How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions?
In line with the Paris Agreement, Norway aims for an up to 55% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to be a low-emission society by 2050. Given that 85–90% of today’s buildings are expected to still be in use in 2050, refurbishment and adaptive reuse of exi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/13/5978 |
| _version_ | 1827601223060029440 |
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| author | Selamawit Mamo Fufa Cecilie Flyen Anne-Cathrine Flyen |
| author_facet | Selamawit Mamo Fufa Cecilie Flyen Anne-Cathrine Flyen |
| author_sort | Selamawit Mamo Fufa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In line with the Paris Agreement, Norway aims for an up to 55% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to be a low-emission society by 2050. Given that 85–90% of today’s buildings are expected to still be in use in 2050, refurbishment and adaptive reuse of existing buildings can help in achieving the environmental goals. The aim of this work is to provide a holistic picture of refurbishment and adaptive reuse of existing buildings, including buildings with heritage values, seen from a life cycle perspective. The methods applied are a literature review of LCA studies and experiences from quantitative case study analysis of selected Norwegian case studies. The findings show that extending the service life of existing buildings by refurbishment and adaptive reuse has significant possibilities in reducing GHG emissions, keeping cultural heritage values, and saving scarce raw material resources. The findings show limited LCA studies, uncertainties in existing LCA studies due to variations in case-specific refurbishment or intervention measures, and a lack of transparent and harmonized background data and methodological choices. In conclusion, performing a holistic study covering the whole LCA and including socio-cultural values and economic aspects will enable supporting an argument to assert the sustainability of existing buildings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:50:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a363d7b6078443e9b84120cee911a5d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:50:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-a363d7b6078443e9b84120cee911a5d22023-12-03T13:11:06ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172021-06-011113597810.3390/app11135978How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions?Selamawit Mamo Fufa0Cecilie Flyen1Anne-Cathrine Flyen2Department of Architectural Engineering, SINTEF Community, P.O. Box 124 Blindern, NO-0314 Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Architectural Engineering, SINTEF Community, P.O. Box 124 Blindern, NO-0314 Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Buildings, Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, Storgata 2, 0155 Oslo, NorwayIn line with the Paris Agreement, Norway aims for an up to 55% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to be a low-emission society by 2050. Given that 85–90% of today’s buildings are expected to still be in use in 2050, refurbishment and adaptive reuse of existing buildings can help in achieving the environmental goals. The aim of this work is to provide a holistic picture of refurbishment and adaptive reuse of existing buildings, including buildings with heritage values, seen from a life cycle perspective. The methods applied are a literature review of LCA studies and experiences from quantitative case study analysis of selected Norwegian case studies. The findings show that extending the service life of existing buildings by refurbishment and adaptive reuse has significant possibilities in reducing GHG emissions, keeping cultural heritage values, and saving scarce raw material resources. The findings show limited LCA studies, uncertainties in existing LCA studies due to variations in case-specific refurbishment or intervention measures, and a lack of transparent and harmonized background data and methodological choices. In conclusion, performing a holistic study covering the whole LCA and including socio-cultural values and economic aspects will enable supporting an argument to assert the sustainability of existing buildings.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/13/5978embodied emissionexisting buildingLCAheritage valuesocio-cultural value |
| spellingShingle | Selamawit Mamo Fufa Cecilie Flyen Anne-Cathrine Flyen How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions? Applied Sciences embodied emission existing building LCA heritage value socio-cultural value |
| title | How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions? |
| title_full | How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions? |
| title_fullStr | How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions? |
| title_short | How Can Existing Buildings with Historic Values Contribute to Achieving Emission Reduction Ambitions? |
| title_sort | how can existing buildings with historic values contribute to achieving emission reduction ambitions |
| topic | embodied emission existing building LCA heritage value socio-cultural value |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/13/5978 |
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