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Francesco Pittau
Chair of Sustainable Construction, IBI, ETH Zürich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5, 8093, Zürich, Switzerland

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Journal article
Published: 16 April 2021 in Sustainable Cities and Society
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The renovation and construction of buildings presents an opportunity for climate change mitigation in urban environments. Bio-based construction is particularly promising since the plant’s sequestered carbon offsets the building’s carbon emissions. However, the required land to cultivate suitable biomass and the feasibility of environmentally sustainable materials for resilient cities should be understood. This study analyzes timber, straw, hemp and cork construction and renovation in Europe. A prediction-based model, tuned-up on four systems (built environment, natural environment, carbon balance, industrial processing), converts construction activities until 2050 into required material, embodied land and carbon storage. A novel material-land nexus concept analyzes the required land for bio-based construction. Land transformation is not analyzed. The aim is to evaluate the biomass supply considering the current cross-sectoral use of land in Europe. The results indicate that current forests and wheat plantations are more than sufficient for supplying construction materials. Straw seems better than timber, in terms of resource availability and carbon storage potential. Cork is only favorable locally in southern dry countries. The current legal limitations hinder hemp’s potential at a large scale. A wider application of bio-based materials remains unrealistic until an appropriate legal framework is provided.

ACS Style

Verena Göswein; Jana Reichmann; Guillaume Habert; Francesco Pittau. Land availability in Europe for a radical shift toward bio-based construction. Sustainable Cities and Society 2021, 70, 102929 .

AMA Style

Verena Göswein, Jana Reichmann, Guillaume Habert, Francesco Pittau. Land availability in Europe for a radical shift toward bio-based construction. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2021; 70 ():102929.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Verena Göswein; Jana Reichmann; Guillaume Habert; Francesco Pittau. 2021. "Land availability in Europe for a radical shift toward bio-based construction." Sustainable Cities and Society 70, no. : 102929.

Journal article
Published: 05 March 2021 in Building and Environment
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The thermal retrofit of buildings plays a key role to limit global warming. However, the spatial and temporal dynamics of urban-scale renovation are not well understood. This paper proposes a new methodology that is based on a bottom-up building stock model. It links dynamic Material Flow Analysis with dynamic Life Cycle Assessment to include the temporal dynamics of emissions and renovation activity, and the spatial dynamics of the building stock. Alternative renovation scenarios for a Lisbon neighborhood are analyzed over the next 100 years. Thee scenarios include renovation rates, electricity grid transformation and material choice: Conventional renovation systems are compared to bio-based systems (using cork, wood and straw). A need-based prioritization of poorly insulated buildings is suggested and the effect of different energy grid transitions analyzed. The results show that bio-based systems, especially made with fast-rotation biomass, are beneficial regarding radiative forcing. The straw- and wood-based system ("TES"), combined with an increased renovation rate, result in a cumulative radiative forcing of −45.4 * 10−8 kW/m2 for embodied impacts in 2050, compared to 3.5* 10−8 kW/m2 with a conventional system and a business-as-usual renovation rate. A fast and radical transition of the energy grid is crucial to meet the carbon budget to limit global warming to 2 °C.

ACS Style

Verena Göswein; José Dinis Silvestre; Cláudia Sousa Monteiro; Guillaume Habert; Fausto Freire; Francesco Pittau. Influence of material choice, renovation rate, and electricity grid to achieve a Paris Agreement-compatible building stock: A Portuguese case study. Building and Environment 2021, 195, 107773 .

AMA Style

Verena Göswein, José Dinis Silvestre, Cláudia Sousa Monteiro, Guillaume Habert, Fausto Freire, Francesco Pittau. Influence of material choice, renovation rate, and electricity grid to achieve a Paris Agreement-compatible building stock: A Portuguese case study. Building and Environment. 2021; 195 ():107773.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Verena Göswein; José Dinis Silvestre; Cláudia Sousa Monteiro; Guillaume Habert; Fausto Freire; Francesco Pittau. 2021. "Influence of material choice, renovation rate, and electricity grid to achieve a Paris Agreement-compatible building stock: A Portuguese case study." Building and Environment 195, no. : 107773.

