The life cycle assessment (LCA) method is a powerful tool that can serve to aid decision making regarding the environmental benefits of refurbishment projects. However, due to the relative complexity of LCA studies, simplified LCA methodologies are frequently used, focusing on just some of the building life cycle phases or a reduced number of indicators. The most common and widespread simplification is to only evaluate the differences a refurbishment project makes on the operational energy use of the building. This paper compares the results of applying full LCA, simplified LCA and operational energy use assessment in a refurbishment case study. Results show that simplified LCA methodologies including building use phase and product manufacturing phase can generally be sufficiently accurate to aid decision making for building energy refurbishment, as other building life cycle phases related to transport of products, on site construction, deconstruction or end of life represent a generally negligible part of the total life cycle impacts, both in terms of resource use or environmental impacts. Barriers and benefits of applying simplified LCA approaches to building energy refurbishment projects are subsequently discussed.

The present paper focuses on the architectural and constructional features required to ensure that building envelope renovation are safe, functional, and adaptable to the building stock, with particular focus on “plug and play” modular facade construction systems. It presents the design of one such system and how it addresses these issues. The outcome of early-stage functional test with a full-scale mock-up system, as well as its applicability to a real construction project is presented. It is found crucial to obtain high quality information about the status of the existing façade with the use of modern technologies such as topographic surveys or 3D scans and point cloud. Detailed design processes are required to ensure the compatibility of manufacture and installation tolerances, along with anchor systems that deliver flexibility for adjustment, and construction processes adapting standard installation methods to the architectural particularities of each case that may hinder its use or require some modification in each situation. This prefabricated plug and play modular system has been tested by reproducing the holistic methodology and new technologies in the market by means of real demonstrators. When compared to more conventional construction methods, this system achieves savings in a real case of 50% (time), 30% (materials) and 25% (waste), thus achieving significant economic savings.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is one of the great challenges that university faculties have to face. Therefore, a multidisciplinary team from the faculty of Engineering of Gipuzkoa (EIG) at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) has developed pedagogical approaches to apply in construction degrees, namely Civil Engineering and Technical Architecture. Pedagogical tools, such as problem-based learning (PBL) or research-based learning (RBL), and environmental tools, such as the life cycle assessment (LCA) and computational thinking (CT), have been used; in doing so, they acquire a sustainable approach to work “soft-skills” competencies into sustainability. For example, research-based tools have helped to revalorize waste both outside and inside the university; they have contributed to more sustainable industrial processes, collaborative research projects, and participation in conferences and scientific publications. Based on academic results, the designed tools are appropriate for teaching in Technical Architecture and Civil Engineering degrees; however, to demonstrate their potential in terms of sustainable education, holistic rubrics based on in-depth quantitative educational research are required. Thus, to analyze the ability of the students to incorporate sustainability principles in their work, the multidisciplinary team presenting this paper plans to collaborate with psychologists and sociologists within the framework of the Bizia-Lab program of the UPV/EHU.