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Dr. Kai Kanafani
Aalborg University Copenhagen, Department of the Built Environment

Basic Info


Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Environmental Impact Assessment
0 Integrated Design
0 Life Cycle Assessment
0 LCA
0 greenhouse gas emissions

Honors and Awards

Det Bæredygtige Element - Produktprisen

This is the sustainability award by the international "BUILDING GREEN" fair trade, held in Denmark and Germany.

BUILDING GREEN




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Short Biography

Trained as an architect at Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences, Kai has earned a PhD degree at the Royal Danish Academy—School of Architecture. Kai entered the field of construction with a craftsman education, before he worked as a graduate architect in international architectural firms. In his PhD thesis, Kai investigated the interactive role of architecture as a mediator between humans the climatic environment. At the City of Copenhagen, he held a position as a building energy specialist and developed the municipal guidelines for sustainable construction. At the Department of the Built Environment (Aalborg University), Kai is currently studying the integration of LCA into the construction value chain, combining different types of building analyses in an integrated design process and looking into the potential of the building stock for climate change mitigation. Kai is member of the Danish Association of Architects.

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Journal article
Published: 01 February 2021 in Sustainability
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Buildings are a major cause of global resource consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other impacts on the environment, originating from both operational energy and material use. Informed design decisions can help mitigate potential impacts on the environment, by the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) in the early project stages. In order to mitigate building environment impacts throughout the industry, architects and engineers need tools that are integrated in the design workflow and based on the information available. Existing LCA tools for building design professionals are predominantly embedded in a specific context such as a country or a sustainability scheme. This paper provides learnings for the development of context-tailored tools for building-LCA using the case of Denmark, with specific focus on GHG-emissions that are in focus worldwide. Based on stakeholder involvement, four key areas were defined: Default information, flexibility, environmental design feedback and transparent results. Tool functions include a component library and a quantity estimator for bridging incomplete building information. A comparison monitor displays the performance of design solutions selected in the model, while a number of graphs and tables provide analysis of inventory and results. Finally, a customisable model data export, a complete input/output file for revision and custom analysis are among key functions for transparency.

ACS Style

Kai Kanafani; Regitze Kjær Zimmermann; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Harpa Birgisdóttir. Learnings from Developing a Context-Specific LCA Tool for Buildings—The Case of LCAbyg 4. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1508 .

AMA Style

Kai Kanafani, Regitze Kjær Zimmermann, Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, Harpa Birgisdóttir. Learnings from Developing a Context-Specific LCA Tool for Buildings—The Case of LCAbyg 4. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (3):1508.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kai Kanafani; Regitze Kjær Zimmermann; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Harpa Birgisdóttir. 2021. "Learnings from Developing a Context-Specific LCA Tool for Buildings—The Case of LCAbyg 4." Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1508.

Conference paper
Published: 21 November 2020 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
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Introduction: Buildings are responsible for 39 % of CO2 emissions in the world and have the largest consumption of natural resources. The concept of Circular Economy can be used as an approach for mitigating environmental impact in this sector. Circular economy in the built environment can be implemented on a building level through preservation instead of demolition and new construction. In order to assess the environmental impact, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework can be used. The purpose of this study is to expand the existing building-LCA framework from the CEN TC 350 standards to include existing buildings on the building site in the assessment of buildings and demonstrate the framework on a building case. This is done in order to include the environmental benefits from preserving the building materials that already exists on the building site. Methods: The framework is developed based on the existing standard for LCA for buildings and the framework is demonstrated on an existing school building. Results: The study develops and demonstrates a framework for performing LCA on buildings when an existing building is the starting point. The framework includes scenarios for 1) preservation, 2) renovation and 3) demolition and new construction. The case building shows the importance of including demolition of the existing building as it accounts for 12 % of impacts. It furthermore illustrates how the scenarios can be compared, especially in terms of when the impacts occur, i.e. that most impacts from scenario 3) happen today, which can be a challenge with a limited climate budget. Conclusion: The developed framework allow us to broaden the LCA scope to include existing buildings in the assessment such as demolition of existing buildings on building site. This makes it possible to evaluate the circular strategies on building level using LCA to the benefit of building designers, clients and policy makers.

ACS Style

Regitze Kjær Zimmermann; Kai Kanafani; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Camilla Andersen; Harpa Birgisdóttir. LCA-Framework to Evaluate Circular Economy Strategies in Existing Buildings. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2020, 588, 042044 .