Journal article
Published: 24 October 2020 in Construction and Building Materials
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This study evaluates the environmental impacts of workable wood bio-concretes (WBC). The WBC is composed of wood shavings, Portland cement (CEM), and two Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs): metakaolin (MK) and fly ash (FA). A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed on seven WBC mixtures containing different contents of SCMs. When the compressive strength was used as a functional unit, the mixture containing 40% MK and 10% FA achieved the lowest values in most impact categories. We concluded that the CEM replacement by SCMs is a promising strategy to reduce the environmental impacts of the WBC, especially the climate change impact.

ACS Style

Lucas Rosse Caldas; M'Hamed Yassin R. Da Gloria; Francesco Pittau; Vanessa Maria Andreola; Guillaume Habert; Romildo D. Toledo Filho. Environmental impact assessment of wood bio-concretes: Evaluation of the influence of different supplementary cementitious materials. Construction and Building Materials 2020, 268, 121146 .

AMA Style

Lucas Rosse Caldas, M'Hamed Yassin R. Da Gloria, Francesco Pittau, Vanessa Maria Andreola, Guillaume Habert, Romildo D. Toledo Filho. Environmental impact assessment of wood bio-concretes: Evaluation of the influence of different supplementary cementitious materials. Construction and Building Materials. 2020; 268 ():121146.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lucas Rosse Caldas; M'Hamed Yassin R. Da Gloria; Francesco Pittau; Vanessa Maria Andreola; Guillaume Habert; Romildo D. Toledo Filho. 2020. "Environmental impact assessment of wood bio-concretes: Evaluation of the influence of different supplementary cementitious materials." Construction and Building Materials 268, no. : 121146.

Journal article
Published: 12 August 2020 in Buildings and Cities
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ACS Style

Endrit Hoxha; Alexander Passer; Marcella Ruschi Mendes Saade; Damien Trigaux; Amie Shuttleworth; Francesco Pittau; Karen Allacker; Guillaume Habert. Biogenic carbon in buildings: a critical overview of LCA methods. Buildings and Cities 2020, 1, 504 -524.

AMA Style

Endrit Hoxha, Alexander Passer, Marcella Ruschi Mendes Saade, Damien Trigaux, Amie Shuttleworth, Francesco Pittau, Karen Allacker, Guillaume Habert. Biogenic carbon in buildings: a critical overview of LCA methods. Buildings and Cities. 2020; 1 (1):504-524.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Endrit Hoxha; Alexander Passer; Marcella Ruschi Mendes Saade; Damien Trigaux; Amie Shuttleworth; Francesco Pittau; Karen Allacker; Guillaume Habert. 2020. "Biogenic carbon in buildings: a critical overview of LCA methods." Buildings and Cities 1, no. 1: 504-524.

Journal article
Published: 22 July 2020 in Buildings and Cities
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ACS Style

Guillaume Habert; Martin Röck; Karl Steininger; Antonin Lupísek; Harpa Birgisdottir; Harald Desing; Chanjief Chandrakumar; Francesco Pittau; Alexander Passer; Ronald Rovers; Katarina Slavkovic; Alexander Hollberg; Endrit Hoxha; Thomas Jusselme; Emilie Nault; Karen Allacker; Thomas Lützkendorf. Carbon budgets for buildings: harmonising temporal, spatial and sectoral dimensions. Buildings and Cities 2020, 1, 429 -452.

