Guidelines for Material Selection in Building Components to Reduce Life Cycle Impacts in Office Buildings in Thailand

Abstract

Nowadays, the primary cause of the greenhouse effect in the building sector is energy use during the operational phase. However, construction material manufacturing is another significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, choosing environmentally friendly construction materials is crucial and should be considered at the building design stage to reduce environmental impacts as much as possible.

This research focuses on assessing the environmental impact of office buildings in Thailand through two case studies, each with a gross floor area not exceeding 10,000 square meters and different building materials, using the life cycle assessment method according to the EN-15978 (2011) standard. Data on material quantities were collected from building information modeling (BIM) and construction documents. The impacts were evaluated using One Click LCA, and the energy use was analyzed using EnergyPlus. Findings indicate that flooring systems emit the most greenhouse gases, followed by piles and exterior wall systems. Four mitigation strategies aligned with these high-impact components are proposed, including 1) Replacing post-tensioned slabs with bubble deck slabs, 2) Increasing the use of fly ash in concrete, 3) Replacing external walls with autoclaved aerated concrete block walls, and 4) Replacing external wall with fiber cement walls (Case Study 1 switch from a precast concrete wall system, and Case Study 2 switch from a Masonry wall system). Each strategy could reduce energy use and environmental impact compared to the reference building design, aligning with LEED BD+C V4.1 criteria.