Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications

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    The Embodied Energy Assessment of Various Building Assemblies in Residential Building Construction
    Rauf, A ; Attoye, D ; Crawford, R ; Ahmed, S ; Azhar, S ; Saul, A ; Mahaffy, K (CITC Global, 2022)
    Energy consumption in the construction and building industry is associated with significant depletion of natural resources, release of greenhouse gases emissions and related environmental impacts worldwide. An understanding of the direct and indirect, operational, and embodied, as well as life cycle consumption patterns due to building architecture plays a major role in reducing the negative impact of buildings. A review of existing literature shows that there is much less research on the impact of embodied energy and there is a need to provide a clear basis to substantiate its veracity. Previous studies on embodied energy have mainly focused on the overall embodied energy of different building types. However, there is limited focus on the embodied energy associated with various assemblies in a building. In efforts to reduce the embodied energy of buildings, it is important to understand the energy associated with various assemblies in a building. Therefore, this research was conducted to investigate the life cycle embodied energy (LCEE) consumed by various building assemblies in a residential building to provide relatable data for professionals. The findings indicate two levels of interest; firstly, life cycle embodied energy of the case study was found to be 13096.47 GJ with the initial embodied energy being 7390.5 GJ (56%) and the recurrent embodied energy was 5690.01 GJ (43%). Secondly, the study presents the embodied energy impacts of various building assemblies and revealed that while the wall assembly was highest, responsible for 25% of the LCEE, the floors contributed 18% and the roof, 6%. The study reveals the significance of embodied energy consciousness in envelope design, as well as the design and specification of building assemblies.
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    Trends in residential sustainability measures in the state of Victoria
    Crawford, R ; Paton-Cole, V ; Turnbull, R ; Fitzgerald, E ; Michalewicz, A ; Garber, J (IOP Publishing Ltd, 2022)
    Buildings require a significant quantity of energy and water during their operation. Solar water heaters and rainwater tanks have become increasingly common to reduce the demand for fossil-fuel based energy and mains water within buildings. Since 2006, the Victorian Building Authority has required either a rainwater tank or solar water heater to be installed in any new house built in Victoria, Australia. This research analyses the trend in adoption of these two systems using data from building permits issued from 2006 to 2019. This shows that despite an initial preference for rainwater tanks, solar water heaters have been the preferred choice. This preference was found to be greatest for projects costing from $200k-$600k and for allotment areas smaller than 500 m2. Preference for rainwater tanks tended to increase in line with an increase in project cost and allotment area, and this preference was found to be most common in metropolitan areas. This study provides insight into the opportunities for further adoption of solar water heaters and rainwater tanks, including using information at the LGA level to develop specific business opportunities or to inform policy, such as alternative water efficiency solutions for households where allotment area may limit rainwater tank adoption.
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    Trends in Residential Building Materials in the State of Victoria
    Paton-Cole, V ; Crawford, R ; Turnbull, R ; Fitzgerald, E ; Michalewicz, A ; Garber, J (IOP Publishing Ltd, 2022)
    As the population in Victoria continues to grow, there has been a corresponding increase in building approvals across the State. Houses characterised as low-rise residential buildings often take the largest share of these approvals, with incessant residential building activities being driven by record low interest rates. Low-rise residential buildings comprise various building forms that use a number of specified construction materials to construct the building envelope and other structural and non-structural elements. As materials used for constructing residential building envelopes continue to evolve, these materials must be fit for purpose, and satisfy design criteria and performance requirements, while being aesthetically pleasing. This research analyses the trend in construction materials used in building envelopes of low-rise residential buildings using data from building permits issued between 1996 to 2019. The trend analysis shows that traditional double brick wall systems and suspended timber floors have reduced in popularity for houses built in the 21st century. The analysis also shows that brick veneer wall cladding systems built over slab-on-ground footings is the dominant construction form while the roof cladding material is influenced by geographical location. Insights from the data analysis indicate very little innovation has emerged in materials for residential building envelopes despite its crucial role in providing thermal comfort for inhabitants. Results from this research will serve as a basis to provide quantitative assessment of the trend in materials resource; provide insights about the impact of new building envelope products on existing industries; and perspectives on materials for future building envelopes.
