What is the main intent behind conducting Life-Cycle Assessment?

The main intent behind conducting a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is to assess environmental impacts throughout a product’s life. LCA is a systematic approach that evaluates the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service from its inception to its disposal, commonly known as "cradle to grave." This includes evaluating resource use, energy consumption, emissions, and waste generation at each stage of the product's life cycle, such as raw material extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life disposal.

Understanding these environmental impacts is crucial for architects and designers, as it informs decisions that can enhance sustainability practices in construction and product design. LCA helps identify areas for improvement, promoting the use of materials and methods that are less harmful to the environment, which can also indirectly lead to cost reductions and compliance with regulations.

While reducing overall costs of construction, exploring new architectural designs, and complying with building codes are all important considerations in architecture and construction, the primary purpose of LCA specifically focuses on evaluating environmental impacts. This makes option B the correct answer.