AMA Style

Regitze Kjær Zimmermann, Kai Kanafani, Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, Camilla Andersen, Harpa Birgisdóttir. LCA-Framework to Evaluate Circular Economy Strategies in Existing Buildings. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2020; 588 (4):042044.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Regitze Kjær Zimmermann; Kai Kanafani; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Camilla Andersen; Harpa Birgisdóttir. 2020. "LCA-Framework to Evaluate Circular Economy Strategies in Existing Buildings." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 588, no. 4: 042044.

Journal article
Published: 22 September 2020 in Sustainability
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While the operational energy use of buildings is often regulated in current energy saving policies, their embodied greenhouse gas emissions still have a considerable mitigation potential. The study aims at developing a multi-objective optimization method for design and renovation of buildings incorporating the operational and embodied energy demands, global warming potential, and costs as objective functions. The optimization method was tested on the renovation of an apartment building in Denmark, mainly focusing envelope improvements as roof and exterior wall insulation and windows. Cellulose insulation has been the predominant result, together with fiber cement or aluminum-based cladding and 2-layered glazing. The annual energy demand has been reduced from 166.4 to a range between 76.5 and 83.7 kWh/(m2 y) in the optimal solutions. The fact that the legal requirements of 70 kWh/(m2 y) are nearly met without building service improvements indicates that energy requirements can be fulfilled without compromising greenhouse gas emissions and cost. Since the method relies on standard national performance reporting tools, the authors believe that this study is a preliminary step towards more cost-efficient and low-carbon building renovations by utilizing multi-optimization techniques.

ACS Style

Francesco Montana; Kai Kanafani; Kim Bjarne Wittchen; Harpa Birgisdottir; Sonia Longo; Maurizio Cellura; Eleonora Riva Sanseverino. Multi-Objective Optimization of Building Life Cycle Performance. A Housing Renovation Case Study in Northern Europe. Sustainability 2020, 12, 7807 .

AMA Style

Francesco Montana, Kai Kanafani, Kim Bjarne Wittchen, Harpa Birgisdottir, Sonia Longo, Maurizio Cellura, Eleonora Riva Sanseverino. Multi-Objective Optimization of Building Life Cycle Performance. A Housing Renovation Case Study in Northern Europe. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (18):7807.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Montana; Kai Kanafani; Kim Bjarne Wittchen; Harpa Birgisdottir; Sonia Longo; Maurizio Cellura; Eleonora Riva Sanseverino. 2020. "Multi-Objective Optimization of Building Life Cycle Performance. A Housing Renovation Case Study in Northern Europe." Sustainability 12, no. 18: 7807.

Journal article
Published: 05 March 2020 in Buildings and Cities
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ACS Style

Camilla Marlene Ernst Andersen; Kai Kanafani; Regitze Zimmermann; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Harpa Birgisdóttir. Comparison of GHG emissions from circular and conventional building components. Buildings and Cities 2020, 1, 379 .

AMA Style

Camilla Marlene Ernst Andersen, Kai Kanafani, Regitze Zimmermann, Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, Harpa Birgisdóttir. Comparison of GHG emissions from circular and conventional building components. Buildings and Cities. 2020; 1 (1):379.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Camilla Marlene Ernst Andersen; Kai Kanafani; Regitze Zimmermann; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Harpa Birgisdóttir. 2020. "Comparison of GHG emissions from circular and conventional building components." Buildings and Cities 1, no. 1: 379.

Conference paper
Published: 06 September 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
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There is an increasing demand for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a method for environmental impact and resource assessments of buildings. At early design stages, where major design decisions are made, the potential for improving the environmental performance using LCA is greatest. However, detailed building information is usually not available at this time. This paper presents the recent extension of LCAbyg, the official Danish building LCA-tool, integrating an LCA approach for situations, where building design and material choices are not yet fully determined. The tool assists the user in establishing a complete building inventory by providing a default component library including building services and a guide for estimating quantities. Default components in the library are based on the integrated product database Ökobaudat. A convenient generation and comparison of variants improves usability, while a new LCA design guide shall increase the uptake of LCA in larger parts of the building industry. The methodological choices of the approach are laid out and discussed. The presented approach is not limited for use in early stages, but may improve feasibility in building LCA in general as default and estimated values may be refined towards more detail in later stages of the project.

ACS Style

Kai Kanafani; Regitze Zimmermann; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; H Birgisdóttir. Early Design Stage Building LCA using The LCAbyg Tool: New Strategies For Bridging The Data Gap. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 323, 012117 .

