A data-driven parametric tool for under-specified LCA in the design phase

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is increasingly applied to evaluate the environmental performance of buildings. However, current tools for building LCA require detailed information not available in the decisive early design stages. As a result, LCA is usually applied as post-design evaluation and not used to improve the building design. The goal of this paper is to adapt the method of structured under-specified LCA to the Swiss context and implement it in a design-integrated tool. The users of the tool should be able to get a complete estimation of the life cycle impact based on very few inputs, such as building type, intended use and structural system. In addition, the tool should allow to replace these assumptions with more detailed information step by step throughout the design process. The paper describes the development of a structured database and a parametric tool. Furthermore, it exemplifies the intended workflow during the design process on a building design. The presented approach can be scaled up and adapted to the needs of other national contexts in the future. It facilitates environmental performance optimisation of buildings and supports making use of the big potential the building sector has regarding contributing towards climate action (UN SDG 13)

IEA EBC Annex 72: Assessing Life Cycle Related Environmental Impacts Caused by Buildings: Guidelines for design decision-makers:Energy in Buildings and Communities Technology Collaboration Programme

The purpose of this report is to provide support to the design decisions-makers during the design process. For each of the defined design step decision the important topics to consider were identified, the key stakeholders are declared and the purpose of LCA at the selected design step is defined. The report covers: The definition of the design steps, the definition of the tasks in each design step and an overview of the relevant milestones for performing LCA; An overview of the systematic building decomposition methods and the appropriate levels at each design step; An overview of the tools that can be used for LCA and a selection process for choosing the right LCA tool. A special emphasize is given to the topic of Building Information Modelling (BIM), how the BIM tools can facilitate the LCA assessment and what information should be implemented in the BIM model; Strategies on how to reduce the design-related uncertainties; An overview of the visualization of the LCA results and which are appropriate in the selected design steps

Light and modular construction as a model for the transformation of the built environment

The pursuit of lightness isn’t a new one. The ambition of lowering the amount of material used in construction started one century ago in the context of a shortage of housing and materials. With the urgency to build more homes and the requirement to use fewer resources, a number of pioneers are inventing alternative architecture approaches. They are Richard Buckminster Fuller, Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret, Albert Frey, Lawrence Kocher, Walter Gropius, Konrad Wachsmann, Jean Prouvé, Charles and Ray Eames, Makoto Masuzawa, Jorn Utzon… This book analyzes thirty or so of these experimental constructions built between 1920 and 2020 that reflect the development of lightweight construction in industrialized countries. This study conducted on thirty or so international projects reveals the potential and diversity of building systems that have been developed. It attests of the capacity of these architects to adapt to the techniques and expectations of their time. Each exploration is reread in its historical context through archives, films, and scale models that reflect approaches, techniques, and ways of inhabiting a home. Redesigned and decomposed following a protocol developed for this event by Philippe Rizzotti Architecte and the IBI laboratory of ETH Zürich, the corpus reveals correspondences and shared qualities. This inventory enables the quantifying of constructions, comparing of materials, analyzing of assemblies, and the classifying of all or part to bring about approaches that could be adapted in the future

A data-driven parametric tool for under-specified LCA in the design phase

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is increasingly applied to evaluate the environmental performance of buildings. However, current tools for building LCA require detailed information not available in the decisive early design stages. As a result, LCA is usually applied as post-design evaluation and not used to improve the building design. The goal of this paper is to adapt the method of structured under-specified LCA to the Swiss context and implement it in a design-integrated tool. The users of the tool should be able to get a complete estimation of the life cycle impact based on very few inputs, such as building type, intended use and structural system. In addition, the tool should allow to replace these assumptions with more detailed information step by step throughout the design process. The paper describes the development of a structured database and a parametric tool. Furthermore, it exemplifies the intended workflow during the design process on a building design. The presented approach can be scaled up and adapted to the needs of other national contexts in the future. It facilitates environmental performance optimisation of buildings and supports making use of the big potential the building sector has regarding contributing towards climate action (UN SDG 13).ISSN:1755-1315ISSN:1755-130

Design-integrated Life Cycle Assessment using BIM (BIM-LCA): Final report

The project aims to develop BIM-based method for design integrated life cycle assessment during the planning phase, starting in the crucial early design phases. The research provides a critical review and understanding of the current BIM, LCA and code of practice for architects and engineers. In doing so it presents possible workflows (some developed as part of this research and some from the existing research in the field of BIM LCA) for each phase of design that allow for ease of application and adoption in the design practice. Furthermore, approaches to handle uncertainty in early design phases and visualisation categories and their influence in decision-making process has been discussed. The key outcomes of the project are outlined as below: 1) A description of the current situation on design needs and tools used by designers (architects and engineers) in Switzerland as well as an understanding of the LCA data used. 2) A method for BIM-based LCA in early design stages including methods to visualize the results in an intuitive way that allows designers to use the information to optimize the building. Furthermore, approaches to deal with uncertainty in early design stages have been provided. 3) Guidelines on BIM-based LCA in early design stages directed to architects and engineers, but also software developers and national organizations (SIA, ecobau, Minergie, etc.)