Life Cycle Costing of Interior Materials for Florida's Schools

Abstract

This paper describes a collaborative research project that expands an otherwise limited Service Life Cycle Cost (SLCC) evaluation of interior materials for Florida's educational facilities. The participatory research strategy involved a wide range of community representatives and academic scholars with different expertise: architecture, interior design, building construction, and civil engineering plus a variety of facilities users. The resulting SLCC evaluation produced a decision making tool that school officials could use to make informed decisions about building construction and renovation. The SLCC method differs from the AIA life cycle assessment [LCA] guidelines by utilizing input from the community of stakeholders to create an accurate and in–depth understanding of the LCA “product use phase.” By combining data from observation of users’ behavior with published information regarding interior materials, the research suggests that a majority of building costs are incurred after the initial capital expenditure for construction. The selection of interior materials, based solely on low initial cost, often results in service life costs that exceed the cost benefit of the initial purchase. The research provides evidence that interior materials have a more significant impact on the life cycle costs of educational facilities than other building materials.