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Life-cycle thinking is a holistic approach to environmental and social issues. This approach is key to the sustainable construction concept. LCA (life-cycle analysis, or life-cycle assessment) is an important tool for use in applying-life-cycle thinking to building and construction. LCA can yield vital information on material and energy flows. Beca...
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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 sign...
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... The above broader focal points that emerged from the amalgamation of themes were reorganised to structure the five underpinning concepts, or pillars, of a 'RC4BE'. (2014) and Potting et al. (2017), to visualise the planning and design stage, where decisions made have a stronger effect to change the whole system (Kohler & Moffatt, 2003). ...
There is potential in applying the circular economy (CE) and regenerative design (RD) models for the redevelopment of urban areas as a response to the current linear and mechanistic practices that still contribute to exceeding planetary boundaries and reinforcing social inequalities. Despite these models' common roots, they are usually approached quite differently. A merged approach may be able to solve existing gaps and critiques. This paper reviews relevant CE and RD definitions linked to the urban context. An inductive content analysis to map and discuss existing themes is conducted , leading to a set of five underpinning pillars. The resulting 'Regenerative Circularity for the Built Environment' conceptual model adopts a systemic and positive impact approach that is the steppingstone for the development of a practical tool aiming to support urban stakeholders in the transition of existing neighbourhoods with strategies more suitable to their aims and notion of place.
Keywords: circular cities, circular economy, circularity, conceptual model, regenerative design and development, sustainable urban planning
... Environmental performance-based building design (EPBD) is a non-prescriptive and evidence-driven approach to achieving desirable building performance, including improved thermal comfort, daylighting, energy saving, and acoustics (Loftness et al., 2005;Hensen & Lamberts, 2011). EPBD has drawn increasing attention in architecture because early-phase design decision making has the most significant impact on the full spectrum of environmental building performance (Kohler & Moffatt, 2003;Kolarevic & Malkawi, 2005;Ataman & Dino, 2021). The performance-based understanding of architectural practices places a high priority on the work of optimal form finding as a basis for sustainable building (Wortmann, 2019a). ...
One of the critical limitations in architectural design optimization (ADO) is slow convergence due to high-dimensional and multi-scale variables. For the rapid and optimal digital prototyping of architectural forms, this paper proposes a novel metaheuristic optimization technique that hybridizes standard low-level algorithms: the differential evolutionary cuckoo search-integrated tabu-adaptive pattern search (DECS-TAPS). We compared DECS-TAPS to ten major standard algorithms and 31 hybrids through 14 benchmark tests and investigated multi-objective ADO problems to prove the computational effectiveness of multiple algorithm hybridization. Our findings show that DECS-TAPS is vastly efficient and superior to the covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy algorithm in multi-funnel and weak structural functions. The global sensitivity analysis demonstrated that integrating multiple algorithms is likely conducive to lowering parameter dependence and increasing robustness. For the practical application of DECS-TAPS in building simulation and design automation, Zebroid—a Rhino Grasshopper (GH) add-on—was developed using IronPython and the GH visual scripting language.
... This is applicable to both technical and non-technical research practice where critical leverage points help to avoid the side effect contained in it for the development of intended good practices (Jonas and German Narrative, 2018;Rittel and Webber, 1973;Vester, 2007b;GausemeierManagement, 1998). On the other hand, the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) has been prioritized for decision support for the built environment (Kohler and Moffatt, 2003;Oregi et al., 2015;Asif et al., 2007). The application of LCA-based decision support is only meaningful after the system problem is clearly known. ...
Building is a process of technology that enables human wellbeing by engaging a multitude of stakeholders. However, it is often seen in the literature that all stakeholders involved in the building process are disintegrated, which seems to be a management and systemic orientation problem when trying to address the built environment as a sustainable system design. That means the design and design aesthetics of any building cannot be simply influenced by technological revolution and efficiency improvements to attain the three pillars of sustainable development. A systemic transformation of the whole process is a pre-requisite, which is complex and oft underestimated mainly due to the lack of subjective characteristics involved available for transformation research, that addresses policy choice in the development of a paradigm shift. Addressing built environment as a system for transformation research practice, this study extensively reviewed the UNEP built environment report to identify global variables that define the roughly correct system as an artifact to be studied. The UNEP report covers the system level transformation requirement until 2003, which seems to be more or less the same in almost all the research studies as of now. Using the Vester Sensitivity Model, the roughly correct built environment as a system is analyzed to identify the future leverage potential and variables’ interdependency. The in-depth systems analysis indicates global variables Enabling condition and New material are potential system leveraging variables for built environment system transition to sustainable design, which require further scrutiny. The leveraging variables are influenced by other global variables which can only be negotiated for sustainable development goal actualization for future success.
... However, they may not be used efficiently. By modifying the designed model through applying fire safety measures proactively, costs are significantly reduced compared to changes in the construction and operation phases [3]. Due to diversity in costs and effects of fire safety measures, employing optimised measures are vital for stakeholders. ...
