Toward the Reduction of Environmental Impacts of Temporary Event Structures

Abstract

In the context of temporary events, the use of structural systems suitable for short-term use is a key strategy in terms of organization. However, this type of ephemeral structure currently requires the implementation of significant resources, for which the characteristics of flexibility and economic efficiency most often prevail over considerations related to sustainability.This lack of sustainability exists due to several attributes of a temporary building. Firstly, the distance between the place of storage and the one of use requires transportation, which can sometimes represent a significant share of consumption and environmental impacts. Furthermore, heat energy required to achieve an acceptable level of indoor comfort in a building with little or no thermal isolation is disproportionate to the short time of use. Finally, the materials used, in most cases, have a significant life cycle in terms of embodied energy required for their manufacture and respectively their disposal. However, many parameters are not as yet subject to specific studies. Contributing to remedy this lack, the present paper aims to evaluate the environmental impacts and lack of performances of current temporary event structures. In order to compare them with the expected performances of an alternative proposition –the On STAGE Project-, which refers to architectural quality and high level of comfort with an optimal use of resources and a minimization of environmental impacts.Firstly, a detailed analysis of a typical ephemeral structure system is presented, through an assessment process, that takes into account not only environmental criteria calculated on the whole life cycle, Non Renewable Energy (NRE) and Global Warming Potential (GWP), but also the thermal and acoustic comfort. Then the set of results will be compared to the simulated values for On STAGE Project, and show that it is possible, through an integrated design process based on the principles of bioclimatic architecture and the use of renewable energy sources, to design a temporary structure capable of high level of comfort, preserving resources and reducing environmental impacts, in order to meet sustainability goals, even in the case of a short lifespan.