Re ffa t , R. ( 2004) Su st a in a ble D e ve lopm e n t of Bu ildin gs a n d En vir on m e n t , in
t he Proceedings of Second I nt ernat ional Conference on Developm ent and
Environm ent , Assiut Universit y, Egypt .
Sustainable Development of Buildings and Environment
Dr. Rabee M. Reffat
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering
Assiut University, Egypt
Email:
[email protected]
Abstract
One of the current challenges is how to develop smart and sustainable buildings, so they use
a minimum of nonrenewable energy, produce a minimum of pollution, and a minimum cost
of energy, while increasing the comfort, health, and safety of the people who live and work
in them. This paper introduces an integrated approach to achieve a successful sustainable
development of buildings and environment. The integrated design approach includes
sustainable site design, building design including passive solar design (day lighting,
building envelope, and renewable energy), building systems and indoor environmental
quality, materials and specifications, construction process, and building operations and
maintenance. This integrated approach can benefit designers, builders, building owner,
planning authorities. National and local programs should encourage sustainable
development of buildings and environment by applying this integrated approach in
demonstration buildings across the country in order to provide tangible examples of what
sustainable development of buildings can accomplish in terms of comfort, aesthetics,
energy and resource efficiency.
1. Introduction
As the world’s population continues to expand, implementation of resource-efficient measures in all
areas of human activity is imperative. The built environment is one clear example of the impact of human
activity on resources. Buildings have a significant impact on the environment, accounting for one-sixth of
the world’s freshwater withdrawals, one-quarter of its wood harvest, and two-fifths of its material and
energy flows (Rodman and Lenssen, 1995).
Sustainable development is the challenge of meeting growing human needs for natural resources,
industrial products, energy, food, transportation, shelter, and effective waste management while conserving
and protecting environmental quality and natural resources for future life and development. This concept
recognizes that meeting long-term human needs will be impossible unless the earth’s natural physical,
chemical, and biological systems are conserved (US GB, 1996). Sustainable development is a strategy
through which communities seek economic development approaches that also benefit the local environment
and quality of life. Sustainable development allows economic progress and environmental quality to be
compatible goals. Sustainable development strategies save money, improve the profits of local businesses,
and make the community much more livable.
Currently, buildings are a major source of the pollution that causes urban air quality problems, and the
pollutants that contribute to climate change. They account for 49 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions, 25
percent of nitrous oxide emissions, and 10 percent of particulate emissions, all of which damage urban air
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quality. Buildings produce 35 percent of carbon dioxide emissions (US GB, 1996). Traditional building
practices often overlook the interrelationships between a building, its components, its surroundings, and its
occupants. Typical buildings consume more of natural resources than necessary, negatively impact the
environment, and generate a large amount of waste. There are many opportunities to make buildings
cleaner. Sustainable building practices offer an opportunity to create environmentally-sound and resourceefficient buildings by using an integrated approach to design. Sustainable buildings promote resource
conservation, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation features; consider
environmental impacts and waste minimization; create a healthy and comfortable environment; reduce
operation and maintenance costs; and address issues such as historical preservation, access to public
transportation and other community infrastructure systems. The entire life cycle of the building and its
components is considered, as well as the economic and environmental impact and performance.
2. Sustainable development of buildings
Sustainable development of buildings requires a change in the way the building industry and building
owners approach the design, construction, and operation of structures. This leads public and private sectors
of the building industry towards a new value in its work; that is environmental performance. The industry’s
growing sustainability ethic is based on the principles of resource efficiency, health, and productivity.
Successful sustainable design requires an integrated approach as shown in Figure 1. Realization of these
principles involves an integrated, multidisciplinary approach; one in which a building project and its
components are viewed on a full life-cycle basis. This “cradle-to-cradle” approach, known as “green” or
“sustainable” building, considers a building’s total economic and environmental impact and performance,
from material extraction and product manufacture to product transportation, building design and construction,
operations and maintenance, and building reuse or disposal. This paper focuses on introducing guidelines for
site design and building design that might help in achieving sustainable development of buildings and
environment. Ultimately, adoption of sustainable building practices will lead to a shift in the building
industry, with sustainability thoroughly embedded in its practice, products, standards, codes, and regulations.
