SUSTAINABLE HIGH-RISE TIMBER BUILDINGS

Maja Zigart, Dipl.-Ing.

_{Status: ongoing
Supervisor: Prof. Brian Cody}

Abstract

Buildings account for about 40% of total final energy consumption in Europe, followed by transport (32%), industry (26%) and agriculture (2%). The construction and use of buildings in the EU account for around half of all the extracted materials and the building sector generates one third of all the waste which represents an enormous environmental burden. We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lessen the negative impact on the environment, by reducing the energy used in the whole life cycle of buildings and using materials that need less energy for production, produce less GHG emissions and can be recycled. One of the materials reaching the sustainable criteria is wood, which is lately being used also as a construction material in high-rise buildings. From England and Australia to Scandinavia, Germany and USA, we are witnessing an intensive increase of architectural projects using timber as construction material in multi-storey buildings. Besides practical examples, scientists are researching structural and life-cycle performances of timber in high-rise buildings, which shows an importance in developing sustainable concepts for high-rise timber buildings.

A rational passive design of buildings, focusing on given climate conditions, the orientation of the building, building geometry, glazing size and characteristics of the thermal envelope, is a first step in designing buildings with high energy performances which provide high thermal and living comfort. However, we should consider both operational and embodied energy and emissions that occur during the whole life-cycle of buildings. The dissertation will deal with a design of energy-efficient high-rise timber buildings, taking into consideration advantages and limitations of timber constructions and considering all stages of life-cycle of building.