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Selamawit Fufa
Department of Architectural Engineering, SINTEF Community, P.O. Box 124 Blindern, NO-0314 Oslo, Norway

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Review
Published: 27 June 2021 in Applied Sciences
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In line with the Paris Agreement, Norway aims for an up to 55% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to be a low-emission society by 2050. Given that 85–90% of today’s buildings are expected to still be in use in 2050, refurbishment and adaptive reuse of existing buildings can help in achieving the environmental goals. The aim of this work is to provide a holistic picture of refurbishment and adaptive reuse of existing buildings, including buildings with heritage values, seen from a life cycle perspective. The methods applied are a literature review of LCA studies and experiences from quantitative case study analysis of selected Norwegian case studies. The findings show that extending the service life of existing buildings by refurbishment and adaptive reuse has significant possibilities in reducing GHG emissions, keeping cultural heritage values, and saving scarce raw material resources. The findings show limited LCA studies, uncertainties in existing LCA studies due to variations in case-specific refurbishment or intervention measures, and a lack of transparent and harmonized background data and methodological choices. In conclusion, performing a holistic study covering the whole LCA and including socio-cultural values and economic aspects will enable supporting an argument to assert the sustainability of existing buildings.

ACS Style

Selamawit Fufa; Cecilie Flyen; Anne-Cathrine Flyen. How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions? Applied Sciences 2021, 11, 5978 .

AMA Style

Selamawit Fufa, Cecilie Flyen, Anne-Cathrine Flyen. How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions? Applied Sciences. 2021; 11 (13):5978.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Selamawit Fufa; Cecilie Flyen; Anne-Cathrine Flyen. 2021. "How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions?" Applied Sciences 11, no. 13: 5978.

Conference paper
Published: 31 October 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
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Over the last couple of years, research related to fossil free and emission free construction sites has developed rapidly in Norway, with an ambition to contribute towards global, national and regional emission reduction targets. Major public players are already demanding fossil free construction sites through public procurement, whilst requirements for emission free construction sites are on the way. Even though the Norwegian construction industry is a forerunner, there is a lack of knowledge or common understanding among different stakeholders on the definition, scope and strategies needed for fossil free and emission free construction sites. The aim of this paper is to present the main challenges and opportunities from the construction phase of two Norwegian zero emission construction sites, namely Campus Evenstad in Hedmark and Lia nursery school in Oslo. Construction activities considered include transportation and installation of building materials, construction machinery, temporary works, energy use, waste management and person transport. This paper presents and discusses the lessons learnt from the design, ambition levels, inputs from stakeholders, emission reduction solutions of these two construction sites, and evaluates methods considered to address conceptual and practical issues. In conclusion, this paper suggests lessons learnt for reducing GHG emissions from Norwegian zero emission construction sites.

ACS Style

Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Marianne Kjendseth Wiik; Sofie Mellegård; Inger Andresen. Lessons learnt from the design and construction strategies of two Norwegian low emission construction sites. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 352, 012021 .

AMA Style

Selamawit Mamo Fufa, Marianne Kjendseth Wiik, Sofie Mellegård, Inger Andresen. Lessons learnt from the design and construction strategies of two Norwegian low emission construction sites. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 352 (1):012021.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Marianne Kjendseth Wiik; Sofie Mellegård; Inger Andresen. 2019. "Lessons learnt from the design and construction strategies of two Norwegian low emission construction sites." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 352, no. 1: 012021.

Conference paper
Published: 01 December 2018 in Blockchain Technology and Innovations in Business Processes
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The Norwegian construction industry is responsible for approximately 1.2% of national GHG emissions during the construction phase. Consequently, there is a growing interest in addressing construction emissions. Therefore, this article aims to comprehensively document and analyse construction phase emissions from a Norwegian ZEB construction site, and compare estimated and actual data in embodied construction emission calculations. Construction site activities considered include transportation and installation of building materials, construction machinery, temporary works, energy use, waste management and person transport. The environmental performance is calculated in terms of GHG emissions weighted as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq). The embodied construction emission results are 1.1 kgCO2eq/m2/yr for estimated data, and 2 kgCO2eq/m2/yr for actual data. The results show a 44% increase in emissions when using actual data instead of estimated data. The largest contributors to emissions are the operation of construction machinery (47%), energy use (17%), transport of building materials to site (15%) person transport (10%), installation of building materials (10%), followed by temporary works (0.8%) and construction waste (0.3%). This study highlights the importance of embodied construction emissions in Norwegian ZEBs, and recommends paying more attention to the construction phase in the future. These results may be used in future Norwegian construction projects, to help measure, evaluate and compare the environmental performance of construction activities.

