Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications
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ItemAssessing the social life cycle impacts of circular economy(ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2023-02-01)A transition to a circular economy (CE) affects different stakeholders – positively and negatively. Social aspects still receive little consideration in the context of CE, which is why the assessment and monitoring of the social impacts of CE still require further development and consideration in research. In this context, social circularity indicators and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) are important tools that were examined in more detail in this study. This paper aimed to assess the current state of social circularity indicators in the literature, the implementation of S-LCA to assess CE concepts, and which additional indicators might be included in future S-LCA studies. Focus will be on the methodological approach of how to assess the social impacts of CE. A systematic literature review was conducted using Scopus Database, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. The search terms were derived from the aim of the study to identify the social impacts of CE in existing literature, to compile relevant social indicators in the context of CE, and to analyze the current role of S-LCA in the assessment of CE concepts. 97 papers were found. After excluding contributions that did not match the search criteria and adding new relevant contributions found through the analysis of the identified studies with the snowball sampling approach, 40 papers were considered in the review. 40 social impacts of CE were found within the literature. About half of them were positive and the other half negative. The authors found that positive impacts for some stakeholders could imply negative consequences for others, e.g., job creation in one region might lead to a decline in job opportunities in other regions. To assess CE, 104 single social indicators and 9 composed indicators were identified. Most of them could be linked to stakeholder groups and subcategories proposed in the UNEP S-LCA guidelines (UNEP, 2020). Training and education, job creation, as well as health and safety were relevant identified indicators in the context of CE. S-LCA has rarely been used in the assessment of CE strategies so far and needs to be standardized for application in the industry. Not all social impacts of CE are addressed by existing indicators. This, and the fact that not all circularity indicators that address social consequences of CE (social circularity indicators) are covered with S-LCA, reveals the need to suggest and harmonize additional subcategories that are especially relevant for CE. The authors propose to apply and integrate the identified social circularity (inventory) indicators in future S-LCA studies to assess CE concepts.
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ItemFifth-generation district heating and cooling systems: A review of recent advancements and implementation barriers(PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2023-01)As global urbanisation levels continue to rise, supplying urban areas with low emissions energy becomes imperative in the fight against climate change. In areas with high demand density, district heating and cooling systems are generally a more efficient alternative compared to individual solutions, but current systems are mainly powered by fossil fuels and suffer from significant thermal losses due to high operating temperatures. Fifth-generation district heating and cooling systems (5GDHC) is a promising technology, able to address these drawbacks. 5GDHC systems operate at near ambient temperature, ensuring efficient integration of renewable energy sources and waste heat recovery potential. Their ability to provide simultaneous heating and cooling through the same pipeline and bidirectional energy flows allow for load balancing through the harvesting of demand synergies between different users. 5GDHC systems can play an important role in the energy transition but not much is known about their environmental performance over their life cycle and the novelty of the concept means that planning and design guidelines are scarcely present in the literature, hindering their development and further adoption. This study critically reviews recent advancements in the relevant literature as the 5GDHC technology transitions from research and development to the demonstration phase. Moreover, the paper addresses the design parameters and methodologies encountered in the literature for the modelling and operation of 5GDHC systems. Finally, the economic and environmental performance are discussed while presenting an overview of future developments and challenges related to full-scale deployment.
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ItemIntegrating embodied greenhouse gas emissions assessment into the structural design of tall buildings: A framework and software tool for design decision-making(ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA, 2023-10-15)Urgent changes are needed in the construction industry to address the adverse effects of material production on the environment. The construction of tall buildings results in a high temporal and spatial concentration of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is largely due to the compounding influence of wind and earthquake loads on structural material requirements. Thus, to meet short-term climate change mitigation goals, the structural design of tall buildings must consider and minimise the embodied GHG emissions of structural systems. This study aimed to develop a framework to inform the design of tall building structural systems in order to minimise their embodied GHG emissions. A software tool was developed to implement the framework and automate the design, analysis, and embodied GHG emissions assessment of structural systems for tall buildings. Approximately 1,000 building models were iteratively designed, analysed, and assessed using the software tool. Through regression analyses, the resulting dataset was used to construct predictive models for the embodied GHG emissions of 12 unique combinations of structural system typologies and materials. By applying the framework and software tool to a 52-storey case study building, it is estimated that optimising structural material choices and geometric design strategies could reduce the embodied GHG emissions of tall building structural systems by up to 20% compared to current practices. The developed framework and software tool allow designers to use environmental assessment as a design decision-making tool, rather than an appraisal method for evaluating completed buildings, helping to reduce the environmental effects associated with tall building construction.