AMA Style

Guillaume Habert, Martin Röck, Karl Steininger, Antonin Lupísek, Harpa Birgisdottir, Harald Desing, Chanjief Chandrakumar, Francesco Pittau, Alexander Passer, Ronald Rovers, Katarina Slavkovic, Alexander Hollberg, Endrit Hoxha, Thomas Jusselme, Emilie Nault, Karen Allacker, Thomas Lützkendorf. Carbon budgets for buildings: harmonising temporal, spatial and sectoral dimensions. Buildings and Cities. 2020; 1 (1):429-452.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guillaume Habert; Martin Röck; Karl Steininger; Antonin Lupísek; Harpa Birgisdottir; Harald Desing; Chanjief Chandrakumar; Francesco Pittau; Alexander Passer; Ronald Rovers; Katarina Slavkovic; Alexander Hollberg; Endrit Hoxha; Thomas Jusselme; Emilie Nault; Karen Allacker; Thomas Lützkendorf. 2020. "Carbon budgets for buildings: harmonising temporal, spatial and sectoral dimensions." Buildings and Cities 1, no. 1: 429-452.

Report
Published: 03 February 2020 in Joint synthesis “Sustainable Concrete Structures” of the NRP “Energy”
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All structures in Switzerland - that is, all buildings, roads, infrastructure constructions and so on - consume over their entire life cycle around 50 % of Switzerland's final energy requirement. They are also responsible for around 30 % of emissions of the greenhouse gas CO2. In recent decades, the energy requirements and CO2 emissions resulting from the use of such structures have fallen sharply. However, the grey energy contained within the structures as well as the CO2 emissions associated with the construction, renovation and demolition of buildings, remain high. There is great potential for improvement here. The joint project “Low energy concrete” provides an important basis for transforming the construction industry into a sustainable sector. It primarily focuses on the building material concrete, which is responsible for an especially high amount of grey energy and significant CO2 emissions. The results of this joint project are summarised and interpreted in this synthesis on “Sustainable Concrete Structures”. The chief objectives of the joint project were as follows: CO2 emissions and grey energy are reduced by drastically decreasing the amount of clinker in the cement. Grey energy is reduced by replacing reinforcing and prestressing steel in concrete structures with wood and plastic. The service life of the structures is extended by professional monitoring and adequate renovation measures; this reduces the average annual grey energy and CO2 emissions. The research work shows that the CO2 emissions caused by concrete and concrete structures can be reduced by a factor of 4, while the bound grey energy can be decreased by a factor of 3.

ACS Style

Guillaume Habert; Francesco Pittau. Joint synthesis “Sustainable Concrete Structures” of the NRP “Energy”. Joint synthesis “Sustainable Concrete Structures” of the NRP “Energy” 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Guillaume Habert, Francesco Pittau. Joint synthesis “Sustainable Concrete Structures” of the NRP “Energy”. Joint synthesis “Sustainable Concrete Structures” of the NRP “Energy”. 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guillaume Habert; Francesco Pittau. 2020. "Joint synthesis “Sustainable Concrete Structures” of the NRP “Energy”." Joint synthesis “Sustainable Concrete Structures” of the NRP “Energy” , no. : 1.

Report
Published: 03 February 2020 in Synthèse conjointe «Constructions durables en béton» du PNR «Energie»
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À l’échelle de leur cycle de vie, toutes les constructions de Suisse – c’est-à-dire les bâtiments, les routes, les ouvrages d’infrastructure, etc. – représentent environ 50 % des besoins d’énergie finale de la Suisse. De plus, elles sont responsables de plus de 30 % des émissions de CO2, un gaz à effet de serre. Au cours des dernières décennies, les besoins énergétiques et les émissions de CO2 liées à l’utilisation des bâtiments ont fortement diminué. L’énergie grise contenue dans les bâtiments et les émissions de CO2 issues de la production des matériaux de construction, de la rénovation et du démantèlement sont cependant restées élevées. Le potentiel d’amélioration est considérable à cet égard. Le projet conjoint « Béton à basse énergie » jette les fondements d’une transformation de l’industrie de la construction en un secteur durable. Il se concentre notamment sur le béton en tant que matériau de construction engendrant des niveaux particulièrement élevés d’énergie grise et d’émissions de CO2. Les résultats de ce projet conjoint sont résumés et interprétés dans la présente synthèse « Constructions durables en béton ». Le projet conjoint s’est avant tout concentré sur les objectifs suivants : Réduire les émissions de CO2 et l’énergie grise par une diminution drastique du clinker dans le ciment. Réduire l’énergie grise en remplaçant l’acier d’armature et de précontrainte dans les structures en béton par du bois et des matériaux de synthèse. Allonger la durée de vie des ouvrages grâce à une surveillance professionnelle et des mesures de rénovation adéquates, ce qui réduit les moyennes annuelles d’énergie grise et d’émissions de CO2. Les recherches montrent que les émissions de CO2 causées par le béton et les structures en béton peuvent être réduites d’un facteur 4 et l’énergie grise mobilisée d’un facteur 3.

