Abstract

Abstract

Life Cycle Assessment of Prefabricated Modular Housing for Northern Quebec Communities
PANIZ SAEBI
This study presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a prefabricated modular dwelling delivered to northern communities in Nunavik, Québec. The analysis combines a cradle-to-site assessment (A1–A5) with selected use-stage impacts (B1–B7) to provide a more comprehensive understanding of environmental performance over the building life cycle.
Using SimaPro 9.5 with the ecoinvent 3.7 database, and following ISO 14040/44 and EN 15804 standards, the study evaluates greenhouse gas emissions using the IPCC 2013 GWP 100-year method. The cradle-to-site results show that material production (A1) is the dominant contributor, accounting for approximately 80% of total emissions, with steel and aluminum responsible for over 90% of A1–A3 impacts. Transport to site (A4), including multimodal truck and sealift logistics, contributes approximately 13%, reflecting the significant challenges of remote northern delivery. Manufacturing (A3) and installation (A5) represent smaller but non-negligible shares.
In addition, selected use-stage impacts (B1–B7) were assessed to capture operational and maintenance-related emissions over a 50-year service life. While these stages contribute less than the initial embodied impacts, they provide important insight into long-term performance and system durability in northern Canada conditions.
Scenario analysis demonstrates that material substitution, particularly replacing structural steel with engineered timber, can reduce cradle-to-site emissions by approximately 20%. Improvements in transport efficiency and logistics optimization offer an additional 5–10% reduction.
Overall, the results highlight that both material selection and logistics play critical roles in the environmental performance of modular housing in remote regions. The framework developed in this study provides a transparent and reproducible basis for supporting low-carbon design and policy decisions in northern construction.