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    Towards a comprehensive framework for integrating embodied environmental flow assessment into the structural design of tall buildings
    Helal, J ; STEPHAN, A ; Crawford, R (ANZAScA, 2021)
    Urgent changes are needed in the construction industry to meet short term mitigation goals for climate change. Traditionally, operational environmental flows have been the primary focus of regulations and current attempts to improve the environmental performance of buildings. However, studies have revealed that embodied environmental flows are often underestimated and rarely considered. Embodied environmental flows are particularly significant in the structural systems of tall buildings due to the substantial influence of wind and earthquake loads on structural material requirements.
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    Life Cycle Energy Analysis of a House in UAE
    Rauf, A ; Attoye, DE ; Crawford, R ; TABET AOUL, KA ; SHAFIQ, MT ; ATTOYE, DE (ZEMCH Network, 2022)
    In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about 70% of total energy produced is consumed by building sector, and this compares with the global average of about 40%. Energy usage in buildings has often been discussed from the standpoint of operational energy, mainly used for purposes of heating or cooling. In recent times the discussion on building energy consumption has also raised the need for investigating the energy embodied in the construction of buildings and manufacturing of their constituent materials and components. This reorientation of energy consciousness in the construction industry is of critical importance in efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of the built environment. In United Arab Emirates, significant efforts have been made in recent times to reduce the operational energy consumption; however, embodied energy consumption is nearly unaddressed. The challenge this paper addresses is the need to review not only the operational (OPE) energy of a building but also its initial (IEE) and recurrent embodied energy (REE). The aim of this paper, therefore, is to calculate the energy consumption of a residential building over its life in UAE, and to identify the significance of embodied energy. A case study residential building in the UAE was selected as a representative example of government-built homes for UAE citizens for the purpose of this investigation. Using an input-output hybrid approach to calculate the energy required at the time of its construction and REE value calculated over a period of 50 years, the study compares the IEE, OPE and REE for the case study to extrapolate comparative data. Results from this study suggest the importance of including the initial and recurrent embodied energy of buildings in building life cycle energy analyses, which in this case represented 18% and 17% of the life cycle energy of the building. The anticipated merit of this study to building professionals is an appreciation and holistic consideration of the life cycle embodied energy of building design towards promoting a reduction in total building energy consumption.
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    Greenhouse gas emissions performance of cross laminated timber construction using hybrid life cycle assessment
    Cadorel, X ; Crawford, R ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A ; Nasmith, N (The Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA), 2020)
    Numerous studies have investigated the environmental benefits of cross laminated timber (CLT) construction in comparison to conventional construction, typically using a life cycle assessment (LCA). Yet, there is a need for further in-depth analysis of the environmental performance of CLT construction using a more comprehensive approach, in order to provide a more realistic estimation of the potential for CLT construction to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with buildings. This research aims to fill this knowledge gap by conducting a streamlined life cycle assessment to quantify embodied GHG emissions, using hybrid coefficients from the EPiC Database, for a real case study; a five storey multi- residential CLT building about to be constructed in Melbourne, Australia. The new knowledge will provide some of the critical knowledge that is currently lacking in relation to the life cycle GHG emissions performance of CLT construction and the potential for this form of construction to reduce GHG emissions associated with the construction industry.
