Sustainable detached family house  -  case study

In recent years, users, architects and engineers have all been searching for the most economic dwelling building systems. In this context, steel-framed houses have become a choice in many European countries, including Romania. One of the issues raised in the case of the new systems concerns their environmental impact. This paper presents an innovative structure/envelope solution, enabling flexible floor plans and modular construction, faster fabrication and erection times and high solution diversity for floors and envelope. The main features of the architectural and technical solution are presented here. In the second part, the paper presents a comparative life cycle analysis for the above house, designed with various solutions. For this purpose, the building was designed with four different solutions, each having its own structural system, as follows: (1) hot-rolled steel framing  -  the innovative structure; (2) cold-formed steel framing; (3) timber framing, and (4) masonry. Besides the life cycle analysis at the level of the structural framework, studies regarding the cladding solution, versatility and adaptability of the four structural frames have been integrated. Several aspects are presented in turn in order to underline the impact for different stages during the life cycle: (a) construction stage only; (b) construction stage and final disposal of materials; (c) construction stage, disposal and maintenance.