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Life Cycle and Sustainability: Concepts and Keywords

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Life Cycle Design

Part of the book series: PoliTO Springer Series ((PTSS))

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on the link between the life cycle design approach and the concept of “sustainability”. By reviewing specific keywords it will define the principle of sustainable life cycle design. Starting with this concept the chapter will investigate the state of the art and the role in the design process of regulations, laws, environmental protocols, integrated design tools and software, and the assessment of sustainability in construction. It takes into account both the international scenario and its application in Italy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ecofriendly or Eco-friendly adj. Having a beneficial effect on the environment or at least not causing environmental damage. (Collins English Dictionary—Complete and Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition ©HarperCollins Publishers). Origins: by 1993, from eco- + friendly. (Online Etymology Dictionary, ©2010 Douglas Harper).

  2. 2.

    The term “negative entropy” is the opposite of “entropy”, which in thermodynamics represents the index of the state of disorder of the physical system. It was introduced by Erwin Schrödinger in his book What is life? (1943). Léon Brillouin later summarised the concept using the word “negentropy” to express its intrinsic positive meaning.

  3. 3.

    In French sustainable development is translated as développement durable.

  4. 4.

    H. Daly, Steady State Economics, San Francisco, Freeman, 2nd ed. New York, Island Press, 1991.

  5. 5.

    The economic theory developed by Professor Robert Costanza aimed at “developing sustainable models of economic development, unlike economic growth which is not sustainable in a finite planet” (Tiezzi and Marchettini 1999).

  6. 6.

    Lorenzo Matteoli, Lesson 2018/03/04, Shanghai, China.

  7. 7.

    R. Costanza et al., “The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital” in Nature, 1997, 387, pp. 253–260. Reference taken from the book by Tiezzi E. and Marchettini N., Che cos’è lo sviluppo sostenibile, Donzelli Editore, Roma, 1999.

  8. 8.

    For the first time the Stockholm Conference in 1972 drew attention to the fact that to make long-lasting improvements to people’s living conditions, natural resources had to be protected in a fair manner, and international collaboration was needed to achieve this goal. That same year the Club of Rome published the “The Limits to Growth” report which, against the background of the Stockholm Conference and the oil crisis in the early seventies, obtained worldwide resonance. The Stockholm Declaration, a crucial benchmark in international politics, anticipated the concept of “Sustainable Development” introduced in 1987.

  9. 9.

    In Italy the word progettista (designer) can refer to an architect, engineer, surveyor or appraiser. Elsewhere the word architect (English) or architecte (French) is used.

  10. 10.

    Alberti LB (1585), De re aedificatoria. On the art of building in ten books. (translated by Joseph Rykwert, Robert Tavernor and Neil Leach). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1988.

  11. 11.

    The most important standard regarding quality is the ISO 9000 series (current edition 2015) Quality management systems—Fundamentals and vocabulary, initially issued in 2000. The standard is based on the first version of ISO 8402:1988 (Quality—Terminology). As regards quality in the building process, reference is made to standards: ISO 10006:2017 Quality management—Guidelines for quality management in projects and UNI 10722 (2007–2009) Edilizia - Qualificazione e verifica del progetto edilizio di nuove costruzioni.

  12. 12.

    In September 2016, the Ente Italiano di Normazione published standard UNI 11648 formally defining the figure of a project manager and the expertise and skills required to work professionally. Internationally, a project manager was defined by standard ISO 21500, later adopted and published in Italy as UNI ISO 21500 Guida alla gestione dei progetti (project management).

  13. 13.

    M. Zanuso (p. 1) in La progettazione integrata per l'edilizia industrializzata (series of general teaching debates)/M. Zanuso, N. Tubi, H. Weber [et al.], Milano: ITEC; 1977.

  14. 14.

    Ibidem.

  15. 15.

    Gerard Balchère, (p. 123) in La progettazione integrata per l'edilizia industrializzata (cycle of general teaching debates)/M. Zanuso, N. Tubi, H. Weber [et al.], Milano: ITEC; 1977.

  16. 16.

    In Italy standard UNI 8289:1981 classifies the requirements regarding safety, wellbeing, fruition, appearance, management, integration, and protection of the environment. In 1994 Maggi proposed two more standards: easy-assembly and economics.

  17. 17.

    UNI 10838:1999 Edilizia—Terminologia riferita all'utenza, alle prestazioni, al processo edilizio e alla qualità edilizia. This replaces the series UNI 7867 series dated 1978. (Internationally, ISO 19208:2016 Framework for specifying performance in buildings. It replaces several standards published in 1980 and in 1992–1994).

  18. 18.

    ISO 11863:2011 Buildings and building-related facilities—Functional and user requirements and performance.

  19. 19.

    UNI 10838:1999 op. cit.

  20. 20.

    Ibidem.

  21. 21.

    For example the work that has to be performed after accidental damage or technological obsolescence.

  22. 22.

    Cfr. Chapter three.

  23. 23.

    https://www.iso.org/standard/45559.html?browse=tc (access 24/09/2018).

  24. 24.

    https://www.iso.org/news/2010/08/Ref1344.html (access 24/09/2018).

  25. 25.

    On 14 June 2018 the Commission, the Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement including a binding energy efficiency target of 32.5% for the EU in 2030, with a clause for an upwards revision by 2023. This political agreement must now be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council (https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-efficiency).

  26. 26.

    http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/844/oj.

  27. 27.

    Member States will have 20 months to transpose its provisions into national law (namely by 10 March 2020).

  28. 28.

    For more in-depth information about sustainability certification systems, consult the websites of the individual assessment systems. The continuous upgrading of these systems and the close link between geography/standards and the application of the system requires accurate verification that has to be performed on a case by case basis according to the use requirements.

  29. 29.

    http://www.nationalbimstandard.org/faqs (access 1/10/2018).

  30. 30.

    The use of BIM in public tenders in Italy will be mandatory on 01/01/2019 for complex works (over 100 million); 01/01/2020 for works between 50 and 100 million; 01/01/2025 for works worth one million euro.

  31. 31.

    These software contain databases and impact assessment methods. They provide access to the data in the databases and calculation methods, ensuring traceability, transparency and personalised data. These software programmes can be used only by expert users familiar with LCA. The most popular in Europe include SimaPro (Pré consultant, NL); GaBi (DE) and the OpenLCA (DE).

  32. 32.

    Although these software are based on databases and assessment methods acknowledged by the scientific community, they have a simplified interface where data cannot be modified. The validity of the results is therefore compromised by factors linked to data localisation and insufficient transparency. These software can be used by non-expert users unfamiliar with LCA and are very useful during the initial stages of a project to compare different building solutions. They include, amongst others: eToolLCD (AUS), Tally (India), Bees (USA), IESVE (UK) and OneClickLCA (Finland). Some of them can import the quantities and characteristics of materials directly from a BIM model into a 3D modelling software, including Revit (Autodesk, USA), Archicad (Graphisoft, Ungheria).

  33. 33.

    The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is created and verified in accordance with ISO 14025. It is based on the Life Cycle Assessment specified in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.

  34. 34.

    http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/buildings.htm (access on 31/10/2018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Architettura e Design (DAD), Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

    Francesca Thiébat

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  1. Francesca Thiébat
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Correspondence to Francesca Thiébat .

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Thiébat, F. (2019). Life Cycle and Sustainability: Concepts and Keywords. In: Life Cycle Design. PoliTO Springer Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11497-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11497-8_1

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