IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v157y2022ics136403212101296x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the sustainability of industrialised building systems: A bibliographic review and analysis of case studies

Author

Listed:
  • López-Guerrero, Rafael E.
  • Vera, Sergio
  • Carpio, Manuel

Abstract

The building construction has a significant impact on sustainability worldwide. However, industrialised building systems (IBS) might reduce these impacts compared to traditional building systems (TBS). Previous literature reviews have analysed IBS's sustainability, based primarily on environmental aspects and through qualitative indicators, disregarding a detailed quantitative comparison between both technologies and nor considering economic and social sustainability indicators. To fill this gap, this paper aims to evaluate vis-à-vis IBS's sustainability in relation to TBS, based on the quantitative and qualitative indicators studied in the literature. Thus, an exhaustive bibliographic review of IBS and TBS case studies was conducted. In total, 67 scientific papers were selected (papers, book chapters and reports), containing 86 case studies. Major findings indicated that IBS are more sustainable in almost all studied values – except construction costs. Nevertheless, this advantage depends on material design, prefabrication levels, transportation, work management and each author's methodological approaches. These factors are discussed to explain the reasons for IBS′ sustainability. Furthermore, main conclusions indicate that sustainability assessments have been unbalanced in literature, with few analyses of economic and social performance, and some indicators have been poorly studied (e.g., water and acidification potential), so their results are not yet representative. Similarly, reusability, prefabrication levels and the social indicators of IBS were insufficiently analysed in the reviewed case studies. Finally, the current review highlights IBS sustainability indicators that have been less studied in order to motivate new investigations in the broader field, exposing the IBS sustainability outlook and other research gaps.