ACS Style

Guillaume Habert; Francesco Pittau. Synthèse conjointe «Constructions durables en béton» du PNR «Energie». Synthèse conjointe «Constructions durables en béton» du PNR «Energie» 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Guillaume Habert, Francesco Pittau. Synthèse conjointe «Constructions durables en béton» du PNR «Energie». Synthèse conjointe «Constructions durables en béton» du PNR «Energie». 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guillaume Habert; Francesco Pittau. 2020. "Synthèse conjointe «Constructions durables en béton» du PNR «Energie»." Synthèse conjointe «Constructions durables en béton» du PNR «Energie» , no. : 1.

Report
Published: 03 February 2020 in Verbundsynthese «Nachhaltige Betonkonstruktionen» des NFP «Energie»
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Alle Bauten in der Schweiz – also alle Gebäude, Strassen, Infrastrukturbauten und so weiter – konsumieren über ihren gesamten Lebenszyklus hinweg rund 50 Prozent des schweizerischen Endenergiebedarfs. Zudem emittieren sie gut 30 Prozent des Treibhausgases CO2. In den letzten Jahrzehnten reduzierten sich der Energiebedarf und die CO2-Emissionen bei der Nutzung der Bauten stark. Die graue Energie, die in den Bauten steckt, und der CO2-Ausstoss bei der Herstellung der Baustoffe, der Sanierung und dem Rückbau sind hingegen unverändert hoch. Hier besteht grosses Potenzial. Das Verbundprojekt «Energiearmer Beton» schafft wichtige Grundlagen für die Transformation der Bauwirtschaft in eine nachhaltige Branche. Es fokussiert vor allem auf den Baustoff Beton, der für besonders viel graue Energie und CO2-Emissionen verantwortlich ist. Die Ergebnisse dieses Verbundprojekts werden in der vorliegenden Synthese «Nachhaltige Betonkonstruktionen» zusammengefasst und interpretiert. Das Verbundprojekt hat vor allem folgende Ziele verfolgt: Die CO2-Emissionen und die graue Energie werden durch eine drastische Reduktion des Klinkers im Zement verringert. Die graue Energie wird reduziert, indem in Betonkonstruktionen der Bewehrungs- und Spannstahl durch Holz und Kunststoffe ersetzt wird. Die Lebensdauer der Bauwerke wird durch eine professionelle Bauwerksüberwachung und durch adäquate Sanierungsmassnahmen verlängert; damit reduzieren sich die im Durchschnitt pro Jahr anfallende graue Energie und die CO2-Emissionen. Die Forschungen zeigen, dass sich der durch Beton und Betonkonstruktionen verursachte CO2-Ausstoss um den Faktor 4 und die gebundene graue Energie um den Faktor 3 reduzieren lassen.

ACS Style

Guillaume Habert; Francesco Pittau. Verbundsynthese «Nachhaltige Betonkonstruktionen» des NFP «Energie». Verbundsynthese «Nachhaltige Betonkonstruktionen» des NFP «Energie» 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Guillaume Habert, Francesco Pittau. Verbundsynthese «Nachhaltige Betonkonstruktionen» des NFP «Energie». Verbundsynthese «Nachhaltige Betonkonstruktionen» des NFP «Energie». 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guillaume Habert; Francesco Pittau. 2020. "Verbundsynthese «Nachhaltige Betonkonstruktionen» des NFP «Energie»." Verbundsynthese «Nachhaltige Betonkonstruktionen» des NFP «Energie» , no. : 1.

Chapter
Published: 31 December 2019 in CoDesign for Public-Interest Services
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This work brings together some recent research and results activities aiming at investigating the environmental benefits of using bio-based materials for the construction and refurbishment of residential buildings. The positive environmental effects of wood and other biogenic materials replacing other, more important, conventional ones, analysed through the application of Life Cycle Assessment methods, are here reported. Moreover, the investigated strategies for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) are here discussed, to evaluate the potential of carbon uptake of fast-growing biogenic materials when used as insulation systems. The results show the effectiveness of bio-based materials in contributing to the mitigation strategies of the impacts due to climate change.

ACS Style

Olga Beatrice Carcassi; Enrico DE Angelis; Giuliana Iannaccone; Laura Elisabetta Malighetti; Gabriele Masera; Francesco Pittau. Bio-Based Materials for the Italian Construction Industry: Buildings as Carbon Sponges. CoDesign for Public-Interest Services 2019, 237 -247.

AMA Style

Olga Beatrice Carcassi, Enrico DE Angelis, Giuliana Iannaccone, Laura Elisabetta Malighetti, Gabriele Masera, Francesco Pittau. Bio-Based Materials for the Italian Construction Industry: Buildings as Carbon Sponges. CoDesign for Public-Interest Services. 2019; ():237-247.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Olga Beatrice Carcassi; Enrico DE Angelis; Giuliana Iannaccone; Laura Elisabetta Malighetti; Gabriele Masera; Francesco Pittau. 2019. "Bio-Based Materials for the Italian Construction Industry: Buildings as Carbon Sponges." CoDesign for Public-Interest Services , no. : 237-247.

Journal article
Published: 05 December 2019 in Sustainability
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(PE)-UHPFRC, a novel strain hardening ultra high-performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) with low clinker content, using Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW-PE) fibers, was developed for structural applications of rehabilitation. A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to study the environmental impact of interventions on an existing bridge using PE-UHPFRC compared with conventional UHPFRC and post-tensioned reinforced concrete methods in three categories of global warming potential (GWP), cumulative energy demand (CED), and ecological scarcity (UBP). The results showed 55% and 29% decreases in the environmental impact of the PE-UHPFRC compared with reinforced concrete and conventional UHPFRC methods, respectively, which highlighted the effectiveness of this material for the rehabilitation/strengthening of structures from the viewpoint of environmental impact.

ACS Style

Amir Hajiesmaeili; Francesco Pittau; Emmanuel Denarié; Guillaume Habert. Life Cycle Analysis of Strengthening Existing RC Structures with R-PE-UHPFRC. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6923 .

AMA Style

Amir Hajiesmaeili, Francesco Pittau, Emmanuel Denarié, Guillaume Habert. Life Cycle Analysis of Strengthening Existing RC Structures with R-PE-UHPFRC. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (24):6923.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amir Hajiesmaeili; Francesco Pittau; Emmanuel Denarié; Guillaume Habert. 2019. "Life Cycle Analysis of Strengthening Existing RC Structures with R-PE-UHPFRC." Sustainability 11, no. 24: 6923.

Conference paper
Published: 06 September 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
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In the context of strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change within European cities, increasing attention is being paid worldwide to the use of urban green infrastructure which, in addition to the potential for improving the quality of the urban environment, allow significant amounts of CO2 to be removed from the air. However, considering the peculiarities of the dense European cities, most of the available surfaces in urban areas are the perimeter walls of buildings of considerable age that are in urgent need of measures to upgrade their energy performance. Based on this premise, this paper investigates the potential for CO2 storage resulting from the application of energy retrofit solutions using biogenic insulating materials. Starting from the analysis of the demand for insulation materials necessary for the energy requalification of the residential existing building stock in 28 European countries, following the renovation target fixed by EU, the research analyses, through the adoption of a dynamic LCA approach, the environmental benefits of bio-based materials compared to traditional solutions. The use of these materials, especially if they are fast-growing - as the study shows - offers several advantages in terms of climate change mitigation by reducing the energy needs and CO2 emissions of the existing building stock and increasing carbon storage capacity within cities. The results of this study are intended to provide a robust database on which to build a model of circular building renovation that takes into account the environmental long-term effects of measures for increasing energy efficiency of buildings.

