Life Cycle Assessment and adaptation of buildings in response to Climate Change : Coupling environmental impact and building performance

As climate change intensifies, efforts are being intensified across the board to reduce the environmental impact of all our activities. The building sector represents one of these sectors with strong potential in terms of reducing environmental impact. Yet building remains a highly complex and challenging environment. The issue at hand today involves the question of adapting buildings to climate change, while ensuring adequate indoor air quality and energy performance, as well as implementing effective, low-impact transition strategies. As climate change intensifies, buildings have to be designed to minimize their environmental footprint, but also to withstand changing climatic conditions, such as extreme weather events, rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns.