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Assessing life cycle costs over increasing building circularity levels

Braakman, L. (2019) Assessing life cycle costs over increasing building circularity levels.

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Abstract:In the last couple of years, actors in the construction industry have demonstrated an increasing willingness to move towards circular businesses. However, many consider circular construction to be more expensive, which makes actors reluctant for investing in circularity. This study contributes to existing literature by relating the building’s circularity level to its Life Cycle Costs. Using design-oriented research, scenarios with a gradually increasing circularity level are designed on the basis of a standard one-family house. The scenarios are then related to their Life Cycle Costs. The results revealed that it is possible to double the current building design’s circularity level while keeping the Life Cycle Costs equal. At the highest circular scenario, the Life Cycle Costs increase sharply due to almost doubled purchasing costs. Increasing the lifespan of the building revealed an increasing difference in the operational and End of Life costs between low and high circular building scenarios. The turning point of which the Life Cycle Costs are lower for buildings with the highest reachable circularity level (of 0,49) is around 85 years of lifespan. Although, it is more economic attractive to double in circularity level as it directly decreases the Life Cycle costs. Incentives of the government should encourage the industry to invest and collaborate with chain partners to develop better circular building materials and decrease the purchasing costs.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:ET: Engineering Technology
Subject:52 mechanical engineering
Programme:Construction Management and Engineering MSc (60337)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/79183
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