Assessment of the Environmental Pollution Impacts of Brick and Composite Facades (Case Study: A Residential Building in Tabriz City)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Architectural Engineering, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Islamic Art University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

2 Department of Construction, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Industrial Design, Faculty of Design, Islamic Art University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Objective: Nowadays, environmental pollutants are considered one of the most important problems in human life, and one of the sectors producing them is the construction industry. The extraction of raw materials, production of building products, transportation of materials, and many other construction-related activities have substantial and often irreversible impacts on the environment. Therefore, the development and use of green materials and sustainable construction practices are of great importance.
Method: Since the facade is a critical component of a building's construction, this study selects two common types of facade in Tabriz—brick and composite—and investigates their associated pollution. Based on field research and surveys, the impact during the pre-production, production, transportation, and end-of-life phases was calculated using the Equalizer method. First, the amount of materials used in each facade type was obtained, and the pollution amount caused by each facade type was calculated and compared with the mpt pollution index.
Results: According to the calculations, the brick facade produced less pollution than the composite facade. Therefore, between these two studied examples, the brick facade was the more suitable option for the city of Tabriz. The research focused on optimizing the brick facade with less pollution by using alternative materials with lower indicators and also recycled materials so that the facade could be used in the best possible way. By applying optimization methods in the production and transportation process of materials, the pollution level of the brick facade could be reduced by about 70 percent.
Conclusions: Based on the results, the optimal facade type in the study area is the one that, in addition to its availability, causes less damage to the environment. This study showed that choosing building construction materials with less pollution and implementing optimization programs can play an important role in reducing negative impacts on the environment and developing sustainable buildings. Also, issues such as the transportation of materials and supplies, which act as hidden factors in the calculations of the pollution level of the construction industry, are also important in this regard and should be considered in the calculations. This research indicates that before making a final decision on the design and implementation of construction projects, the environmental impacts of materials should be examined in order to control costs and resource consumption in addition to reducing pollution. Overall, this research is a useful step towards green construction and reducing environmental impacts at the urban level.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Ahmed, W., Lu, G., Ng, S. T., & Liu, G. (2025). Innovative valorization of solid waste materials for production of sustainable low-carbon pavement: A systematic review and scientometric analysis. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 22, e04541. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2025.e04541
Azarakhsh brick industrt group.(2021).digital product catalog. Retrieved November 2021.from https://www.azarakhsh.ir
Cabeza, L. F., Barreneche, C., Miró, L., Morera, J. M., Bartolí, E., & Inés Fernández, A. (2013). Low carbon and low embodied energy materials in buildings: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 23, 536-542. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.03.017
Chan, M., Masrom, M. A., & Yasin, S. S. (2022). Selection of Low-Carbon Building Materials in Construction Projects: Construction Professionals’ Perspectives. Buildings, 12(4), 486. https://doi.org/10.3390/ buildings12040486
Chen, J., Zhou, W., & Yang, H. (2019). Is Embodied Energy a Better Starting Point for Solving Energy Security Issues?—Based on an Overview of Embodied Energy-Related Research. Sustainability, 11(16), 4260.
Chen, L., Huang, L., Hua, J., Chen, Z., Wei, L., Osman, A. I., Fawzy, S., Rooney, D. W., Dong, L., & Yap, P.-S. (2023). Green construction for low-carbon cities: a review. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 21(3), 1627-1657. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01544-4
Chen, S., Teng, Y., Zhang, Y., Leung, C. K. Y., & Pan, W. (2023). Reducing embodied carbon in concrete materials: A state-of-the-art review. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 188, 106653. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106653
Cheng, S., Zhou, X., & Zhou, H. (2023). Study on Carbon Emission Measurement in Building Materialization Stage. Sustainability, 15(7), 5717.
Chepaitis, P. S., Zhang, Q., Kalafut, D., Waddey, T., Wilson, M. J., & Black, M. (2024). The Effect of Moderate Temperature Rise on Emitted Chemicals from Modern Building Materials. Buildings, 14(11), 3683.
Cui, J., Guo, Y., Xu, Q., Li, D., Chen, W., Shi, L., Ji, G., & Li, L. (2023). Extraction of Information on the Flooding Extent of Agricultural Land in Henan Province Based on Multi-Source Remote Sensing Images and Google Earth Engine. Agronomy, 13(2), 355.
