Embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); Lighting comfort; Embodied greenhouse gas emission; Greenhouse gas emissions; Life cycle assessment; Environmental Engineering; Building and Construction; Computational Design
Abstract :
[en] The construction sector is responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions and therefore is a major driver of climate change. We must adapt our practices to design buildings that aim to achieve climate neutrality. The early design stages are critical to achieving this objective as most impactful decisions are made then. Yet very little data on the building design are available at early design. In parallel, the current research on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions has focused more on residential than office buildings. Furthermore, existing life cycle assessment studies of buildings frequently exclude lighting comfort from their scope. In this study, we propose a parametric approach to quantify the influence of design parameters on the life cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as lighting comfort. This approach is based on the generation of office layout models. Embodied flows calculations and energy and daylight simulations are then conducted on the generated models to evaluate their performance across two main dimensions: life cycle greenhouse gasses emissions and spatial daylight autonomy. Lastly, a sensitivity analysis quantifies the individual influence of the design parameters on these dimensions. We find that geometry has a significant influence on the performance of the models. In fact, we found that the width of the building and subsequently its density are the most influential parameter, followed by the window-to-wall ratio. Using parametric models at the early stage of design can help identify design solutions that achieve a high life cycle environmental performance, helping stir the construction sector towards climate neutrality while maintaining comfort standards.
Research Center/Unit :
Louvain Research Institute for Landscape, Architecture and Built Environment Architecture et Climat
Disciplines :
Architecture
Author, co-author :
Dasse, Maxime ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Urban and Environmental Engineering ; Louvain Research Institute for Landscape, Architecture, Built Environment, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Slavkovic, Katarina ; Louvain Research Institute for Landscape, Architecture, Built Environment, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium ; Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Institute of Construction and Infrastructure Management, Switzerland
Stephan, André; Louvain Research Institute for Landscape, Architecture, Built Environment, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium ; Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Gobbo, Emilie ; Louvain Research Institute for Landscape, Architecture, Built Environment, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Language :
English
Title :
Towards a parametric early design approach for office buildings that integrates life cycle assessment and indoor environmental quality
Publication date :
01 February 2026
Journal title :
Building and Environment
ISSN :
0360-1323
eISSN :
1873-684X
Publisher :
Elsevier Ltd
Volume :
289
Pages :
113998
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Development Goals :
11. Sustainable cities and communities 13. Climate action
The lead author would like to acknowledge the support and advice of Bryce Burignat during the development of the original statistical analysis Python code. This work was supported by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - FNRS under Grant(s) n\u00B0 [ T.0004.23F ].
Lee, H., Calvin, K., Dasgupta, D., Krinner, G., Mukherji, A., Thorne, P., Trisos, C., Romero, J., Aldunce, P., Barrett, K., Blanco, G., Cheung, W.W.L., Connors, S.L., Denton, F., Diongue-Niang, A., Dodman, D., Garschagen, M., Geden, O., Hayward, B., Jones, C., Jotzo, F., Krug, T., Lasco, R., Lee, J.Y., Masson-Delmotte, V., Meinshausen, M., Mintenbeck, K., Mokssit, A., Otto, F.E.L., Pathak, M., Pirani, A., Poloczanska, E., Pörtner, H.O., Revi, A., Roberts, D.C., Roy, J., Ruane, A.C., Skea, J., Shukla, P.R., Slade, R., Slangen, A., Sokona, Y., Sörensson, A.A., Tignor, M., van Vuuren, D., Wei, Y.M., Winkler, H., Zhai, P., Zommers, Z., IPCC, 2023: climate Change 2023: synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Lee, H., Romero, J., (eds.) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2023, Core Writing Team, IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647 (First).
The Paris Agreement. November 29, 2018, UNFCCC UNFCCC https://unfccc.int/documents/184656.
EU Commission & Directorate-General for Energy. October 14 Commun. From the comm. To the Eur. Parliam. The Counc. The Eur. Econ. And soc. Comm. And the Comm. Of the Reg. Renov. Wave Eur.—Green. Our build. Creat. Jobs Improv. Lives, 2020 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0662.
