ARTICLE IN PRESS

Building and Environment 42 (2007) 1329–1334

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Life cycle, sustainability and the transcendent quality

of building materials
Eduardo Peris Mora
Departamento de Ingenierı´a de la Construccion y Proyectos de Ingenierı´a Civil, Valencia Polytechnic University, Spain
Received 4 October 2004; received in revised form 27 September 2005; accepted 9 November 2005

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between the life cycle of engineering works and their sustainable and transcendent qualities, and
considers the possibility of creating durable works with ephemeral materials. This paper also studies the impact of urban growth and its
infrastructures on the environment through the consumption of raw materials and energy. City metabolism is one of the main causes of
environmental deterioration, and present-day tendencies make it foreseeable that both urban and infrastructure development shall
continue to increase. Although the expression ‘‘sustainable construction’’ is being used more and more, it is necessary to distinguish
between the sustainability of the construction activity and the sustainability of works constructed. Both the materials and technologies
used since ancient times have allowed many past works to have lasted thousands of years. Some were made out of permanent materials
such as stone while others were made out of more ephemeral materials such as adobe bricks or cob walls. Structures built with Roman
cement are still standing after 20 centuries. The overall durability of built structures depends on the durability of their materials.
Transcendent construction was made possible either using permanent materials or more ephemeral materials, providing the project had
taken the need for maintenance into consideration. The development of building works in a modular fashion makes the repairing action
of modifying materials or parts of works possible without destroying its basic structure. With our present-day knowledge, plain concrete
permits to create transcendent structures that could last several centuries.
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Keywords: Building materials; Construction; Maintenance; Durability; Sustainability; Life cycle

1. Introduction interested on the effects of building materials on sustain-

There is plenty of scientific literature on durability, the
life cycle and sustainability associated to building materi-
als. Adding a transcendental dimension is almost compul-
sory for many works which, through their own vocation,
have been designed with the purpose of extending their
durability to greater scales than a single human generation.
All human groups and their ways of building are
determined by their geographical and historical environ-
ment. In this sense, geography, anthropology, the science
of materials and their relations with building, can allow us
to understand the built environment better. Engineers,
architects, experimental scientists and other specialists,
share the interest to analyze the environment form different
point of view. Materials and environmental engineers are
E-mail address: eperis@cst.upv.es.
ability. Eminent ecologist, professor Margalef describes an
inexplicable phenomenon: in nature: Natural ecosystems
(excluding mankind) evolve in such a way that they
culminate in an accumulation of wood in their most
developed stages whereas mankind, especially during the
last half century, follows an inexplicable process of
accumulating concrete [1]. The Romans built concrete
works with a cement chemically similar to that we use
today, leaving behind works that have transcended
temporarily and intellectually over many generations [2].
The Roman roads that still exist—some of them beneath
our modern-day highways—were at the time the most
efficient way to maintain good communication within the
Roman empire, and which have given rise to an expression
that is common in several European languages, which is
more or less expressed by ‘‘all roads lead to Rome’’.
However, this expression would not be totally justified if

