integration of life cycle assessment and early stage building design

John Basbagill

Integrating Life Cycle

Assessment into Early

Stage Building Design

October 5, 2012

Pavle Bujanovic

Advisors

Michael Lepech Martin Fischer Doug Noble

Outline

Validation

1

Research Approach 3

4

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Motivation

Next Steps 5

2 Intuition

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3 of 36

1 2

3

4

Conceptual Design

Design Development

Construction Administration

Operation

1

2

3

4

Ability to impact cost

Cost of design changes

Traditional design process

Preferred design process

Design Stage

Imp

ac

t Motivation 1

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Motivation 1

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Faça

de

Cladding

Louvers

Glazing

Framing

Fins

Level 1 (class)

Level 2 (sub-component)

Level 3 (category)

Level 4 (property)

Level 5 (type)

Material

Met

al

No

n-

Ferr

ou

s

met

als

Level 6 (processing)

Level 7 (specific database entry)

Ferr

ou

s m

etal

s

Alu

min

um

St

eel

Iro

n Iron cast

Iron pig Iron scrap Steel chromium

Iron4

Steel sheet

Steel coil

Steel unalloyed

Aluminum shaped

Aluminum primary

Cast iron, at plant/RER U Iron, sand casted/US Ferrite, at plant/GLO U Iron and steel, production mix/US

Building Component

Pig iron, at plant/GLO U

Iron scrap, at plant/RER U

Chromium steel 18/8, at plant/RER U Steel, electric, chromium steel 18/8 Steel, converter, chromium steel 18/8 Cold rolled sheet, steel, at plant/RNA Hot rolled sheet, steel, at plant/RNA

Stainless steel hot rolled coil, annealed & pickled

Steel hot rolled coil, blast furnace route

Steel, electric, un- and low-alloyed, at plant

Steel, converter, unalloyed, at plant

Aluminum extrusion profile

Aluminum sheet, primary prod., semi-finished sheet product

Aluminum, primary, at plant Aluminum, primary, liquid, at plant Aluminum, primary, ingot, at plant Aluminum, primary, smelt, at plant

Galvanized steel sheet, at plant/RNA

Syst

em

Motivation 1 6 of 36

Intuition 2

Life cycle assessment integrated with optimization

methods can help designers understand which

design parameters drive a building’s impacts

7 of 36

Research Approach 3

Determine scope

of decisions

· materials

· sizes

· design variables

· life cycle phases

Develop material

quantity heuristics Provide feedback

1

Perform

sensitivity

analysis

2 3 4

Validate

5

• retrospective case studies

Which design elements drive a building’s life cycle impacts?

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Research Approach 3

Determine scope

of decisions

· materials

· sizes

· design variables

· life cycle phases

Develop material

quantity heuristics

Provide feedback

1

Perform

sensitivity

analysis

2 3 4

Validate

5

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Material and Size Choices 3

• Uniformat 2010

(A) Substructure

(B) Shell

(C) Interiors (D) Services

(E) Equipment and Furnishings

(F) Special Construction and Demolition

(G) Sitework

• RSMeans

• equipment supplier documentation

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Building Component Classification Framework Uniformat

element

Assembly Sub-components Number of

material choices Min (m) Max (m)

Thickness

A: Substructure

B: Shell

C: Interiors

D: Services

piles

footings

mat foundation

columns and beams

floor structure

roof

stairs cladding

exterior walls

glazing

doors

partitions

doors

wall finishes

flooring ceiling

mechanical

electrical

plumbing

fire conveying

piles, vapor barrier, caps, slab-on-grade,

grade beam, rebar, formwork

footings, vapor barrier, slab-on-grade,

grade beam, rebar, formwork

foundation, vapor barrier

stairs, railings

wall structure, insulation, membrane,

gypsum, paint

glass, polyvinyl butyral, frame, hardware door, hardware partition structure, gypsum, paint

door, hardware

covering, paint

surface, insulation

plaster, gypsum, paint

17 sub-components

16 sub-components

22 sub-components

4 sub-components

elevator

2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1

1, 2

10 12 10, 5, 1, 1 3, 3

7

5, 1, 1, 1, 1

1, 1, 5, 1

3, 1

2, 1, 1

2, 1 2, 1

9, 13

1, 1, 1

1 1

1

1

1

0.1 0.4

0.1 0.4

0.2 1.8

0.02 0.08

0.007 0.02

0.4 0.6

0.009 0.02

0.006 0.02

0.1 0.2

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

n/a n/a

3

roof structure, membrane, insulation, paint

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Design Variables 3

• literature review

(1) window-to-wall ratio (WWR)

