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THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF SERVICE LIFE EXTENSION OF BUILDINGS COMPONENTS WITH TRANSFORMABLE DESIGN STRATEGIES



Author(s): Paduart, A., Temmerman, N. De and Vandenbroucke, M.
Paper category: Conference
Book title: XIII International Conference on Durability of Building Materials and Components - XIII DBMC
Editor(s): Marco Quattrone, Vanderley M. John
Print ISBN: none
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-149-0
Publication year: 2015
Pages: 304-311
Total Pages: 8
Language: English


Abstract: While researchers and scientists are providing tools to architects and engineers concerning the technical or economic service life prediction of building assemblies, the influence of evolving functional or socio-economic needs are often forgotten. Besides replacement of building components, residential buildings are also challenged to deal with plan alterations, building transformation or even renovation in order to keep up with changing comfort and thermal standards. This means that predicted service lives of building components may be reduced by these early interventions if no additional measures are taken in the way buildings are initially designed and assembled. Therefore, this paper deals with design strategies which extend the useful life of building components. It is analyzed to what extent transformable design strategies - in which reversible connection techniques are combined with reusable building materials - can prolong the use of buildings materials and thereby optimize environmental benefits during the total building life cycle.

The study reveals that this approach can result in major reductions of the environmental life cycle impacts when applied to relevant building layers. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results show that transformable design strategies significantly reduce both material consumption and waste production for building layers with high functional turnovers. The results illustrate how for well-chosen practical applications, reversible assembly techniques and reusable building components support resource-efficient construction. Further development in the field of transformable building design consequently offers architects and engineers alternative solutions for today’s sustainable building practice with environmental benefits over a life cycle perspective.


Online publication: 2015
Publication Type: full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00


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