Comparative LCAs of Conventional and Mass Timber Buildings in Regions with Potential for Mass Timber Penetration

Sustainability

Mark Wishnie¹  Francesca Pierobon²  Indroneil Ganguly²  Cindy Chen³  Maureen Puettmann⁴  Hongmei Gu⁵  Shaobo Liang⁵  Susan Jones⁶  Ian Maples⁶ 

[1] BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, Seattle, WA 98107, USA;College of the Environment, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA;Population Research Center, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97201, USA;The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA;USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, USA;atelierjones LLC, Seattle, WA 98101, USA;

关键词: mass timber;    buildings;    life cycle assessment;    embodied carbon;    embodied energy;    Pacific Northwest;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su132413987

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Manufacturing of building materials and construction of buildings make up 11% of the global greenhouse gas emission by sector. Mass timber construction has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by moving wood into buildings with designs that have traditionally been dominated by steel and concrete. The environmental impacts of mass timber buildings were compared against those of functionally equivalent conventional buildings. Three pairs of buildings were designed for the Pacific Northwest, Northeast and Southeast regions in the United States to conform to mass timber building types with 8, 12, or 18 stories. Conventional buildings constructed with concrete and steel were designed for comparisons with the mass timber buildings. Over all regions and building heights, the mass timber buildings exhibited a reduction in the embodied carbon varying between 22% and 50% compared to the concrete buildings. Embodied carbon per unit of area increased with building height as the quantity of concrete, metals, and other nonrenewable materials increased. Total embodied energy to produce, transport, and construct A1–A5 materials was higher in all mass timber buildings compared to equivalent concrete. Further research is needed to predict the long-term carbon emissions and carbon mitigation potential of mass timber buildings to conventional building materials.

【 授权许可】

Unknown