The search for the most eco-efficient strategies for sustainable housing transformations

Housing transformations are an interesting intervention in post-war housing areas. Two case studies show that housing transformations can fill the gap between consolidation and large-scale demolition. It is often said that this causes less environmental impact. However, not much knowledge on this subject is available yet. Environmentally comparing housing transformations versus new construction not only has to do with environmental impacts during construction, but also with environmental impacts over time. A balance has to be sought between these two kinds of environmental impacts. That is possible by calculating average annual environmental impacts from the year of original construction up to and including discard at the end-of-life of housing transformation or new construction. This is against current opinions of comparing alternatives over the same lifetime. The method will be tested in the next stage of the research.