Life cycle assessment for historic building reuse

Abstract

Until now, little has been known about the climate change reductions that might be offered by reusing and retrofitting existing buildings rather than demolishing and replacing them with new construction. This life cycle analysis of Bent’s house building was carried out as an exploratory study to find out whether preserve historical building will have quantifiable environmental impact beyond the cultural benefit that have been known and agreed by public. This research paper provides a comprehensive analysis to date of the potential environmental impact reductions associated with building reuse using Bent’s opera house as a study case. Utilizing a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) methodology, the study compares the relative environmental impacts and primary energy consumption of historical building, building renovation and new construction over the course of a 75‐year life span. Also, this research project illustrates a framework of integrating variety BIM tools in life cycle analysis.