scholarly journals Review and Mapping of Parameters for the Early Stage Design of Adaptive Building Technologies through Life Cycle Assessment Tools

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Battisti ◽  
Sandra G. L. Persiani ◽  
Manuela Crespi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Life Cycle Stage ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Operational Energy ◽  
Early Stage Design

Adaptive Building Technologies have opened up a growing field of architectural research aimed at improving the overall building performance, ensuring comfort while reducing operational energy consumption. Focusing on flexibility over short timeframes, these new technologies are however rarely designed within the broader frame of sustainability over their entire lifecycle. How sustainable these zero energy technologies really are is yet to be established. The purpose of the research is to develop a flexible easy-to-use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool to support creative innovation and sustainable design choices in the early concept and design stages of Adaptive Building Technologies. This paper reports on the results of the first step of the research, providing a mapping in terms of structure and contents of the parameters involved in the design of these technologies. Addressed from a holistic point of view, the elements of the system were defined though a qualitative approach: relevant parameters were collected through document analysis, reviewing the state-of-the-art technology through online databases as ScienceDirect, Scopus, MDPI, ResearchGate, and organized according to hierarchy and relevance in the different life cycle stages. As a result, the paper identifies (1) relevant parameters defining the design of Adaptive Building Technologies; (2) materials, processes and concepts specific to the design of these technologies, as compared to conventional building technologies; (3) issues and knowledge gaps to enable successive research phases; (4) specific actions in each life cycle stage for designers and producers to optimize the design of the technology. The mapping graphically and hierarchically organizes the elements of the system within a flexible structure to be implemented and integrated over time, as the technology evolves, to support parametric design and enable alternative design concepts to arise within a cradle-to-cradle perspective.

scholarly journals EXAMINING THE USER EXPERIENCE OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT TOOLS AND THEIR ABILITY TO CATER TO ECODESIGN IN EARLY-STAGE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1441-1450
Author(s):  
Tejaswini Chatty ◽  
Yingkun Qu ◽  
Hana H. Ba-Sabaa ◽  
Elizabeth L. Murnane
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Product Development ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Interaction Design ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Unique Approach ◽  
Development Practice

AbstractWith the topic of sustainability steadily gaining importance and public awareness, there is growing consensus about the need to incorporate environmental considerations in early stage product development (PD). This makes it imperative for PD practitioners to have access to methods and tools, including life cycle assessment (LCA), that support sustainability integration. This paper evaluates existing LCA tools on their ability to cater to the early-stage PD context, by having users apply the tools in practice and exploring their experiences. We find that the challenges to applying LCA in this context emanate primarily from the shortcomings of the tools themselves. Our evaluation metrics for tool critique are derived from a thematic analysis of user interviews we conducted, refined according to information and interaction design principles from human-computer interaction (HCI). This unique approach helps triangulate insights from users with literature, to produce design recommendations for the development of novel LCA tools tailored to the early PD context.

scholarly journals Sustainable Agri-Food Processes and Circular Economy Pathways in a Life Cycle Perspective: State of the Art of Applicative Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2472
Author(s):  
Teodora Stillitano ◽  
Emanuele Spada ◽  
Nathalie Iofrida ◽  
Giacomo Falcone ◽  
Anna Irene De Luca
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Qualitative Synthesis

This study aims at providing a systematic and critical review on the state of the art of life cycle applications from the circular economy point of view. In particular, the main objective is to understand how researchers adopt life cycle approaches for the measurement of the empirical circular pathways of agri-food systems along with the overall lifespan. To perform the literature review, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol was considered to conduct a review by qualitative synthesis. Specifically, an evaluation matrix has been set up to gather and synthesize research evidence, by classifying papers according to several integrated criteria. The literature search was carried out employing scientific databases. The findings highlight that 52 case studies out of 84 (62% of the total) use stand-alone life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the benefits/impacts of circular economy (CE) strategies. In contrast, only eight studies (9.5%) deal with the life cycle costing (LCC) approach combined with other analyses while no paper deals with the social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) methodology. Global warming potential, eutrophication (for marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems), human toxicity, and ecotoxicity results are the most common LCA indicators applied. Only a few articles deal with the CE assessment through specific indicators. We argue that experts in life cycle methodologies must strive to adopt some key elements to ensure that the results obtained fit perfectly with the measurements of circularity and that these can even be largely based on a common basis.

