The building materials’ and components’ database for an evidences-based design approach

The design process has always to meet, since the preliminary approaching step, every specific requirement which is foreseen for the building to realize. In a certain way, this operation represents an every time different prototype which varies according to the design demands for the considered room and the carried function, but also according to the used building materials: such an approach is already difficult by itself, but if we consider that at present the availability of technical information about building materials, components and systems is often incomplete or lost among many documents or even absent, it is evident that the designer’s activity becomes very uneven. That is the reason why, the definition of a database for building materials in which indicating each informative attribute to be considered becomes fundamental in order to: - provide a correct, univocal, clear and complete information for every building stakeholder; - help manufacturers to individualize the real needed information to join to their products, so to allow an easier comparison among products themselves and, as a consequence, to push towards a better quality of the entire building process (improving production, design, but also management). The paper deals with an analysis of the necessary information for designers and for maintenance planners, providing different levels of deepening according to the intended use. A particular attention will be paid on the so called “evidences-based design” which gives the opportunity to point out and to consider the most meaningful design matters, making an aware choice of building materials, components and systems. The International Service Life Data Base developed by CSTB with Politecnico di Milano will be reported as a tool for service life prediction, and buildings’ management.