Suggested Citation

  • López-Guerrero, Rafael E. & Vera, Sergio & Carpio, Manuel, 2022. "A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the sustainability of industrialised building systems: A bibliographic review and analysis of case studies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:157:y:2022:i:c:s136403212101296x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.112034
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136403212101296X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2021.112034?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shan Zhang & Yuhong Pan & Ning Li & Qi Sun, 2014. "A Comparative Study of the Direct Costs Between Prefabricated Housing System and the Traditional Construction Technology—A Case Study of Precast Concrete Wall Panel," Springer Books, in: Donglang Yang & Yanjun Qian (ed.), Proceedings of the 18th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 349-358, Springer.
    2. Chris Turner & John Oyekan & Lampros K. Stergioulas, 2021. "Distributed Manufacturing: A New Digital Framework for Sustainable Modular Construction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Kaicheng Shen & Chen Cheng & Xiaodong Li & Zhihui Zhang, 2019. "Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis of Prefabricated Public Housing in Beijing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, January.
    4. Yongsheng Jiang & Dong Zhao & Dedong Wang & Yudong Xing, 2019. "Sustainable Performance of Buildings through Modular Prefabrication in the Construction Phase: A Comparative Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Lara Jaillon & C. S. Poon, 2008. "Sustainable construction aspects of using prefabrication in dense urban environment: a Hong Kong case study," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(9), pages 953-966.
    6. John Quale & Matthew J. Eckelman & Kyle W. Williams & Greg Sloditskie & Julie B. Zimmerman, 2012. "Construction Matters: Comparing Environmental Impacts of Building Modular and Conventional Homes in the United States," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 16(2), pages 243-253, April.
    7. Yu, Sisi & Liu, Yanfeng & Wang, Dengjia & Bahaj, AbuBakr S. & Wu, Yue & Liu, Jiaping, 2021. "Review of thermal and environmental performance of prefabricated buildings: Implications to emission reductions in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    8. Chunbo Zhang & Mingming Hu & Xining Yang & Arianna Amati & Arnold Tukker, 2020. "Life cycle greenhouse gas emission and cost analysis of prefabricated concrete building façade elements," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(5), pages 1016-1030, October.
    9. Tumminia, Giovanni & Guarino, Francesco & Longo, Sonia & Ferraro, Marco & Cellura, Maurizio & Antonucci, Vincenzo, 2018. "Life cycle energy performances and environmental impacts of a prefabricated building module," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 272-283.
    10. Lachimpadi, Suresh Kumar & Pereira, Joy Jacqueline & Taha, Mohd Raihan & Mokhtar, Mazlin, 2012. "Construction waste minimisation comparing conventional and precast construction (Mixed System and IBS) methods in high-rise buildings: A Malaysia case study," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 96-103.
    11. Yuan Qi & Siwei Chang & Yingbo Ji & Kai Qi, 2018. "BIM-Based Incremental Cost Analysis Method of Prefabricated Buildings in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-21, November.
    12. Soares, N. & Bastos, J. & Pereira, L. Dias & Soares, A. & Amaral, A.R. & Asadi, E. & Rodrigues, E. & Lamas, F.B. & Monteiro, H. & Lopes, M.A.R. & Gaspar, A.R., 2017. "A review on current advances in the energy and environmental performance of buildings towards a more sustainable built environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 845-860.
    13. Fred Edmond Boafo & Jin-Hee Kim & Jun-Tae Kim, 2016. "Performance of Modular Prefabricated Architecture: Case Study-Based Review and Future Pathways," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-16, June.
    14. Lu, Weisheng & Yuan, Hongping, 2013. "Investigating waste reduction potential in the upstream processes of offshore prefabrication construction," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 804-811.
    15. Boya Jiang & Hongxian Li & Ling Dong & Yu Wang & Yiqi Tao, 2018. "Cradle-to-Site Carbon Emissions Assessment of Prefabricated Rebar Cages for High-Rise Buildings in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-29, December.
    16. Kamali, Mohammad & Hewage, Kasun, 2016. "Life cycle performance of modular buildings: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1171-1183.
    17. He Wang & Yinqi Zhang & Weijun Gao & Soichiro Kuroki, 2020. "Life Cycle Environmental and Cost Performance of Prefabricated Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, March.
    18. Siyu Liu & Shunzhi Qian, 2019. "Towards sustainability‐oriented decision making: Model development and its validation via a comparative case study on building construction methods," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(5), pages 860-872, September.
    19. Li, Zhengdao & Shen, Geoffrey Qiping & Alshawi, Mustafa, 2014. "Measuring the impact of prefabrication on construction waste reduction: An empirical study in China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 27-39.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yu, Sisi & Liu, Yanfeng & Wang, Dengjia & Bahaj, AbuBakr S. & Wu, Yue & Liu, Jiaping, 2021. "Review of thermal and environmental performance of prefabricated buildings: Implications to emission reductions in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Yongsheng Jiang & Dong Zhao & Dedong Wang & Yudong Xing, 2019. "Sustainable Performance of Buildings through Modular Prefabrication in the Construction Phase: A Comparative Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-15, October.
    3. Yang Liu & Jianjun Dong & Ling Shen, 2020. "A Conceptual Development Framework for Prefabricated Construction Supply Chain Management: An Integrated Overview," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-29, March.
    4. Zezhou Wu & Lirong Luo & Heng Li & Ying Wang & Guoqiang Bi & Maxwell Fordjour Antwi-Afari, 2021. "An Analysis on Promoting Prefabrication Implementation in Construction Industry towards Sustainability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-21, October.
    5. Hosang Hyun & Hyunsoo Kim & Hyun-Soo Lee & Moonseo Park & Jeonghoon Lee, 2020. "Integrated Design Process for Modular Construction Projects to Reduce Rework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-19, January.
    6. Pei Dang & Zhanwen Niu & Shang Gao & Lei Hou & Guomin Zhang, 2020. "Critical Factors Influencing the Sustainable Construction Capability in Prefabrication of Chinese Construction Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-21, October.
    7. Wen Jiang & Menglin Liu & Lu Gan & Chong Wang, 2021. "Optimal Pricing, Ordering, and Coordination for Prefabricated Building Supply Chain with Power Structure and Flexible Cap-and-Trade," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(19), pages 1-22, September.
    8. Xin Jin & Geoffrey Q. P. Shen & Qian-Cheng Wang & E. M. A. C. Ekanayake & Siqi Fan, 2021. "Promoting Construction Industrialisation with Policy Interventions: A Holistic Review of Published Policy Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-23, November.
    9. Yanqiu Cui & Simeng Li & Chunlu Liu & Ninghan Sun, 2020. "Creation and Diversified Applications of Plane Module Libraries for Prefabricated Houses Based on BIM," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, January.
    10. Zhong-Lei Wang & Hou-Cai Shen & Jian Zuo, 2019. "Risks in Prefabricated Buildings in China: Importance-Performance Analysis Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-13, June.
    11. Chris Turner & John Oyekan & Lampros K. Stergioulas, 2021. "Distributed Manufacturing: A New Digital Framework for Sustainable Modular Construction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-16, February.
    12. Qianqian Zhao & Junzhen Li & Roman Fediuk & Sergey Klyuev & Darya Nemova, 2021. "Benefit Evaluation Model of Prefabricated Buildings in Seasonally Frozen Regions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, November.
    13. Lei Jiang & Zhongfu Li & Long Li & Yunli Gao, 2018. "Constraints on the Promotion of Prefabricated Construction in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1, July.
    14. Truong Dang Hoang Nhat Nguyen & Hyosoo Moon & Yonghan Ahn, 2022. "Critical Review of Trends in Modular Integrated Construction Research with a Focus on Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    15. Qianqian Shi & Ziyu Wang & Boya Li & Marcel Hertogh & Shuyi Wang, 2022. "Evolutionary Analysis of Prefabrication Implementation in Construction Projects under Low-Carbon Policies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-14, September.
    16. Jiarui Qi & Hsi-Chi Yang, 2021. "Improvement of a Truss-Reinforced, Half-Concrete Slab Floor System for Construction Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15, March.
    17. Andrew Agapiou, 2021. "An Exploration of the Best Value Perceptions of Small Housebuilding Developers towards Offsite Construction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, April.
    18. Kristiansen, A.B. & Ma, T. & Wang, R.Z., 2019. "Perspectives on industrialized transportable solar powered zero energy buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 112-124.
    19. Paola Gallo & Rosa Romano & Elisa Belardi, 2021. "Smart Green Prefabrication: Sustainability Performances of Industrialized Building Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-31, April.
    20. Li, Zhengdao & Shen, Geoffrey Qiping & Alshawi, Mustafa, 2014. "Measuring the impact of prefabrication on construction waste reduction: An empirical study in China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 27-39.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:157:y:2022:i:c:s136403212101296x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.