A significant number of injuries and fatalities occur annually due to fires in buildings. The proactive use of fire safety measures at the design stage can potentially lead to a considerable improvement in reducing casualties by assisting occupants in a safe evacuation. In this study, a framework is de ve lope d to obtain a set of appropriate fire safety measures while considering their effects on safe evacuation (i.e ., increasing the percentage of survived occupants) and budget limits. The framework consists of four phases, namely (1) initial preparation, (2) optimization with a meta-heuristic algorithm, (3) decision making when the designer should select appropriate measures considering the budget limit, and (4) applying the selected measures into BIM. A binary version of Billiards inspire d Optimisation Algorithm (BOA) is de ve lope d and utilizes d in the optimization phase. A case study approach is adopted for this research and the performance of the proposed framework is evaluated by implementing it in two case projects: a residential building and a hospital building. The results indicate that a framework is a beneficial approach for designers to modify building designs in terms of safe evacuation at the design stage by using fire safety measures effectively and economically. It is expected that the output of this framework will he lp de crease fatalities of building users during a fire.
... Chapter 1 Figure 1-9 The conceptual relationship between design decisions and the costs of the product during its life cycle (left) adapted from [200], and design options in the various stages of design procedure (right). ...
find the free access text in the link below:
http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8762630
... Singh et al. [29] reviewed the applications of LCA in building construction and attempted to address the reasons for fragmentation in the LCA reports previously published. The literature built on research previously conducted by Kohler and Moffatt [30] identified problems related to LCA methodologies. Problems raised included issues with assessing site-specific local impacts, differing model complexities, the uncertainty of long-term models and, in relation to buildings, the indoor environment design. ...
Sustainable construction and the design of low-carbon structures is a major concern for the UK construction industry. FRP composite materials are seen as a suitable alternative to traditional construction materials due to their high strength and light weight. Network Rail has developed a prototype for a new innovative footbridge made entirely from FRP with the aim of replacing the current steel design for footbridges. This study conducted a life cycle analysis of this novel composite footbridge design to quantify the cost and environmental benefits. An LCA and LCC analysis framework was used to analyse the environmental impacts and cost savings of the bridge throughout its lifespan from raw material extraction to its end of life. From the results of the LCA and LCC, the FRP footbridge sustainability was reviewed and compared to a standard steel footbridge. Due to the uncertainty of the fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) structure’s lifespan, multiple scenarios for longevity at the assets-use stage were studied. The study revealed that the FRP bridge offered substantial economic savings whilst presenting potentially worse environmental impacts, mainly caused by the impact of the production of FRP materials. However, our study also demonstrated the influences of uncertainties related to the glass-fibre-reinforced plastic (GFRP) material design life and end-of-life disposal on the whole life cycle analyses. The results show that if the FRP footbridge surpasses its original estimation for lifespan, the economic savings can be increased and the environmental impacts can be reduced substantially.
... Geekiyanage & Ramachandra (2018) discuss the significant factors influencing O&M costs, concluding that the greatest influence can be had in the design stage. This was demonstrated by Kohler & Moffatt (2003) who first mapped the stages of a construction project against the familiar graph of diminishing influence on cost over time (Figure 1) from project management theory. Figure 1: Phases of a building project and the diminishing influence on cost over time (Kohler & Moffatt 2003) With the increasing complexity of systems within buildings and infrastructure, as well as a trend towards the outsourcing of non-core business activities by organisations, facilities management (FM), only emerging as a formal profession since around the 1960s, is rapidly gaining significance (Sari 2018). ...
... This was demonstrated by Kohler & Moffatt (2003) who first mapped the stages of a construction project against the familiar graph of diminishing influence on cost over time (Figure 1) from project management theory. Figure 1: Phases of a building project and the diminishing influence on cost over time (Kohler & Moffatt 2003) With the increasing complexity of systems within buildings and infrastructure, as well as a trend towards the outsourcing of non-core business activities by organisations, facilities management (FM), only emerging as a formal profession since around the 1960s, is rapidly gaining significance (Sari 2018). ...
... Studies have shown that the architectural design has the highest potential for decreasing the environmental impacts and costs among the whole life-cycle process [1]. Plenty of studies have analysed the impact of geometry factors [2] including orientation, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), and room width-to-depth ratio, envelopes [3], façades, materials [4], and surroundings [5] on the building energy performance (BEP), and their results show that BEP is highly affected. ...