scholarly journals Methodology for the quantification of concrete sustainability

2018 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 01006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Břetislav Teplý ◽  
Tomáš Vymazal ◽  
Pavla Rovnaníková
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Service Life ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Load Bearing Capacity ◽  
Sustainability Management

Efficient sustainability management requires the use of tools which allow material, technological and construction variants to be quantified, measured or compared. These tools can be used as a powerful marketing aid and as support for the transition to “circular economy”. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) procedures are also used, aside from other approaches. LCA is a method that evaluates the life cycle of a structure from the point of view of its impact on the environment. Consideration is given also to energy and raw material costs, as well as to environmental impact throughout the life cycle - e.g. due to emissions. The paper focuses on the quantification of sustainability connected with the use of various types of concrete with regard to their resistance to degradation. Sustainability coefficients are determined using information regarding service life and "eco-costs". The aim is to propose a suitable methodology which can simplify decision-making in the design and choice of concrete mixes from a wider perspective, i.e. not only with regard to load-bearing capacity or durability.

scholarly journals LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF TECHNICAL BUILDING SERVICES OF LARGE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING STOCKS USING SEMANTIC 3D CITY MODELS

2020 ◽  
Vol VI-4/W1-2020 ◽  
pp. 85-92
Author(s):  
H. Harter ◽  
B. Willenborg ◽  
W. Lang ◽  
T. H. Kolbe
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
3D City Models ◽  
Methodical Approach ◽  
Operational Energy ◽  
City Models

Abstract. Reducing the demand for non-renewable resources and the resulting environmental impact is an objective of sustainable development, to which buildings contribute significantly. In order to realize the goal of reaching a climate-neutral building stock, it must first be analyzed and evaluated in order to develop optimization strategies. The life cycle based consideration and assessment of buildings plays a key role in this process. Approaches and tools already exist for this purpose, but they mainly take the operational energy demand of buildings and not a life cycle based approach into account, especially when assessing technical building services (TBS). Therefore, this paper presents and applies a methodical approach for the life cycle based assessment of the TBS of large residential building stocks, based on semantic 3D city models (CityGML). The methodical approach developed for this purpose describes the procedure for calculating the operational energy demand (already validated) and the heating load of the building, the dimensioning of the TBS components and the calculation of the life cycle assessment. The application of the methodology is illustrated in a case study with over 115,000 residential buildings from Munich, Germany. The study shows that the methodology calculates reliable results and that a significant reduction of the life cycle based energy demand can be achieved by refurbishment measures/scenarios. Nevertheless, the goal of achieving a climate-neutral building stock is a challenge from a life cycle perspective.

Diagnosis and evaluation of an early-stage green bio-sorption reactor by life cycle assessment

2018 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 100-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranbin Liu ◽  
Yaqian Zhao ◽  
Yan Yang ◽  
Olumide Wesley Awe
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Early Stage

Dicussions and Conclusion

2016 ◽  
pp. 341-354
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Future Challenge ◽  
Efficient Delivery

The rationale for this publication emanated from the challenges facing the efficient delivery of construction projects in developing countries. Although, some aspects of the book focus on key applications in Cameroon, a holistic approach was adopted where an overview of challenges related to construction for developing countries was considered. To re-focus issues addressed in this book, this last Chapter provides a summary of what has been covered in each Chapter. Also, major achievements and challenges will be discussed. Nevertheless a construction matter can not be seriously handled today without taking into account environmental issues. For this reason, we will say just a few words about environment. Indeed, wherever infrastructures in general and buildings in particular through production and emission of toxic matters and gas have harmful consequences on the environment. They must be assessed and monitored to reduce the risk of pollution. Among many environmental assessment methods, life cycle assessment (LCA) seems to be the most suitable. Wherever, it involves a lot of data and must be handling with a lot of caution. The life cycle assessment tools used in developed countries is not suitable in developing countries context. It should be benefit for them to develop a simple and suitable methodology easy to manage, in order to propose an environmental impacts measurement of construction projects' and buildings. The High Environmental Quality, which a priori ensures minimized environmental impact and promotes the principles of sustainable development, is the solution that seems best suited for the design of many social infrastructures projected in developing countries. This is going to be for them the future challenge for the next decades.

