Achieving over 45% greenhouse gas reduction in a large University Amphitheatre: a life cycle assessment in Cameroon

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) offers a comprehensive and rigorous framework for evaluating the environmental performance
of buildings across all stages of their life cycle. This study assesses the full life cycle impacts (construction, operation,
renovation, and demolition) of Amphitheatre 1001 at the University of Yaoundé I and evaluates the effectiveness of several mitigation strategies. Using the PLEIADES software suite, which integrates dynamic thermal simulation and LCA modelling,
five scenarios were analysed: mobility management, photovoltaic (PV) solar energy production, a combined mobility-PV scenario, rainwater harvesting, and building orientation. Results reveal that the combined mobility and PV scenario delivers the largest environmental benefit, achieving a 45.57% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and an average cumulative reduction of 26.42% across all impact categories over an 80-year life cycle. The PV-only scenario yields an average reduction of 18.07%, while mobility management alone achieves 8.35%. Rainwater harvesting produces a marginal improvement (0.23%), and orientation changes have no measurable influence on environmental performance. These findings highlight the critical role of integrated energy and mobility strategies for achieving significant environmental gains in high-occupancy
educational buildings located in tropical regions.