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ItemBarriers to implementation of sustainable construction in India(The University of Melbourne, 2023)Abstract: The Indian construction industry was estimated to be worth three trillion INR in 2022 and is expected to be the third largest construction market by 2025. The industry is responsible for a large amount of energy consumption, which not only contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases, but also adversely impacts resources like land, waterbodies, minerals, and other naturally sourced materials. Hence, implementing sustainable construction practices across the project life cycle is essential to reducing the detrimental impacts of the industry. Despite having 3 green building rating systems (GRIHA, IGBC, and LEED) and adopting certain national level initiatives, there is an absence of a systematic regulatory framework for the incorporation of sustainability principles in the Indian construction industry. It is critical to determine the existing issues that prevail in the industry to address the barriers in a timely manner. This paper determines the critical barriers to incorporating sustainable construction in India by reviewing the academic literature, Environmental Performance Index (EPI), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2022 reports. Unskilled workforce, low productivity, lack of monitoring schemes, inadequate technology, poor team integration and collaboration are the key barriers that are deduced from the systematic literature review. The ongoing national level initiatives and schemes promoting multiple goals of SDGs are also identified. The administrative framework of the Indian construction industry includes ministries, state departments, local authorities, and regulatory councils. Every state in India has building bye laws that differ from those of other states and this has also been identified as a barrier. One of the solutions determined by experts and researchers is for the Indian construction industry to comply with the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. In order to accomplish that, policy makers, sustainable construction practitioners, and industry professionals must develop specific grassroot level mitigation factors to counter the key barriers.
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ItemInvestigating the Embodied Energy of Wall Assembly with Various Material Service Life Scenarios(Springer Nature, 2023)Studies have advocated that there is much less research on the impact of embodied energy. Researchers have asserted that a building’s embodied energy can be as high as 60% of the life cycle energy. However, there is insufficient research and understanding of embodied energy impacts and its relationship with material specification and service life. This research aims to fill this gap by investigating the life cycle embodied energy of a villa in the United Arab Emirates with particular emphasis on the wall assembly. The findings show that the embodied energy impact of the wall structure and wall finishes was found to be 19.7% and 11.7% of the villa’s life cycle embodied energy (LCEE), respectively. Alternative material service life (MSL) scenarios for the wall assembly shows that using minimum material service life (MSL) values results in a 54% increase in LCEE of the wall, and 74% increase in the LCEE of the villa. For maximum MSL, the findings show a 27% and 31% decrease in LCEE of walls and villa, respectively. Alternative wall finishes show that wallpaper as a replacement of water-based paint will increase the LCEE of the villa by 28%.
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ItemExploring the environmental assessment of circular economy in the construction industry: A scoping review(Elsevier, 2023-11-01)The literature on the evaluation of environmental performance within the circular economy (CE) domain is notably extensive, encompassing a considerable body of work spanning guidelines, case studies and software tools. Nonetheless, a comprehensive overview that encompasses the entirety of the knowledge landscape in this area remains notably absent. To address this scholarly gap, the present study undertakes a scoping review. Departing from previous inquiries which have predominantly focused on scholarly literature, the study amalgamates diverse knowledge sources. Through a meticulously orchestrated search and analysis process that integrates insights from academic databases and other knowledge reservoirs in the Australian context, a compendium of 249 indicators is delineated. As one of the pioneering endeavours of this nature, this study functions as a contemporary reference, catering to researchers, policy makers and practitioners, while providing multifaceted perspectives on assessing environmental ramifications within CE research. In theoretical terms, this investigation makes an in-depth contribution to the CE field by introducing a methodical and all-encompassing framework, interlinking life cycle phases and system boundaries for environmental evaluation within the CE paradigm. The findings furnish a reliable catalogue of 12 pivotal themes that merit prioritisation in the evaluation of environmental impacts tied to CE strategies. On a practical level, the study yields valuable instruments for researchers, practitioners and policy makers, equipping them with the means to gauge the efficacy of their CE endeavours, thereby facilitating data-driven decision-making processes.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableDemonstrating circular life cycle sustainability assessment – a case study of recycled carbon concrete(Elsevier, 2023-12)To counter the high consumption of resources and environmental emissions in the construction sector, innovative materials such as carbon-reinforced concrete (CRC) are needed. CRC has the potential to lower the resource use and emissions of the construction sector and lead to a circular economy (CE). To understand the overall circularity and sustainability performance of such materials, holistic assessments are needed. This study demonstrated the application of the newly developed circular life cycle sustainability assessment (C-LCSA) framework that is based on CE indicators and life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). The framework was applied to an industrial floor that was made from recycled CRC scrap (R–CRC industrial floor) in its development phase – using both the concrete faction and the carbon fiber fraction. The material circularity indicator (MCI) was used for the circularity assessment. It was applied in parallel to a life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), and a social hotspot assessment, using the same functional unit and system boundaries. The cut-off approach used was in line with the technical system boundaries. The results showed that the contribution to the circularity of the R–CRC industrial floor was high (0.8184) due to the use of recycled material and the potential of being recycled again. The global warming potential (GWP, 167 kg CO2 eq.) was lower while the human toxicity potential (HTP) was higher compared to similar products. The production costs far exceeded the current price of a comparable product which might be related to the inefficiencies in the production at the laboratory scale in the development phase of the R–CRC industrial floor. Social risks were found for health and safety, as well as for the social acceptance of the floor due to technical uncertainties. Increasing the circularity further by only using recycled aggregates mostly showed positive effects on the environmental impacts. However, HTP and costs increased. General statements on the interlinkages between a higher circularity and positive impacts on sustainability performance cannot necessarily be made. Instead, a robust and holistic assessment of new products is needed. C-LCSA has demonstrated its effectiveness as a reliable framework for identifying interlinkages and trade-offs between the different sustainability dimensions and circularity. Further studies should be conducted to validate and demonstrate the C-LCSA framework on different products.