(2) orientation

(3) massing parameters: length, width, height

(4) materials

(5) building component size ranges

• parameterized

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Life Cycle Phases 3

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Research Approach 3

Determine scope

of decisions

· materials

· sizes

· design variables

· life cycle phases

Develop material

quantity heuristics

Provide feedback

1

Perform

sensitivity

analysis

2 3 4

Validate

5

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Material Quantity Heuristics

• material quantity equations (231)

3

• estimators at Beck Technology

• independent variables (7) length, width, orientation, WWR, # floors, materials, size ranges

• dependent variables (9)

perimeter, slab perimeter, slab area, roof area, height, glazing area, # interior grid intersections,

# exterior grid intersections, floor GFA

• assumptions (6) floor-to-floor height, bay spacing, door area, material densities, building lifetime, building type

• building components (21)

• required inputs (2)

gross floor area, location

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Material Quantity Heuristics

(1)Equation

A10 Foundations

Uniformat Code

A1010.90200.PC 0.2 * density * slab area poured concrete footing

A1020.8010.FW wood formwork for

grade beams

4 * thickness * perimeter

B2010.2010.ST

B2010.2040.WG

density * thickness * (1-WWR) * perimeter * height

10.76 * (GFA + roof area)

B20 Exterior vertical enclosures

C2030.2010.CR ceramic floor tile

C10 Interior Construction

density * thickness * GFA

density * thickness * GFA

Material

steel cladding

WF column/glulam beam

C2030.2010.ST stone floor tile

density * thickness * GFA C2030.2010.CM cement facing tile with fiber

3

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Research Approach 3

Determine scope

of decisions

· materials

· sizes

· design variables

· life cycle phases

Develop material

quantity heuristics

Provide feedback

1

Perform

sensitivity

analysis

2 3 4

Validate

5

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Design-Feedback Method

Pre-

operational

CO2e

Energy

simulation

MRR

Schedule

Pre-

operational

cost

Operational

CO2e

Operational

cost

Life-cycle

CO2e

Life-cycle

cost

Optimizer

1

2 3

4 1,4

2 5

5

6

1 = DProfiler

2 = Athena,

SimaPro

3 = eQUEST

4 = CostLab

5 = Excel

6 = ModelCenter

Software Implementation Key

Building

information

model 1

3

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3: Cost

Pre-

operational

CO2e

Energy

simulation

MRR

Schedule

Pre-

operational

cost

Operational

CO2e

Operational

cost

Life-cycle

CO2e

Life-cycle

cost

Optimizer

1

2 3

4 1,4

2 5

5

6

1 = DProfiler

2 = Athena,

SimaPro

3 = eQUEST

4 = CostLab

5 = Excel

6 = ModelCenter

Software Implementation Key

Building

information

model 1

Research Phases

2: Operational

1: Embodied

3

Impacts by Phase

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BUILDING SYSTEM

BUILDING LIFE CYCLE PHASE

Pre-Operational

Operational

A: Substructure B: Shell C: Interiors D: Services G: Building

Sitework

E: Equipment

& Furnishings

Cost

Impact

Cost

Impact

Utilities

MRR

Beck Technology

Cost Lab

eQuest Utilities

MRR

Beck Technology

Data Sources

Athena / SimaPro

Athena / SimaPro

3

3: Cost

2: Operational

1: Embodied

Impacts by Phase

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Research Approach 3

Determine scope

of decisions

· materials

· sizes

· design variables

· life cycle phases

Develop material

quantity heuristics

Provide feedback

1

Perform

sensitivity

analysis

2 3 4

Validate

5

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Sensitivity Analysis Schemes 3

Which design parameters consistently drive building impacts?

