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Sustainable Design and Construction in Africa
Book · August 2018
DOI: 10.1201/9781351212205
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Clinton Aigbavboa
Oluwaseun S Dosumu
University of Johannesburg
University of Rwanda
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How to cite: O. S. Dosumu and C. O. Aigbavboa (2018). Sustainable
Design and construction for Africa: A system dynamics approach.
Routlege: Taylor and Francis, UK
Chapter one
General introduction
Abstract
This chapter introduced the readers to the book by first stating the importance of the construction
industry to the development of nations and then acknowledged that the performance of the industry
is continually hampered by many challenges that seem yet unsolved till date. The chapter went on
to justify the need to consider sustainability as a more important project success criterion above
the conventional iron triangle success criteria of cost, time and quality performance. Thereafter,
the chapter noted that Africa is yet to effectively adopt sustainability as a criterion for project
success due to the many challenges it is currently facing. It stated how it intends to help Africa
come out of the sustainability adoption problems. Furthermore, the chapter discussed and
contextualized some subjects that were fundamental to the book. Some of these subjects include
project design, project construction, design documents, construction documents and contract
documents among others. The aim of the book, which is to assist Africa overcome its current
challenges with the practice of sustainable design and construction was discussed in the chapter.
Other objectives of the book to the developed and developing countries were also discussed.
Finally, the value of the book to construction practitioners, policy makers, government institutions
and parastatals, researchers, teachers of sustainability and students that was discussed.
Keywords: Africa, Design document, Contract document, Project success criteria, Sustainability,
Sustainable design, Sustainable construction.
Introduction to the book
The construction industry is one of the important contributing sectors to the economy of many
developed and developing nations in the world. These contributions are in the form of substantial
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), provision of direct and indirect employment to skilled, unskilled,
national and international people, development of public and private structures and infrastructure
for the business and activities of government, corporate organizations, social institutions and
individuals in countries, and promotion of dynamic relationship with other contributing sectors in
the form of forward and backward linkages. Despite these contributions however, the construction
industry has continually been confronted several challenges of poor project delivery among which
cost overrun, time overrun and quality deviations were atop. These challenges for many years have
led to frustration of many clients, profit marginalization for contractors, disputes among project
stakeholders, loss of confidence in consultants and contractors, battered reputation of consultants
and contractors and discouragement of investments in construction projects by private
organizations, design and construction errors, wastage of materials, rework, variation, building
collapse and unsustainable development among others.
Even though “sustainable development” as a subject dates back to as far as 1987 (Brundtland
commission report) and 1992 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development),
construction researches continued to direct efforts toward critical success factors, key project
performance indicators, contract documentation, project health and safety and maintenance just to
mention a few, all in a bid to ensure that projects are completed with targeted cost, specified time
and prescribed quality among others. In the process of trying to solve the problem of poor project
performance, new techniques of managing construction projects such as Building Information
Modelling (BIM), Lean Construction (LC), Industrialized System Building (ISB), Modular
Construction (MC), Value Management (VM), Facilities Management (FM), management
contracting and Public Private Partnership (PPP) among others were discovered. These techniques
then became the focus of many researchers in developed and developing countries for many years
up until recently that discussions of sustainable design and construction became like the only
problem of the construction industry (Proverb, et al., 2000; Garrison and Tweedie, 2008; Lopes et
al., 2011; Stasiak-Betlejewska, 2013; Kreider and Messner, 2013; Mydin et al., 2014; Sarhan et
al., 2017).
While many studies (Tirmizi, 2003; Delnavaz, 2012; Ahn et al., 2016) have shown that the new
construction management techniques have improved construction process, efficiency and
effectiveness in one way or the other, it is not clear whether they have been able to achieve the
long craven goal of making construction projects stay within specified cost, designated time and
prescribed quality before the sharp shift of construction research focus to sustainable development
(sustainable design and construction). However, while the question of whether the new
construction management techniques have been able to achieve the iron triangle project criteria of
cost, time and quality performance remain unanswered, the paradigm shift in construction research
focus is understandable. This is because, even though the exact extent to which the world
environment has been depleted in the form of global warming, climate change, depletion of natural
and environmental resources, carbon emission and energy consumption among others is not
known, there is sufficient evidence in literature to suggest that the future generation may not
survive if sustainable development is not commenced immediately. Hence, the change in project
performance criteria from the iron triangle indicators of cost, time and quality performance to
sustainable design and construction has driven research and practice in the direction of more
pertinent issues like green building construction, development of smart cities, adoption of
alternative building materials, indoor environmental quality and energy efficiency among others.