Dighade, R., Gomase, V., Peshattiwar, R., Selokar, A., Sangidwar, N., Peshattiwar, S., & Malve, S. (2024). Emission of carbon footprint from building construction materials: A review. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1409, 012010. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1409/1/012010
Figueiredo, N. L. B., Figueiredo, F. B., Barboza, C. S., & Reis, D. D. d. (2024). Embodied energy in the life cycle of construction materials: a bibliometric analysis and systematic review. CONTRIBUCIONES A LAS CIENCIAS SOCIALES, 17(13), e14035. https://doi.org/10.55905/revconv.17n.13-455
Foda, T., Hassan, H., Abdelkader, A., & el-hassan, K. (2024). Predictive modeling of sustainable recycled materials for stone column construction. Innovative Infrastructure Solutions, 9. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s41062-024-01700-5
Jia, G., Guo, J., Guo, Y., Yang, F., & Ma, Z. (2024). CO2 adsorption properties of aerogel and application prospects in low-carbon building materials: A review. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 20, e03171. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2024.e03171
Kinnane, O., O'Hegarty, R., & Reilly, A. (2020). Energy embodied in, and transmitted through, walls of different type when accounting for the dynamic effects of thermal mass. Journal of Green Building, 15, 43-66. https://doi.org/10.3992/jgb.15.4.43
Li, X., Ren, A., & Li, Q. (2022). Exploring Patterns of Transportation-Related CO2 Emissions Using Machine Learning Methods. Sustainability, 14(8), 4588.
Luo, Z., Cang, Y., Zhang, N., Yang, L., & Liu, J. (2019). A Quantitative Process-Based Inventory Study on Material Embodied Carbon Emissions of Residential, Office, and Commercial Buildings in China. Journal of Thermal Science, 28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-019-1165-x
Nama.design.(1399).composite façade design project gallery.retrieved from: https://nama.design/composite-facade-design
Moran, P., Flynn, J., Larkin, C., Goggins, J., & Elkhayat, Y. (2025). Materials and service lives alterations impacts on reducing the whole life embodied carbon of buildings: A case study of a student accommodation development in Ireland. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 22, e04514. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2025.e04514
Nasr, M., Shubbar, A., Abed, Z., & Ibrahim, M. (2020). Properties of eco-friendly cement mortar contained recycled materials from different sources. Journal of Building Engineering, 31, 101444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2020.101444
Orr, J., Gibbons, O., & Arnold, W. (2020). A brief guide to calculating embodied carbon. The Structural Engineer, 98, 22-27. https://doi.org/10.56330/JZNX5709
Orsini, F., & Marrone, P. (2019). Approaches for a low-carbon production of building materials: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 241, 118380. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro. 2019.118380
Ovam. (2011). Ecolizer 2.0 (Public Flemish Waste Company (OVAM), Issue. https://www.vlaanderen.be/publicaties/ecolizer-20-eng
Torabi, M., Simonen, K., & Evins, R. (2025). What matters the most in designing low-carbon buildings in Canada? Exploring the tradeoff between embodied and operational carbon in early stage design. Energy and Buildings, 334, 115482. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.115482
Vajdi, S., & Aslani, A. (2023). Design and techno-economic analysis of direct CO2 capturing with integrated photobioreactors as a building façade. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 56, 103068. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2023.103068
Videras Rodríguez, M., Gómez Melgar, S., & Andújar Márquez, J. M. (2024). Evaluation of aerial thermography for measuring the thermal transmittance (U-value) of a building façade. Energy and Buildings, 324, 114874. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2024.114874
Wang, M., Jia, Z., Tao, L., & Xiang, C. (2024). Review of dynamic façade typologies, physical performance and control methods: Towards smarter and cleaner zero-energy buildings. Journal of Building Engineering, 98, 111310. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2024.111310
Wang, Y., & Pan, W. (2023). The contribution of cleaner production in the material industry to reducing embodied energy and emissions in China's building sector. Building and Environment, 242, 110555. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110555
Watkins, M., Casamayor, J. L., Ramirez, M., Moreno, M., Faludi, J., & Pigosso, D. C. A. (2021). Sustainable Product Design Education: Current Practice. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 7(4), 611-637. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2021.11.003
Yadav, K., & Mishra, N. (2023). Low-Carbon Building Materials: An Overview of Innovative Alternatives to Traditional Materials. International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 5(3), 3934. https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2023.v05i03.3934
Yu, M., Wiedmann, T., Crawford, R., & Tait, C. (2017). The Carbon Footprint of Australia's Construction Sector. Procedia Engineering, 180, 211-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.04.180
Zheng, X., et al. (2025). Modern Panelizing and Optimization Techniques for Renewable Energy Projects; Perspectives on How CO2 Emissions Impact the Circular Economy. Energy, 323, 135881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.135881
Zhong, X., Hu, M., Deetman, S., Steubing, B., Lin, H., Aguilar-Hernandez, G., Harpprecht, C., Zhang, C., Tukker, A., & Behrens, P. (2021). Global greenhouse gas emissions from residential and commercial building materials and mitigation strategies to 2060. Nature Communications, 12. https://doi.org/ 10.1038/ s41467-021-26212-z
Zhu, H., Liou, S.-R., Chen, P.-C., He, X.-Y., & Sui, M.-L. (2024). Carbon Emissions Reduction of a Circular Architectural Practice: A Study on a Reversible Design Pavilion Using Recycled Materials. Sustainability, 16(5), 1729.
Journal of Environmental Studies
Volume 51, Issue 3
December 2025
Pages 393-410

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics