Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications

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    Investigating the Embodied Energy of Wall Assembly with Various Material Service Life Scenarios
    Rauf, A ; Attoye, DE ; Crawford, R ; Caetano, NS ; Felgueiras, MC (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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    Approaches for assessing embodied environmental effects during the building design process
    Prideaux, F ; Crawford, R ; Allacker, K ; STEPHAN, A (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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    Preliminary study on the use of Big Data for environmental benchmarks of residential buildings in Flanders
    Mouton, L ; Ramon, D ; Trigaux, D ; Allacker, K ; Crawford, R (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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    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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    The lIfe cycle performance of Monomur in Australian residential construction
    Simcock, N ; Crawford, RH ; Jensen, CA (Green Building Council Spain, 2014)
    Brick veneer is the most dominant construction type in Australia; however it is not necessarily the most advantageous for the climate. Mass wall types, where massing is evident on the interior of the building, can help to achieve greater thermal performance. Monomur thermal blocks are a thermal mass system, based on single leaf construction. They are resistant to compression, transfer of heat, and are made from natural clay. Monomur has shown to benefit construction in Europe, most predominantly France, where the push for low energy buildings is high on the national agenda. This study aimed to determine the life cycle energy performance of the use of the monomur system in Australian residential construction. A life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) was used to quantify and compare the life cycle energy performance of two case study houses, one built from monomur and one from brick veneer. It was shown that there is minimal difference in the performance of these two construction approaches, paving the way for the potential use of monomur in the Australian context.
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    An early-stage life cycle model for low-energy buildiings
    Crawford, RH ; Czerniakowski, I ; Fuller, RJ (Green Building Council Spain, 2014-10-30)
    The aim of this study is to demonstrate the application of a model previously developed by the authors for low-energy building design, to show how the availability of comparable energy performance information at the building design stage can be used to better optimise a building’s energy performance. The life cycle energy demand of a case study building was quantified using a comprehensive embodied energy assessment technique and TRNSYS thermal energy simulation software. The building was then modelled with variations to its external assemblies in an attempt to optimise its life cycle energy performance. The alternative assemblies chosen were those shown through the authors’ early-stage life cycle energy model to result in the lowest life cycle energy demand for each building element. The study showed that significant life cycle energy savings, up to 45%, are possible through the modelling of individual building elements for the case study building.
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    Concept and barriers for the economic value of low-energy houses
    Wu, H ; Crawford, RH ; Warren-Myers, G ; Dave, M ; Noguchi, M (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, 2015)
    This study explores the market revealed price of low-energy residential buildings and why the economic value of low-energy housing products is less transparent in active residential markets. It explores Australian and Japanese conditions and examines the proposition by using embodied energy, operational energy and market price data of selected housing stock in Australia. The study aims to examine a new perspective towards understanding the barriers to ascertaining the economic value of low-energy buildings. In particular, the study examines the composition of energy consumption associated with the residential property life cycle. Operational energy is linked to consumer preference by its inter-temporal value estimate of future expected utility or benefit flow. A ‘low’ embodied energy house is an environmental construct, which does not appear to currently link to short-term market value perception. It does not strongly link to an expected (intuitive) benefit. This ‘gap/disconnect’ creates a barrier to estimating a holistic economic value of low-energy residential property.
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    Exploring the relationship between Melbourne’s water metabolism and urban characteristics
    Athanassiadis, A ; Crawford, RH ; Bouillard, P ; Burton, P ; Shearer, H (State of Australian Cities Research Network, 2015)
    Cities can be seen as complex urban systems that mobilise local and global resource flows to meet the needs of their inhabitants and their manufacturing sector. However, the local consumption of resources can be responsible for major local and global environmental changes that impact the human health and wellbeing inside and outside of the boundary of the urban system. With global urban population expected to continue to grow, the mitigation of further future environmental pressures from urban consumption is of critical importance. The complexity of the interrelationships between the local social, political, cultural, economic and environmental facets of a city as well as the interrelationship between these local characteristics and urban consumption, dictate that each city will have a different set of parameters that drive urban consumption. This research will investigate this issue by exploring the relationship between Melbourne’s water metabolism and its urban characteristics. In practice, this study will correlate the spatially disaggregated water use of Melbourne with local factors such as demography, average income, territorial organisation, etc. It will then be possible to identify which urban characteristics have the greatest influence on water use and ultimately help to inform the development and implementation of the most appropriate and best targeted policies for reducing water use across Melbourne Metropolitan Area.