CHOOSE THE STONE
STONE IS ECONOMICAL
Natural stone is a convenient investment.
The case study analysed considers a life cycle of 60 years and a life cycle of 100 years, comparing the performances of four different types of façade coverings: natural stone, plaster, glass, aluminium; four types of interior pavings: natural stone, ceramic tiles, wooden parquet, textile covering; and finally three types of outdoor pavings: natural stone, concrete, asphalt. Ecological environmental and economic parameters are taken into consideration such as sustainability, functionality, average purchase and maintenance costs; for a comparison of materials and related processing and application technologies based on the so-called LCA (Life cycle assessment) method namely considering the complete life cycle from the extraction of raw materials to the application in the construction and subsequent disposal.
The results for a life cycle of 60 years show how buildings whose façades are covered in natural stone, in addition to being of greater representation and aesthetic prestige, are the most economical and ecological. In particular the energy requirement both for the production of the product and for heating and cooling the environments where natural stone is installed is considerably lower than the requirement for buildings made using the other materials analysed. Considering, among other things, the continuous growth in energy costs, it seems evident that natural stone is increasingly able to guarantee an advantageous investment in terms of savings on management costs on one hand and acquisition of market value of the building on the other.
The case study analysed considers a life cycle of 60 years and a life cycle of 100 years, comparing the performances of four different types of façade coverings: natural stone, plaster, glass, aluminium; four types of interior pavings: natural stone, ceramic tiles, wooden parquet, textile covering; and finally three types of outdoor pavings: natural stone, concrete, asphalt. Ecological environmental and economic parameters are taken into consideration such as sustainability, functionality, average purchase and maintenance costs; for a comparison of materials and related processing and application technologies based on the so-called LCA (Life cycle assessment) method namely considering the complete life cycle from the extraction of raw materials to the application in the construction and subsequent disposal.
The results for a life cycle of 60 years show how buildings whose façades are covered in natural stone, in addition to being of greater representation and aesthetic prestige, are the most economical and ecological. In particular the energy requirement both for the production of the product and for heating and cooling the environments where natural stone is installed is considerably lower than the requirement for buildings made using the other materials analysed. Considering, among other things, the continuous growth in energy costs, it seems evident that natural stone is increasingly able to guarantee an advantageous investment in terms of savings on management costs on one hand and acquisition of market value of the building on the other.
The study also reports similar conclusions for the other types of applications mentioned specifically:
natural stone interior pavings are more convenient over time than wood parquet or fabric carpet pavings as well as natural stone outdoor paving over time is economically more advantageous than concrete or asphalt paving.
Considering a 100 year life cycle, it is even more evident that natural stone has unparalleled performance and guarantees undoubted convenience both for façade covering applications and for paving applications.
In the final analysis it can be deduced that the longer the building remains in place, the greater is the economic advantage given by the use of natural stone for covering façades and pavings.
natural stone interior pavings are more convenient over time than wood parquet or fabric carpet pavings as well as natural stone outdoor paving over time is economically more advantageous than concrete or asphalt paving.
Considering a 100 year life cycle, it is even more evident that natural stone has unparalleled performance and guarantees undoubted convenience both for façade covering applications and for paving applications.
In the final analysis it can be deduced that the longer the building remains in place, the greater is the economic advantage given by the use of natural stone for covering façades and pavings.
Case study:
Technische Universität WienInstitut Architekturwissenschaften, Abteilung Bauphysik und Bauökologie
Doctoral Thesis
Title: "Ökologische Langzeitbetrachtung von Fassaden- und Bodenkonstruktionen"
Author: G. Moser
Mentor: A. Mahdavi
Year: 2005