How do costs and technology interact in sustainable building over an LCA perspective? A comparative analysis in Italian context

In Europe the building sector spends 40% of energy resources and more than 50% of natural ones, as well as being the most responsible of the GHGs emissions. In order to realize a sustainable built environment a more holistic design approach to environmental issues is required, able to assess in a holistic way the impacts of the building along the whole life cycle. A comparison among four different technological construction systems (light weight framed wood, massive timber, masonry and aerated autoclaved concrete) are discussed including various thermal insulation levels for each solution. The analysis is developed in a “from cradle-tograve” scenario, considering: extraction, production, transportation and end-of-life of each building material, operational needs - heating over a 100 years lifespan - and finally maintenance considering the substitution and replacement of failed components. Only the construction phase is neglected. In addition to the environmental costs, evaluated considering the embodied energy (EE), renewable and not, construction and operational economic costs are considered in order to define the most sustainable technical and construction choices. From the results wood construction systems seem to have more benefits than traditional ones, despite still high economic costs.