Green Is Good: First Run Study of a Sustainable Building Structure

The study made an account for in this paper is based on the hypothesis that introducing a climate-friendly building material to construction production may fundamentally impact project performance. In the paper, evidence is given for a prolonged, costlier process of erecting the building structure if an extremely low-carbon concrete combined with a 100 percent recycled aggregate is applied. Findings suggest various measures to be taken, to accelerate the hardening of the concrete. Otherwise, a positive environmental effect may easily diminish the overall project performance. The paper is based on a First Run Study (FRS) including a full-scale mock-up of a part of the building structure, including ground floor, wall, columns, and slab. As part of the study, data was collected about the temperature, firmness, and relative moisture of the concrete, and the effects of different actions applied to accelerate the hardening process. The impact of this study is an estimated risk reduction of 1,5 percent in the context of the project it was intended to support. The paper concludes that this type of experimentation should happen prior to actual performance to prevent construction projects from falling short of time and finances caused by unexpected results.