Projects per year
Organization profile
Head of Research Group: Harpa Birgisdottir.
The research group works on the sustainability assessment of buildings, including certification and voluntary sustainability class. The group has a special focus on improving the environmental profile of buildings through the use of life cycle assessments (LCA) in the construction industry through our tool for the industry, LCAbyg. We support the construction sector’s opportunities to contribute to achieving the necessary climate goals, environmental sustainability, and circular economy.
Need for knew knowledge
Today, LCA calculations show that building materials are more environmentally harmful than the building’s energy use over its life cycle. The building materials, therefore, contain great potential concerning the climate, environment, and resources, and new knowledge is needed on how this harm can be reduced.
To achieve greater sustainability in construction, which can be achieved through certification, municipal requirements, procurement requirements, and the upcoming voluntary sustainability class in the building regulations, it is necessary to keep up to date with the latest knowledge and participate in the development of sustainability assessments at Nordic, European, and international levels.
Research Efforts
The group researches how to reduce the environmental profiles of building materials and of entire buildings in the context of an overall sustainability assessment. We do this by examining the effects of sensible material choices, developing design strategies, and testing the effect of circular economics in construction. We also investigate the best methods to renovate existing buildings. In addition, we examine the total building stock and carry out analyses and demonstration projects where we demonstrate that significant reductions can be achieved in practice.
- Sustainability assessment of buildings
- Life cycle assessment (LCA)
- Circular economy
- Materials and design strategies
- Climate change impact
- Embodied carbon
Cooperation
The research group collaborates with the Danish authorities, the construction industry, and international research institutions.
Application
The research results are translated into tools, guidance, and teaching, targeting all construction industry players. Here, the complexity of sustainability, LCA, and circular economics is communicated through publications, and LCA calculations are made available to a larger target group through our tool, LCAbyg, on which BUILD courses for professionals are held. The research is also used in the work on building regulations to define the future requirements for LCA.
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Network
Profiles
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Camilla Marlene Ernst Andersen
- The Faculty of Engineering and Science - PhD Fellow
- Department of the Built Environment - PhD Fellow
- Division of Sustainability, Energy and Indoor Environment - PhD Fellow
- Sustainability of Buildings Research Group - PhD Fellow
Person: VIP
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Harpa Birgisdottir
- The Faculty of Engineering and Science - Professor
- Department of the Built Environment - Professor
- Division of Sustainability, Energy and Indoor Environment - Professor
- Sustainability of Buildings Research Group - Professor
Person: VIP
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Emilie Brisson Jørgensen
- The Faculty of Engineering and Science - Research assistant
- Department of the Built Environment - Research assistant
- Division of Sustainability, Energy and Indoor Environment - Research assistant
- Sustainability of Buildings Research Group - Research assistant
Person: VIP
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Helhedsvurdering ved renovering
Eberhardt, L. C. M., Jensen, J. O., de Place Hansen, E. J., Birgisdottir, H., Garnow, A., Rose, J. & Kragh, J.
01/09/2021 → 01/09/2022
Project: Research
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SoBB: Sammen om Bæredygtigt Byggeri
Eberhardt, L. C. M., Zimmermann, R. K., Wittchen, A. & Lund, A. M.
01/07/2021 → 01/09/2022
Project: Research
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Ressourceforbrug på byggepladsen
Kanafani, K., Garnow, A. & Lindhard, S. M.
