Prefab Facades – From Prototype to Product? Lisa Rammig; Andrea Zani; Tim Murphy ...
Journal of facade design and engineering,
12/2023, Volume:
11, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Building envelopes are not only the prime element of the exterior aesthetic quality of buildings; they have also become a major driver both for building construction cost and operational performance. ...The importance of prefabrication is growing in the building industry as it allows faster, high-quality, and cost-effective construction while reducing risks associated with onsite labour. Although prefabrication for structural components is a relatively recent development, it has been widely used in the manufacturing of building envelopes for many years, particularly in the case of unitized curtain wall systems. However, whether using prefabricated components or not, façade design development remains a challenge due to the need for façade engineers to rapidly develop technically viable and financially feasible solutions that achieve the desired architectural design intent. Particularly at the early stages of the design process, the turnaround for multiple iterations is often fast-paced, and abortive work is, therefore, not uncommon. This paper outlines an approach to addressing this challenge, attempting to bridge the gap between façade design, fabrication, and installation. A new design approach and tools are presented that allow designers to iteratively validate concepts based on a pre-engineered system that is optimized for performance and take fabrication, transport, installation costs, maintenance, and circularity into account. As a result, the tool/design workflow will ensure consistent quality, meeting budgets and timelines while enhancing material efficiency and fostering energy-conscious and circular envelope design approaches.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is considered as the most suitable way to assess the environmental impact of buildings. Due to its extensiveness and complexity, but also due to a lack of knowledge ...amongst architects, the LCA methodology is currently most often applied as a post-design evaluation and not used to support or optimize design decisions during early design stages. Therefore, this paper looks at possible solutions to apply LCA, including operational energy demand simulation, in early design from two different perspectives: design-oriented user requirements, derived from literature, a survey, interviews and a focus group with architects, and LCA simplification strategies based on a literature review. Both perspectives are discussed and merged into an evaluation framework that can be used to check the suitability of LCA-based environmental impact assessment (EIA) tools for use by architects during early design stages, but also to develop new design-supportive LCA-based EIA tools. In turn, this can contribute to an increased uptake of these tools in building practice.
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•The importance of building environmental impact assessment (EIA) is increasing.•Most influential design decisions are made by architects in early design.•Current life cycle based EIA tools are not adapted to the architects' needs.•Architect-oriented user requirements and LCA simplification strategies were derived.•The framework will improve the usability of EIA tools in architectural practice.
Façades impact the environmental performance of a building by their passive contribution to operational energy demand and by embodied energy and emissions during each life cycle phase. LCA is a ...method widely used to quantify the environmental contribution. The use of LCA software programs in façade planning can guide design decisions and contribute to environmental optimisation. A large amount of LCA software programs have been developed so far, all of which differ in their focus and requirements. This paper aims to address these differences and investigate the capability and suitability of these programs for façade design. It is structured in four sections. The first part introduces LCA in the building and façade design context. The second part introduces categories to understand the different capabilities of LCA software products. Hereafter, eleven products are evaluated based on these categories. The fourth part focuses on the suitability of software products for simple or complex façades. The study concludes that there are different software choices available for almost every level of user knowledge. While Gabi, Simapro, and Umberto require users to work to a high level of proficiency, software programs like eLCA, CAALA, and 360 Optimi do not require much user knowledge over LCA, but provide a range of other opportunities.
Against the background of growing data in everyday life, data processing tools become more powerful to deal with the increasing complexity in building design. The architectural planning process is ...offered a variety of new instruments to design, plan and communicate planning decisions. Ideally the access to information serves to secure and document the quality of the building and in the worst case, the increased data absorbs time by collection and processing without any benefit for the building and its user. Process models can illustrate the impact of information on the design- and planning process so that architect and planner can steer the process. This paper provides historic and contemporary models to visualize the architectural planning process and introduces means to describe today’s situation consisting of stakeholders, events and instruments. It explains conceptions during Renaissance in contrast to models used in the second half of the 20th century. Contemporary models are discussed regarding their value against the background of increasing computation in the building process.