Chandrasekaran, V., Dvarionienė, J., A review of the environmental impact of buildings with an emphasis on performance assessment tools and their incorporation of LCA. Adv. Civ. Eng. 2022 (2022), 1–22, 10.1155/2022/9947920.
TC 207. (2006). ISO 14044:2006 Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Requirements and guidelines (No. 14044:2006). (Published).
TC 207/SC 5. (2006). ISO 14040:2006 Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Principles and framework (No. 14040:2006). (Published).
Pomponi, F., De Wolf, C., Moncaster, A., Embodied Carbon in Buildings: Measurement, Management, and Mitigation. 2018, Springer International Publishing, 10.1007/978-3-319-72796-7.
Kristjansdottir, T.F., Heeren, N., Andresen, I., Brattebø, H., Comparative emission analysis of low-energy and zero-emission buildings. Build. Res. Inf. 46:4 (2018), 367–382, 10.1080/09613218.2017.1305690.
Blengini, G.A., Di Carlo, T., The changing role of life cycle phases, subsystems and materials in the LCA of low energy buildings. Energy Build. 42:6 (2010), 869–880, 10.1016/j.enbuild.2009.12.009.
Stephan, A., Crawford, R.H., De Myttenaere, K., Multi-scale life cycle energy analysis of a low-density suburban neighbourhood in Melbourne, Australia. Build. Env. 68 (2013), 35–49, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2013.06.003.
Crawford, R.H., Bartak, E.L., Stephan, A., Jensen, C.A., Evaluating the life cycle energy benefits of energy efficiency regulations for buildings. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 63 (2016), 435–451, 10.1016/j.rser.2016.05.061.
Röck, M., Saade, M.R.M., Balouktsi, M., Rasmussen, F.N., Birgisdottir, H., Frischknecht, R., Habert, G., Lützkendorf, T., Passer, A., Embodied GHG emissions of buildings – The hidden challenge for effective climate change mitigation. Appl. Energy, 258, 2020, 114107, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114107.
Zaker Esteghamati, M., Sharifnia, H., Ton, D., Asiatico, P., Reichard, G., Flint, M.M., Sustainable early design exploration of mid-rise office buildings with different subsystems using comparative life cycle assessment. J. Build. Eng., 48, 2022, 104004, 10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104004.
Lützkendorf, T., Assessing the environmental performance of buildings: trends, lessons and tensions. Build. Res. Inf. 46:5 (2018), 594–614, 10.1080/09613218.2017.1356126.
Roberts, M., Allen, S., Coley, D., Life cycle assessment in the building design process – A systematic literature review. Build. Env., 185, 2020, 107274, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107274.
Prideaux, F., Allacker, K., H Crawford, R., Stephan, A., Integrating life cycle assessment into the building design process—A review. Environ. Res.: Infrastruct. Sustain., 4(2), 2024, 022001, 10.1088/2634-4505/ad3577.
Jusselme, T., Rey, E., Andersen, M., An integrative approach for embodied energy: towards an LCA -based data-driven design method. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 88 (2018), 123–132, 10.1016/j.rser.2018.02.036.
Wang, X., Teigland, R., Hollberg, A., Identifying influential architectural design variables for early-stage building sustainability optimization. Build. Env., 252, 2024, 111295, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.111295.
Hemsath, T.L., Alagheband Bandhosseini, K., Sensitivity analysis evaluating basic building geometry's effect on energy use. Renew. Energy 76 (2015), 526–538, 10.1016/j.renene.2014.11.044.
Kistelegdi, I., Horváth, K.R., Storcz, T., Ercsey, Z., Building geometry as a variable in energy, comfort, and environmental design optimization—A review from the perspective of architects. Buildings, 12(1), 2022, 69, 10.3390/buildings12010069.
Latha, H., Patil, S., Kini, P.G., Influence of architectural space layout and building perimeter on the energy performance of buildings: a systematic literature review. Int. J. Energy Environ. Eng., 2022, 10.1007/s40095-022-00522-4.
