Life cycle assessment of low-rise office building with different structure-envelope configurations

This paper presents life cycle assessment approach to study the impact of structure and envelope types on the energy consumption and environmental impact of an office building in New York City, USA. In addition, the future costs of environmental impact for various structure and envelope options are assessed according to the current practice and market price of CO2. Eight structure and envelope types for the low-rise office building are investigated, which include concrete and steel structures with various combinations of envelopes. The parameters such as life cycle energy use, global warming potential, and water, air and land emissions are analyzed. The energy simulation is performed by using eQUEST software while the environmental impact is assessed by using ATHENA (R) impact estimator. The building with concrete frame is proved to have lower environmental impact compared to that with steel frame. The precast concrete building is found to be the most economical alternative due to the minimal environmental impact cost. This study is expected to enable the decision makers and building owners to select the best alternative with respect to energy use, and environmental and economic constraints.