An environmentally responsive design process adds the elements of integrated building design, design
and construction team collaboration, and the development of environmental design guidelines. These new
elements should be incorporated into the project from the very beginning and carried throughout the project
phases to the final occupancy of the building. Conventional buildings often fail to consider the
interrelationships among building site, design elements, energy and resource constraints, building systems,
and building function. Sustainable buildings, through an integrated design approach, take into consideration
the effect these factors have on one another. Climate and building orientation, design factors such as daylighting opportunities, building envelope and system choices, as well as economic guidelines and occupant
activities, are all factors that need to be considered in an integrated approach.
Sustainable building systems and operational practices are dependent on building site, solar access and
light penetration, architectural design, and product specification. Sustainable buildings should take all of
these factors into consideration on an integrated basis. This is a circular and multi-dimensional approach.
Sustainable development concepts (applied to the design, construction, and operation of buildings), can
enhance both the economic well-being and environmental health of communities around the world. A
building’s life spans its planning; its design, construction and operation; and its ultimate reuse or demolition.
Often, the entity responsible for design, construction, and initial financing of a building is different from
those operating the building, meeting its operational expenses, and paying employees’ salaries and benefits.
However, the decisions made at the first phase of building design and construction can significantly affect
the costs and efficiencies of later phases.
Studies have shown that sustainable building measures taken during construction or renovation can
result in significant building operational savings, as well as increases in employee productivity. Therefore,
building related costs are best revealed and understood when they are analyzed over the life span of a
building. Life-cycle cost analysis (an increasingly accepted analytical method that calculates costs over the
“useful” or anticipated life of an asset), reveals that low up-front expenditures, though easier to finance at
building inception, can result in much higher costs over the life of a building or system. Choosing space-
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conditioning systems with the lowest first cost, for example, may prove to be a poor life-cycle decision,
when energy operation costs over the useful years of the systems are factored into the analysis (Gottfried,
1996).
Pre-Design Issues
Building Design
Site Design
Passive Solar Design
• Day-lighting,
• Building envelope
• Renewable energy
Building Systems &
Indoor Environmental
Quality
• HVAC systems
• Artificial lighting
• Electrical power
systems
• Plumbing systems
• Indoor Air Quality
• Acoustics
Construction
Process
Materials and
Specifications
Building Operations
and Maintenance
Figure 1. An integrated approach for achieving a sustainable development of buildings.
3. Sustainable Site Design
Sustainable site planning and design do not impose building design on the site. Rather, they identify the
ecological characteristics of the site, determine whether it is appropriate for its proposed use, and design
ways to integrate the building with the site. The intent is to lessen the environmental impact of human
activity, while using natural characteristics of the site to enhance human comfort and health, and potentially
provide a significant portion of the building’s energy requirement. Preservation of site resources and
conservation of energy and materials in construction and building operations are important results of good
site design.
Site planning assesses a particular landscape to determine its appropriate use, then maps the areas most
suitable for accommodating specific activities associated with that use. The process is based upon the
premise that any landscape setting can be analyzed and studied as a series of interconnected geological,
hydrological, topographic, ecological, climatological, and cultural features and systems. An ideal site plan is
one in which the arrangement of roads, buildings, and associated uses is developed using site data and
information from the larger macro-environment, including existing historical and cultural patterns of the
community. Selecting a building site begins the process of calculating the degree of resource use and the
degree of disturbance of existing natural systems that will be required to support a building’s development.
The most environmentally sound development is one that disturbs as little of the existing site as possible.
Therefore, sites suitable for commercial building should ideally be located within or adjacent to existing
commercial environments. Building projects also require connections to mass transit, vehicular infrastructure,
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and utility and telecommunication networks. Sound site planning and building design should consider
locating building-support services in common corridors, or building site to take advantage of existing service
networks. This consolidation can minimize site disruption and facilitate building repair and inspection. Some
of the guidelines that can assist in achieving sustainable site design are introduced in Table 1.
