Life Cycle Models of Buildings — A New Approach

Abstract

The idea of life cycle cost was developed a quarter of a century ago. A wide dissemination of the term was given through a report for the US Secretary of Defense "Life Cycle Cost in Equipment Procuration". This report was followed by a series of guide lines in the defense field and later on in other government activities. The basic definition of life cycle costs is: "The sum of all costs incurred during the lifetime of an item, i.e. the total of procurement and ownership costs". There are several life cycle costs models available in literature. In the building field attempts have been made to introduce the notion of life cycle costs mainly through building surveys and for public owned buildings. Recorded data of construction, refurbishment and maintenance costs of buildings show that over a 50 year period the total costs amount to approximate twice the investment costs (without financial costs).