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Many studies concerning lowering the Operational Energy (OE) of existing dwellings have been conducted. However, those studies barely cover its collateral Embodied Energy (EE). As the Circular Economy is gaining momentum and the balance between OE and EE is shifting, the Life Cycle Energy Performance (LCEP) is becoming increasingly relevant as an i...
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... has already been applied successfully in the built environment, bringing ample opportunities for innovation in engineering and architectural design (Badarnah, 2015). As an example, Figure 2 shows a building located in Harare, Zimbabwe, designed by architect Mick Pearce. Inspired by a termite mound system, this building is entirely cooled by natural ventilation. ...
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... heating and hot water system were changed from a gas-heated radiator to an air heat pump. The U-values of the new building elements input in Uniec are shown in Table 2. (Innodura, 2021)) on the south-orientated roof was included, corresponding to the available area of the south-oriented roof, resulting in a peak PV power of 5 kWp. The output energy per year from the PV modules implementation was calculated using PVGIS and discounted from the OE 2 . ...
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... at reusing these wooden beams in the least processed manner possible, this study proposes sawing the beams into two parts and using them directly as the structure for the insulation material. The proposed process from the roof structure (waste from demolition) to the insulation structure is shown in Figure 12. After developing an insulation application based on the urban mining strategy, a open-joint ventilate façade based both on the urban mining and biomimicry concepts was developed in this study. ...
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... would bring significant energy savings and, consequently, a significant reduction in CO 2 emission rates. As the next step in this research, a mock-up has been developed to validate the results, as shown in Figure 20. In this mock-up, the designed façade is compared with already existing ventilated façade products in the market and the existing façade (as scenario 1). ...
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Citations
... Refs. Industrial symbiosis: Several studies mention multiple co-benefits of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) approach for CE [33][34][35][36] Renovation: CE is deemed relevant for renovation projects to reduce constructions' environmental impact [37][38][39][40][41][42] Adaptive reuse of cultural heritage: Concept that has diversified applicability for CE [40,[43][44][45] Replace as an additional R principle: Additional mainstream approach in CE principles [ ...
... Industrial symbiosis: Several studies mention multiple co-benefits of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) approach for CE [33][34][35][36] Renovation: CE is deemed relevant for renovation projects to reduce constructions' environmental impact [37][38][39][40][41][42] Adaptive reuse of cultural heritage: Concept that has diversified applicability for CE [40,[43][44][45] Replace as an additional R principle: Additional mainstream approach in CE principles [46] Design for disassembly: Environmental benefits from the design of components designed for disassembly to facilitate better applicability of life cycle assessment [37,40,47] Zero waste: Educational practices designed to promote changes in user behavior to support CE [48] Practices Construction and Demolition waste: CE applied to CDW represents an important strategy with social and economic benefits [41,[49][50][51][52][53][54][55] Urban mining: As powerful means to help CE in constructions [51,[56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63] Upcycling: As novel and positive way to reach a high-quality reuse in buildings [63] Material bank: Key to facilitate CE spread [64] By-products/secondary materials market: Useful practice to integrate the policy on the efficiency of materials during production and consumption [40,52,59,63,65] Deconstruction practices and hub: A key optimization in CE to limit the resource demand and structural waste [66,67] Tools Green Public Procurement: GPP as strategic tool to achieve CE objectives [11] Material passport: (MP) as a useful tool for CE [59,68] Digitalization (including BIM, GIS): Digitalization as a support to CE; including BIM or GIS with info about building component lifespan and recycling potential [50,65,[69][70][71] Carbon footprint: Carbon footprint indicator among the most recurrent metric for CE [34] Material circularity indicator: Among the most used indicators in the circular economy, complementary to LCA [72] Materials Water reuse in constructions: Towards a circular model in the water sector, the configuration of future water infrastructure changes through the integration of grey and green infrastructure [73] Nature-based solutions: Nature-based solutions for CE to contrast the negative urbanization impact [73,74] Wood up-cycling: Need to improve the applicability of life cycle assessment in a normative context [75] Circular concrete: Circular concrete is mainstream [50,76,77] Urban vertical farms: Urban vertical farms and CE benefits for dwellings [78] ...
