---
_id: '14106'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'The building sector accounts for approximately 37 percent of global energy
    - related CO₂ emissions, yet a structurally underaddressed dimension of its environmental
    impact remains the premature obsolescence of buildings. Empirical evidence consistently
    demonstrates that buildings are rarely demolished due to physical failure: in
    Germany, approximately 21 percent of residential buildings are demolished before
    reaching 42 years of age, while studies from South Korea and Denmark document
    average actual lifespans of reinforced concrete buildings at less than half the
    standard assumptions used in life cycle assessment and life cycle costing. The
    gap between what buildings could last and what they actually do represents both
    an ecological deficit and a methodological blind spot. This paper presents the
    findings of a systematic literature review conducted as part of a doctoral research
    project developing a Longevity Score — a design - phase assessment instrument
    for the persistence potential of residential buildings. The review was conducted
    on the Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases, covering publications from
    1970 to the present in English and German, and structured across four analytical
    levels: macro (ecological, economic, and socio - cultural conditions), meso (regulatory
    and institutional frameworks), micro (architectural and constructive principles),
    and methodological (existing assessment instruments). The principal finding of
    the review is a fundamental reorientation of the research question. Initial inquiry
    focused on the technical and constructive factors determining building longevity
    — a dimension already substantially addressed in the literature through shearing
    layer models, structural generosity criteria, and service separation strategies.
    The review reveals, however, that these physical parameters are necessary but
    not sufficient to explain why buildings actually persist. Empirical studies across
    multiple national contexts demonstrate that obsolescence is predominantly behavioural
    rather than physical: functional unsuitability, changing ownership structures,
    market dynamics, and the erosion of social attachment are the primary drivers
    of premature demolition. Physical durability is a precondition for longevity,
    not a guarantee of it. A second major finding concerns the state of existing assessment
    instruments. While tools exist for component - level lifespan prediction, adaptivity
    certification, and end - of - life circularity evaluation, none addresses longevity
    prospectively and integratively at the design stage. The social and human dimensions
    of building persistence — how architects, owners, and inhabitants understand,
    value, and sustain buildings over time — remain systematically underrepresented
    in both assessment practice and the research literature. These findings motivate
    a revised research focus: rather than asking what technical parameters make buildings
    physically durable, the doctoral project investigates which human factors determine
    whether buildings actually persist under real social, economic, and institutional
    conditions — and how these can be operationalised in a design - phase assessment
    model. The paper concludes by outlining the three - dimensional framework that
    the longevity score aims to integrate — physical, functional, and social longevity.'
article_type: review
author:
- first_name: Leon
  full_name: Konschake, Leon
  id: '84541'
  last_name: Konschake
  orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5181-1573
- first_name: Susanne
  full_name: Schwickert, Susanne
  id: '27269'
  last_name: Schwickert
  orcid: 0009-0005-0921-6291
citation:
  ama: 'Konschake L, Schwickert S. Persistent by Design: A Systematic Literature Review
    of the Determinants of Building Longevity. <i>Inżynieria Mineralna</i>. 2026;1(2):1-8.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117">10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117</a>'
  apa: 'Konschake, L., &#38; Schwickert, S. (2026). Persistent by Design: A Systematic
    Literature Review of the Determinants of Building Longevity. <i>Inżynieria Mineralna</i>,
    <i>1</i>(2), 1–8. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117">https://doi.org/10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117</a>'
  bjps: '<b>Konschake L and Schwickert S</b> (2026) Persistent by Design: A Systematic
    Literature Review of the Determinants of Building Longevity. <i>Inżynieria Mineralna</i>
    <b>1</b>, 1–8.'
  chicago: 'Konschake, Leon, and Susanne Schwickert. “Persistent by Design: A Systematic
    Literature Review of the Determinants of Building Longevity.” <i>Inżynieria Mineralna</i>
    1, no. 2 (2026): 1–8. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117">https://doi.org/10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117</a>.'
  chicago-de: 'Konschake, Leon und Susanne Schwickert. 2026. Persistent by Design:
    A Systematic Literature Review of the Determinants of Building Longevity. <i>Inżynieria
    Mineralna</i> 1, Nr. 2: 1–8. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117">10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117</a>,
    .'
  din1505-2-1: '<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Konschake, Leon</span> ; <span
    style="font-variant:small-caps;">Schwickert, Susanne</span>: Persistent by Design:
    A Systematic Literature Review of the Determinants of Building Longevity. In:
    <i>Inżynieria Mineralna</i> Bd. 1. Kraków, Polskie Towarzystwo Przeróbki Kopalin
    (Polish Mineral Processing Society) (2026), Nr. 2, S. 1–8'
  havard: 'L. Konschake, S. Schwickert, Persistent by Design: A Systematic Literature
    Review of the Determinants of Building Longevity, Inżynieria Mineralna. 1 (2026)
    1–8.'
  ieee: 'L. Konschake and S. Schwickert, “Persistent by Design: A Systematic Literature
    Review of the Determinants of Building Longevity,” <i>Inżynieria Mineralna</i>,
    vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 1–8, 2026, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117">10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117</a>.'
  mla: 'Konschake, Leon, and Susanne Schwickert. “Persistent by Design: A Systematic
    Literature Review of the Determinants of Building Longevity.” <i>Inżynieria Mineralna</i>,
    vol. 1, no. 2, 2026, pp. 1–8, <a href="https://doi.org/10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117">https://doi.org/10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117</a>.'
  short: L. Konschake, S. Schwickert, Inżynieria Mineralna 1 (2026) 1–8.
  ufg: '<b>Konschake, Leon/Schwickert, Susanne</b>: Persistent by Design: A Systematic
    Literature Review of the Determinants of Building Longevity, in: <i>Inżynieria
    Mineralna</i> 1 (2026), H. 2,  S. 1–8.'
  van: 'Konschake L, Schwickert S. Persistent by Design: A Systematic Literature Review
    of the Determinants of Building Longevity. Inżynieria Mineralna. 2026;1(2):1–8.'
conference:
  end_date: 2026-09-04
  location: Ostrava
  name: World Multidisciplinary Congress on Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban
    Planning (WMCCAU)
  start_date: 2026-08-31
date_created: 2026-11-05T15:45:50Z
date_updated: 2026-11-06T07:04:23Z
ddc:
- '720'
department:
- _id: DEP1600
- _id: DEP1622
doi: 10.29227/IM-2026-02-01-117
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '         1'
issue: '2'
keyword:
- building longevity
- building obsolescence
- service life
- adaptability
- persistence potential
- literature review
language:
- iso: eng
page: 1-8
place: Kraków
publication: Inżynieria Mineralna
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - '1640-4920 '
publication_status: published
publisher: Polskie Towarzystwo Przeróbki Kopalin (Polish Mineral Processing Society)
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: 'Persistent by Design: A Systematic Literature Review of the Determinants of
  Building Longevity'
type: scientific_journal_article
user_id: '83781'
volume: 1
year: '2026'
...