Life Cycle Assessment of buildings and courtyards - Case study in Helsingborg

Sammanfattning

This thesis investigates the climate impact of a newly constructed residential complex in Oceanhamnen, Helsingborg, through an extended life cycle assessment (LCA) covering both building and non-building elements such as road infrastructure, inner courtyards, external installations, that area often overlooked in conventional assessments. The aim is to develop a replicable method to quantify the global warming potential (GWP) of the entire complex. The study also compares the climate impact of the building and its surroundings to identify key areas for emission reduction and proposes design improvements to support the transition toward climate neutrality. Separate methodological frameworks were introduced for assessing the GWP of building components and non-building site elements. For the building, a dynamic energy simulation using Rhinoceros and Grasshopper was combined with a detailed material-based LCA using Brimstone, incorporating stages A to C. For non-building elements a custom workflow in Excel was applied, integrating Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), transport scenarios and earthworks emissions. This dualpath approach made it possible to compare and combine the building and non-building elements within one carbon assessment framework. A design improvement scenario was introduced focusing on buildings structural system. Timber-based materials with carbon-storing properties replaced the most part of the above ground reinforced concrete structure systems. Results show that non-building elements account for approximately 4% of total emissions, significantly lower than the building itself, which accounted for the remaining 96%. The redesign achieved a 30% reduction in total GWP. Structural systems were identified as the most impactful building elements and the ones that the focus should be put when aiming for carbon footprint reduction.