Utility Corridors
Transportation
Landscaping
Building and Site
Orientation
Infrastructure
Table 1. Some guidelines that can assist in achieving sustainable site design.
• Minimize road length, building footprint, and the actual ground area
required for intended improvements.
• Avoid pumped sewer systems because of ongoing power consumption.
• Aggregate utility corridors when feasible.
• Where possible, common site utility corridors should be consolidated
along previously disturbed areas or along new road or walk construction,
both to minimize unnecessary clearing and trenching and to ensure ease
of access for ongoing repairs.
• Use existing vehicular transportation networks to minimize the need for
new infrastructure.
• Consider increased use of telecommuting strategies.
• Telecommuting and teleconferencing can reduce commute.
• Plan for adequate telecommunications infrastructure and access in
building design.
• Consolidate service, pedestrian, and automobile paths.
• To minimize pavement costs, improve efficiency, and centralize runoff,
the pattern of roads, walkways, and parking should be compact.
• Orient building to take advantage of solar energy for passive and active
solar systems.
• If solar collectors systems are proposed, orientation should allow
maximum access to sunlight.
• Landscaped areas, open spaces, and parking should be aggregated to
provide the least solar shadow for southern orientations of the building
project and adjoining buildings.
• Provide a building-entrance orientation that maximizes safety and ease of
access.
• Vegetation can be used to provide shade, transpiration and wind
protection.
• Design access roads, landscaping, and ancillary structures to channel
wind toward main buildings for cooling, or away from them to reduce
heat loss.
• Modulation of tree-canopy heights and inclusion of water fountains and
other built structures can fine-tune an exterior site by accelerating or
decelerating site winds.
4. Sustainability of Building Design
The integrated approach introduced in this paper considers a building as a complete system, with the
building site, form, envelope, systems, and contents simultaneously interacting together and fitting their
setting in nature. The resulting building will perform as a resource-efficient and cost-effective system
designed to enhance occupants’ productivity and health. Sustainability of building design includes passive
solar design and building systems and indoor air quality as detailed in the following sub-sections.
4.1 Passive Solar Design
Passive solar design is a broad term used to encompass a wide range of strategies and options resulting in
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energy-efficient building design and increased occupant comfort. The concept emphasizes architectural
design approaches that minimize building energy consumption by integrating conventional energy-efficient
devices, such as mechanical and electrical pumps, fans, lighting fixtures, and other equipment, with passive
design elements, such as an efficient envelope, appropriate amounts of fenestration, increased day-lighting
design, and thermal mass. Many passive buildings are compatible with active components such as solar hot
water systems. Passive solar design balances all aspects of the energy use in a building: lighting, cooling,
heating, and ventilation. It achieves this by combining, in a single concept, the use of renewable resources
and conventional, energy-efficient strategies. The basic idea of passive solar design is to allow daylight,
heat, and airflow into a building only when beneficial. The objectives are to control the entrance of sunlight
and air flows into the building at appropriate times and to store and distribute the heat and cool air so it is
available when needed. Many passive solar design options can be achieved at little or no additional cost.
Others are economically viable over a building’s life-cycle (PSIC & NREL, 1996).
Passive building design starts with consideration of building site and day-lighting opportunities and the
building envelope; then building systems are considered. Almost every element of a passive solar design
serves more than one purpose. Landscaping can be aesthetic while also providing critical shading or direct
air flow. Window shades are both a shading device and part of the interior design scheme. Masonry floors
store heat and also provide a durable walking surface. Sunlight bounced around a room provides a bright
space and task light. Critical design areas of passive solar design include the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
4.1.1
Thermal protection provides appropriate levels of insulation and minimal air leakage.
Windows transmit heat, light, and air between interior space and the outside environment.
Day-lighting reduces lighting, cooling energy use and creates a better working environment,
leading to increased comfort and productivity.
Passive solar heating allows heat to enter the building during the winter months and rejects it
during the summer months through the use of appropriate amount and type of south-facing
glazing and properly designed shading devices.
Energy-efficient lighting utilizes efficient lamps, ballasts, controls, and luminaries
coordinated with daylight and color of interior space to provide the requisite level of light.
Internal heat-gain control minimizes heat gain generated by lights, people, and equipment
through the use of day-lighting, thermal mass, efficient equipment selection, and venting.
Passive cooling with natural ventilation incorporates controlled air exchanges through natural
or mechanical means, and helps to increase energy performance of buildings in most locations.
Energy-efficient HVAC system reduces system load by integrating above-listed design
strategies and using measures such as efficient motors, heat pumps, variable speed drives, and
sophisticated building controls.
Day-lighting
Day-lighting is the practice of bringing light into a building interior and distributing it in a way that provides
more desirable and better-quality illumination than artificial light sources. This reduces the need for
electrical light sources, thus cutting down on electricity use and its associated costs and pollution. Studies
substantiate that day-lighting creates healthier and more stimulating work environments than artificial
lighting systems and can increase productivity. Day-lighting significantly reduces energy consumption and
operating costs. Energy used for lighting in buildings can account for 40 to 50 percent of total energy
consumption. Properly designed and implemented day-lighting strategies can save 50 to 80 percent of
lighting energy. Some of the general day-lighting principles that can help in achieving sustainability include
(Abraham, 1996):
•
Avoid direct sunlight on critical tasks and excessive brightness.
When a critical task is performed in direct sunlight, the light can cause unacceptable contrast ratios,
disability glare, or veiled reflection. In this situation, the work surface or computer screen reflects
the light source so that it is difficult to see the intended task. The recommended maximum
background-to-task ratio is 10 to one; the recommended maximum light source-to-background ratio
is 40 to one.
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•
Bring the daylight in at a high location.
The four basic types of daylight apertures are windows, skylights, roof monitors, and clerestories as
shown in Figure 2. Skylights, roof monitors, and clerestories tend to be more effective than
windows because their high location in a building affords penetration of light into the building core.
Windows, unless fitted with light shelves or Venetian blinds, can sometimes cause unacceptable
brightness levels and excessive contrast ratios of background to foreground, thereby creating visual
problems.
Clerestory
Sawtooth roof
Roof monitor
Light shelf
Figure 2. Effective types of daylight apertures.
•
Filter the daylight.
Trees, plants, draperies, screens, translucent shades, and light-scattering glazing diffuse and
distribute light while reducing its intensity.
•
Bounce daylight off of surrounding surfaces.
Light shelves, louvers, blinds, and vertical baffles reflect and distribute light throughout a building
interior. In general, the larger and softer the light source, the better the visual quality, the less the
resulting eye strain, and the easier it is to function and perform a given task. When the light is nondirectional (reflected from countless surfaces) shadows are avoided or eliminated and visual quality
is improved.
•
Integrate daylight with other building systems and strategies.
The most effective day-lighting solutions work in concert with and not against other building
systems or design strategies, for example, HVAC systems, including natural ventilation, passive
solar heating and cooling, acoustic control systems, electrical lighting systems incorporating
occupancy sensors, photocells and dimmable electronic ballasts, and building energy management
systems
4.1.2
Building Envelope
The building envelope consists of structural materials and finishes that enclose space, separating inside from
outside. This includes walls, windows, doors, roofs, and floor surfaces. The envelope must balance
requirements for ventilation and daylight while providing thermal and moisture protection appropriate to the
climatic conditions of the site. Envelope design is a major factor in determining the amount of energy a
building will use in its operation. The overall environmental life-cycle impacts and energy costs associated
with the production and transportation of different envelope materials vary greatly (Burke, 1996). Some
guidelines that may help in achieving sustainable building envelope are shown in Table 2.
4.1.3
Renewable Energy
Integration of passive solar heating, cooling, and thermal storage features, along with day-lighting, into a
building can yield considerable energy benefits and added occupant comfort. Incorporation of these items
into the building design can lead to substantial reduction in the load requirements for building heating and
cooling mechanical systems. The passive solar measures and mechanical systems need to be evaluated on an
interactive basis during the design process, since an increase in one can lead to a decrease in the other.
Thermal mass in a passive solar building is intended to meet two needs. It should be designed to quickly
absorb solar heat for use over the diurnal cycle and to avoid overheating. Active solar collector systems take
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advantage of the sun to provide energy for domestic water heating, pool heating, ventilation air preheat, and
space heating. Active solar systems should be integrated with a building’s design and systems only after
passive solar and energy-conserving strategies are considered.
Building
Grounds
Thermal
Efficiency
Doors, Windows, and Openings
Building Shape and Orientation
Climate
Considerations:
Table 2. Some guidelines that may help in achieving sustainable building envelope.
• Assess the local climate to determine appropriate envelope materials and
building designs.
• Assess the site’s solar geometry. Solar gain on roofs, walls, and the building
interior through window openings can be either a benefit or a hindrance to
heating, cooling, and occupant comfort. A thorough understanding of solar
geometry specific to the site is crucial to proper envelope design.
• Choose the most compact building footprint and shape that work with
requirements for day-lighting, solar heating and cooling, and function.
The greater the amount of building skin in relation to the volume of space
enclosed, the more the building is influenced by heat exchanges at the skin.
Excluding consideration of window openings and glazing choices, if two
building designs under consideration enclose the same volume, the one with the
more compact plan will have greater thermal efficiency.
• Site and orient the building so as to minimize the effects of wind turbulence
upon the envelope.
The shape and orientation of the building shell has an impact upon wind
turbulence and opportunities for infiltration through the envelope. However, an
orientation that minimizes winter wind may also limit opportunities to make use
of cooling breezes in summer.
• Size and position doors, windows, and vents in the envelope based on careful
consideration of day-lighting, heating, and ventilating strategies.
The form, size, and location of openings may vary depending on how they affect
the building envelope. High windows for day-lighting are preferable because, if
properly designed, they bring light deeper into the interior and eliminate glare.
• Shade openings in the envelope during hot weather to reduce the penetration of
direct sunlight to the interior of the building.
• Select the proper glazing for windows, where appropriate.
•
•
•
•
Glazing uses metallic layers of coating or tints to either absorb or reflect specific
wavelengths in the solar spectrum. More advanced windows use glazing that is
altered with changing conditions, such as windows with tinting that increases
under direct sunlight and decreases as light levels are reduced.
Build walls, roofs, and floors of adequate thermal resistance to provide human
comfort and energy efficiency.
Consider the reflectivity of the building envelope.
Specify construction materials and details that reduce heat transfer.
Incorporate solar controls on the building exterior to reduce heat gain.
• Coordinate building strategy with landscaping decisions.
• Reduce paved areas to lessen heat buildup around the building that will add to
the load on the building envelope.
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4.2 Buildings Systems and Indoor Environmental Quality
Designing and installing environmentally sound and energy-efficient systems have a long-term impact on the
cost-effective operations of a building and on the productivity of building occupants.
4.2.1 Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems
The amount of energy used annually by heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems typically
ranges from 40 to 60 percent of the overall energy consumption in a building, depending on the building’s
design, the use of renewable energy strategies, climate, the building’s function, and its condition. HVAC
systems also affect the health and comfort of building occupants (Bisel, 1996). These systems serve an
essential function and are identified as problem areas more often than other occupancy issues. The goal of
environmentally sound HVAC system design is to meet occupant needs through the most efficient and
environmentally positive means at the lowest initial and life-cycle costs. Solutions that have evolved provide
environmental comfort while accounting for climatic conditions, use of space, and building technology.
These sustainable system designs take into consideration factors such as solar orientation, floor-plate depth,
thermal mass, insulation, selection of architectural materials, placement and type of doors and windows, and
natural ventilation. Energy efficiency and indoor air quality (IAQ) can be closely linked through integrated
design strategies for ventilation systems.
4.2.2 Artificial lighting
Artificial lighting constitutes 20 to 30 percent of all energy use in a commercial building. Reductions in
energy use can be achieved with natural day-lighting, advanced lighting technology, and efficient lighting
design. Artificial light has been generally overused in most buildings. Some building codes mandate a
maximum lighting power density of 1.5 to 2.5 watts per square foot. Nevertheless, a lighting power density
of 0.65 to 1.2 watts per square foot can be achieved while still providing a fully functional, well-lit space
(Bisel, 1996). With additional improvements from control systems that reduce usage during periods of nonoccupancy, the use of day-lighting, and light-level maintenance and tuning control, energy savings of more
than 50 percent are possible. Because reduced lighting generates less heat, HVAC cooling requirements are
lowered as well.
4.2.3 Electrical Power Systems
Office technology, including telecommunication devices, personal computers, networks, copiers, printers,
and other equipment that has revolutionized the workplace in the past two decades, together with appliances
such as refrigerators and dishwashers, makes up the fastest-growing energy load within a building. The
consumption of energy to run these devices can be comparable to that of a building’s mechanical or lighting
systems. Local area networks (LANs) and peer-to-peer computing create significant energy loads within a
building because they create a demand for 24-hour operation. LAN rooms, telephone closets, and even some
general office areas need to maintain 24-hour “computer-room” cooling and humidity requirements yearround, further increasing energy demands and costs.
4.2.4 Plumbing Systems
Water use in buildings has two environmental impacts: the direct use of water, a limited resource; and the
expenditure of energy used in water pumping, purification, treatment, and heating. The overall amount of
energy used to pump, treat, and heat water can approach 10 percent of a utility company’s output. The
primary areas where improvement is possible are: more efficient water generation and end-use devices,
reduced storage losses in hot water equipment, reduced piping and pumping losses, and reduction in hotwater temperatures to provide the minimum acceptable temperature for intended use.
4.2.5 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
The quality of indoor air results from the interaction of many complex factors including construction
materials, building envelope, furnishings, equipment, ventilation systems, maintenance, occupants, and
electrical and magnetic fields each contributing different effects. The ways in which these factors contribute
to IAQ may be as follows (Bernheim, 1996):
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•
•
•
•
•
Construction materials, furnishings, and equipment may emit odor, particles, and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), and adsorb and desorb VOCs. Individual VOCs from a specific material may
combine with VOCs from other materials to form new chemicals.
The building envelope controls the infiltration of outside air and moisture, and may include
operable or inoperable windows.
Acoustical materials in heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems may contribute
to indoor air pollution in the same way as construction materials, mentioned above. Ventilation
systems also control the distribution, quantity, temperature, and humidity of air.
Lack of maintenance allows dirt, dust, mold, odors, and particles to increase. The use of high-VOC
cleaning agents pollutes air.
The number of occupants and the amount of equipment contribute to indoor air pollution. People
and pets are major sources of microorganisms and airborne allergens in indoor environments.
Occupant activities also can pollute the air.
4.2.6 Acoustics
Acoustics have a significant impact upon the overall indoor environmental quality of modern buildings and
the amount of noise emission or pollution discharged to the outdoors. The levels of background noise,
privacy, and separation between particular types of spaces have important implications for the work
environment of building occupants. Surface finishes are also important in the acoustic environment and can
influence the character of the space as significantly as color or shape. Selecting the correct balance between
hard, acoustically reflective materials and soft, absorptive ones facilitates the projection of speech to
intended areas and prevents echoes or the excessive buildup of unwanted sound in other areas. Outdoor
sound emissions must also be considered. In manufacturing areas, the operation of equipment that exceeds
ambient noise levels can affect adjacent residential areas. The criteria for noise emission to the external
environment are based on existing environmental conditions. In rural areas, for instance, background noise
levels during the quietest periods of the day or night may drop to 35 or 40 dB(A). dB(A) is a measure that
represents a single-figure decibel weighted to the A-scale, which simulates the response of the human ear to
different sound frequencies. In urban areas, the level is unlikely to drop below 50 to 55 dB(A) at night and
60 to 65 dB(A) during the day (Longman, 1996). If the jurisdictional authority has not prescribed a limit on
noise emissions, the designer should establish a level consistent with existing ambient noise levels at
property lines or neighboring buildings.
