcium carbonate crystal.

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The Application of the Life-Cycle Assessment in the Building Sector: An Italian Case Study

MCAST Journal of Applied Research & Practice ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0014.4360 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 91-108

Author(s):

Maurizio Cellura ◽

Francesco Guarino ◽

Sonia Longo

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Building Materials ◽

Life Cycle Thinking ◽

Single Family ◽

Building Sector ◽

Life Cycle Assessment Methodology ◽

Use Of Resources ◽

Whole Life Cycle

The building sector is one of the most relevant in terms of generation of wealth and occupation, but it is also responsible for significant consumption of natural resources and the generation of environmental impacts, mainly greenhouse gas emissions. In order to improve the eco profile of buildings during their life-cycle, the reduction of the use of resources and the minimization of environmental impacts have become, in the last years, some of the main objectives to achieve in the design of sustainable buildings. The application of the life-cycle thinking approach, looking at the whole life cycle of buildings, is of paramount importance for a real decarbonization and reduction of the environmental impacts of the building sector. This paper presents an application of the life-cycle assessment methodology for assessing the energy and environmental life-cycle impacts of a single-family house located in the Mediterranean area in order to identify the building components and life-cycle steps that are responsible of the higher burdens. The assessment showed that the largest impacts are located in the use stage; energy for heating is significant but not dominant, while the contribution of electricity utilized for households and other equipment resulted very relevant. High environmental impacts are also due to manufacture and transport of building materials and components.

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Circularity in the New Gravity—Re-Thinking Vernacular Architecture and Circularity

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su14010328 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 328

Author(s):

Marwa Dabaieh ◽

Dalya Maguid ◽

Deena El-Mahdy

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impacts ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Building Materials ◽

Vernacular Architecture ◽

Sustainable Construction ◽

Design Strategies ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Construction Methods ◽

New Policies ◽

Private Investors

The mounting climate change crisis and the rapid urbanization of cities have pressured many practitioners, policymakers, and even private investors to develop new policies, processes, and methods for achieving more sustainable construction methods. Buildings are considered to be among the main contributors to harmful environmental impacts, resource consumption, and waste generation. The concept of a circular economy (CE), also referred to as “circularity”, has gained a great deal of popularity in recent years. CE, in the context of the building industry, is based on the concept of sustainable construction, which calls for reducing negative environmental impacts while providing a healthier indoor environment and closing material loops. Both vernacular architecture design strategies and circular economy principles share many of the same core concepts. This paper aims at investigating circular economy principles in relation to vernacular architecture principles in the built environment. The study demonstrates how circular principles can be achieved through the use of vernacular construction techniques and using local building materials. This paper will focus on Egypt as one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with a wide vernacular heritage, exploring how circularity is rooted in old vernacular settlements and how it can inspire contemporary circular practices.

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Impact of orientation and building envelope characteristics on energy consumption case study of office building in city of Nis

Thermal Science ◽

10.2298/tsci18s5499v ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (Suppl. 5) ◽

pp. 1499-1509

Author(s):

Miomir Vasov ◽

Jelena Stevanovic ◽

Veliborka Bogdanovic ◽

Marko Ignjatovic ◽

Dusan Randjelovic

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Early Stage ◽

Building Energy ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Office Building ◽

Climatic Data ◽

Building Energy Efficiency ◽

Maximum Difference ◽

Heating And Cooling

Buildings are one of the biggest energy consumers in urban environments, so its efficient use represents a constant challenge. In public objects and households, a large part of the energy is used for heating and cooling. The orientation of the object, as well as the overall heat transfer coefficient (U-value) of transparent and non-transparent parts of the envelope, can have a significant impact on building energy needs. In this paper, analysis of the influence of different orientations, U-values of envelope elements, and size of windows on annual heating and cooling energy for an office building in city of Nis, Serbia, is presented. Model of the building was made in the Google SketchUp software, while the results of energy performance were obtained using EnergyPlus and jEplus, taking into ac-count the parameters of thermal comfort and climatic data for the area of city of Nis. Obtained results showed that, for varied parameters, the maximum difference in annual heating energy is 15129.4 kWh, i. e per m2 27.75 kWh/m2, while the maximum difference in annual cooling energy is 14356.1 kWh, i. e per m2 26.33 kWh/m2. Considering that differences in energy consumption are significant, analysis of these parameters in the early stage of design process can affect on increase of building energy efficiency.

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Environmental Impacts and Benefits of the End-of-Life of Building Materials: Database to Support Decision Making and Contribute to Circularity

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su132212659 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (22) ◽

pp. 12659

Author(s):

Ana Antunes ◽

Ricardo Martins ◽

José Dinis Silvestre ◽

Ricardo do Carmo ◽

Hugo Costa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Waste Management ◽

End Of Life ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Building Materials ◽

National Level ◽

Construction And Demolition Waste ◽

Demolition Waste ◽

Life Phase ◽

The Impact

This paper outlines a methodology for structuring a generic database of environmental impacts on the end-of-life phase of buildings, which can be used at the national level, in accordance with European standards. A number of different options are also considered for managing construction and demolition waste (CDW), as well as for promoting the circularity of materials in construction. The database structure has been developed for use by the main stakeholders who decide the disposal scenario for the main CDW flows, assess waste management plans, and identify the corresponding environmental aspects. The impact categories considered in this paper are global warming potential (GWP) and the abiotic depletion potential of fossil fuels (ADP (f.f.)). This lifecycle assessment (LCA) database further facilitates the identification of important information, such as possible treatments for CDW, or suppliers of recycled materials for use in new construction. Two demolition case studies were used to confirm the benefits of the proposed database. Two demolition scenarios are assessed—traditional and selective—in order to demonstrate the advantage of selective demolition in waste management. The results obtained from the environmental assessment of CDW flows demonstrate that the proposed database can be an important and useful tool for decision making about the end-of-life of construction materials, as it is designed to maximize their reuse and recycling. An innovative online platform can be created based on this database, contributing to the reduction of the environmental impacts associated with the end-of-life phase of buildings.

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Comparison of Environmental Impact of Three Different Slab Systems for Life Cycle Assessment of a Commercial Building in South Korea

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10207278 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (20) ◽

pp. 7278

Author(s):

Inkwan Paik ◽

Seunguk Na

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impact ◽

Flat Plate ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Building Materials ◽

Quantitative Model ◽

Commercial Building ◽

Construction Methods ◽

Impact Reduction ◽

Construction Techniques ◽

Comparative Results

The environmental impacts of the construction stage should be considered since a large amount of building materials are used to construct a building at this stage. Studies on the improvement of construction techniques or the application of newly developed construction methods for reducing the environmental impacts are relatively scant compared to other topics of studies. This study aimed to assess and compare the environmental impacts of the ordinary solid slab, the flat plate slab and the voided slab system during the construction phase. A process-based quantitative model was adopted to evaluate the environmental impacts and the comparative results were analysed to demonstrate the significant characteristics of the environmental impacts of the construction of slab in a building. The assessment results show that the environmental impacts from the ordinary solid slab are the highest and the voided slab system is the lowest among three slab systems. As the slab system of the studied building was replaced, it was shown that the environmental impact indicators showed the decreased tendency. Based on the results of environmental impact reduction from the ordinary solid slab, the flat plate slab and the voided slab system, the voided slab system would have the least environmental impact in all indicators.

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