... Industrial symbiosis: Several studies mention multiple co-benefits of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) approach for CE [33][34][35][36] Renovation: CE is deemed relevant for renovation projects to reduce constructions' environmental impact [37][38][39][40][41][42] Adaptive reuse of cultural heritage: Concept that has diversified applicability for CE [40,[43][44][45] Replace as an additional R principle: Additional mainstream approach in CE principles [46] Design for disassembly: Environmental benefits from the design of components designed for disassembly to facilitate better applicability of life cycle assessment [37,40,47] Zero waste: Educational practices designed to promote changes in user behavior to support CE [48] Practices Construction and Demolition waste: CE applied to CDW represents an important strategy with social and economic benefits [41,[49][50][51][52][53][54][55] Urban mining: As powerful means to help CE in constructions [51,[56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63] Upcycling: As novel and positive way to reach a high-quality reuse in buildings [63] Material bank: Key to facilitate CE spread [64] By-products/secondary materials market: Useful practice to integrate the policy on the efficiency of materials during production and consumption [40,52,59,63,65] Deconstruction practices and hub: A key optimization in CE to limit the resource demand and structural waste [66,67] Tools Green Public Procurement: GPP as strategic tool to achieve CE objectives [11] Material passport: (MP) as a useful tool for CE [59,68] Digitalization (including BIM, GIS): Digitalization as a support to CE; including BIM or GIS with info about building component lifespan and recycling potential [50,65,[69][70][71] Carbon footprint: Carbon footprint indicator among the most recurrent metric for CE [34] Material circularity indicator: Among the most used indicators in the circular economy, complementary to LCA [72] Materials Water reuse in constructions: Towards a circular model in the water sector, the configuration of future water infrastructure changes through the integration of grey and green infrastructure [73] Nature-based solutions: Nature-based solutions for CE to contrast the negative urbanization impact [73,74] Wood up-cycling: Need to improve the applicability of life cycle assessment in a normative context [75] Circular concrete: Circular concrete is mainstream [50,76,77] Urban vertical farms: Urban vertical farms and CE benefits for dwellings [78] ...
As the construction sector is one of the most carbon-intensive and resource-intensive industries, the necessity for a transition from a linear to a circular economy is widely acknowledged. Aimed at facilitating the transition, several policy frameworks, operational tools and assessment instruments have been developed in recent decades. Nevertheless, the integration of circularity in the construction sector remains constrained and haphazard, frequently focusing solely on the production phase and neglecting the comprehensive impacts within the overall process. The detected gap between theoretical framework and practical implementation is reflected by the limited coordination between policies and tools, which creates a significant obstacle to the adoption of consistent and effective practices. A dual analysis is conducted, comprising two parallel domains: an investigation of a circular policy theoretical framework in urban environments through a literature review, and an analysis of practice-oriented tools through resilience assessment and green building rating systems. As a result, common ground and shared targets are identified between the two scopes, as well as contrasts and inconsistencies that require further attention. These are classified according to their role as barriers or drivers of change, and recommendations for synergistic improvement between policies and tools are provided.
... A core feature of DfD involves the seamless separation of materials from the building at any stage and throughout its life cycle [60], allowing for future repair, reuse, adaptive reuse of the building, and incorporation of reclaimed materials into new construction projects [51]. Ease of disassembly offers numerous opportunities for building materials to have a second life, maintaining higher quality and minimising damages during the disassembly process [45,50,61,62]. As Talla and McIlwaine [23] highlighted, "Design for Deconstruction" streamlines disassembly and material recovery. ...
