Towards the reduction of environmental impacts of temporary event infrastructures

In the context of temporary events, the use of structural systems suitable for short-term use, is a key strategy in terms of organization. However, this type of infrastructure currently requires the implementation of significant resources, for which the characteristics of flexibility and economic efficiency most often prevail over considerations related to sustainability. This lack of sustainability exists due to several attributes of a temporary building. Firstly, the distance between the place of storage and the one of use requires transportation, which can sometimes represent a significant share of consumption and environmental impacts. Furthermore, heat energy required to achieve an acceptable level of indoor comfort in a building with little or no thermal isolation is disproportionate to the short time of use. Finally, the materials used, in most cases, have a significant life cycle in terms of embodied energy required for their manufacture and respectively their disposal. However, many parameters are not as yet subject to specific studies. Contributing to remedy this lack, the present paper aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of current temporary event infrastructures and to compare them with the expected performances of an alternative proposition, the On STAGE Project, the design of which refers to architectural quality and high level of comfort with an optimal use of resources and a minimization of environmental impacts.