The climate impact of adaptive reuse : Case study of a Swedish office adapted for residential purposes
Bálint Palmgren, Oscar LU
and Mjörnell, K.
LU
(2025)
2025 International Scientific Conference on the Built Environment in Transition, CISBAT 2025
3140.
- Abstract
Decarbonising the built environment is essential to mitigating the climate crisis, as buildings significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptive reuse presents a sustainable alternative to demolition and new construction. This study evaluated the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of an adapted building through renovation and operation across three scenarios, compared to a reference scenario of demolition and new construction. The case study building was a decommissioned office building in Sweden undergoing adaptation for residential use. Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology compliant with Swedish law and international standards, the GWP of renovation and operation over 50 years was determined. Results indicate that... (More)
Decarbonising the built environment is essential to mitigating the climate crisis, as buildings significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptive reuse presents a sustainable alternative to demolition and new construction. This study evaluated the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of an adapted building through renovation and operation across three scenarios, compared to a reference scenario of demolition and new construction. The case study building was a decommissioned office building in Sweden undergoing adaptation for residential use. Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology compliant with Swedish law and international standards, the GWP of renovation and operation over 50 years was determined. Results indicate that adaptation significantly reduced GWP compared to demolition and new construction, offering approximately 30% lower climate impact over the building's extended operational lifetime. However, uncertainties about the climate impact of energy sources and renovation measures highlight the need for further research.
(Less)
- author
- Bálint Palmgren, Oscar
LU
and Mjörnell, K.
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Journal of Physics: Conference Series
- volume
- 3140
- edition
- 16
- conference name
- 2025 International Scientific Conference on the Built Environment in Transition, CISBAT 2025
- conference location
- Hybrid, Lausanne, Switzerland
- conference dates
- 2025-09-03 - 2025-09-05
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105027932349
- DOI
- 10.1088/1742-6596/3140/16/162009
- project
- Doctorate of Philosophy in Building Physics
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- db7e14ff-0537-438b-a003-395270e206db
- date added to LUP
- 2026-02-27 10:00:38
- date last changed
- 2026-04-24 21:17:26
@inproceedings{db7e14ff-0537-438b-a003-395270e206db,
abstract = {{<p>Decarbonising the built environment is essential to mitigating the climate crisis, as buildings significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptive reuse presents a sustainable alternative to demolition and new construction. This study evaluated the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of an adapted building through renovation and operation across three scenarios, compared to a reference scenario of demolition and new construction. The case study building was a decommissioned office building in Sweden undergoing adaptation for residential use. Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology compliant with Swedish law and international standards, the GWP of renovation and operation over 50 years was determined. Results indicate that adaptation significantly reduced GWP compared to demolition and new construction, offering approximately 30% lower climate impact over the building's extended operational lifetime. However, uncertainties about the climate impact of energy sources and renovation measures highlight the need for further research.</p>}},
author = {{Bálint Palmgren, Oscar and Mjörnell, K.}},
booktitle = {{Journal of Physics: Conference Series}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{The climate impact of adaptive reuse : Case study of a Swedish office adapted for residential purposes}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/3140/16/162009}},
doi = {{10.1088/1742-6596/3140/16/162009}},
volume = {{3140}},
year = {{2025}},
}