Shahbazi, Y., Heydari, M., Haghparast, F., An early-stage design optimization for office buildings’ façade providing high-energy performance and daylight. Indoor. Built. Environ. 28:10 (2019), 1350–1367, 10.1177/1420326x19840761.
Slavkovic, K., Stephan, A., Mulders, G., A parametric approach to defining archetypes for an integrated material stocks and flows analysis and life cycle assessment of built stocks. Archit. Sci. User Exp. : How Can Des. Enhance Qual. Life 55 (2022), 55–65 http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/271078.
Stephan, A., Athanassiadis, A., Quantifying and mapping embodied environmental requirements of urban building stocks. Build. Env. 114 (2017), 187–202, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2016.11.043.
Hollberg, A., Ruth, J., LCA in architectural design—A parametric approach. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 21:7 (2016), 943–960, 10.1007/s11367-016-1065-1.
Xiao, H., Cai, H., Li, X., Non-visual effects of indoor light environment on humans: a review✰. Physiol. Behav., 228, 2021, 113195, 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113195.
CEN. (2021). EN 15643:2021 Sustainability of construction works—Framework for assessment of buildings and civil engineering works.
Trigaux, D., & Wai Chung, L. (2023, November). Environmental profile of buildings [update 2023]. https://www.totem-building.be/downloads.xhtml.
Ajayi, S.O., Oyedele, L.O., Ilori, O.M., Changing significance of embodied energy: a comparative study of material specifications and building energy sources. J. Build. Eng. 23 (2019), 324–333, 10.1016/j.jobe.2019.02.008.
Alshamrani, O.S., Life cycle assessment of low-rise office building with different structure–Envelope configurations. Can. J. Civ. Eng. 43:3 (2016), 193–200, 10.1139/cjce-2015-0431.
Amiri Rad, E., Fallahi, E., Optimizing the insulation thickness of external wall by a novel 3E (energy, environmental, economic) method. Constr. Build. Mater. 205 (2019), 196–212, 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.02.006.
Asdrubali, F., Baldassarri, C., Fthenakis, V., Life cycle analysis in the construction sector: guiding the optimization of conventional Italian buildings. Energy Build. 64 (2013), 73–89, 10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.04.018.
Azari, R., Integrated energy and environmental life cycle assessment of office building envelopes. Energy Build. 82 (2014), 156–162, 10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.06.041.
Biswas, W.K., Carbon footprint and embodied energy consumption assessment of building construction works in Western Australia. Int. J. Sustain. Built Environ. 3:2 (2014), 179–186, 10.1016/j.ijsbe.2014.11.004.
Gangolells, M., Gaspar, K., Casals, M., Ferré-Bigorra, J., Forcada, N., Macarulla, M., Life-cycle environmental and cost-effective energy retrofitting solutions for office stock. Sustain. Cities. Soc., 61, 2020, 102319, 10.1016/j.scs.2020.102319.
Garcez, M.R., Rohden, A.B., Graupner De Godoy, L.G., The role of concrete compressive strength on the service life and life cycle of a RC structure: case study. J. Clean. Prod. 172 (2018), 27–38, 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.153.
Gauch, H.L., Dunant, C.F., Hawkins, W., Cabrera Serrenho, A., What really matters in multi-storey building design? A simultaneous sensitivity study of embodied carbon, construction cost, and operational energy. Appl. Energy, 333, 2023, 120585, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.120585.
Hasik, V., Ororbia, M., Warn, G.P., Bilec, M.M., Whole building life cycle environmental impacts and costs: a sensitivity study of design and service decisions. Build. Env., 163, 2019, 106316, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106316.
Larivière-Lajoie, R., Blanchet, P., Amor, B., Evaluating the importance of the embodied impacts of wall assemblies in the context of a low environmental impact energy mix. Build. Env., 207, 2022, 108534, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108534.
Luo, X.J., Retrofitting existing office buildings towards life-cycle net-zero energy and carbon. Sustain. Cities. Soc., 83, 2022, 103956, 10.1016/j.scs.2022.103956.
Marino, C., Nucara, A., Pietrafesa, M., Does window-to-wall ratio have a significant effect on the energy consumption of buildings? A parametric analysis in Italian climate conditions. J. Build. Eng. 13 (2017), 169–183, 10.1016/j.jobe.2017.08.001.
Marique, A.-F., Rossi, B., Cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment within the built environment: comparison between the refurbishment and the complete reconstruction of an office building in Belgium. J. Env., Manage 224 (2018), 396–405, 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.02.055.
Méndez Echenagucia, T., Capozzoli, A., Cascone, Y., Sassone, M., The early design stage of a building envelope: multi-objective search through heating, cooling and lighting energy performance analysis. Appl. Energy 154 (2015), 577–591, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.04.090.
Moschetti, R., Brattebø, H., Sparrevik, M., Exploring the pathway from zero-energy to zero-emission building solutions: a case study of a Norwegian office building. Energy Build. 188–189 (2019), 84–97, 10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.01.047.
Najjar, M., Figueiredo, K., Palumbo, M., Haddad, A., Integration of BIM and LCA: evaluating the environmental impacts of building materials at an early stage of designing a typical office building. J. Build. Eng. 14 (2017), 115–126, 10.1016/j.jobe.2017.10.005.
Peng, C., Calculation of a building's life cycle carbon emissions based on Ecotect and building information modeling. J. Clean. Prod. 112 (2016), 453–465, 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.08.078.
Robertson, A.B., Lam, F.C.F., Cole, R.J., A comparative cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of mid-rise office building construction alternatives: laminated timber or reinforced concrete. Buildings 2:3 (2012), 245–270, 10.3390/buildings2030245.
Taborianski, V.M., Prado, R.T.A., Methodology of CO2 emission evaluation in the life cycle of office building façades. Env. Impact Assess Rev. 33:1 (2012), 41–47, 10.1016/j.eiar.2011.10.004.
Tevis, R., Schuster, N., Evans, F., Himmler, R., Gheewala, S.H., A multi-scenario life cycle impact comparison of operational energy supply techniques for an office building in Thailand. Energy Build. 190 (2019), 172–182, 10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.02.038.
Thiel, C., Campion, N., Landis, A., Jones, A., Schaefer, L., Bilec, M., A materials life cycle assessment of a net-zero energy building. Energies 6:2 (2013), 1125–1141, 10.3390/en6021125.
Wu, H.J., Yuan, Z.W., Zhang, L., Bi, J., Life cycle energy consumption and CO2 emission of an office building in China. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 17:2 (2012), 105–118, 10.1007/s11367-011-0342-2.
McNeel, R. (2008). Grasshopper [Computer software]. https://www.grasshopper3d.com.
McNeel, R. (1998). Rhino (Version 7) [Computer software]. https://www.rhino3d.com.
Crawley, D.B., Lawrie, L.K., Winkelmann, F.C., Buhl, W.F., Huang, Y.J., Pedersen, C.O., Strand, R.K., Liesen, R.J., Fisher, D.E., Witte, M.J., Glazer, J., EnergyPlus: creating a new-generation building energy simulation program. Energy Build. 33:4 (2001), 319–331, 10.1016/S0378-7788(00)00114-6.
Ward, G.J., The RADIANCE lighting simulation and rendering system. Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques - SIGGRAPH ’94, 1994, 459–472, 10.1145/192161.192286.
Stephan, A., Prideaux, F., Crawford, R.H., EPiC grasshopper: a bottom-up parametric tool to quantify life cycle embodied environmental flows of buildings and infrastructure assets. Build. Env., 248, 2024, 111077, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111077.
Trimble Inc. (n.d.). SketchUp (Version 2025) [Computer software]. https://www.sketchup.com.
Autodesk Forma. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2024, from https://www.autodesk.com/products/forma/overview.
Rusk, J., & Yu, L. (n.d.). C.Scale. Retrieved February 12, 2024, from https://docs.cscale.io/.
Laiout.co. (2022, February 15). https://www.laiout.co/.
Neufert, E., Kister, J., Sturge, D., Architects’ Data. 5th edition, 2019, Wiley-Blackwell.
Goia, F., Search for the optimal window-to-wall ratio in office buildings in different European climates and the implications on total energy saving potential. Sol. Energy 132 (2016), 467–492, 10.1016/j.solener.2016.03.031.
Ma, P., Wang, L.-S., Guo, N., Maximum window-to-wall ratio of a thermally autonomous building as a function of envelope U -value and ambient temperature amplitude. Appl. Energy 146 (2015), 84–91, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.01.103.
Crawford, R., Stephan, A., Prideaux, F., EPiC Database (p. 19908678 Bytes). 2021, University of Melbourne, 10.26188/5DC228EF98C5A.
Crawford, R.H., Stephan, A., Prideaux, F., The EPiC database: hybrid embodied environmental flow coefficients for construction materials. Resour. Conserv. Recycl., 180, 2022, 106058, 10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.106058.
Sonderegger, T. (2024). Implementation of Life Cycle Impact Assessment Methods in the ecoinvent Database v3.11. ecoinvent Association.
Pomponi, F., Lenzen, M., Hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) will likely yield more accurate results than process-based LCA. J. Clean. Prod. 176 (2018), 210–215, 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.119.
Majeau-Bettez, G., Strømman, A.H., Hertwich, E.G., Evaluation of process- and input–Output-based life cycle inventory data with regard to truncation and aggregation issues. Env. Sci. Technol. 45:23 (2011), 10170–10177, 10.1021/es201308x.
Lenzen, M., Errors in conventional and input-output—Based life—Cycle inventories. J. Ind. Ecol. 4:4 (2000), 127–148, 10.1162/10881980052541981.
EPB Requirements. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2024, from https://energie.wallonie.be/fr/exigences-peb-electromobilite.html?IDC=9136#Exigences%20PEB.
VITO /EnergyVille, KU Leuven, BBRI, UC Louvain & ICEDD. TOTEM – Tool Optimise Total Environ. Impact Mater., 2018 https://www.totem-building.be/.
Henninger, R.H., Witte, M.J., Crawley, D.B., Analytical and comparative testing of EnergyPlus using IEA HVAC BESTEST E100–E200 test suite. Energy Build. 36:8 (2004), 855–863, 10.1016/j.enbuild.2004.01.025.
Han, Y., Shen, L., Sun, C., Developing a parametric morphable annual daylight prediction model with improved generalization capability for the early stages of office building design. Build. Env., 200, 2021, 107932, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107932.
Xie, J., Sawyer, A.O., Simulation-assisted data-driven method for glare control with automated shading systems in office buildings. Build. Env., 196, 2021, 107801, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107801.
Lin, C.-H., Tsay, Y.-S., A metamodel based on intermediary features for daylight performance prediction of façade design. Build Env., 206, 2021, 108371, 10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108371.
Androsics-Zetz, D.N., Kistelegdi, I., Ercsey, Z., Algorithmic generation of building typology for office building design. Buildings, 12(7), 2022, 884, 10.3390/buildings12070884.
Huberman, N., Pearlmutter, D., A life-cycle energy analysis of building materials in the Negev desert. Energy Build. 40:5 (2008), 837–848, 10.1016/j.enbuild.2007.06.002.
Stephan, A., Stephan, L., Reducing the total life cycle energy demand of recent residential buildings in Lebanon. Energy 74 (2014), 618–637, 10.1016/j.energy.2014.07.028.
Zwierzycki, M. (2015). Anemone (Version 0.4) [Computer software]. https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/anemone.
GRID Warsaw. Main Climates of Europe. 2012, European Environment Agency [Map] https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-and-charts/climate.
Dasse, M., Source Code Towards Parametr. Early Des. Approach off. Build. That Integr. Life Cycle Assess. Indoor Environ. Qual., 2025 https://github.com/Maxime-Dasse/papers-data/tree/c254598c519bb579d8d83138bea2cb360ebdea4b/Towards%20a%20parametric%20early%20design%20approach%20for%20office%20buildings%20that%20integrates%20life%20cycle%20assessment%20and%20indoor%20environmental%20quality.