ACS Style

F Pittau; Giuliana Iannaccone; G Lumia; G Habert. Towards a model for circular renovation of the existing building stock: a preliminary study on the potential for CO2 reduction of bio-based insulation materials. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 323, 012176 .

AMA Style

F Pittau, Giuliana Iannaccone, G Lumia, G Habert. Towards a model for circular renovation of the existing building stock: a preliminary study on the potential for CO2 reduction of bio-based insulation materials. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 323 (1):012176.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F Pittau; Giuliana Iannaccone; G Lumia; G Habert. 2019. "Towards a model for circular renovation of the existing building stock: a preliminary study on the potential for CO2 reduction of bio-based insulation materials." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 323, no. 1: 012176.

Conference paper
Published: 06 September 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
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This work aims to investigate the environmental friendliness of building materials, and in particular the benefit of using biogenic products as replacement of conventional materials. The sustainability of wood as a construction material is a complex issue since the environmental impacts are strongly related to forest management, service life and, finally, to end-of-life scenarios and waste treatment processes. In this study, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparison was carried out between a semi-detached house out of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and a conventional building with similar geometric characteristics and equal thermal performance (U-value), out of light-clay bricks with a reinforced concrete structure. Particularly, the environmental impacts from raw materials supply, transportation and product processing (cradle to gate) were investigated and the Recipe mid-point method was adopted for the impact assessment to compare the environmental burdens of the two equivalent buildings. The positive environmental values resulted in the massive timber building are mainly connected to the replacement of the reinforced concrete mass used in the structure. The outcome, in terms of global warming potential, show that the use of wood as a building material instead of conventional materials results in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of roughly 25%. This material replacement, if extended on a large scale, could give a valid contribution on achieving the community goals of reducing emissions from the construction sector.

ACS Style

F Pittau; G Dotelli; A Arrigoni; G Habert; Giuliana Iannaccone. Massive timber building vs. conventional masonry building. A comparative life cycle assessment of an Italian case study. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 323, 012016 .

AMA Style

F Pittau, G Dotelli, A Arrigoni, G Habert, Giuliana Iannaccone. Massive timber building vs. conventional masonry building. A comparative life cycle assessment of an Italian case study. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 323 (1):012016.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F Pittau; G Dotelli; A Arrigoni; G Habert; Giuliana Iannaccone. 2019. "Massive timber building vs. conventional masonry building. A comparative life cycle assessment of an Italian case study." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 323, no. 1: 012016.

Conference paper
Published: 30 July 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
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ACS Style

Francesco Pittau; C Amato; S Cuffari; Giuliana Iannaccone; Laura Elisabetta Malighetti. Environmental consequences of refurbishment vs. demolition and reconstruction: a comparative life cycle assessment of an Italian case study. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 296, 1 .

AMA Style

Francesco Pittau, C Amato, S Cuffari, Giuliana Iannaccone, Laura Elisabetta Malighetti. Environmental consequences of refurbishment vs. demolition and reconstruction: a comparative life cycle assessment of an Italian case study. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 296 ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Pittau; C Amato; S Cuffari; Giuliana Iannaccone; Laura Elisabetta Malighetti. 2019. "Environmental consequences of refurbishment vs. demolition and reconstruction: a comparative life cycle assessment of an Italian case study." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 296, no. : 1.

