An increased use of biobased materials, like timber, as well as establishing circularity in the built environment is one way to limit waste, pressure on primary resources and environmental impact. However, it is not always obvious which structural system is the better choice for the overall performance of a building and cross-laminated timber (CLT) has become a popular choice. Resources are limited and especially with an increasing demand for timber in the future, a less material-intensive way of building might be advantageous. This work compares two structural systems of an 8-storey residential timber building. The original structure consists of CLT shear walls and was redesigned with a glulam-frame system. The reversible connections allow for an easy and damage free assembly and disassembly, thus allowing for a reuse of structural elements at the end of life (EoL). Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a commonly used tool to evaluate the environmental footprint of a building. Although several studies (Robertson, Lam and Cole, 2012; Eliassen, Faanes and Bohne, 2019; Andersen, Rasmussen and Ryberg, 2022) compare concrete, steel, and timber buildings, the comparison of structural timber systems for a specific case are rare. Different approaches to considering reuse can be found in the literature, but they lack transparency and comparability (Eberhardt et al., 2020; Andersen et al., 2021).
Keywords: LCA, reuse, structural element, timber, circularity, reversible connection
Authors
Alisa Resch
NTNU, Trondheim
Haris Stamatopoulos
NTNU, Trondheim
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