LCA integration in the construction industry: A case study of a sustainable building in aveiro university

Abstract

This work aims to apply Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of three structural solutions (mixed, steel and reinforced concrete) of a building in Aveiro University (Portugal), comparing two life spans for the building: 50 and 100 years. Designing a 100-year life span building requires structural materials with higher resistance and higher environmental impacts in construction phase than a 50-year design. Therefore, a detailed assessment of materials and environmental impacts for those two different life spans was performed. Data were collected on the amounts of materials consumed in each alternative and on the environmental impacts associated with the production of each material. The work concludes that the concrete alternative is environmentally more sustainable than the other two structural solutions. A sensitivity analysis can show whether the 100-year design could compensate for the 50-year design, particularly when the first one needs maintenance once, while the second one requires maintenance twice. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis helped finding out the reasons for uncertainty of LCA results, highlighting the need for a treatment and more sufficient maintenance actions avoiding using materials with high environmental impacts.