A review of the cost efficiency and environmental sustainability of cross-laminated timber compared with concrete for multi-storey buildings in Australia

Abstract

The construction of buildings has always been closely involved in our modern life, and a large amount of energy consumption and waste generated by it has led to environmental degradation. In terms of reducing the energy consumption and construction waste caused by the common building structure of reinforced concrete, the use of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) new materials can potentially alleviate such problems. The prior literature review has shown that although domestic and foreign researchers have conducted much research on CLT, the application of CLT materials in construction is still very few. In addition, the specific energy saved and carbon emissions reduced by using CLT to compare with reinforced concrete structures, the expected findings will be of great significance to the environment. In the Australian residential construction market, CLT buildings are conceptually novel and worthy of promotion. The project will use Revit to model a 6-story residential building with a reinforced concrete structure and CLT structure to analyze using the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) method and Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method. The results of this research will demonstrate whether CLT is more economically and environmentally sustainable than reinforced concrete structures. The conclusion drawn can be considered to alleviate the negative impact of construction activities on the environment. Therefore, the costs and environmental impact assessment throughout the whole life cycle of both materials will be analyzed and calculated with the specific formulas during different stages. The outcome of this research will indicate which construction material performs better in environmental sustainability and cost efficiency. In addition, the final accurate comparison between these two materials can positively contribute to the current construction market, and the Australian government may encourage CLT applications on multi-level buildings.