Environmental protection plays an increasingly important role in current socio-political discourse. In line with sustainability considerations, it has become essential to consider the social and ecological aspects of building design both for new and existing buildings, also with respect to affordability and efficiency.
When planning buildings, developers and investors often only consider the costs of construction. If the entire lifecycle costs of a building are examined, however, including design and planning, construction, use, demolition and recycling, it becomes clear that the utilisation phase represents by far the greatest cost factor.
The Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering will place an increasing research focus on lifecycle based building design over the coming years, not only for new builds but also for retrofit and refurbishment projects.