These days, we are constantly expecting more from the performance of the building envelope with regard to both comfort and ecological compatibility. Operational energy has been undergoing significant ...improvement, which in turn draws attention to the building matter: If a standard building does not consume energy in its operation, then it is the building material that impacts the level of environmental compatibility. Designing with used building matter offers an opportunity to decrease emissions from extraction, preserve primary resources and reduce landfill. On top of that, the EU waste directive requires all new construction to have a recycling concept for 70% of the building mass (Commission, 2013). This paper deals with a new approach to deconstructing used building elements and re-introducing them in new construction on a regional scale. A well-connected network of stakeholders increases the regional recycling potential. On a technical scale, the deconstruction process needs to be improved so that it becomes more safe and economically competitive. Robotic disassembly shows great potential to simplify the process and restore high valuable recycling. Deconstruction processes can be arranged in a mobile way with a wide range of tools. Such tools can be equipped to relate to the flexible layout of machines, thus allowing individualized adaptation to the building envelope.
With decreasing energy demand, the ecological impact related to the building fabric becomes more relevant and climate goals can only be reached when considering both. In the last decades, political ...regulation and standards were released to promote the reduced consumption of primary resources. Architects and planners approached this topic with different strategies by working with reused building elements, developing new products or using types of connection which provide easy disassembly in the future. In the last decade, the instruments to quantify the ecological impact advanced from life cycle assessment (LCA) data in spreadsheets to tools which connect ecological data with building volume and self-optimizing solutions. The treatment of the building materials after the use phase is subject to speculations as framework conditions in the future will develop. Today deconstruction (in difference to demolition) is rarely executed and research is limited. Construction and material choice impact the environmental qualities by the energy and emissions related to the production and the treatment scenario at the end of life. Against this uncertain background, a method is needed to indicate the environmental impact by evaluating the suitability for further use, like reuse or recycling. The paper introduces three approaches to indicate parameters available in the planning phase to possible treatment paths for the material after usage regarding practicability and reliability. The most sufficient method was integrated in an architectural drawing software and evaluated.
Earth is one of the oldest and till now intensively used natural building material. Around 30% of the world population still lives or works in buildings constructed out of earth. Most of them dwell ...in simple huts of rural communities or traditionally hand-crafted buildings. However, a growing number of people looking for healthy, environmentally friendly buildings in so called developed societies experience benefits of earthen construction materials. Due to the hygrothermal potential of clay, these benefits of earthen constructions include evaporative cooling during cooling periods and stable relative humidity levels indoors during the heating season. In addition, earthen building materials may contribute to the urgently needed circular economy, as earthen constructions like earth blocks or earth dry boards are reusable and earth plasters and mortars are replasticisable through the addition of water, as long as no chemical binder is added. Research gaps regarding physical properties, missing standardisation concerning building law and modern construction methods, and a limited number of manufacturers are hindering a wide application of earthen construction worldwide. Meanwhile, new digital production techniques evolve, which may elicit the potential of earth as future building material. Therefore, this Ten Questions article presents the state-of-the art and research gaps related to earth as building material in light of the potential of new digital production techniques like robotic fabrication or additive manufacturing. Such discussion includes new opportunities to combine the natural performance of the material with future-oriented construction systems and a new growing circular economy.
•Earth is one of the oldest and till now intensively used natural building material.•Multidisciplinary view on earth as building material.•Influence of earth on IEQ and health can be positive.•Discussion of the potential of new digital production techniques.•Potential for circularity exists but needs further research.
Background and motivation
Building industry impacts natural cycles and has potential for optimization. While impairment on nature reached a new dimension already some three centuries ago the building ...industry started to realize the dependency in the second half of the 20th century. With LCA method all life cycle phases can be monitored and the environmental impact of each can be quantified. The energy consuming and emission generating components in the building context can be distinguished in the groups transport, operation and material. An architect deals with the operational energy and the building substance. With nearly zero (not renewable) energy for operation an ecological building is defined by the building substance.
