Eberhardt, L C M; Birgisdóttir, H and Birkved, M (2019) Life cycle assessment of a Danish office building designed for disassembly. Building Research & Information, 47(6), pp. 666-680. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
The building industry is responsible for a large proportion of anthropogenic environmental impacts. Circular economy (CE) is a restorative and regenerative industrial economic approach that promotes resource efficiency to reduce waste and environmental burdens. Transitioning from a linear approach to a CE within the building industry will be a significant challenge. However, an insufficient number of quantitative studies exist to confirm the potential (positive) environmental effects of CE within the built environment as well as a consistent method for characterizing these effects. This paper considers key methodological issues for quantifying the environmental implications of CE principles and proposes a life cycle assessment (LCA) allocation method to address these issues. The proposed method is applied to a case study of a Danish office building where the concrete structure is designed for disassembly (DfD) for subsequent reuse. The potential environmental impact savings vary between the different impact categories. The savings are significantly influenced by the building’s material composition, particularly the number of component-use cycles as well as the service life of the building and its components. The substitution of other material choices (e.g. glass and wood) for the concrete structure exhibited a potential increase in impact savings.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building design; building materials; buildings; circular economy; design for disassembly; end of life; life cycle assessment; waste reduction |
| Index terms: | disassembly, end of life, life cycle assessment, environmental impact, waste reduction, case study, service life, building design, savings, circular economy, office building, wood, building material, built environment, building industry, resource efficiency, concrete structure, design for disassembly, material composition, environmental effect |
| Subjects: | asset management, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, traditional and composite building materials, structural engineering, sustainability assessment, management, material properties and characteristics, sustainable design, sustainability and energy, operations management, building materials, economic analysis, architectural design, strategic project management, construction type, data collection methods, environmental impact |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Design Practice, Site Management, Engineering Principles, Construction Materials, Research Practice, Project Management, Business Strategy, Sustainability, Construction Technology |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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