Sustainable Construction and the Integrated Life Cycle Approach

Building and civil engineering has greatly contributed to shaping and structuring the world as we know it nowadays. Its know-how has been central in the development of an industrial construction sector that creates wealth, well-being and work. Buildings and infrastructures that result from design and construction rise to human, social and economic needs. Simultaneously however, production and use of the built environment has grown more and more harmful to the natural environment. In the circumstances of global threats, building and civil engineering has giant challenges but also magnificent opportunities. In order to understand the role of the construction sector both in problem-making and problem-solving, the presentation introduces methods of back-casting and forecasting in relation to technology development of the sector. It also introduces the principles and practices of integrated methods in research, planning, design and building that are needed for implementation of life cycle thinking in the built environment.