ACS Style

Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Marianne Kjendseth Wiik; Inger Andressen. Estimated and Actual Construction Inventory Data in Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emission Calculations for a Norwegian Zero Emission Building (ZEB) Construction Site. Blockchain Technology and Innovations in Business Processes 2018, 138 -147.

AMA Style

Selamawit Mamo Fufa, Marianne Kjendseth Wiik, Inger Andressen. Estimated and Actual Construction Inventory Data in Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emission Calculations for a Norwegian Zero Emission Building (ZEB) Construction Site. Blockchain Technology and Innovations in Business Processes. 2018; ():138-147.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Marianne Kjendseth Wiik; Inger Andressen. 2018. "Estimated and Actual Construction Inventory Data in Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emission Calculations for a Norwegian Zero Emission Building (ZEB) Construction Site." Blockchain Technology and Innovations in Business Processes , no. : 138-147.

Journal article
Published: 01 October 2018 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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The increased use of multi-storey timber buildings can potentially create a significant reduction on the life cycle environmental impact of a building. However, with an increasing height of timber buildings the challenge is to maintain the same expected performance independent of the height; tall buildings are particularly exposed to high wind pressures combined with wind-driven rain. Additionally, tall buildings require longer construction times in which the structural elements are especially exposed to moisture. Furthermore, inspection, maintenance and repair possibilities are limited compared to low-rise buildings. This work develops a parametric life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to evaluate the consequences (greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions) caused by a potential moisture damage of a failure event (considered as the mould and decay growth) in typical ventilated timber wall constructions from four countries: Germany (DE), France (FR), Norway (NO) and Sweden (SE). The environmental performance is evaluated throughout the life cycle of the wall construction in accordance with the modular system of life cycle stages as defined in EN 15978. Global warming potential (GWP) is used as a proxy for environmental impact. Product specific average environmental product declaration (EPD) is used as a main data source in GHG emission calculation. Three parameters; i) number of windows, ii) extent of damage around the window area and iii) the number of damaged layers; are used to evaluate the potential risk of GHG emission from moisture damage around window connections. A probabilistic-based design methodology is also applied to assess the mould and decay occurrence. The total GHG emission results from different scenarios considered in this study and the magnitude of environmental impact related to probabilistic damage are presented. The results show that GHG emissions increase with increase of the number of windows, the damaged area and the increase in the number of replaced layers. This is due to the additional GHG emissions from the materials used to replace the damaged layers. The probability of failure is sensitive to the defined unacceptable level of mould growth. This affects the risk assessment, where the perturbation derived from the different probabilities of failure for different layers are observed at the corresponding replacement interval. The results also show that the parametric results are sensitive to the variables used to estimate the area of replacement, the number of windows, the number of damaged layers and the considered failure event. This study can be used to evaluate and minimize the potential GHG emission of possible moisture damages scenarios on building envelopes. Furthermore, it can enable to consider various improvement measures that reduce the risk, resulting in a robust construction with good function, longer service life and lower embodied emissions during the building's life time. The study also highlights the need for further analysis of the assumptions and background data used when developing the parametric tool.

ACS Style

Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Christofer Skaar; Klodian Gradeci; Nathalie Labonnote. Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions of ventilated timber wall constructions based on parametric LCA. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018, 197, 34 -46.

AMA Style

Selamawit Mamo Fufa, Christofer Skaar, Klodian Gradeci, Nathalie Labonnote. Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions of ventilated timber wall constructions based on parametric LCA. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2018; 197 ():34-46.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Christofer Skaar; Klodian Gradeci; Nathalie Labonnote. 2018. "Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions of ventilated timber wall constructions based on parametric LCA." Journal of Cleaner Production 197, no. : 34-46.

Journal article
Published: 01 April 2018 in Energy and Buildings
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The objective of this work is to present, evaluate and discuss the calculation methodology and embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emission results from zero emission building (ZEB) case studies from the Norwegian ZEB research centre, to extract design drivers and lessons learnt. In all, two virtual models, and five ZEB pilot buildings are assessed; consisting of three residential, two office and two school buildings. The embodied GHG emission results show that the building envelope (ca. 65%) and production and replacement of materials (ca. 55-87%) are the main contributors to total emissions across the Norwegian ZEB case studies. Although difficult to draw definitive conclusions, this work builds upon the current body of knowledge on embodied GHG emissions in Norwegian ZEBs, and provides some practical indications for embodied GHG emission calculations and reduction strategies in future Norwegian ZEB and zero emission neighbourhood (ZEN) projects.

ACS Style

Marianne Kjendseth Wiik; Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Torhildur Kristjansdottir; Inger Andresen. Lessons learnt from embodied GHG emission calculations in zero emission buildings (ZEBs) from the Norwegian ZEB research centre. Energy and Buildings 2018, 165, 25 -34.

AMA Style

Marianne Kjendseth Wiik, Selamawit Mamo Fufa, Torhildur Kristjansdottir, Inger Andresen. Lessons learnt from embodied GHG emission calculations in zero emission buildings (ZEBs) from the Norwegian ZEB research centre. Energy and Buildings. 2018; 165 ():25-34.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marianne Kjendseth Wiik; Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Torhildur Kristjansdottir; Inger Andresen. 2018. "Lessons learnt from embodied GHG emission calculations in zero emission buildings (ZEBs) from the Norwegian ZEB research centre." Energy and Buildings 165, no. : 25-34.

Chapter
Published: 30 January 2018 in Embodied Carbon in Buildings
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The zero emission building (ZEB) research centre in Norway has a series of concept and pilot buildings that investigate design strategies for low embodied carbon in building materials in order to achieve a net ZEB balance; these include two conceptual studies or virtual building models (ZEB office building and ZEB single-family house) and six pilot buildings (Powerhouse Kjørbo, Campus Evenstad, Heimdal high school, Multikomfort house, Living Laboratory and Skarpnes). According to the centre’s definition, a net ZEB balance can be achieved by offsetting the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the production and exportation of on-site renewable energy. This balance becomes ambitious if embodied carbon from building materials is also considered. Experiences collected from the ZEB pilots demonstrate that a combination of carbon reduction design strategies are necessary in order to achieve this net ZEB balance. One low embodied carbon design strategy considers area and material quantity reduction. For example, compared to the raft foundation design in the single-family house concept study, the Living Laboratory uses three narrow strip foundations. This results in a 68% decrease in carbon emissions arising from reduced concrete use. These emissions can be further reduced if low-carbon concrete is implemented, as demonstrated in both Heimdal and Evenstad high schools. The next strategy considers reuse and recycling. In the Multikomfort house, bricks are reclaimed from a nearby derelict barn. This reuse strategy leads to a saving of more than 100 kgCO2e/m2 of wall, when compared to a conventional concrete wall. Similarly, the renovated Powerhouse Kjørbo offices reuse the external glass facade as internal glass partitions; this not only prolongs the service life of building materials but also avoids emissions associated with end-of-life treatment. Another important strategy involves selecting low-carbon building materials. The office concept study demonstrates that changing the original concrete and steel structure to a timber structure of similar technical performance leads to a 30% reduction in weight and 50% reduction in embodied carbon. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis of different concrete hollow core slabs and cross-laminated timber floors in Heimdal high school shows a high level of variation in emissions between manufacturers and the importance of a holistic evaluation when selecting low-carbon building materials. Another design strategy involves sourcing local materials. In Evenstad high school, excavated material is sourced from a local quarry, steel connections are formed by a local workshop and other local manufacturers are selected to reduce transport emissions. Another effective measure is demonstrated by adopting materials with high durability and a long service life. Calculations from Heimdal compare timber window frames with and without a protective aluminium cladding. The aluminium cladding, despite its elevated embodied emissions, gives the frame a longer service life. This results in fewer replacements during the service life of the school. Over a 60-year calculation period, more than 20 kgCO2e/window are saved when the aluminium cladding is implemented. In conclusion, the most efficient low embodied carbon design strategies, identified through the pilot projects, are area and material reduction and application of reused and recycled materials, using materials with low embodied carbon, sourcing local materials and adopting materials with high durability and a long service life. Embodied carbon calculations from eight of the ZEB pilot buildings (including two concept studies) provide an insight into the measured effect of low embodied carbon design strategies.

ACS Style

Marianne Kjendseth Wiik; Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Inger Andresen. Design Strategies for Low Embodied Carbon in Building Materials. Embodied Carbon in Buildings 2018, 323 -339.

AMA Style

Marianne Kjendseth Wiik, Selamawit Mamo Fufa, Inger Andresen. Design Strategies for Low Embodied Carbon in Building Materials. Embodied Carbon in Buildings. 2018; ():323-339.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marianne Kjendseth Wiik; Selamawit Mamo Fufa; Inger Andresen. 2018. "Design Strategies for Low Embodied Carbon in Building Materials." Embodied Carbon in Buildings , no. : 323-339.