LCA-based methodological framework for comparative environmental assessment of new buildings

This study aims to implement a methodological framework to guide construction community stakeholders in conducting comparative environmental assessments of new building systems and solutions at the design stage. The study proceeds on the basis that the design of a new structure starts with specific requirements, above all those which include national technical standards. We apply the proposed framework for the comparative life-cycle assessment (LCA) of a residential building selected as a case study; three different structural materials are compared, namely reinforced concrete (RC), steel, and wood. Starting with functional, architectural, and structural requirements, the building is designed and validated to take into account how structural design choices change depending on each building material type. A cradle-To-grave LCA study is conducted for the three alternative structures using SimaPro software; EPD2008 methodology is used to quantify environmental impacts; these include: global warming, ozone layer depletion, photochemical oxidation, acidification, eutrophication, and non-renewable energy.