USING LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT METHODS TO GUIDE ARCHITECTURAL DECISION-MAKING FOR SUSTAINABLE PREFABRICATED MODULAR BUILDINGS

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Faludi ◽  
Michael D. Lepech ◽  
George Loisos
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Material Design ◽  
Design Decision ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Operational Energy

Within this work, life cycle assessment modeling is used to determine top design priorities and quantitatively inform sustainable design decision-making for a prefabricated modular building. A case-study life-cycle assessment was performed for a 5,000 ft2prefabricated commercial building constructed in San Francisco, California, and scenario analysis was run examining the life cycle environmental impacts of various energy and material design substitutions, and a structural design change. Results show that even for a highly energy-efficient modular building, the top design priority is still minimizing operational energy impacts, since this strongly dominates the building life cycle's environmental impacts. However, as an energy-efficient building approaches net zero energy, manufacturing-phase impacts are dominant, and a new set of design priorities emerges. Transportation and end-of-life disposal impacts were of low to negligible importance in both cases.

Simulation-Supported Early Stage Design Optimisation for a Case Study of Life Cycle Oriented Buildings

2019 ◽  
Vol 887 ◽  
pp. 353-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sören Eikemeier ◽  
Ardeshir Mahdavi ◽  
Robert Wimmer
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Preliminary Design ◽  
Design Phase ◽  
Design Optimisation ◽  
Stage Design ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Early Stage Design

To reduce the energy and resource consumption in the building sector this study is focusing on a design optimisation of life cycle oriented buildings. In order to optimise the performance of the buildings and in consequence also to achieve improved results for the mandatory Austrian energy certificate a simulation-based rapid design approach is used for the early stage design phase of the buildings, in particular for the architectural design of the buildings.Methods like the Window to Wall Ratio, at the very beginning of the design process, a parametric simulation with EnergyPlus or a more detailed optimisation approach with GenOpt are integrated in this study applied to example buildings. The results are showing that the method can be used in a circular approach for improving the heating demand of the Austrian energy certificate for this case study by more than 25 % compared to the preliminary design

scholarly journals Collaborating constructively for sustainable biotechnology

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas E. Matthews ◽  
Carrie A. Cizauskas ◽  
Donovan S. Layton ◽  
Laurence Stamford ◽  
Philip Shapira
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Analytical Approaches

AbstractTackling the pressing sustainability needs of society will require the development and application of new technologies. Biotechnology, emboldened by recent advances in synthetic biology, offers to generate sustainable biologically-based routes to chemicals and materials as alternatives to fossil-derived incumbents. Yet, the sustainability potential of biotechnology is not without trade-offs. Here, we probe this capacity for sustainability for the case of bio-based nylon using both deliberative and analytical approaches within a framework of Constructive Sustainability Assessment. We highlight the potential for life cycle CO2 and N2O savings with bio-based processes, but report mixed results in other environmental and social impact categories. Importantly, we demonstrate how this knowledge can be generated collaboratively and constructively within companies at an early stage to anticipate consequences and to inform the modification of designs and applications. Application of the approach demonstrated here provides an avenue for technological actors to better understand and become responsive to the sustainability implications of their products, systems and actions.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Valuation of Biochar Production: Two Case Studies in Belgium

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 2166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Rajabi Hamedani ◽  
Tom Kuppens ◽  
Robert Malina ◽  
Enrico Bocci ◽  
Andrea Colantoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Pig Manure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
The Impact

It is unclear whether the production of biochar is economically feasible. As a consequence, firms do not often invest in biochar production plants. However, biochar production and application might be desirable from a societal perspective as it might entail net environmental benefits. Hence, the aim of this work has been to assess and monetize the environmental impacts of biochar production systems so that the environmental aspects can be integrated with the economic and social ones later on to quantify the total return for society. Therefore, a life cycle analysis (LCA) has been performed for two potential biochar production systems in Belgium based on two different feedstocks: (i) willow and (ii) pig manure. First, the environmental impacts of the two biochar production systems are assessed from a life cycle perspective, assuming one ton of biochar as the functional unit. Therefore, LCA using SimaPro software has been performed both on the midpoint and endpoint level. Biochar production from willow achieves better results compared to biochar from pig manure for all environmental impact categories considered. In a second step, monetary valuation has been applied to the LCA results in order to weigh environmental benefits against environmental costs using the Ecotax, Ecovalue, and Stepwise approach. Consequently, sensitivity analysis investigates the impact of variation in NPK savings and byproducts of the biochar production process on monetized life cycle assessment results. As a result, it is suggested that biochar production from willow is preferred to biochar production from pig manure from an environmental point of view. In future research, those monetized environmental impacts will be integrated within existing techno-economic models that calculate the financial viability from an investor’s point of view, so that the total return for society can be quantified and the preferred biochar production system from a societal point of view can be identified.

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