Integrating life cycle assessment and cost analysis in decision making: Optimising design choices in a public building case study

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68407700%3A21720%2F25%3A00384977" target="_blank" >RIV/68407700:21720/25:00384977 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116399" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116399</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116399" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116399</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Integrating life cycle assessment and cost analysis in decision making: Optimising design choices in a public building case study

Original language description

The building sector is responsible for a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption, with impacts spanning the entire life cycle of buildings from material production to end-of-life. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need to address these impacts through early design decisions, leveraging integrated environmental and economic assessments to inform material and system choices. However, the complexity and time demands of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) often limit their use to later design stages, reducing their potential as decision-support tools. This study aims to integrate LCA and LCC with a Building Information Modelling (BIM) environment to support data-driven decision-making from the outset of the design process. A methodology was developed to evaluate and compare alternative construction scenarios using BIM-linked LCA and LCC workflows, following EN 15804 and ISO 15686 standards and supporting transparent, scenario-specific comparisons. The approach was applied to a public museum under design in Cáceres, Spain, selected for its relevance as a public building type, assuming the role/responsibility of public administrations in driving the digital and environmental transition. Three alternative load-bearing structures—reinforced concrete, mass timber, and a hybrid concrete-clay block system—were assessed while maintaining consistent architectural design. Material quantities were extracted from a parametric BIM model and analysed using interoperable LCA and LCC tools under cradle-to-grave boundaries across 50- and 100-year service lives. The results reveal significant differences between the environmental and economic performance of the alternatives. The timber structure achieves a 55 % reduction in Global Warming Potential compared to reinforced concrete, demonstrating substantial carbon savings. However, this comes with a 56% higher total life cycle cost, underscoring the trade-off between environmental benefits and economic feasibility. The integrated workflow demonstrated its effectiveness in supporting informed design choices aligned with sustainability and financial objectives. The proposed methodology is easily replicable across building typologies, offering a practical tool for design teams and public clients to advance low-carbon, resource-efficient construction aligned with European sustainability goals.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

20103 - Architecture engineering

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Energy and Buildings

ISSN

0378-7788

e-ISSN

1872-6178

Volume of the periodical

347

Issue of the periodical within the volume

November

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

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UT code for WoS article

001583149200002

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105025522551