27/04/2021 → 31/12/2024
Project: Research
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Biogene materialers anvendelse i byggeriet
Rasmussen, T. V., Thybring, E. E., Munch-Andersen, J., Nord-Larsen, T., Jørgensen, U., Gottlieb, S. C., Bruhn, A., Rasmussen, B., Beim, A., Ramsgaard Thomsen, M., Munch-Petersen, P., Primdahl, M. B., Bentsen, N. S., Frederiksen, N., Koch, M., Auken Beck, S., Bretner, M-L. & Wittchen, A., 5 Apr 2022, København: Institut for Byggeri, By og Miljø (BUILD), Aalborg Universitet. 211 p. (BUILD Rapport; No. 2022:09, Vol. 1).Research output: Book/Report › Report › Communication
Open AccessFile -
CO2 besparelser i det almene boligbyggeri
Eberhardt, L. C. M., Zimmermann, R. K., Wittchen, A. & Lund, A. M., 2022, 20 p.Research output: Book/Report › Report › Research
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Eksempelbibliotek til LCAbyg
Kanafani, K., Zimmermann, R. K., Stranddorf, L. K., Garnow, A. & Birgisdottir, H., Jan 2022Research output: Book/Report › Report › Communication
Datasets
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Data for: Embodied GHG emissions of buildings - the hidden challenge for effective climate change mitigation
Frischknecht, R. (Contributor), Birgisdottir, H. (Contributor), Passer, A. (Creator), Rasmussen, F. N. (Contributor), L?tzkendorf, T. (Contributor), Habert, G. (Contributor), R?ck, M. (Contributor), Saade, M. R. M. (Contributor) & Balouktsi, M. (Contributor), Mendeley Data, 2020
DOI: 10.17632/kyz9rj8x3t.1, https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/kyz9rj8x3t
Dataset
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Low- carbon design strategies for new residential buildings – lessons from architectural practice
Birkved, M. (Creator), Birgisdottir, H. (Creator) & Rasmussen, F. N. (Creator), Taylor & Francis, 2020
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.12053577.v2, https://doi.org/10.6084%2Fm9.figshare.12053577.v2
Dataset
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Building design and construction strategies for a circular economy
Birgisdottir, H. (Creator), Eberhardt, L. C. M. (Creator) & Birkved, M. (Creator), Taylor & Francis, 2020
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.12852852.v1, https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Building_design_and_construction_strategies_for_a_circular_economy/12852852/1
Dataset
Prizes
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Det Bæredygtige Element - Produktprisen
Kanafani, Kai (Recipient), Sørensen, Christian Grau (Recipient), Birgisdottir, Harpa (Recipient), Zimmermann, Regitze Kjær (Recipient), Rasmussen, Freja Nygaard (Recipient), Eberhardt, Leonora Charlotte Malabi (Recipient) & Andersen, Camilla Marlene Ernst (Recipient), 30 Oct 2019
Prize: Research, education and innovation prizes
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ROCKWOOL Prisen 2017
Birgisdottir, Harpa (Recipient), Aggerholm, Søren (Recipient) & Mortensen, L. H. (Recipient), 8 Feb 2017
Prize: Other prizes
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Best Master's Thesis Concept
Eberhardt, Leonora Charlotte Malabi (Recipient), 2016
Prize: Research, education and innovation prizes
Activities
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Webinar: Nye renoveringsfunktioner i LCAbyg 5.2.1
Agnes Garnow (Lecturer), Emilie Brisson Jørgensen (Lecturer) & Kai Kanafani (Other)
26 Jan 2022Activity: Talks and presentations › Talks and presentations in private or public companies
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Hvad er balancen mellem energibesparelse og materialepåvirkninger ved renoveringer?
Kai Kanafani (Lecturer)
29 Nov 2021Activity: Talks and presentations › Talks and presentations in private or public companies
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Klimakrise og byggeri
Kai Kanafani (Lecturer)
28 Oct 2021Activity: Talks and presentations › Conference presentations
Press / Media
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Klimaspecialist opdagede, at solcellers egen klimabelastning ofte er mørkelagt
Kai Kanafani, Alberte Mai Lund, Harpa Birgisdottir & Jørgen Rose
17/06/2022
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Professor Harpa Birgisdottir: Det haster med at mindske klimaaftrykket
16/06/2022
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
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I krisen ser byggemarked mulighed for hamp og græs
Torben Valdbjørn Rasmussen & Harpa Birgisdottir
06/06/2022 → 07/06/2022
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
Impacts
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Sustainable construction with Circle House
Harpa Birgisdottir (Participant)
Impact: Social impact, Cultural impact
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Test creates foundation for sustainable construction
Kim Haugbølle (Participant) & Harpa Birgisdottir (Participant)
Impact: Social impact, Public policy impact, Other impact, Economic impact