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Industrial or Traditional Bamboo Construction? Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Bamboo-Based Buildings

Author

Listed:
  • Edwin Zea Escamilla

    (Centre for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, University of Zürich, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland)

  • Guillaume Habert

    (Institute of Construction Management, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland)

  • Juan Francisco Correal Daza

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, 111711 Bogotá, Colombia)

  • Hector F. Archilla

    (Amphibia–BASE & Visiting Research Fellow, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK)

  • Juan Sebastian Echeverry Fernández

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, 111711 Bogotá, Colombia)

  • David Trujillo

    (School of Energy, Construction and Environment, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK)

Abstract

The past five decades have witnessed an unprecedented growth in population. This has led to an ever-growing housing demand. It has been proposed that the use of bio-based materials, and specifically bamboo, can help alleviate the housing demand in a sustainable manner. The present paper aims to assess the environmental impact caused by using four different construction materials (bamboo, brick, concrete hollow block, and engineered bamboo) in buildings. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to measure the environmental impact of the different construction materials in the construction of single and multi-storey buildings. The LCA considered the extraction, production, transport, and use of the construction materials. The IPCC2013 evaluation method from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC2013 was used for the calculations of CO 2 emissions. The assessment was geographically located in Colombia, South America, and estimates the transport distances of the construction materials. The results show that transportation and reinforcing materials significantly contribute to the environmental impact, whereas the engineered bamboo construction system has the lowest environmental impact. The adoption of bamboo-based construction systems has a significant potential to support the regenerative development of regions where they could be used and might lead to long-lasting improvements to economies, environments, and livelihoods.

Suggested Citation

  • Edwin Zea Escamilla & Guillaume Habert & Juan Francisco Correal Daza & Hector F. Archilla & Juan Sebastian Echeverry Fernández & David Trujillo, 2018. "Industrial or Traditional Bamboo Construction? Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Bamboo-Based Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3096-:d:166731
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sharma, Aashish & Saxena, Abhishek & Sethi, Muneesh & Shree, Venu & Varun, 2011. "Life cycle assessment of buildings: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 871-875, January.
    2. Steinberger, Julia K. & Krausmann, Fridolin & Eisenmenger, Nina, 2010. "Global patterns of materials use: A socioeconomic and geophysical analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1148-1158, March.
    3. Corinna Salzer & Holger Wallbaum & Luis Felipe Lopez & Jean Luc Kouyoumji, 2016. "Sustainability of Social Housing in Asia: A Holistic Multi-Perspective Development Process for Bamboo-Based Construction in the Philippines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-26, February.
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    2. Bianca Galmarini & Paolo Costa & Leonardo Chiesi, 2022. "Natural Building Materials and Social Representations in Informal Settlements: How Perceptions of Bamboo Interfere with Sustainable, Affordable, and Quality Housing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-26, September.
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