RT-FHC-02

During Phase I, RT-FHC-02 reviewed standards, guidelines, data sources, and tools to identify opportunities for project teams to improve quality and performance of the built environment. This review was followed by a gap analysis that identified the needs for research and development of new resources, and the barriers to implementing life cycle value analysis. The research used three categories of assessment: cost, environmental, and occupant, which are often referred to as the “triple bottom line.” The research determined the state-of-practice methodologies in facility life cycle costing (LCC) and the resources required for these cost calculations. The team’s final report discussed some of the critical gaps in the existing standards, guidelines data sources, and tools, and it pinpointed areas of life cycle value assessment that required additional research before they could be implemented.

Phase II of RT-FHC-02 developed a procedure to implement an integration of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) on facilities. The research developed the framework, describes the procedure, and explains how to use TBL LCC to assess the long-term benefits of high-performance building systems on occupant health and productivity and the environment, in addition to financial impacts. The team used two case studies to demonstrate how to apply the TBL LCC methodology: the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Central Campus Headquarters Building.