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ItemCircular life cycle sustainability assessment: An integrated framework(Wiley, 2023)Robust monitoring and assessment methods are required to assess circular economy (CE) concepts in terms of their degree of circularity and their contribution to sustainability. This research aimed to develop an integrated framework for the CE context—considering both the technical circularity and the complexity of the three dimensions of sustainability (environment, economy, and social). Two existing methods were identified as an appropriate foundation: CE indicators and life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), combining life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), and social life cycle assessment (S‐LCA). The developed circular life cycle sustainability assessment (C‐LCSA) framework added circularity assessment (CA) as an additional dimension to LCSA (C‐LCSA = LCA + LCC + S‐LCA + CA). The abundance of CE indicators required a systematic selection process to identify the most appropriate indicators for the framework which was built on criteria levels, performance, loops, unit, dimension, and transversality. The material circularity indicator, product circularity indicator, and longevity indicator were identified as most suited for C‐LCSA. Being developed for a single life cycle, the traditional life cycle approaches needed refinements for application to CE concepts, derived from discussions and proposed adaptions presented in the academic literature. The cut‐off approach was identified as the most suitable end‐of‐life allocation method for C‐LCSA, being in line with the technical system boundaries. C‐LCSA can be used by LCA practitioners to identify trade‐offs between an improved circularity and resulting impacts on the environmental, economic, and social pillars to provide a basis for decision making in industrial ecology.
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ItemApproaches for assessing embodied environmental effects during the building design process(IOP Publishing, 2023)Buildings and construction are among the leading contributors towards global greenhouse gas emissions, resource demands, waste, and pollution, placing a massive strain on our natural environment. Until recently, mitigation strategies have primarily concentrated on reductions in operational energy, failing to account for embodied effects; those associated with the manufacture of construction goods, construction activities, and end of life considerations. In recent years, there has been an increased recognition of the growing significance of embodied effects, and the opportunity to reduce these during the building design process. However, life cycle assessment (LCA) tools used to quantify environmental flows are often perceived as being too time-consuming or complicated to incorporate into prevalent building design workflows. The aim of this study was to review approaches for assessing embodied environmental effects during the building design process, including the LCA tools and environmental data used to achieve this. A systematic review was conducted of academic and grey literature. The study identified three main approaches for incorporating LCA into the building design process: simplified LCA, detailed LCA and incremental LCA. Further analysis of these approaches was conducted, based on case studies. General attributes and design considerations were identified, and mapped against the early design, and detailed design stages. A wide variety of LCA approaches were reviewed, responding to various challenges for incorporating LCA into the building design process, with no singular approach able to completely satisfy all requirements. Findings highlight the lack of incremental LCA approaches, and the need for further research to understand how LCA approaches can be better used to improve the embodied environmental performance of buildings during the design process.
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ItemPreliminary study on the use of Big Data for environmental benchmarks of residential buildings in Flanders(IOP Publishing, 2023)Building construction and operation both have a high environmental impact. In Flanders (Belgium), public authorities have defined clear targets for improved building energy performance, but a strategy to reduce construction (embodied) impact is still lacking. Environmental benchmarks based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have been identified as a means to limit embodied impacts. Such benchmarks are often derived with a bottom-up approach consisting of a statistical analysis of the building stock, which is usually modelled based on a limited set of representative buildings or archetypes. In this paper, a data-driven approach is applied based on building data from the Flemish Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) database. In a recent study, the buildings from the EPB database were clustered based on geometric and energy-related parameters, and for each cluster representative buildings were selected. This resulted in 54 buildings representative of newly built residential buildings in Flanders. The building set distinguishes itself from other existing sets because it was automatically generated from a large building database. Up until now, the EPB building set has only been used to evaluate the financial feasibility of energy performance levels in Flanders. In this preliminary study, an LCA is performed to assess the life cycle environmental impacts of five sample cases in view of benchmarking. The sample includes two detached, two semi-detached, and one terraced house, all solid construction and in line with the Flemish EPB requirements of 2014. The results show that the environmental score of the buildings is comparable to benchmark values obtained based on the analysis of Belgian archetypes. Further, the building geometry and compactness are identified as key parameters, whereas the materialisation has a more limited influence on the environmental impact. Next research steps will focus on the modelling of more cases, including different construction types, energy performance levels, and potential impact mitigation strategies. The study concludes that the EPB buildings are promising to define environmental benchmarks for the Flemish dwelling stock.
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