Sustainable construction produces long-lasting, energy- and environmentally-efficient buildings and structures that are safe, healthy and multi-purpose for their users for more than decades. In construction life cycle thinking, the properties of the building as well as the environmental and cost effects are evaluated over the entire life cycle of the building.
In sustainable construction, different solutions are considered in terms of the building's entire life cycle and all aspects of responsibility. Combating climate change is a key goal, but low emissions or energy efficiency, for example, must not guide choices at the expense of health or safety. The solutions must be as optimal as possible for the environment, the end user and the property owner.
A look from the investment stage to the full life cycle
Bringing the principles of sustainable development into construction projects requires input-output thinking. Since the costs and environmental impacts accumulated over the life cycle are significant, the focus in their calculation must be shifted from the investment phase to the full life cycle.
Example: The energy consumption and maintenance of the building must be taken into account for the entire period of use, which can be 50 or even 150 years. Improving technical features can increase costs and emissions during the manufacturing phase, but thanks to it, energy consumption, environmental load and costs can be significantly reduced during the life cycle of the house.
Different types of buildings and construction end products have very different life cycles and technical and functional requirements and characteristics. Professional planning, functional technical solutions and careful implementation play a key role in achieving the goals of sustainable construction.
Life cycle thinking in construction already starts from the planning − the overall economy is decisive
In order to find the best solutions, close cooperation between different parties is needed, because the key decisions affecting the sustainability of the construction are already made in the planning phase.
The customer defines the intended lifespan of the building, and it guides the choices in design in accordance with life cycle thinking.
Choices made during planning and construction cannot always be changed during use, or changing them is expensive. That is why it is important that conversion flexibility, the environmental aspect and cost-effectiveness are taken into account from the beginning throughout the entire life cycle of the building.
Building products and materials are an important part of sustainable construction
A low-emission, comfortable and long-lasting building is not created by optimizing individual building parts, but rather the building is an ensemble of numerous materials and technical functions.
Since different building materials affect in different ways, for example, the building's thermal insulation ability and long-term durability, the environmental effects of the materials cannot be compared based on the manufacturing stage of the materials, but as part of the entire building and its entire life cycle.
Comparable solutions must be functionally equivalent, i.e. they must meet the same technical and functional requirements. The environmental and cost effects of maintenance and repairs must also be taken into account over the entire life cycle.
In sustainable construction, durable and functional materials are used in the right combination. The reliable long-term durability of structures and materials is important so that the properties defined for the building are maintained for the intended service life. This requires know-how: building physics must be managed better and better as energy efficiency requirements increase and weather conditions change with climate change. The thermal and moisture technical risks of different solutions must be known.