Discussion Session 1 | Life Cycle Innovation in the Urban Environment

Presenter

René Itten

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Wädenswil, CH

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Co-Authors

Angela Clua Longas

Gianluca Cattaneo

Matthias Stucki

Abstract

Increased energy supply from photovoltaics is a main priority in the “Energy Strategy 2050”. Within the joint research project “Next generation photovoltaics” funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, we analysed different options for the enhanced integration of photovoltaic technologies into the envelope of Swiss buildings (BIPV). The PV modules for building integration are using novel monolithic silicon heterojunction organometallic perovskite tandem cells (SHJ-PSC) with adaptions to improve the visual acceptance. In a joint effort of product developers, architects and scientists, this project aimed at providing pathways for the wide-scale use of BIPV façade solutions, and developing integrated designs based on emerging high-efficiency module technologies to improve the visual aspect and acceptance of PV systems installed in Switzerland. These so-called active façades incorporating BIPV modules to generate electricity can provide a significant contribution to the energy transition away from fossil and nuclear fuels. We compared the environmental impacts of different façade construction systems with and without SHJ-PSC BIPV modules with improved visual design, using a prospective life cycle assessment with a time horizon of 2025. The comparison includes a conventional brick and roughcast façade, a timber frame façade, and the Advanced Active Façade (AAF), which integrates SHJ-PSC BIPV modules in a low embodied impact façade substructure. In addition, we compared the environmental impacts caused by the construction of the above described façades with the environmental impacts saved due to the electricity produced by BIPV modules incorporated into the AAF.

Our research focuses on the combined expertise of life cycle thinking, PV module development and façade design. The major scientific innovations are: 1) the prospective life cycle assessment of novel monolithic silicon heterojunction organometallic perovskite tandem cells (SHJ-PSC); 2) the comparison of different façade construction systems and their environmental impacts; 3) the quantification of the saved environmental impacts arising from the electricity generated by the active façade; and 4) the visual adjustments of PV modules to improve their acceptance. The main advantage of integrating PV into building façades is the large available area, which can be limited on rooftops. In order to reach the market penetration for PV required for the energy transition, PV modules must be integrated into façades as well as into rooftops.

Presenter

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Co-Author

Christophe Abrassat

Abstract

LCA has proven its worth in improving the performance and efficiency of green building design : science-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods are increasingly being used to analyse the environmental impact of construction materials and products, for instance for EPD, LEED and Net Zero certification (Al-Ghamdi & Bilec, 2015; Means & Guggemos, 2015). Still, its penetration in the professional standard practice is low whether it’s in North America or Europe. Main reasons are the lack of knowledge, time consumption for data harvest, and methodologies, especially in the early stage of design, but also some organisational factors related to the specificity of the construction sector which requires strong coordination between numerous actors (Jusselme, Rey, & Andersen, 2018; Olinzock et al., 2015).

However, the field of “Life Cycle Innovation” is gaining interest among scholars and practitioners as has proven the Life Cycle Innovation Conference initiative. This new perspective of LCA as a driver for innovation rather than as a design constrain opens the way to explore and introduce this tool in a more imaginative and playful way. We saw here a great opportunity to stimulate the learning process of the professionals and to foster interdisciplinary teams’ creativity in early stage of design, by the use of a LCA-based serious game. Our hypothesis is that well designed gamification devices can provide a powerful experimental framework to overcome cognitive fixation factors alongside life cycle thinking in green building design.

In this communication we will present a LCA and Life Cycle Thinking based serious game developed and experimented in 2019 in green building codesign sessions in Montreal (Quebec – Canada). The experimentation was performed with professionals of a leading Montreal based Architecture firm, and also with LCA students and practitioner as a base for comparison. In order to evaluate the effects and outcomes of these gamified workshops on practitioners’ cognitive (de)fixation, we also performed various interviews before and after the sessions.

References:

Jusselme, T., Rey, E., & Andersen, M. (2018). Findings from a survey on the current use of life-cycle assessment in building design. PLEA 2018-Smart and Healthy within the 2-Degree Limit, 1(CONF).

Means, P., & Guggemos, A. (2015). Framework for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Based Environmental Decision Making During the Conceptual Design Phase for Commercial Buildings. Procedia Engineering, 118, 802–812. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PROENG.2015.08.517

Agogué, M., Levillain, K., & Hooge, S. (2015). Gamification of creativity: exploring the usefulness of serious games for ideation. Creativity and Innovation Management, 24(3), 415–429.

Olinzock, M. A., Landis, A. E., Saunders, C. L., Collinge, W. O., Jones, A. K., Schaefer, L. A., & Bilec, M. M. (2015). Life cycle assessment use in the North American building community: summary of findings from a 2011/2012 survey. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 20(3), 318–331.

Presenter

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Co-Authors

Lea Schmitz

Karolin Gathen

Joscha Wintjen

Hans Theo Friedlinghaus

Lauritz Urnauer

Sven Müller

Abstract

How sustainable is a Tiny House and the connected lifestyle? A student´s group work from Leuphana University Lüneburg designed their project work to find a solution to that question. Tiny Houses are an arising trend for new housing that enable people to live in a minimalistic way in a house on a trailer but are not legally defined or normed yet. A Tiny House is usually constructed with a relatively small layout of roughly 6m°2 space but can vary in size. In big cities in Germany, where rising rents and overpopulation are a well observed phenomenon a Tiny House can be considered as a cheap and practical solution of the problems.
Therefore, we conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) according to ISO 14040 of a Tiny House. We gathered the data from a representative Tiny House conducted from a constructor in the north of Germany. We only used the data of one Tiny House, so we use the case study method. In a second step we conducted from the obtained results an environmental product declaration (EPD) according to ISO 14025. Furthermore, our Tiny House is categorized as a product of the construction industry, therefore we formatted our EPD according to EN 15804.

For the EPD we analyzed the different phases of an EPD: the resources, the manufacturing of a Tiny House, the usage, maintenance and the recycling of the different materials used. We selected a timeframe for the usage of the Tiny House of 20 years, which we compare to other ways of life with a similar time frame.
During our scientific work and data collection we discovered many missing data in the field of new sustainable housing in which we categorize the Tiny House as well.
Finally, in our presentation we do not only want to focus on the quantitative results obtained from the LCA and the EPD but also to initiate new research direction into the field of sustainable lifestyles. In the time of overcrowded cities and growing populations all over the world we aim to start the process of filling the existent data gaps.