Carbon and cost critical elements of buildings : a comparative analysis of two office buildings

Victoria, MF; Perera, S; Davies, Alan; Fernando, Nirodha

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to identify and compare cost and carbon critical elements of two office buildings and to propose an early design stage cost and carbon control strategy to achieve an optimum balance between building Capital Cost (CC) and Embodied Carbon (EC).
Design/methodology/approach: Case study approach was employed to identify cost and carbon critical elements of two office buildings as it allows an in-depth and holistic investigation. Elemental estimates of CC and EC were prepared from BoQs of the two office buildings by obtaining rates from the UK Building Blackbook. Pareto Principle (80:20 rule) was used to identify carbon and cost critical elements of the two buildings and the significance hierarchies of building elements were compared.
Findings: Substructure, Frame and Services were identified as both carbon and cost critical elements responsible for more than 70% of the total CC and EC in both buildings. Stairs and Ramps, Internal Doors and Fittings, Furnishings and Equipment were identified to be the least carbon and cost significant elements contributing less than 2% of total CC and EC in both buildings. The hierarchy of cost and carbon significance varies between buildings due to the difference in the specification and design.
Originality/value: The increasing significance of dual currency (cost and carbon) demands cost and carbon management during the early stages of project. Hence, this paper suggests that focusing on carbon and cost intensive building elements is a way forward to keep both cost and carbon under control during the early stages of projects.
Keywords: Carbon Hotspots, Capital Cost, Cost Hotspots, Embodied Carbon, Office Buildings.

Citation

Victoria, M., Perera, S., Davies, A., & Fernando, N. (2017). Carbon and cost critical elements of buildings : a comparative analysis of two office buildings. Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 7(5), 460-470. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-12-2016-0086

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 23, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Nov 16, 2017
• Publication Date: Nov 16, 2017
• Deposit Date: Sep 3, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 3, 2018
• Journal: Built Environment Project and Asset Management
• Print ISSN: 2044-124X
• Publisher: Emerald
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 460-470
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-12-2016-0086
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-12-2016-0086
• Related Public URLs: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/bepam