Construction and building industry is in dire need for developing sustainability assessment frameworks that can evaluate and integrate related environmental and socioeconomic impacts. This paper discusses an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based sustainability evaluation framework for mid-rise residential buildings based on a broad range of environmental and socioeconomic criteria. A cradle to grave life cycle assessment technique was applied to identify, classify, and assess triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability performance indicators of buildings. Then, the AHP was applied to aggregate the impacts into a unified sustainability index. The framework is demonstrated through a case study to investigate two six storey structural systems (i.e. concrete and wood) in Vancouver, Canada. The results of this paper show that the environmental performance of a building in Canada, even in regions with milder weather such as Vancouver, is highly dependent on service life energy, rather than structural materials. Keywords: life cycle assessment (LCA); sustainability assessment; concrete frame building; wood frame building List of abbreviations AHP analytic hierarchy process ANP analytic network process BEES Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability CFC chlorofluorohydrocarbons CI consistency index CR consistency ratio EP eutrophication potential EPA Environmental Protection Agency GDP gross domestic product GWP global warming potential HVAC heating, ventilation, and air conditioning LCA life cycle assessment LCC life cycle cost LCI life cycle inventory LCIA life cycle impact assessment LCSA life cycle sustainability assessment MCDM multiple criteria decision making
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