Quality and Sustainability Indicators of the Prefabricated Wood Housing Industry—A Chilean Case Study

Abstract

Wood industrialization provides a contribution to timber-based building. The Chilean market is based on attributes such as the experience and trust of companies. The sales price, meeting deadlines and quality are attributes that have motivated buyers. There are more attributes to assess that are important for the client and market country: building materials and safety, sustainability, and environmental assessment. Some of these valuations are provided by certifications such as life cycle analysis, reduction of energy, water, gas consumption, thermal, acoustic insulation, fire resistance, etc. The objective is to propose an evaluation tool using sustainability indicators for prefabricated lumber-based buildings, using technical benefits of wood as an option for manufacturing prefabricated structures. They constitute references that can be integrated with international construction standards and with it, a process of improvement of the current standards for the housing solution and protection of the environment. The methodology is based on standards compliance levels, according to current, voluntary, or referential regulations, seeking to differentiate the market offer of prefabricated homes through quality indicators, benchmarking and sustainability. The results are an evaluation model synthesized into three tables according to the category evaluated: materials, products, or structures. It concludes that, to meet demand, the market must adapt its offer to new requirements where it does matter how the housing is produced, not only in the economic aspect, but also its impact on the social aspect and the environment and what it offers in terms of quality of life. The lumber-based building sector needs sustainability attributes indicators to potentiate the companies and start a differentiation business.

Evaluación de impactos ambientales de viviendas en madera: El caso de “La casa Uruguaya”

“…Indicadores que describen el uso de recursos, renovables y no renovables, información ambiental adicional como la generación de residuos peligrosos y no peligrosos, y la polución del aire, entre otros, podrían ser considerados en el método. Varios de estos indicadores han sido empleados para la evaluación de viviendas en madera (Takano et al 2015, Oyarzo y Peuportier 2014, Garay et al 2021, y algunos de elloshan sido recogidos en la norma ISO 21930 (2017) como indicadores no estrictamente derivados del ACV. La incorporación de estos indicadores durante la fase de diseño aportará información valiosa para la toma de decisiones por parte del diseñador.…”

Calculating minimum safety distance against wildfires at the wildland-urban interface in Chile and Spain

“…While our study only looks at reducing the radiant heat influence, embers are responsible for many destroyed houses. Garay et al. (2021) explained the fire impacts due to the potential distance of embers, which exceeds the safety distances.…”

“…This WUI problem, with some exceptions, is similar in most Mediterranean countries, requiring building and planning regulations to mitigate fire impacts ( Castillo, 2006 ). Garay et al. (2021) found possibilities to mitigate fire impacts based on building materials, the creation of vegetation-free distances and the reduction of the arrival time in the Chilean study area.…”

Desarrollo de un indicador integrado de sustentabilidad y seguridad estructural para el mercado de viviendas de madera aplicado a Chile central

“…En cuanto al criterio asociado a seguridad, se consideran las propiedades estructurales, frente a sismos y fuego como más relevantes, dada la importancia que los usuarios le otorgan a ellas, sobre todo en el contexto nacional, propenso a presentar sismos e incendios (Castillo, et al, 2020, Garay et al, 2021a. A esto se suma que las empresas, especialmente las pequeñas (Pymes), aún consideran que la construcción sustentable implica un sobrecosto, que el cliente no puede pagar (Fajardo, 2014;Hatt, Saelzer, Hempel y Gerber, 2012).…”