Conference paper
Published: 21 June 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
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The construction sector and, more specifically, the building renovation sector plays a decisive role in the achievement of the EU targets for the reduction of energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The main strategies implemented by the EU are aimed, on one side, at increasing the number of buildings to be renovated and, on the other, at promoting deep renovation on the existing stock. The main objective is to drastically reduce the CO2 emissions associated with the energy consumption of buildings during their operation in consideration of the decarbonization targets by 2050. Several studies have shown that around 75% of the EU building stock needs energy retrofitting, and a significant amount of thermal insulation is expected to be installed on the building envelopes in order to decrease the energy losses. The carbon emission for the production of materials and construction might slow down the transition to a low carbon society and significantly reduce the carbon budget available by 2050. In this perspective, the paper shows the results of some recent research activities aimed at identifying alternative approaches based on the use of biogenic materials applied to the building envelope retrofitting. On one side, they meet the energy and CO2 targets established by the EU while promoting, on the other one, sustainable regeneration processes that include, among the others, the storage of CO2 in building elements and the efficient land use. A specific calculation tool, based on a dynamic LCA method, is introduced to holistically quantify the environmental benefits expected over time.

ACS Style

F Pittau; G Habert; Giuliana Iannaccone. A Life-Cycle Approach to Building Energy Retrofitting: Bio-Based Technologies for Sustainable Urban Regeneration. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 290, 012057 .

AMA Style

F Pittau, G Habert, Giuliana Iannaccone. A Life-Cycle Approach to Building Energy Retrofitting: Bio-Based Technologies for Sustainable Urban Regeneration. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 290 (1):012057.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F Pittau; G Habert; Giuliana Iannaccone. 2019. "A Life-Cycle Approach to Building Energy Retrofitting: Bio-Based Technologies for Sustainable Urban Regeneration." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 290, no. 1: 012057.

Journal article
Published: 02 January 2019 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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In the next decades, a large share of residential buildings in EU-28 is expected to be renovated to achieve the 2 °C target requested by the Paris Agreement by 2050. Bio-based materials used for increasing the thermal insulation and temporary store carbon in construction elements might be a valuable opportunity that can contribute to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon society. This article investigates the effect of massively storing carbon in bio-based construction products when used for the renovation of existing facades. Five alternative construction solutions were compared, three with a large amount of fast-growing biogenic material used as insulation, one with timber used for the frame and additional fibrewood as insulation, and the last one with synthetic insulation. A statistic-based Geocluster model was developed to predict the future material flow for building renovation in EU-28 and a dynamic life cycle assessment performed in order to verify the contribution of construction materials in reducing/increasing the carbon emissions over time. The results show that fast-growing biogenic materials have an increased potential to act as a carbon sink compared to timber. In particular, if straw is used as an insulation material, the capacity to store carbon from the atmosphere is effective in the short-term, which represents an important strategy towards the Paris climate Agreement goals.

ACS Style

Francesco Pittau; Gabriele Lumia; Niko Heeren; Giuliana Iannaccone; Guillaume Habert. Retrofit as a carbon sink: The carbon storage potentials of the EU housing stock. Journal of Cleaner Production 2019, 214, 365 -376.

AMA Style

Francesco Pittau, Gabriele Lumia, Niko Heeren, Giuliana Iannaccone, Guillaume Habert. Retrofit as a carbon sink: The carbon storage potentials of the EU housing stock. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019; 214 ():365-376.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Pittau; Gabriele Lumia; Niko Heeren; Giuliana Iannaccone; Guillaume Habert. 2019. "Retrofit as a carbon sink: The carbon storage potentials of the EU housing stock." Journal of Cleaner Production 214, no. : 365-376.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2018 in Building and Environment
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ACS Style

Francesco Pittau; Felix Krause; Gabriele Lumia; Guillaume Habert. Fast-growing bio-based materials as an opportunity for storing carbon in exterior walls. Building and Environment 2018, 129, 117 -129.

AMA Style

Francesco Pittau, Felix Krause, Gabriele Lumia, Guillaume Habert. Fast-growing bio-based materials as an opportunity for storing carbon in exterior walls. Building and Environment. 2018; 129 ():117-129.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Pittau; Felix Krause; Gabriele Lumia; Guillaume Habert. 2018. "Fast-growing bio-based materials as an opportunity for storing carbon in exterior walls." Building and Environment 129, no. : 117-129.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2017 in Procedia Engineering
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In this work a multi-story residential building located in Cinisello Balsamo, near Milan, was considered as case study for the application of two new prefabricated building systems for the energy retrofit. The first one, developed within EASEE, a European project funded by 7th Framework Program, consists in a preassembled insulated panel for the retrofit of facades, based on two TRC thin precast layers rigidly connected to an EPS core. The panels can be easily applied on the external side of existing facades without the use of scaffoldings, providing an additional efficient insulation as well a new external cladding. The second one consists in a preassembled timber panel for existing pitched roofs. The process includes the substitution of the existing roof with modular integrated panels with a high content of recycled materials that can be easily fixed on the existing structures (timber frames, concrete, masonry, etc.). The combination of the two prefabricated construction systems, applied on the case study, allowed the reduction of the building energy demand by 82%

ACS Style

Francesco Pittau; Laura Elisabetta Malighetti; Giuliana Iannaccone; Gabriele Masera. Prefabrication as Large-scale Efficient Strategy for the Energy Retrofit of the Housing Stock: An Italian Case Study. Procedia Engineering 2017, 180, 1160 -1169.

AMA Style

Francesco Pittau, Laura Elisabetta Malighetti, Giuliana Iannaccone, Gabriele Masera. Prefabrication as Large-scale Efficient Strategy for the Energy Retrofit of the Housing Stock: An Italian Case Study. Procedia Engineering. 2017; 180 ():1160-1169.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Pittau; Laura Elisabetta Malighetti; Giuliana Iannaccone; Gabriele Masera. 2017. "Prefabrication as Large-scale Efficient Strategy for the Energy Retrofit of the Housing Stock: An Italian Case Study." Procedia Engineering 180, no. : 1160-1169.

Journal article
Published: 31 July 2014 in International Wood Products Journal
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A. Takano; F. Pittau; A. Hafner; Stephan Ott; Mark Hughes; Enrico De Angelis. Greenhouse gas emission from construction stage of wooden buildings. International Wood Products Journal 2014, 5, 217 -223.

AMA Style

A. Takano, F. Pittau, A. Hafner, Stephan Ott, Mark Hughes, Enrico De Angelis. Greenhouse gas emission from construction stage of wooden buildings. International Wood Products Journal. 2014; 5 (4):217-223.

Chicago/Turabian Style

A. Takano; F. Pittau; A. Hafner; Stephan Ott; Mark Hughes; Enrico De Angelis. 2014. "Greenhouse gas emission from construction stage of wooden buildings." International Wood Products Journal 5, no. 4: 217-223.

Conference paper
Published: 01 January 2014 in 5th Brunei International Conference on Engineering and Technology (BICET 2014)
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ACS Style

F. Pittau; L. Bande; D. Beacco; A. Passera; E. De Angelis; C. Fumagalli. Brownfields regeneration as a smart growth option and building technologies: The case study of “La Goccia Di Bovisa” in Milano. 5th Brunei International Conference on Engineering and Technology (BICET 2014) 2014, 1 .

AMA Style

F. Pittau, L. Bande, D. Beacco, A. Passera, E. De Angelis, C. Fumagalli. Brownfields regeneration as a smart growth option and building technologies: The case study of “La Goccia Di Bovisa” in Milano. 5th Brunei International Conference on Engineering and Technology (BICET 2014). 2014; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

F. Pittau; L. Bande; D. Beacco; A. Passera; E. De Angelis; C. Fumagalli. 2014. "Brownfields regeneration as a smart growth option and building technologies: The case study of “La Goccia Di Bovisa” in Milano." 5th Brunei International Conference on Engineering and Technology (BICET 2014) , no. : 1.