Environmental impacts of early stage structure choices using Life Cycle Assesment

Abstract

In France, embodied carbon represents 35% [1] of the total green house gases emissions from the construction sector. This proportion can reach up to 70% when considering recent buildings [2]. Diminishing environmental impacts of building’s construction and demolition prove to be necessary to reach European environmental agreements. In particular, structural elements account for a large portion of material quantity and environmental impacts [3]. This article assesses building structures impacts in order to determine the importance of early stage decisions for the construction of housing and office buildings. To study the influence of materials, span and grid choices on the structure environmental impact, it combines the INIES database  (French Environmental Product Declaration database) and parametric buildings built with a set of precalculated structural elements composed of beams, columns, floor systems and foundations. Using Life Cycle Assesment (LCA) provides a more comprehensive picture of environmental impacts, expanding common energy analysis. Results are mostly influenced by structural typology and materials, and to a lesser extent by grid choices and span.  Structural solutions can also better perform for a particular indicator while presenting higher impacts for another. It proves the necessity for designers to carry out holistic analysis.

[1] Pellan, M. et al. (Sept. 2022). “A Holistic Perspective on the French Building and Construction GHG Footprint”. In: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1078.1, p. 012049. issn: 1755-1315. doi: 10.1088/ 1755-1315/1078/1/012049. url: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755- 1315/1078/1/012049

[2] « Performance Énergétique des Bâtiments Neufs ». consulted 14/10/2022. url : http://observatoire.batiment-energiecarbone.fr/statistiques/experimentation-en-chiffres/#.

[3] Qarout, Layla, "Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Building Materials: Embodied Energy Analysis of a High-performance Building" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 1530. url : https://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2535&context=etd