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Manufacture and erection – TWIST The TWIST shell structure of the CUBE Result House was built from carbon concrete using the wet spraying method. The report from the executing company's perspective provides a detailed description of the technological realization based on the plans submitted for execution. The paper deals with special aspects of production, which result from technology, building materials used, building material properties and general conditions during construction. The experience gained should serve the further development of carbon concrete constructions and shows the need for development to be ready for practice with regard to construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life Cycle Assessment in the Building Sector – Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Common Ceiling Systems In the past, life cycle assessments (LCAs) of buildings were only carried out in rare cases at the request of project initiators. Against the backdrop of social and political pressure to act more climate‐friendly and sustainably, LCAs and the available data are also becoming increasingly economically relevant. This paper therefore presents the essential principles of LCA in the building sector. In addition to a critical analysis of the scope of assessment, there is a brief presentation of available data bases, such as the national database ÖKOBAUDAT. Furthermore, the greenhouse gas balance of timber as a building material is discussed, which in some cases opens up considerable scope for assessment with the risk of false incentives. As horizontal building components, ceiling systems of multi‐storey buildings can cause almost 40 % of the structural emissions and are therefore highly relevant for a LCA. By varying the life cycle stages assessed and data sets used as possible factors influencing the results of a LCA, these building components are examined and compared in more detail in the following article. Despite some sensitive effects on the comparison of the ceiling systems, the LCA offers a decision‐making aid for the selection of ceiling systems in terms of reduced greenhouse gas emissions of a shell construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental Performance of Ceiling Systems in Building Construction – Currently used Systems and Future Optimisation Potenzial The building industry counts to the most influencing sectors regarding raw material demand, energy use and solid waste generation (≥ 38 %). The development and use of construction methods and building materials with minimal environmental impact over the entire life cycle has therefore utmost relevance. In order to quantify the environmental impact of construction methods and materials, a fact‐based life cycle assessment must be carried out. Currently, these kinds of assessments are not state of practice with a lack of objective comparisons missing on the market. When looking at building construction, ceiling systems in particular have a great influence on the environmental footprint of the entire building. Therefore, this paper is dedicated to the environmental comparison of different ceiling systems in building construction based on EN 15804 and EN 15978. The system boundaries were defined with the life cycle phases of cradle‐to‐gate and cradle‐to‐grave. A total of nine different ceiling types within different structural systems were considered and evaluated. All systems were dimensioned as efficiently as possible according to common engineering practice for the given boundary conditions with the currently valid standards (ÖNORM, Eurocode). The results show that environmental competitive systems can be implemented using all considered materials. The key is to take the materials properties into account while simultaneously optimising the structure and load‐bearing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strengthening inner urban development is a guiding principle of Germany's sustainability policy and the key to achieving the 30-hectare target. To date, however, it is hardly possible to determine retrospectively the share of building construction activity realized as inner and outer urban development. On the one hand, there is the genuine fuzziness of the inner urban area (Innenbereich) as a spatial construct, and on the other hand, there is the lack of available small-scale data on building construction activity. Against this background, this paper presents for the first time a methodological approach to determine and evaluate the relevance of inner urban development for large areas and over longer periods of time for Germany. The method is applied for the federal state of North Rhine- Westphalia and the housing construction activity from 1979 to 2011. The result shows a positive trend, indicating that cities and municipalities have succeeded in realizing more housing as inner urban development over time. At the same time, significant differences between urban and rural areas are apparent. A central conclusion is therefore to support smaller municipalities in their efforts for more inner urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strengthening inner urban development is a guiding principle of Germany's sustainability policy and the key to achieving the 30-hectare target. To date, however, it is hardly possible to determine retrospectively the share of building construction activity realized as inner and outer urban development. On the one hand, there is the genuine fuzziness of the inner urban area (Innenbereich) as a spatial construct, and on the other hand, there is the lack of available small-scale data on building construction activity. Against this background, this paper presents for the first time amethodological approach to determine and evaluate the relevance of inner urban development for large areas and over longer periods of time for Germany. The method is applied for the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the housing construction activity from 1979 to 2011. The result shows a positive trend, indicating that cities and municipalities have succeeded in realizing more housing as inner urban development over time. At the same time, significant differences between urban and rural areas are apparent. A central conclusion is therefore to support smaller municipalities in their efforts for more inner urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]