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doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2005.11.004
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1330 E. Peris Mora / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 1329–1334
we do not think of more ephemeral roads (‘‘Walker, there
is no path, rather the wakes on the sea’’, as written by the
Spanish poet, Machado [3]). The Romans maintained a
close relationship with their environment using environ-
mental factors such as volcanic craters as harbours and
natural materials such volcanic ash to develop their
building technology and society. Ports and roadways, as
well as irrigation systems and aqueducts built by Romans
and older cultures, constitute a heritage of works which we
should assess as ‘‘transcendent structures’’ because they
have aesthetic values are durable, having remained
generation after generation.
The increase of the world’s population propitiates the
construction of more large, expensive infrastructures which
are, supposedly, built to last. City metabolism is respon-
sible for the greatest consumptions of materials, energy and
water [4]. The world population is expected to increase by
almost 2 thousand million people between the years 2000
and 2030, and almost all these inhabitants shall live in
African, Asian and Latin American cities [5]. The cities
belonging to the ‘‘Industrial North’’ were the demographic
centre of attention around the year 1900. In the year 2000
however, only Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles are
featured on the list of the ten largest world populations.
The demographers expect the city of Los Angeles to be
exceeded by fast growing cities such as Lagos, Doha,
Karachi and Jakarta by the year 2015. The number of
inhabitants presently living in large urban areas already
reaches the figure of 3000 million; between 2000 and 2015
this figure shall be increased by 972 million; every 5 years
the urban population in Africa, Latin America and Asia
doubles in number. However, it is estimated that more than
60% of this population shall live under indescribable living
conditions.
An increase in population is coupled to a raise in
atmospheric emissions and these adversely affect the
durability of building materials [6]. When the total atmo-
spheric emissions of the five substances that we use to
measure pollution are estimated (CO, NOx, SO2, HC and
particles), it is surprising to find that natural emissions
easily exceed the collective anthropogenic emissions.
However atmospheric pollution problems, as far as these
substances are concerned, originate to a great extent from
spatial and temporary concentrations rather than from the
total quantity released [7], and this concentration is mainly
produced in urban atmospheres. Other global environ-
mental problems are also found in the cities: From vehicle
exhaust pipes which heat the atmosphere, to the demand of
wood for building purposes that deforests the land and is a
threat to biodiversity, and a municipal thirst that leads to
massive water consumption. Cities are therefore where the
greatest amount of world resources are consumed.
Approximately 78% of carbon emissions come from fossil
fuels that are burnt to make cement, and 76% of industrial
wood worldwide is used in large metropolitan areas.
Furthermore, 60% of the water that runs through pipelines
is consumed in cities [5].
Nonetheless, cities constitute a driving power for the
economical and social development of most countries;
cities generate 55% of the GNP (Gross National Product)
in those countries with weaker economies, 73% of the
GNP in countries with an average development, and 85%
in the more developed countries. It is this economic growth
that ensures that communities invest in infrastructures and
may providing general services to the population [8].
According to the above it is logical to think that, in the
immediate future, urban growth and its infrastructures will
continue to produce maximum impact on the natural
environment through the use of materials and the
consumption of raw materials and energy. The number of
construction works shall progressively increase however,
these shall be undertaken by attempting to achieve the
paradigm of sustainability, demanding an increasing
durability of what is being built in order to minimize
environmental impact.
2. Life cycle and environmental impact
ISO-EN-UNE- 14.040 regulation, defines life cycle as the
‘‘consecutive and interrelated stages of a product system,
from the acquisition of raw materials or the generation of
natural resources until its final elimination’’. Life cycle is
closely related to environmental impact: According to the
aforementioned standard, the life cycle assessment (LCA)
is the ‘‘collection and assessment of the inputs and outputs of
any potential environmental impacts caused by the product
system throughout its life cycle’’. This allows us to learn
about the environmental effects of a certain work or
product. The environmental effects derived from the
construction of a given structure, its life time, reuse and
demolition should all be taken into account within the
LCA; the possibility of reusing by either recycling or
recovering materials or energy should also be taken into
account. An important aspect that ought to be considered
in the LCA of works is preventive maintenance. In the
construction industry continuous necessary maintenance is
frequently substituted by sporadic remedial actions invol-
ving repair, restoration or reconstruction which target
deteriorations threatening the structure or its services.
LCA methodology, which has been applied for some
time to assess the environmental impact of industrial
products (ISO 14.040), also makes sense in construction
and may be equally applied to civil works and architecture
[9–11]. The environmental impact of engineering works
must be assessed starting ‘‘from their birthplace’’ by
considering concepts such as the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) of the overall project (Directive 85/337/
CEE) [12] and by also including issues such as preliminary
strategic assessments (Directive 97/11/CE and Directive
2001/42/CE) [13,14] of the use of the ground involved,
alteration to the landscape, choice of materials and their
impact, etc. The LCA must study the service life cycle of a
structure as well as any environmental effects derived from
maintenance tasks and, once the service life has been