Stone masonry floor systems for low environmental impact structures

Stone masonry structures are relevant solutions to tackle buildings embodied impacts as they are low-processed materials. Although floor systems contribute to a large part of the greenhouse gas emissions of new constructions, stone floor systems are still little explored in recent constructions and their environmental impact has yet to be thoroughly assessed. This study integrates parametric design with Life Cycle Assessment for four stone floor typologies: Abeille vault, groin vault, stone floor with post-stressed stone beams, and post-stressed stone slabs. A comparison of stone structures with conventional floor systems, made using discernibility analysis, finds that stone floor systems can achieve up to a 60% reduction in embodied carbon compared to typical concrete floors. This result proves that stone floor systems can mitigate climate impacts. Further results indicate that stone masonry floor systems perform better than concrete and steel floors for human health, and better than wood floors for ecosystem quality. A sensitivity analysis highlights parameters such as transport logistics, energy usage in quarries, and stone cutting losses, suggesting that the structural design starting point should be the investigation of locally available material resources. Future work taking into account seismic and fire resistance as well as including detailed quarry impact on ecosystems could constitute relevant additions. This study shows the potential of stone floor systems for the decarbonisation of new building structures and highlights transport and production energy as key parameters to pilot GHG emissions of such structures.