Evaluation of the building substance
While the building structure accounts for the highest share of embodied energy and GWP, the facade offers high potential for optimisation. This potential is even higher when considering a long (50-100 years) usage life span; the building structure remains while the (non load-bearing) facade is object to exchange cycles.
Findings and their integration into the architectural planning process
The city is a depot for resources and we (it involves a variety of professions) need to learn how to organize it. Modularity, light construction, the use of renewable materials and mono materials are also interesting fields which are looked at from a different point of view. They are relevant for all building elements. Although they are not initially invented to reduce the ecological impact of the built environment, they show potential to do so. The facade is the essential parameter for the resource-efficiency of a building as it is exchanged and binds relevant amounts of material. Impact can be made within this element due to its high variation in construction and materialization. The material cycles need to become smaller and the gaps – landfill or downcycling need to be closed. The use of resources will increasingly develop impact on architecture and by that resource efficiency is a successor of energy efficiency.
Background and motivation
Building industry impacts natural cycles and has potential for optimization. While impairment on nature reached a new dimension already some three centuries ago the building ...industry started to realize the dependency in the second half of the 20th century. With LCA method all life cycle phases can be monitored and the environmental impact of each can be quantified. The energy consuming and emission generating components in the building context can be distinguished in the groups transport, operation and material. An architect deals with the operational energy and the building substance. With nearly zero (not renewable) energy for operation an ecological building is defined by the building substance.
Evaluation of the building substance
While the building structure accounts for the highest share of embodied energy and GWP, the facade offers high potential for optimisation. This potential is even higher when considering a long (50-100 years) usage life span; the building structure remains while the (non load-bearing) facade is object to exchange cycles.
Findings and their integration into the architectural planning process
The city is a depot for resources and we (it involves a variety of professions) need to learn how to organize it. Modularity, light construction, the use of renewable materials and mono materials are also interesting fields which are looked at from a different point of view. They are relevant for all building elements. Although they are not initially invented to reduce the ecological impact of the built environment, they show potential to do so. The facade is the essential parameter for the resource-efficiency of a building as it is exchanged and binds relevant amounts of material. Impact can be made within this element due to its high variation in construction and materialization. The material cycles need to become smaller and the gaps – landfill or downcycling need to be closed. The use of resources will increasingly develop impact on architecture and by that resource efficiency is a successor of energy efficiency.
Background and motivation
Building industry impacts natural cycles and has potential for optimization. While impairment on nature reached a new dimension already some three centuries ago the building ...industry started to realize the dependency in the second half of the 20th century. With LCA method all life cycle phases can be monitored and the environmental impact of each can be quantified. The energy consuming and emission generating components in the building context can be distinguished in the groups transport, operation and material. An architect deals with the operational energy and the building substance. With nearly zero (not renewable) energy for operation an ecological building is defined by the building substance.
Evaluation of the building substance
While the building structure accounts for the highest share of embodied energy and GWP, the facade offers high potential for optimisation. This potential is even higher when considering a long (50-100 years) usage life span; the building structure remains while the (non load-bearing) facade is object to exchange cycles.
Findings and their integration into the architectural planning process
The city is a depot for resources and we (it involves a variety of professions) need to learn how to organize it. Modularity, light construction, the use of renewable materials and mono materials are also interesting fields which are looked at from a different point of view. They are relevant for all building elements. Although they are not initially invented to reduce the ecological impact of the built environment, they show potential to do so. The facade is the essential parameter for the resource-efficiency of a building as it is exchanged and binds relevant amounts of material. Impact can be made within this element due to its high variation in construction and materialization. The material cycles need to become smaller and the gaps – landfill or downcycling need to be closed. The use of resources will increasingly develop impact on architecture and by that resource efficiency is a successor of energy efficiency.
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