Integrating Scenarios into Life Cycle Assessment: Understanding the Value and Financial Feasibility of a Demountable Building

Galle, Waldo; Temmerman, Niels De; Meyer, Ronald De

doi:10.3390/buildings7030064

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The data for the estimated technical service lives were derived from BCIS (2006) [63] and collected in Table 2. Building further on the LCC modelling method of Galle [24,64], the financial data that were used originates from ASPEN (2014) [65], an extensive database of average contractor prices in Belgium. They include labor, material and equipment costs, and were completed with data of Bouwunie (2014) [66] for specific waste flows and disassembly actions.…”

Section: Life Cycle Cost Analysis and Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expandable Houses: An Explorative Life Cycle Cost Analysis

2021

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In addition to the environmental burden of its construction and demolition activities, the Flemish housing market faces a structural affordability challenge. As one possible answer, this research explores the potential of so-called expandable houses, being built increasingly often. Through specific design choices that enable the disassembly and future reuse of individual components and so align with the idea of a circular economy, expandable houses promise to provide ever-changing homes with a smaller impact on the environment and at a lower cost for clients. In this paper, an expandable house suitable for various housing needs is conceived through a scenario-based research-by-design approach and compared to a reference house for Flanders. Subsequently, for both houses the life cycle costs are calculated and compared. The results of this exploration support the proposition that designing expandable houses can be a catalyst for sustainable, circular housing development and that households could benefit from its social, economic and ecological qualities. It requires, however, a dynamic perspective on evaluating their life-cycle impact.

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Section: Life Cycle Cost Analysis and Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expandable Houses: An Explorative Life Cycle Cost Analysis

2021

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“…Even when technologically feasible deconstruction tends to be more time-consuming, the dismounted components have to be stored, tested, and certified, and the supply chain for reused materials and components is not yet mature [69]. Demountable, low-cost, and environmental-impact building components are increasingly studied, but rarely used in real-life case studies [29].…”

Section: Strategy 3: Reuse Of Replacement Parts or Entire Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In buildings, many strategies are applied toward closing the material loop; however, through accurate planning, life extension can be obtained with flexible spaces and adaptable elements [7]. The flexibility of buildings and the adaptability of their components is related to the degree of their movability [29]; yet, the use of more standard measures is one of the main drivers toward adaptability of buildings [72]. There is also a recognized knowledge gap in the adaptability of the building sector and building components, which causes resistance from builders to design toward adaptability [34].…”

Section: Strategy 4: Design Toward Adaptability (Reduction Through LImentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Location of current material stock, and time of availability are current limitations with reuse supply chains [45]. Traditional building techniques cause materials to have a low degree of movability and disassemblability [29]. Traditional construction practitioners employ a decentralized, subcontractor work force to complete projects.…”

Section: Strategy 7: Systems To Track Materials and Components Withinmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strategies for Applying the Circular Economy to Prefabricated Buildings

et al. 2018

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In this paper, a circular-economy framework is applied to the prefabricated building sector to explore the environmental advantages of prefabrication in terms of reduction, reusability, adaptability, and recyclability of its components. A qualitative approach is used to revisit the design, construction, and demolition stages of prefabricated buildings; in so doing, the circular-economy framework is applied to foster circular prefabricated modi operandi. Prefabrication of buildings can be divided into four entities: elements and components, panels (or non-volumetric elements), volumetric, and entire modules. Through an analysis of published research on how the circular economy can be applied to different industry sectors and production processes, seven strategies emerged, each of which revealed the potential of improving the circular economy of buildings. The first strategy is reduction of waste through a lean production chain. By reusing the waste, the second strategy investigates the use of by-products in the production of new components. The third strategy focuses on the reuse of replacement parts and components. The fourth strategy is based on design toward adaptability, respectively focusing on reusability of components and adapting components for a second use with a different purpose. Similarly, the fifth strategy considers the implications of designing for disassembly with Building Information Modeling so as to improve the end-of-life deconstruction phase. The sixth strategy focuses on design with attention to recyclability of used material. Finally, the seventh strategy considers the use of tracking technologies with embedded information on components’ geometric and mechanic characteristics as well as their location and life cycle to enable second use after deconstruction. It is demonstrated that prefabricated buildings are key to material savings, waste reduction, reuse of components, and various other forms of optimization for the construction sector. By adopting the identified strategies in prefabricated buildings, a circular economy could be implemented within the construction industry. Finally, seven guidelines were distilled from the review and linked to the identified strategies. Owing to their degree of adaptability and capacity of being disassembled, prefabricated buildings would allow waste reduction and facilitate a second life of components.

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“…Pre-use embodied impacts are the impacts due to extraction, manufacturing and construction of buildings and replacement embodied impacts are a result of renovations, replacements and maintenance in the active service life of buildings. The operational or use stage impacts are dynamic in nature and occur in the service life of building [55,56]. Better building performance can be achieved by considering factors including material selection, construction techniques, cost factors, and cleaner production strategies (CPS).…”

Section: Environmental Life Cycle Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Service Life on the Environmental Performance of Buildings

2019

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The environmental performance assessment of the building and construction sector has been in discussion due to the increasing demand of facilities and its impact on the environment. The life cycle studies carried out over the last decade have mostly used an approximate life span of a building without considering the building component replacement requirements and their service life. This limitation results in unreliable outcomes and a huge volume of materials going to landfill. This study was performed to develop a relationship between the service life of a building and building components, and their impact on environmental performance. Twelve building combinations were modelled by considering two types of roof frames, two types of wall and three types of footings. A reference building of a 50-year service life was used in comparisons. Firstly, the service life of the building and building components and the replacement intervals of building components during active service life were estimated. The environmental life cycle assessment (ELCA) was carried out for all the buildings and results are presented on a yearly basis in order to study the impact of service life. The region-specific impact categories of cumulative energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land use are used to assess the environmental performance of buildings. The analysis shows that the environmental performance of buildings is affected by the service life of a building and the replacement intervals of building components.

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Integrating Scenarios into Life Cycle Assessment: Understanding the Value and Financial Feasibility of a Demountable Building

Cited by 16 publications

References 36 publications

Expandable Houses: An Explorative Life Cycle Cost Analysis

Expandable Houses: An Explorative Life Cycle Cost Analysis

Strategies for Applying the Circular Economy to Prefabricated Buildings

Impact of Service Life on the Environmental Performance of Buildings

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