Life-cycle Environmental Impact Assessment of High-rise Apartments

Concern about global environment has been increasing in recent years. Efforts to minimize the environmental impact to the globe as well as human beings have increased, especially in the late twentieth century. The study researches one of the solutions for the environmentally friendly building construction, which can contribute to sustaining the world environment. Assessment and proposals are made for high-rise apartments, one of the most popular construction types nowadays in Korea. Since the volume of high-rise apartment construction is so great, a small improvement in each building will make a great contribution. Assessments are made over the life-span of apartment buildings. A tool named EIAHA (Environmental Impact Assessment for High-rise Apartment) has been made through references from western examples, mainly in the UK. The components of EIAHA include passive design strategies, building materials, energy consumption during building operation and management/maintenance. Although the issues are on a global scale, solutions are sought on regional scale. Korean high-rise apartments are assessed with the tool and suggestions for sustainable development are made mainly for improvement of embodied energy of building materials and the life of buildings.