Functional life

Several definitions have been developed to assess or specify the expected life of buildings, structures or their components from the perspective of different stakeholders.

Functional life refers to the amount of time that an element may be in service before it is rendered obsolete due to changes in functional requirements, such as a change in use.

However, as there is no general legally-agreed definition of functional life, if it is to be included in contract documentation as a performance requirement, it is important that it is carefully defined within those contract documents and that it is consistent with all other requirements in the contract documents.

Other definitions include:

• Design life.
• Required life.
• Technical life.
• Economic life.
• Service life.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Concept structural design of buildings.
• Decommissioning.
• Demolition.
• Design quality for buildings.
• End of life potential.
• Fitness for purpose.
• Life cycle assessment.
• Service life.
• Structures at the end of their design life.
• Utilising life cycle costing and life cycle assessment.
• Whole-life costs.