Mid Sweden University

When it comes to more sustainable buildings, energy use in the build environment has been in focus for some time. The life cycle assessment in this study reveals that the building materials can contribute significantly to environmental burdens of a residential building in northern Sweden. Energy efficiency, efficient use of good building materials and issues of appropriate design need to be discussed in the same context to move toward a more sustainable built environment.

A life cycle assessment of a passive house in northern Sweden, including building materials and energy use is reported. This case study is used as base for a discussion of what can constituent resilience in the built environment.

For energy efficient buildings in a energy system with renewably based energy carriers, building materials might give rise to a significant or even dominating part of the life cycle impact of a building. This give rise to considerations regarding choices of building materials as well as design of buildings to minimize such impacts while not forgetting social aspects impacted by building design. “Resilience” in the housing sector needs to be discussed and defined in a context taking into account LCA impacts of building materials, energy efficiency, design issues and social issues at the same time.