Core Concept: Adapting Duffy and Heany’s (1990) graphic which theoretically illustrates how the capital cost of components (grouped as three building layers) over the life of a building can be misconstrued by simply considering the initial (first generation) capital costs opposed to their reoccurring costs over time.   The reality portrayed is that shorter cycle components have cheaper one-off costs, however given their short lifespan create more reoccurring costs accumulated over the life of a building.