Impact Allocation: determines where building impacts lie

Impact Reduction: shows degree to which changes to design

parameters affect impacts

3: Cost

2: Operational

Impacts by Phase

1: Embodied

sampling very large number of building design alternatives

by phase

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Research Approach 3

Determine scope

of decisions

· materials

· sizes

· design variables

· life cycle phases

Develop material

quantity heuristics

Provide feedback

1

Perform

sensitivity

analysis

2 3 4

Validate

5

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Case Study: US Government Building, Middle East 4

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Case Study SCOPE

(1) Housing buildings

OBJECTIVES

(1) Minimize life-cycle cost

(2) Minimize carbon footprint

CONSTRAINTS

(1) Gross floor area (2) Location (3) Building type

DESIGN SPACE SIZE

Possible design configurations: 1.46E11

4

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(1) Number of buildings: 3 or 4

VARIABLES a b

c d

e

f

(3) Number of stories: 5, 6, 7, or 8

(2) Orientation

(4) Building footprint: H-shape

Sensitivity Analysis

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4

(5) WWR

Life

Cy

cle

Co

st (

USD

, M

illio

ns)

Carbon Footprint (met tons CO2e)

275k 280k 285k 290k 295k 165

180

195

210

225

+

KEY

Baseline

Lowest Cost

Lowest Carbon Footprint

3 Buildings, 5 Stories

3 Buildings, 6 Stories

3 Buildings, 7 Stories

3 Buildings, 8 Stories

4 Buildings, 5 Stories

4 Buildings, 6 Stories

4 Buildings, 7 Stories

4 Buildings, 8 Stories

285k

4 Results: Life Cycle Cost vs. Carbon Footprint

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Results: Base Design Configuration

Life-Cycle Performance

Capital

Operational

Baseline

Number of buildings: 4

Number of floors: 8

Glazing: 15%

Baseline

COST (USD, Millions) IMPACT (met ktns. CO2e)

198 286

Design Cycle Duration: 4 wks

Number of cycles: 1

Process Efficiency

10 of 18

4

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Results: Design 1560 Configuration

Life-Cycle Performance

Capital

Operational

Baseline Design1560

Number of buildings: 3

Number of floors: 6

Baseline Design1560

140 122

58 48

27 26

259 250

(-14%) (-5%)

COST (USD, Millions) IMPACT (met ktns. CO2e)

Design Cycle Duration: 7 s

Number of cycles: 21,360

Process Efficiency

4

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4 Sensitivity Analysis SCOPE

(1) Housing buildings

OBJECTIVES

(1) Calculate impact allocation scheme

(2) Calculate impact reduction scheme

VARIABLES

(1) Number of buildings (3 or 4)

(2) Number of stories (5, 6, 7, or 8)

(3) Building orientation (0-360°)

(4) Building shape

(5) Window-to-wall ratio (0.15-0.50)

(6) Materials

(7) Sizes

CONSTRAINTS

(1) Gross floor area (2) Location (3) Building type

DESIGN SPACE SIZE

(1) Materials: 1.24E14 (2) Sizes: 5.66E10 (3) Total design space: 2.38E16

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Decision

number Assembly

Impact Reduction

(% max embodied impact)

Min Max

Whole building 62.95 74.94

1 Cladding 38.86 59.70

2 Substructure 29.71 44.23

3 Partitions 22.89 32.03

4 Flooring surface 16.11 21.75

5 Floor structural

assembly

10.76 17.28

6 Column and beams 6.50 14.52

7 Window assembly 5.39 8.37

8 Wall assembly 3.14 4.78

9 Wall finishes 1.41 2.97

10 Mechanical system 0.71 1.03

11 Roof assembly 0.32 1.00

12 Stairs 0.07 0.12

13 Interior doors 0.01 0.03

14 Exterior doors 0 0

4 Sensitivity Analysis Results (phase 1: embodied)

Whole Building

Cladding

Substructure

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5 Next Steps

Determine scope

of decisions

· materials

· sizes

· design variables

· life cycle phases

Develop material

quantity heuristics

Provide feedback

1

Perform

sensitivity

analysis

2 3 4

Validate

5

Impacts by Phase

3: Cost

2: Operational

1: Embodied

• case study

• charrette

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5 Next Steps

probability

Impact (kg CO2e)

entire building

WWR

orientation

length

cladding material

SCOPE

SAMPLING METHODS

(1) orthogonal array (2) Latin hypercube

DESIGN SPACE SIZE

2.38E16

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5 Next Steps

Impact

Reduced/$

% Reduction

10 20 30 40 50

piles

mat foundation

footing

columns and beams

roof

floors

cladding

mechanical

electrical

conveying

fire plumbing

partitions

wall finishes

doors

flooring

ceiling

15

SCOPE

SAMPLING METHODS

(1) orthogonal array (2) Latin hypercube

DESIGN SPACE SIZE

> 2.38E16

A: Substructure

B: Shell

C: Interiors

D: Services

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Questions?