The construction industry significantly consumes natural resources and generates substantial waste due to linear supply chain practices. Circular economy strategies are essential for extending material lifespans and promoting regeneration. Material reclamation is a central strategy for implementing circularity, yet its practical application remains limited. The purpose of this research is to identify the factors hindering building material circularity and propose measures to overcome them. This paper aims to explore the prerequisites and obstacles to material reclamation in the construction industry to foster its transition into a circular economy. A systematic literature review of 74 papers was conducted using data from Scopus, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, and Web of Science, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The review identified eight key themes related to achieving material circularity, with design, informational, and technological factors receiving top priority in researchers’ focus. Data availability emerged as a critical prerequisite, while the primary obstacle is the lack of data traceability throughout the building materials' lifecycle. This study concludes that digitalizing the material supply chain can address data unavailability and most of the identified obstacles. Ultimately, comprehensive material data will support the stakeholders in making solid circular decisions. This research provides guidance to construction industry stakeholders to overcome recognised obstacles and promote essential prerequisites of material circularity where no such information currently exists, to facilitate the transition to a circular construction industry.
... (Adekunye and Oke, 2022;Austin et al., 2020). Some consider it crucial to architecture for sustainable building designs (Baumgartner, 2013;Bitar et al., 2022). Bio-mimetic architecture mimics natural forms, processes, and ecosystems to create innovative and sustainable designs (Blanco et al., 2021). ...
Biomimicry is increasingly being used to drive sustainable constructional development in recent years. By emulating the designs and processes of nature, biomimicry offers a wealth of opportunities to create innovative and environmentally friendly solutions. Biomimicry in industrial development: versatile applications, advantages in construction. The text emphasizes the contribution of bio-mimetic technologies to sustainability and resilience in structural design, material selection, energy efficiency, and sensor technology. Aside from addressing technical constraints and ethical concerns, we address challenges and limitations associated with adopting biomimicry. A quantitative research approach is implemented, and respondents from the construction industry rank biomimicry principles as the optimal approach to enhance sustainability in the industry. Demographic and descriptive analyses are underway. By working together, sharing knowledge, and innovating responsibly, we suggest approaches to tackle these obstacles and fully leverage the transformative power of biomimicry in promoting sustainable construction industry practices. In an evolving global environment, biomimicry reduces environmental impact and enhances efficiency, resilience, and competitiveness in construction industries.
... Because of this potential, prefab construction products such as prefabricated building envelope elements have gained growing interest in both science and industry. Bitar, Bergmans & Ritzen (2022) emphasized in their study that assessing Life Cycle Energy Performance (LCEP) is becoming increasingly relevant, accounting for all the operational and embodied carbon exposure during the entire lifespan of a building. Their key finding was that a substantial LCEP is possible close to 100% for a zero-energy building retrofit with circular prefabricated building elements. ...
... For example, it has been found that applying DfD strategies to facilitate material reuse can lead to increased initial impact due to greater energy and resource consumption (Roberts et al., 2023). Bitar et al., (2022) emphasized that future research should address the trade-off between embodied carbon and DfD. This particularly calls for empirical studies validating 'systemic' frameworks assessing circularity in the construction industry (Attia and Al-Obaidy, 2021;Lam et al., 2022). ...
... This is especially relevant for components that age more rapidly than parts they interface with or that improve faster, for example, due to higher innovation clock speeds, leading to an opportunity for modular upgrades of the system. As indicated by previous studies, the two most prominent indicators to take into consideration are the design for disassembly index and embodied carbon to subsequently assess the potential to replace, reclaim, and reuse valuable construction materials and reduce the overall environmental footprint (Juaristi et al., 2022;Bitar et al., 2022). ...
Buildings and the construction industry at large are significant contributors to the catastrophic climate breakdown. The built environment is responsible for 37% of the total global carbon emission, of which about a third arises from the energy used to produce building and construction materials, usually referred to as embodied carbon. One of the key strategies to reduce the environmental impact of buildings is to significantly improve their energy efficiency, which is referred to as deep renovation. Prefabricated building envelope elements intended to prevent heat loss through the building envelope are considered a key deep-renovation technology. Connecting prefabricated elements to a building reflects a potential stream of waste if applied linearly with severe negative environmental impact in terms of natural resource depletion and exposure to pollutants. This article reports on a quantitative Design for Disassembly (Dfd) indicator to assess future recovery potential and, subsequently, its impact on embodied carbon emission of the circular redesign of three different prefabricated building envelope elements. Although none of the redesigned elements are yet considered 100% circular, the development of these three prefabricated building envelope elements showcases that the environmental impact can be substantially reduced following a well-structured and dedicated innovation process. The reduction of the environmental impact is indicated by lower quantities of embodied carbon up to 50% and an improved design for disassembly, reflecting a higher reuse potential of building materials and components. Several limitations and directions for further research were identified to advance the development of circular, prefabricated deep-renovation building envelope elements.
