The potential for renewable materials to reduce the embodied energy and associated greenhouse gas emissions of medium-rise buildings

摘要

The development of medium- and high-rise buildings has performed a vital role in the creation and expansion of modern cities. Our ability to build tall structures has enabled us to reduce our land use on a per-capita basis, allowing cities to manage their population growth while limiting the land degradation from urban expansion. However, the construction of these buildings comes at a price. The mining and processing of building materials uses significant amounts of energy, and the building industry is a major contributor of global greenhouse gas emissions. This paper investigates the potential of renewable building materials to reduce embodied energy and greenhouse emissions in medium-rise construction by substituting the conventional materials in a commercial building in Melbourne with renewable materials. The analysis found that overall a reduction of 13 and 14% could be made in embodied energy and greenhouse emissions, respectively. The potential and limitation of renewable building materials in this construction area are also discussed.