Life Cycle Driven Structures

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-394-30052-5
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Buch, Englisch, 352 Seiten

A practical guide on assessing and reducing environmental impact across all building life cycle stages

As sustainability becomes central to design and construction practices, professionals must go beyond intuition and embrace Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to measure and minimize embodied carbon. Life Cycle Driven Structures is a much-needed bridge between theory and application for assessing environmental performance across the full span of a building's life. Integrating life cycle thinking directly into structural design decision-making, this timely book equips readers with the essential knowledge and tools to perform robust LCA to meet growing regulatory and market demands for environmentally conscious design.

Alper Kanyilmaz, a leading expert in sustainable construction and LCA education, provides a structured, methodical approach supported by practical exercises and real-world case studies. The author addresses a critical knowledge gap in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) curricula and practice by demonstrating how LCA can inform material selection, structural systems, and construction methods. In-depth chapters cover steel, reinforced concrete, and mass timber structures—offering nuanced comparisons and clear guidance on using environmental product declarations (EPDs), carbon databases, and reduction strategies.

Delivering a comprehensive, hands-on learning experience that directly supports the AEC sector's shift toward lower-carbon, more sustainable building practices, Life Cycle Driven Structures:

- Covers the full building life cycle, including material sourcing, construction, operation, and end-of-life stages
- Presents comparative LCA results for different structural systems and material choices
- Features real-world case studies to illustrate the practical application of theory
- Includes hands-on exercises to reinforce understanding and build applied skills
- Discusses key tools, databases, and environmental product declarations (EPDs) used in LCA
- Provides insights drawn from cutting-edge European research projects and teaching experience

Aligned with ISO 14000 standards for environmental management, Life Cycle Driven Structures is ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in civil engineering, architecture, and construction management programs, and is also a valuable reference for AEC professionals pursuing sustainable practices in industry.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kanyilmaz, Alper

Fachgebiete

• Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Baukonstruktion, Baufachmaterialien
• Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Bauökologie, Baubiologie, Bauphysik, Bauchemie
• Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Konstruktiver Ingenieurbau, Baustatik
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Nachhaltigkeit, Grüne Technologien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Definitions of Major Components of Climate Crisis
1.2 Impact of Structural Systems on a Construction Product's Carbon Footprint
1.3 Role of Construction Materials in the Climate Crisis
1.4 Role of Structural Engineers and Architects in Climate Action
1.5 Regulatory Push for Decarbonization
1.6 Life-Cycle Driven Structures Framework
1.7 Conclusion
1.8 Questions
1.9 References

Chapter 2: A summary of Life-Cycle Analysis focusing on embodied carbon of steel, mass timber and reinforced concrete
2.1 Introduction to Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA)
2.2 The Stages of Life-Cycle Analysis for Building Structures
2.3 Upfront Carbon (A1 to A3) for Steel, Concrete, and Timber construction products
2.4 Construction Stage Carbon for Building Structures (A4 to A5)
2.5 End-of-Life Stages
2.6 Beyond the Life Cycle (D)
2.7 Embodied carbon intensity rating systems
2.8 Conclusion
2.9 Questions
2.10 References

Chapter 3: Measuring and Reducing Embodied Carbon in Structures
3.1 Understanding the embodied carbon equation
3.2 Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and databases
3.3 Benchmarking, Tools, and Reporting
3.4 Beyond quantifying: how to reduce embodied carbon ?
3.5 Exercise: Example of Calculation of Embodied Carbon Intensity of a multi-storey building
3.6 Conclusion
3.7 Exercises
3.8 Discussion and Review Questions
3.9 References

Chapter 4: Life Cycle Parameter Analysis (LCPA) at Component Level
4.1 Principles of Parameter Analysis
4.2 Combining LCA and Parameter Analysis: LCPA
4.3 Case Study: Columns (Steel, Timber, Concrete, Composite)
4.4 Case Study: Beams (IPE, HEA, Truss, Steel, Timber, Reinforced Concrete)
4.5 Integrating Other Factors into LCPA
4.6 Conclusion
4.7 Questions
4.8 References

Chapter 5: Life Cycle Parametric Analysis (LPSA) at Building Level
5.1 Why is optioneering at the conceptual design stage is important?
5.2 Buildings and assumptions used for benchmarking
5.3 Early-Stage design alternatives using representative portions
5.4 The impact of tubular profiles and higher strength steel
5.5 Influence of the carbon factor selection on the final results
5.6 What if we use a hybrid approach combining CLT slabs with a Steel frame?
5.7 How to account for uncertainty of input carbon factors?
5.8 Questions
5.9 References

Chapter 6: Life Cycle Optimization (LCO) for Conceptual Design
6.1 Key Decisions to be Given at a Conceptual Design of Building Structures
6.2 Decisions given at a conceptual design of building structures
6.3 Life Cycle Optimization (LCO) at conceptual design using Genetic Algorithms
6.4 Description of a LCO Building Conceptual Design Tool and its applications
6.5 Example: LCO-based sensitivity analysis
6.6 Example: Impact of Geometric Parameters on Building Cost and Embodied Carbon
6.7 Conclusions and future trends of a data-driven conceptual design
6.8 Discussions and Review Questions

Chapter 7: Life cycle driven earthquake-resistant design
7.1 Seismic design philosophies in relation to life cycle thinking
7.2 Role of construction materials on seismic design with life cycle thinking
7.3 Resilience of non-structural elements under earthquakes
7.4 Retrofitting for resilience of existing building stock
7.5 Seismic Design Codes and their Influence on Sustainable and Resilient Structures
7.6 Impact on Community
7.7 Conclusion
7.8 Question
7.9 References

Chapter 8: Real-world applications of life-cycle driven structures
8.1 Adaptive Reuse and Circular Construction
8.2 Material Efficiency and Technology
8.3 Hybrid, Composite and Modular Systems
8.4 Regenerative Design in Harsh Soil and Seismic Conditions
8.5 Resilient Infrastructure Design
8.6 Conclusion
8.7 Questions
8.8 References

Appendices
Appendix A: Glossary of Terms

Über Autor(innen)

Alper Kanyilmaz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, Built Environment, and Construction Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. A leader in sustainable construction and structural engineering, he coordinates major EU and industry-funded research projects exploring topics such as expert systems for optimizing construction processes, multi-objective conceptual design and reuse strategies, and fiber optic interferometry for post-earthquake monitoring, all focused on optimizing cost, embodied carbon and structural performance in construction industry.

He is an Expert Advisor for the European Commission Steel Advisory Group, and a project monitoring expert for future low-emission industries. Kanyilmaz teaches and trains more than 300 students and professionals annually on life-cycle-driven structures. He is the founder of the acclaimed course, “Life-Cycle Driven Structures.”