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    Comparative study of the life cycle embodied greenhouse gas emissions of panelised prefabricated residential walling systems in Australia
    Ghafoor, S ; Crawford, R ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A ; Nasmith, N (The Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA), 2020)
    Residential buildings account for 17% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With detached housing accounting for over 70% of all of Australia’s residential dwellings, and a projected doubling of population in the next 40 years, these houses represent a significant opportunity for GHG emissions reduction. Prefabrication can improve the environmental performance of buildings through lower resource input, reduction in waste and improved quality. However, little research exists on whether it reduces embodied GHG emissions, an increasingly significant proportion of a building’s life cycle GHG emissions. The aim of this study was to compare the embodied GHG emissions associated with the construction of detached residential housing in Australia using panelised prefabricated external wall systems. This study used a Path Exchange hybrid life cycle inventory approach to quantify the construction-related embodied GHG emissions of a typical detached house with three external wall assembly variations: cross laminated timber (CLT), structural insulated panels (SIPs) and prefabricated timber framed panels. Compared to conventional brick veneer construction, the prefabricated timber framed panel was the only one that lowered embodied GHG emissions (by 7%). The SIPs resulted in the highest embodied GHG emissions for the house (6% higher than the brick veneer option). The use of prefabrication may not always reduce GHG emissions associated with house construction. In reducing the initial embodied GHG emissions, while the construction process accounts for around 30% of these emissions, the key focus should be on selecting materials with low GHG emissions intensity.
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    Design for Dematerialisation: an approach for reducing a building’s embodied environmental flows
    Skillington, K ; Crawford, R ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A ; Nasmith, N (The Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA), 2020)
    The building sector must rapidly adopt measures to reduce its significant contribution to global environmental degradation. However, recent efforts in pursuing improved environmental outcomes in the building sector have disproportionately focused on building operation, overlooking the increasingly significant construction-related life cycle stages. The environmental effects associated with these life cycle stages are often locked-in during the design of a building. As such, design stakeholders must have an appreciation of design approaches that affect a buildings’ construction-related or embodied environmental flows. Design for Dematerialisation (DfD) is one such approach, however from the perspective of the building sector it is not well understood. Informed by research from allied disciplines, this study addresses this gap and ascertains that DfD is a design approach that targets reduced material and resource inputs whilst pursuing optimal functionality/performance. Implemented in early design decision making, DfD requires rethinking the whole building design from a life cycle perspective, questioning necessity, and testing alternatives to satisfy user need. Drivers and barriers affecting adoption are discussed, and the paper concludes with recommendations to further develop DfD research and practice – namely the need to empirically assess built examples of the approach to better support its implementation.
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    The effect of data age on the assessment of a building’s embodied energy
    Crawford, R ; Stephan, A ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A, A ; Nasmith, N (The Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA), 2020)
    Data used to quantify the embodied energy of a building, known as life cycle inventory (LCI) data, varies widely in temporal relevance. The energy associated with construction material production and building construction changes regularly due to improvements in manufacturing and construction processes, and energy mix and intensity. Older LCI data may not be representative of the current industry. Due to the time and costs involved in compiling LCIs, many studies rely on outdated data, yet no studies have considered the effect of data age on the analysis of a building’s embodied energy. A reliable embodied energy value is critical to ensure energy reduction efforts have been effective. This study compares the life cycle embodied energy of a typical Australian house using data from a 2010 and 2019 LCI database, compiled using an identical technique. The 2019 data lead to a 27.7% decrease in life cycle embodied energy. This reveals that the age of data may have a considerable effect on the value of a building’s embodied energy, indicating that LCI data should be regularly updated to respond to changes in manufacturing and construction processes as well as energy mix and intensity.
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    The effect of COVID-19 on household energy demand
    Crawford, RH ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A ; Ghaffarianhoseini, A ; Nasmith, N (The Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA), 2020-01-01)
    The emergence and global spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at the beginning of 2020 changed the way we live our lives, including how and where we undertook our everyday activities. Strict lockdown rules, put in place to limit the spread of the virus, saw activity centres, workplaces and schools deserted, and homes become places of work and education. This shift led to a reduction in energy demand for many businesses. However, much of this energy demand transferred to households with most householders occupying their houses for most of the day, leading to increased use of heating, cooling, lighting and appliances, such as computers. This study analyses the total energy usage data for a household in Melbourne, Australia to explore the possible effect of the COVID-19-related lockdown on the household’s energy demand. Energy usage data was sourced from energy bills and the electricity distributor. Data associated with the period where all householders were working and studying solely at home (March to June 2020) were compared to six years of historical energy usage data for the same time period. The analysis shows a 26% increase in household energy demand. This also hasimplications for household finances.