5. Discussion
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs. As such it requires the promotion of values that
encourage consumption standards that are within the bounds of the ecologically possible and to which all
could reasonably aspire. Sustainable construction means that the principles of sustainable development are
applied to the comprehensive construction cycle from the extraction and beneficiation of raw materials,
through the planning, design and construction of buildings and infrastructure, until their final deconstruction
and management of the resultant waste. It is a holistic process aiming to restore and maintain harmony
between the natural and built environments, while creating settlements that affirm human dignity and
encourage economic equity (du Plessis, 2002).
The sustainable building movement has started to gain momentum. Each year yields additional
demonstration projects; dozens of new efficient and healthy technologies; and expanded research, standards,
codes, and regulations. These include rating systems to evaluate a building’s environmental performance,
certification programs for sustainable building products, and the adoption of sustainable building standards
and practices by recognized standard-setting organizations. The availability of increasingly sophisticated
computer software programs also fosters the growth of sustainable building practices by making it easier to
identify and evaluate options for a building project. Other new trends and emerging concepts affecting the
building industry include performance-based contracts, remanufacturing and product leasing, telecommuting
and “virtual offices,” and efforts to mitigate natural-disaster losses through improved building practices.
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Promotion and implementation of sustainable building practices within a community can generate new
economic development opportunities. These opportunities can take a variety of forms, including new
business development to meet the demand for sustainable products and services; resource-efficiency
improvement programs that enable existing businesses to lower operating costs; development of
environmentally oriented business districts; and job training related to new sustainable businesses and
products.
In the event up-front costs are higher for high performance sustainable buildings, they can be recovered.
Integrated design lowers ongoing operating costs. Better buildings equate to better employee productivity.
New technologies enhance health and well being. Healthier buildings can reduce liability. Tenants’ costs can
be significantly reduced. Property value will increase.
6. References
Abraham, L. (1996), Day-lighting, Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design,
Construction, and Operations, Public Technology Inc., USA, pp. 90-103.
Bernheim, A., (1996), Indoor Air Quality, Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design,
Construction, and Operations, Public Technology Inc., USA, pp. 142-154.
Bisel, C., (1996), HVAC, Electrical, and Plumbing Systems, Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green
Building Design, Construction, and Operations, Public Technology Inc., USA, pp. 124-141.
Burke, W. (1996), Building Envelope, Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design,
Construction, and Operations, Public Technology Inc., USA, pp. 104-109.
du Plessis, C., (2002), Sustainable Construction in Developing Countries, CSIR Building and Construction
Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.
Gottfried, D., (1996), The Economics of Green Buildings, Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green
Building Design, Construction, and Operations, Public Technology Inc., USA, pp. 16-24.
Lippiatt, B. and Norris, G., (1996), Selecting Environmentally and Economically Balanced Building
Materials, Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design, Construction, and
Operations, Public Technology Inc., USA, pp. 25-31.
Longman, J., (1996), Acoustics, Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design,
Construction, and Operations, Public Technology Inc., USA, pp. 155-160.
PSIC & NREL (Passive Solar Industries Council and National Renewable Energy Laboratory), (1996),
Designing Low Energy Buildings- Integrating Day-lighting, Energy-Efficient Equipment, and Passive
Solar Strategies, Washington, D.C.
Rodman, D. and Lenssen, N., (1995), A Building Revolution: How Ecology and Health Concerns Are
Transforming Construction, Worldwatch Paper 124, Washington, D.C.
Romm, J. and Browning, L (1994), Greening the Building and the Bottom Line: Increasing Productivity
Through Energy-Efficient Design, Rocky Mountain Institute, Snowmass, Colo.
Romm, J., (1994), Lean and Clean Management, Kodansha International.
US GBC (Green Building Council), 1996, Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design,
Construction, and Operations, Public Technology Inc., USA.
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