Resumo Abusca pela sustentabilidade na construção civil incentiva estratégias de projetos, sendo uma das principais a economia circular. Dentro da economia circular se observam algumas ferramentas, sendo o foco deste artigo avaliar como o projeto para desmontagem e o projeto para desconstrução podem apoiar a economia circular na construção civil. Para alcançar tal objetivo, foi utilizada uma metodologia quantitativa e qualitativa, por meio de uma revisão sistemática de literatura. Do ponto de vista quantitativo, foram verificados os países, periódicos e ano de publicação dos trabalhos. Referente à análise qualitativa, foi realizada uma análise de conteúdo dos artigos publicados entre 2019 e 2023, nos quais se analisou que os projetos para desmontagem e desconstrução são duas das principais ferramentas da economia circular para promover a reutilização direta dos componentes da construção, evitando o despejo de resíduos, e preservando o carbono incorporado aos produtos. Ainda, como contribuição do artigo para o avanço científico na área, foi elaborada uma matriz SWOT para avaliação das principais forças, fraquezas, oportunidades e ameaças ao processo, visando popularizar o projeto para a desmontagem e desconstrução como ferramenta para atingir uma construção circular.
A systematic literature review is an objective method to critically evaluate current understanding in the field of building façades. Due to the topical nature of climate change and its impact on the design and performance of facades, the review will critically evaluate selected studies on their ability to respond to current climate (climate-responsiveness) and future climate changes. The study focuses on residential façades since a lack of research was identified for residential (64 studies) compared to commercial façades (255 studies). The study employs the PRISMA model to identify 105 relevant studies. These were analysed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current body of literature on residential façades. Common focus domains were grouped into following research clusters: aesthetics, acoustics, structure, sustainability, pathology, thermal comfort, and natural ventilation, energy efficiency and building performance. Two types of research gaps were identified, gaps by climate and building height, and authors’ self-reported gaps. Reported research gaps were grouped into 3 categories: data, methodology and theory. Quantitative building performance has been thoroughly studied. However, the impact of human behaviour, elements of future change, and climate change on building performance present research gaps which require further investigation. Moreover, only 15 studies (14.3%) were conducted for a tropical climate, and only 8 (7.6%) studies investigated high-rise buildings. High-density megacities and high-rise buildings will become more common, and mainly concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions. It is, therefore, important to research how residential façades should be designed for high-rise buildings in hot climates considering future change. The critical evaluation assesses whether and how these studies address climate change and extreme weather. Additionally, socio-economic changes are important. Land scarcity, increasing real estate values, and shrinking family size could lead to smaller flat sizes. Future work may consider the delicate balance between façade ratio, flat size, energy, cost, and comfort.
A growing trend in the construction of high-rise buildings is currently prevalent in Belgrade, where more high-rise buildings have been built in the last decade than in the previous 50 years. However, these buildings have a significant negative impact on the environment, as their sophisticated construction technologies demand substantial resources and energy consumption. The aim of this research is to assess the possibility of reducing the resource consumption of these buildings, focusing on the circularity potential of their fa?ades. The research is conducted on typical fa?ades of high-rise buildings in Belgrade. The applied methodology for assessing the circular potential of fa?ades relies on numerical calculations of material circularity indicators and CO2 emissions. Research findings draw conclusions about the circular potential at the beginning and end of the fa?ade's lifecycle, covering the production, dismantling and disposal phases of integrated components. The study highlights differences in resource consumption based on the architectural characteristics of the examined fa?ades and provides insights for their improvement through the implementation of materials with higher circularity potential and optimized impacts on the environment.