Correlation between building size and material intensity in residential buildings

Material stock analyses of buildings and infrastructure are proliferating in Industrial Ecology literature. One popular approach to calculating material stocks is multiplying the number of buildings present in the study area by their average material content, a parameter often termed material intensity. However, existing studies have primarily focused on tailoring material intensities to specific building typologies without exploring the vari-ability of material intensities within a given typology. The present work addresses this knowledge gap by generating 3D models of five typical residential building archetypes based on Italian housing data. By randomizing their size and material components, we generate summary statistics that highlight the variance of material intensities. Results show a strong correlation between concrete usage and building size, while other materials exhibit significant variation across sizes and typologies.