Sustainable construction - A simplified methodology for optimal design

A methodology for enabling engineering-valid optimal design of sustainable construction is presented. It includes a research step: Design-variable Grouping, and two design steps: Generating the Within-group Optimization, and Solution Integration. The first step separates the design-variables into several distinct groups, enabling splitting the total all-encompassing optimization problem into several smaller optimization activities, while ensuring that superposition of the distinct sets of optimal solutions provides the optimal combination for the entire building. Four groups were recognized: production & construction, operational energy, maintenance to demolition, and an integrated group. For each group the most suitable objective function was established. The grouping is based on the range of environmental damage associated with every design variable's alternatives. Application, including a sensitivity analysis, demonstrated that for an office module grouping depends on climate characteristics and type of fuel used for electricity production, whereas for the same fuel, electricity production technology does not alter it.