AMA Style

Kai Kanafani, Regitze Zimmermann, Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, H Birgisdóttir. Early Design Stage Building LCA using The LCAbyg Tool: New Strategies For Bridging The Data Gap. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 323 (1):012117.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kai Kanafani; Regitze Zimmermann; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; H Birgisdóttir. 2019. "Early Design Stage Building LCA using The LCAbyg Tool: New Strategies For Bridging The Data Gap." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 323, no. 1: 012117.

Conference paper
Published: 06 September 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used and accepted as a method to assess environmental impacts and resource use of buildings. In practice, LCA is typically used in stages where the design of the building is already finalized. However, LCA-calculations from early design stages can be used actively in design and optimization of the building. One of the obstacles to early stage LCA is that extensive data input on precise material types and amounts is needed, which is limited in early design stages. The simplifications needed for a designer in an early design LCA is addressed in a research project, where an extensive library of predefined building components and installations were developed and integrated into the existing Danish LCAbyg tool. The library assists the user in establishing a full building inventory by simple inputs of geometry of the building and a selection from the library of building element layers. However, the simplified approach to LCA of a building at early design stages inevitably affects results compared with results of a calculation made at later design stages where more, specific data is available. This paper presents an evaluation of building cases, modelled with the same background database and life cycle stages, using the simplified early design LCA approach and a detailed LCA approach. The evaluation includes testing of how well the predefined components in the early design approach fit with the case buildings and comparisons of the total material input and precision of the final LCA results.

ACS Style

Regitze Zimmermann; Kai Kanafani; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; H Birgisdóttir. Early Design Stage Building LCA using the LCAbyg tool: Comparing Cases for Early Stage and Detailed LCA Approaches. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 323, 012118 .

AMA Style

Regitze Zimmermann, Kai Kanafani, Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, H Birgisdóttir. Early Design Stage Building LCA using the LCAbyg tool: Comparing Cases for Early Stage and Detailed LCA Approaches. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 323 (1):012118.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Regitze Zimmermann; Kai Kanafani; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; H Birgisdóttir. 2019. "Early Design Stage Building LCA using the LCAbyg tool: Comparing Cases for Early Stage and Detailed LCA Approaches." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 323, no. 1: 012118.

Conference paper
Published: 24 February 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
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This paper investigates how the EU Level(s) can be adopted in Denmark. The study is limited to life cycle assessment (LCA) requirements within the Level(s) scheme. As a measure for the Danish building sector's LCA practice, the specifications for LCAbyg, the official Danish building LCA tool, is used. In 2017, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre has launched Level(s) as a voluntary programme of sustainable building indicators based on existing EU standards and initiatives. Level(s)' original value, beyond the mere aggregation of existing standards, is the selection of the most relevant indicators according to EU and national policies, the graduation of indicators into three levels of comprehensiveness as well as providing original definitions and guidance for their practical application. In the absence of mandatory EU regulation for sustainable buildings, Level(s) is representing a new EU reference for sustainable building performance. The paper presents requirements and criteria given by all LCA-related indicators including building component's environmental impacts, resource use and waste. In general, these definitions are based on international standardisation. In a next step, Level(s) original definitions for procedures, for which no standard definitions exist, are isolated and presented. These extra definitions might conflict with existing schemes and tools such as LCAbyg, which are based on the more broad technical standards. Level(s) extra definitions are isolated and presented I order to get an overview on the difference between Level(s) and standardisation in order to develop existing or future initiatives to comply with Level(s). Regarding LCAbyg, it shows that the tool may be used for complying with Level(s) LCA criteria. However, if LCAbyg and Level(s) shall contribute to a broader use of building LCA in the building sector, a greater integration of guidance and calculation tool might increase feasibility and ease of method. Proposals for deeper Level(s) support in LCAbyg are given.

ACS Style

Kai Kanafani; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Regitze Kjaer Zimmermann; Harpa Birgisdottir. Adopting The EU Sustainable Performance Scheme Level(s) In The Danish Building Sector. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2019, 471, 092070 .

AMA Style

Kai Kanafani, Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, Regitze Kjaer Zimmermann, Harpa Birgisdottir. Adopting The EU Sustainable Performance Scheme Level(s) In The Danish Building Sector. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2019; 471 (9):092070.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kai Kanafani; Freja Nygaard Rasmussen; Regitze Kjaer Zimmermann; Harpa Birgisdottir. 2019. "Adopting The EU Sustainable Performance Scheme Level(s) In The Danish Building Sector." IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 471, no. 9: 092070.