Editorial
27 November 2023
Paulo Santos
, Elena Lucchi
and
Salvatore Carlucci
Editorial: Global excellence in sustainable design and construction: Europe 2023
Editors
3
Impact
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Review
28 September 2022
Daniela Schenk
and
Ali Amiri
Around 40% of global energy consumption can be attributed to the construction sector. Consequently, the development of the construction industry towards more sustainable solutions and technologies plays a crucial role in the future of our planet. Various tools and methods have been developed to assess the energy consumption of buildings, one of which is life cycle energy analysis (LCEA). LCEA requires the energy consumption at each stage of the life cycle of a product to be assessed, enabling the comparison of the impact of construction materials on energy consumption. Findings from LCEAs of buildings suggest that timber framed constructions show promising results with respect to energy consumption and sustainability. In this study a critical analysis of 100 case studies from the literature of LCEAs conducted for residential buildings is presented. Based on the studied material, the embodied, operational, and demolition energies for timber, concrete and steel buildings are compared and the importance of sustainable material selection for buildings is highlighted. The results reveal that on average, the embodied energy of timber buildings is 28–47% lower than for concrete and steel buildings respectively. The mean and median values of embodied emissions are 2,92 and 2,97 for timber, 4.08 and 3,95 for concrete, and 5,55 and 5,53 GJ/m2 for steel buildings. Moreover, the data suggests that the energy supply system of residential buildings plays a larger role in the operational energy consumption that the construction material. In addition, climate conditions, insulation detail, windows and building surfaces, and building direction are the other energy use role players. Finally, it was found that the demolition energy contributes only a small amount to the total life cycle energy consumption. This study demonstrates the significance of embodied energy when comparing the life cycle energy requirements of buildings and highlights the need for the development of a more standardised approach to LCEA case studies.
Methods
03 October 2022
Peter Booth
and
Ljubomir Jankovic
3,601 views
2 citations
Original Research
19 September 2022
Biological growth as an alternative approach to on and off-Earth construction
Monika Brandić Lipińska
, 11 more and
Lynn J. Rothschild
A critical aspect of human space exploration and eventual settlement is the ability to construct habitats while minimizing payload mass launched from Earth. To respond to this challenge, we have proposed the use of fungal bio-composites for growing extra-terrestrial structures, directly at the destination, significantly lowering the mass of structural materials transported from Earth and minimizing the need for high mass robotic operations and infrastructure preparations. Throughout human history, the construction of habitats has used biologically produced materials, from bone and skins to wood and limestone. Traditionally, the materials are used only post-mortem. Currently, the idea of working with living biological organisms, and the phenomenon of growth itself, is of increasing interest in architecture and space applications. Here, we describe the use of mycelium-based composites as an alternative, biological approach for constructing regenerative and adaptive buildings in extrem environments and extraterrestrial habitats. It is a continuation of our research program initiated under the auspices of the “Myco-architecture Off Planet” NASA NIAC Team. These composites, which are fire-resistant, and insulating, do not consist of volatile organic compounds from petrochemical products and can be used independently or in conjunction with regolith, could employ the living biological growth in a controlled environment, for the process of material fabrication, assembly, maintenance, and repair, providing structures resilient to extra-terrestrial hazards. Here we outline the potential and challenges of using bio-composites for Earth and space applications. We describe how these might be addressed to make this biological approach feasible, providing new, growing materials for designing and building sustainable habitats, both on Earth and for long-duration space missions.
Farm buildings play a central role in the sustainability of the rural environment. Conceived to host biological productions, the farm building constitutes indeed an unparalleled example in the wide epistemological construction sector. Due to its peculiar interactions with the indoor and outdoor built environment, it raises architectural and technical issues different from other buildings. The role that these buildings have historically played is strictly connected with the surrounding context, due to the need of the farmer to live in close contact with agricultural land and animal husbandry. Human activities have then decisively influenced the rural environment as well as the visual perception of its landscape. The increasing sensitivity to the concept of sustainable development of the built environment is currently stimulating the valorization of farm buildings. In the present review paper, a general literature analysis of the peculiarity of farm buildings and their internal and external environmental conditions is presented. Several cases of survey, reuse and valorization of farm buildings around the world are reported as well, with special attention being paid to Southern Italy, where the results are extrapolated or generalized to other regions. Focus is also given to the wider opportunities enabled by the implementation of new technologies for the survey, analysis and planning of the interactions between farm buildings and the rural environment. The main conclusions are that farm buildings play a driving role in the rural environment, thanks to the ecological function they perform, as well as to their socio-economic and cultural heritage at the base of the rural development.