The adaptability of evolving green high-rise construction: embodied energy dynamics in Australian high-rise buildings

Abstract

This paper intends to establish what is the most influential embodied energy factor, materials, or construction process for high-rise buildings. This study evaluates the performance of 20 green buildings across Australia. These buildings are all high-rise buildings within the cities of Sydney (7), Melbourne (7), and Perth (6). The building Life Cycle Energy (LCE) was used to carefully perform the overall green building analysis. The evaluation of these 20 buildings found that (i) the central factors to be considered include, the energy consumed during construction, ongoing functioning of the building, and its subsequent demolition when contemplating how to build more efficient green high-rise buildings, (ii) to reduce the buildings primary energy consumption the Green buildings analysis (åGSA), was used to identified and formulate energy reduction approaches, (iii) including low energy materials and materials produced from recycled building waste into the construction present an opportunity for the reduction of energy. This paper demonstrates that through the reduction of a building’s embodied energies during the construction and subsequent operational life of the building, a contribution can be made to green buildings. These deliberations are fundamental viewpoints regarding the adaptability of sustainable buildings, particularly for the implications associated with green high-rise constructions.

Keywords

• green building analysis
• passive design strategies
• breeam
• life cycle assessment