Numerous studies have shown that architectural design affects energy performance significantly. However, the effect of space layouts on building energy performance has not been fully analysed. In this paper, we aim to study the effect of space layouts on energy performance. An office building was used as the reference, and 11 layout variants were proposed and compared for energy performance. Three climates (temperate, cold and tropical) were inspected, with three typical cities (Amsterdam, Harbin and Singapore). Dynamic simulation was conducted for the energy performance assessment integrating daylighting simulation with energy simulation. For each layout, two situations were simulated: one has no shading system, and the other one has an exterior screen for shading. Based on the simulation results, it is found that lighting demand is affected the most by the layout variance, and the resulting maximum difference (difference divided by the highest demand) happens in Harbin, being 46% without shading and 35% with shading. Regarding the sum of the final energy for heating, cooling and lighting, using a heat pump system, the maximum difference is 8% for the layouts both without and with shading system occurring in Amsterdam.
... For instance, choosing a higher-strength concrete may improve durability but it has higher embodied energy and carbon due to a higher cement content. As illustrated in Figure 1.1, it is in the early design stages of a project, that many of these choices need to be made and that the possibilities to influence the sustainability outcome of a project are the greatest [21,22]. However, time is often limited to perform the design tasks and data and information available are very scarce at this stage of a project, which makes it difficult to assess the consequences of different design choices. ...
Being one of the sectors with the largest environmental burden and high socio-economic impacts sets high requirements on the construction industry. At the same time, this provides the sector with great opportunities to contribute to the globally pursued sustainability transition. To cope with the increasing need for infrastructure and, at the same time, limit their sustainability impacts, changes and innovation in the construction sector are required. The greatest possibility to limit the sustainability impact of construction works is at the early design phase of construction projects, as many of the choices influencing sustainability are made at that point. Traditionally, an early choice of a preferred design is often made based on limited knowledge and past experience, considering only a handful of options. This preferred design is then taken on to the successive stages in the stepwise design process, leading to suboptimization.
Alternatively, many different design choices could be considered and evaluated in a more holistic approach in order to find the most sustainable design for a particular application. However, finding design solutions that offer the best sustainability performance and fulfil all structural, performance and buildability requirements, require methods that allow considering different design options, analysing them, and assessing their sustainability. The aim of this thesis is to explore and develop methods enabling structural engineers to take sustainability objectives into account in the design of structures.
Throughout this thesis, a number of methods have been explored to take sustainability aspects into account in the structural design process. As a first step, highly parameterized computer codes for sustainability-driven design have been developed. These codes interoperate with FE analysis software to automatically model and analyse design concepts over the whole design space and verify compliance with structural design standards. The codes were complemented with a harmonized method for life cycle sustainability performance assessment, in line with the state-of-the-art standards. Here, sustainability criteria were defined covering environmental, social, economic, buildability and structural performance for multi-criteria assessment of design concepts. To identify the most sustainable designs within the set, multi-objective optimization algorithms were used. Algorithms that address the high expense of constraint function evaluations of structural design problems were developed and integrated in the parameterized computer codes for sustainability-driven design. To ensure the applicability and validity of these methods, case studies based on real-world projects and common structural engineering problems were used in this thesis. Case studies for bridges and wind turbine foundations as well as a benchmark case of a reinforced concrete beam were investigated.
The case studies highlight the potential of the methods explored to support the design of more sustainable structures, as well as the applicability of the methods in structural engineering practice. It is concluded that it is possible and beneficial to combine computational design, life cycle sustainability assessment, and multi-objective design optimization as a basis for decision making in the design phase of civil engineering projects. A wide adoption of such a sustainability-driven design optimization approach in structural engineering practice can directly improve the sustainability of the construction sector.
... Although most building assessment methods were developed to evaluate buildings already built or in later design stages, research and practice show that it is easier, cheaper, and more effective to implement sustainable concerns during early design stages, because most decisions that impact a building's sustainable performance take place during these stages [4]. In this sense, the most relevant goals should be established at the start of the project, with the definition of objectives and thresholds, against which design solutions' performance should be compared. ...
The major reason that promoted the development of systems to support environmental performance assessment of buildings was the effective realisation, in some countries, that they were unable to say how sustainable a building was. Later researchers and government agencies understood that assessment tools are the best method to demonstrate the level of sustainability of all types of constructions. These can improve the education for a sustainable society, because it can promote understanding between the principles of sustainable construction and the user. Within this, several countries have developed their own methods for sustainability assessment adapted to their reality and presenting them as capable of guiding the overall performance of this sector. Most of these methods are based on local rules and legislation, in locally conventional construction technologies, with the default weight of each indicator set according to the actual local socio-cultural, economic and environmental contexts. Through the years, these methods have contributed to the growth of the awareness about criteria and objectives of sustainability, and they have been improved to a more holistic approach. They become a reference to assess the sustainability of buildings in particular and construction in general.
This paper proposes to present the evolution of these methods after twenty-five years, comparing and critical analysing the most recognised ones. It will expose the results of comparation, regarding criteria, weights and final scores, and presented the new path these methods are now tracing. A new trend for method to support design rather than certifying an erected building is also presented. In conclusions it will be discussed the pros and cons of the appearance of them and their improvements.
