Obsolescence – understanding the underlying processes

Obsolescence, defined as the process of declining performance of buildings, is a serious threat for the value, the usefulness and the life span of built properties. Thomsen and van der Flier (2011) developed a model in which obsolescence is categorised on the basis of two distinctions, i.e. between endogenous and exogenous cause-effect...

Influence of materials composition and transportation tours on life cycle assessment of recycled aggregate concrete

In a context of incitation to the waste recovery as recycled aggregates to be re-introduced into new concrete, this paper aims to compare the environmental impacts related to the composition of concrete to ones due to the transportation of the recycled aggregates, issued from demolition wastes, by implementing a life cycle assessment (LCA). This...

Uncertainties Analysis and Life Cycle Costs of Piping Mitigation Measures

The traditional Dutch way to deal with piping failure in river dikes is the implementation of piping berms. The disadvantage of such a measure is the required inland space. Relief wells, on the other hand, require less or no inland space representing an attractive alternative solution. The aims of this paper are first, to show how reliability...

A Consideration on Deterioration Model for Cold Region Tunnel Lining Based on Life-cycle Concept

This paper proposes the tunnel lining deterioration model which is based upon actual inspection data in order to carry out strategic maintenance and to rationalize life cycle cost analysis for tunnel structures. The evaluation value of deteriorating tunnel structures is a non-stationary stochastic process, and reliability problems of such...

3D Cadastre 1

With more than 50% of the world’s population living in cities, and the proportion of the world’s population living in cities growing to an astonishing 70% by 2050, cities and city infrastructure become an even bigger factor in the quality of life. These numbers reflect the growth of urban areas by 2.5 billion people in the next 40 years which...

Attaining Performance with Building Information Modelling

The paper presents the findings of a systematic literature review of approximately 200 scientific sources. It is designed with the aim to identify the current benefits and factors of high performance in Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) since the introduction of Building Information Modelling (BIM). We formed and confirmed two main...

Using ' whole life cycle value' to evaluate infrastructure megaprojects

Project evaluation is an effective tool in project management as it provides stakeholders with a management process through which they can learn from the past and perform better in the future. Although various project monitoring and evaluation methods have been used in the construction industry, most of these traditional evaluation approaches...

Obsolescence and the end of life phase of buildings

What is obsolescence? Numerous older housing blocks have been knocked down because of being obsolete. There is a general understanding that buildings, like machinery and durable consumer goods, should be replaced when they become obsolete. But is this true? Obsolescence is a serious threat for built property. Given its immobile, long lasting and...

A paradigm shift or chocke? The future of western Europe housing stocks

The 20th century saw an enormous worldwide growth of the housing stock. In particular the building boom after WW-II, during which the housing stock in most countries was multifolded, focussed the attention of the housing sector primarily to the planning and realisation of new construction; the consciousness of the enormous maintenance and...

New output quality indicators in construction productivity measurement

Productivity increase in the construction industry is often seen as low. Construction innovation projects could be prioritized partly based on expected contribution to industry productivity. Quality change in construction outputs and inputs is crucial. The purpose is to explore new output quality indicators. The analysis draws upon life cycle...

Sustainability aspects of plastic pipe systems; the environmental pillar of the polyvinylchloride (PVC-U) solid wall sewer pipe system

The paper describes the importance that the European Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association (TEPPFA) attaches to sustainability aspects that are related to their business and products and focuses on a recently performed life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental product declaration (EPD) project. First the incentives of TEPPFA to apply the...

An integrated approach for financial and environmental cost optimisation of heating services

A four-year project has started in 2007 to develop a methodology that can be applied to optimize the Belgian dwelling stock. The aim of the project is to optimise buildings concerning their environmental impact, their financial cost and the quality they offer over the whole life cycle, from the production of primary raw materials to the final...

Functions of reuse and recycling in the service economy

The present paper aims at communicating the business world the vision of sustainable competitiveness entailing the adoption of the new business models of producing, selling and maintaining performance over time. These models include strategies that can head firms in designing and producing goods that facilitate the efficient use of resources...

Sustainable buisinesses practices in supply chains: Experiences from Swedish companies

Businesses play a vital role in building a more sustainable society by practicing and promoting more socially and environmentally responsible practices along supply chains. The social and environmental conduct of Western companies in their respective countries is usually rather strong due to the existing strong legislation on human rights,...

Introducing an approach to access environmental pressures from integrated remediation and landfill mining

The aim of the paper is to introduce an approach for evaluating integrated remediation and landfill mining scenarios. Since completed projects with similar scope and goals mostly have been pilot studies or projects with little emphasis on resource extraction, there is very little real case data to access. Thus, scenarios for three different...