Se identifican en informes estadísticos oficiales, las características principales de las viviendas construidas en España durante el período 2007 a 2010, mostrando las 10 tipologías de edificios residenciales y soluciones constructivas representativas. Se evalúa el impacto generado por dichas tipologías empleando el indicador huella ecológica (HE), obteniendo, entre otros resultados, que las viviendas unifamiliares tienen un 45 % de huella superior a las plurifamiliares y que la huella que genera la mano de obra es un 35 % de la total. También se realiza el análisis de huella por fases de obra y sistemas constructivos, que determina que los elementos de mayor impacto son, estructura, albañilería, revestimientos y cimentaciones, por ese orden. Se finaliza con el cálculo total de HE durante el período objetivo y por persona de las viviendas evaluadas.

CO₂ emissions due to the construction sector represent 40% of the total, either directly by the use of the building or indirectly by the emissions incorporated in construction materials and products. It is important to achieve a change in this sector to introduce these concepts in a simple way. There are various tools for evaluating emissions in construction projects. In the present work, the OERCO2 tool is used. This work studies housing projects in two European countries belonging to significantly different regions, Spain (Andalusia) and Romania (Bucharest and Transylvania). Although concrete or masonry structures are mainly used in Romania, due to an increased demand for residential buildings in recent years, a new niche has appeared in the construction sector: metallic and mixed (metal–concrete) structures for multi-storied buildings. For these reasons, a comparison between concrete and metallic buildings can be made in order to highlight their environmental impact. Twenty-four projects are selected from Romanian projects with metallic structures, and Spanish projects with concrete structures. They are also differentiated according to the type of foundation used. As expected, buildings with a metallic structure have more economic and environmental impact than reinforced concrete. The materials with greater impact are metal, concrete, cement, and ceramic products. The potential of the tool for the evaluation of various construction solutions, materials, and project phases is demonstrated.

Este trabajo presenta una herramienta para predecir los impactos económicos y ambientales del ciclo de vida de edificios de tipo residencial en fase de diseño, partiendo de un proyecto arquitectónico, del presupuesto del proyecto, de las bases de costes de la construcción, en particular, las de Andalucía y del indicador huella ecológica. La herramienta propone alternativas en el uso de recursos (materiales, mano de obra y maquinaria) y sistemas constructivos, pudiendo formar parte en la toma de decisiones para mejorar el impacto del ciclo de vida del edificio. Se analiza un caso concreto de edificio residencial de diez plantas sobre rasante y se obtienen los recursos empleados y su impacto económico y ambiental a nivel global y de forma pormenorizada, según las fases del proyecto. Los materiales son el recurso de mayor importancia y, específicamente, el hormigón o el cerámico son los que producen mayor impacto. Se realiza un análisis de sensibilidad, en el que se proponen diferentes alternativas de materiales para una solución constructiva y se obtienen los datos para decidir la opción más viable económica y ambientalmente. La herramienta es de fácil manejo para el usuario y puede ser base para la certificación de edificios y el desarrollo de valores estándares a emplear en políticas gubernamentales. A tool is presented to predict the economic and environmental impacts of the life cycle of residential buildings in the design phase, starting from an architectural project, the budget of the project, the cost bases of construction, in particular that of Andalusia and of the ecological footprint indicator. The tool proposes alternatives in the use of resources (materials, manpower and machinery) and construction systems, being able to take part in making decisions to improve the impact of the life cycle of the building. A concrete case of residential building of ten floors above ground is analyzed and the resources used are obtained and their economic and environmental impact at a global level and in a detailed manner according to the phases of the project. The materials are the resource of greater importance and in particular the concrete or the ceramic are those that produce greater impact. A sensitivity analysis is carried out proposing for a project different material alternatives for a constructive solution, obtaining the data to be able to decide the most economically and environmentally viable option. The tool is easy to use for the user and can be the basis for the certification of buildings and the development of standard values ​​to be used in government policies.

The criteria on green public procurement of the European Union establish that the economic budgets of building projects must be complemented by their derived environmental and social costs. These criteria are currently being adapted to the requirements related to the circular economy, such as the use of methods to evaluate buildings environmentally. However, most methods available in the European and Spanish markets require prior training, which makes their use difficult. This paper presents an evaluation method, CEACE, for housing construction based on the determination of their footprints (ecological, carbon, and water footprints), also called the footprint family, to which the economic and social evaluation is added, as is the quantification of the construction and demolition waste generated. This method is validated with the assessment of fifteen residential buildings in Andalusia and creates an indicator that will allow technicians, companies, and administrations to evaluate projects in accordance with the criteria of green public procurement. The method is sensitive to changes in the type of building, foundation solution, and underground construction.