Unfortunately, the developing nations mostly in Africa are not moving with times as this change
in construction focus has not diffused to many countries at an acceptable standard. This bothers
largely on issues relating to the level of awareness of sustainable development, knowledge of
sustainable development and the technologies required for effective adoption of sustainable
designs and construction of projects among others. Therefore, there is an urgent need to bridge the
practice gap between the adopters (developed nations) and non-adopters (developing nations like
Africa) of sustainable design and construction. This is more important because, the issue of
sustainable design and construction is global in nature and may not be successful without collective
practice. This book acknowledges the importance of sustainable design and construction in Africa
and is therefore poised to investigate the reasons for the low or non-adoption of sustainable design
and construction in Africa with a view to borrowing lessons from the developed nations to help
Africa rise and overcome her many challenges of adopting sustainable design and construction.
To foster the understanding of Africa’s problem with sustainable development, the book moves
from the known (conventional building design and construction) to the unknown (sustainable
design and construction).
The book is organized into twelve (12) chapters of four sections that are arranged both logically
and systematically. Section one deals with the introduction and motivation for writing the book. It
also describes the meaning of construction design and construction, and the purpose for which the
book is written. Section two describes the current (conventional) practice of building design and
construction in Africa by discussing the procedure and measures of construction project success.
Section two also punctures the current practice of design and construction in Africa by extracting
its inherent loopholes to drive the need for sustainable design and construction home. Section three
of the book caters for the practice of sustainable design and construction in developed countries.
It describes the advantages, disadvantages and challenges of the practice of sustainable design and
construction with a view to extracting lessons that could be learned by Africa in her quest to
practice sustainable design and construction. Section four of the book makes contribution on how
Africa can plunge into the adoption sustainable design and construction. This is done by examining
the barriers to the adoption of sustainable design and construction in Africa with a view to making
suggestions on how they can be overcame. The methods by which Africa can adopt sustainable
design and construction was classified into external and internal methods. The external methods
deal with the various ways by which the develop countries can assist Africa to overcome the
challenges while internal methods deal with the ways by which Africa can help herself to come
out of the challenges.
Chapter one introduces the reader to the book, explains building design and construction generally,
contract documentation, characteristics of building design and contract documents, aim and
objective of the book, summary of chapter and references. The contents of chapter two are detailed
discussions of conventional building design and construction process, shortcomings of the
conventional building design, the need for sustainable building design and construction, integrated
design and construction process and summary of the chapter. The chapter three of the book bothers
on the various project success criteria of the conventional building design and construction,
explains the reason why sustainability is and should be the dominant project success criteria
nowadays for every nation including Africa (despite the challenges) and then summarizes the
chapter. In chapter four, the various procurement methods used for construction projects were
discussed in detail and in chapter five, the concept of sustainability in design and construction was
described by explaining what sustainable design and construction actually means as opposed to
some misconceptions in certain quarters, discussing the origin of sustainable design and
construction, its objectives, its elements, its characteristics and benefits to the construction industry
and the world at large. In chapter six, the sustainable design and construction assessment tools
used by developing countries to rate green buildings were discussed. Chapter seven discusses the
successes (implementation strategies) recorded on sustainable design and construction by the
adopters (developed countries) were explained using examples from cases of successfully
completed sustainability certified buildings. Based on the explanations, the lessons that can be
borrowed by Africa was highlighted and discussed accordingly. Chapter eight is devoted to the
failures of sustainable design and construction as adopted by the developed countries in spite of
their green building certification. The lessons to be learnt by Africa from the failures of sustainable
design and construction practice by developed countries were also highlighted and discussed in
the chapter.
Chapter nine concentrates basically on the factors (drivers) influencing the adoption of sustainable
design and construction. These factors were classified according to the players involved in the
adoption process. Chapter ten was devoted to the effects of adopting sustainable design and
construction in the construction industry. These effects were split into the advantages and
disadvantages of sustainable design and construction. The advantages and disadvantages of
sustainable design and construction were discussed in accordance with the roles of the key players
or actors. In chapter eleven, the challenges faced by Africa in adopting sustainability was
discussed. The chapter delved into the uniqueness and peculiarity of the African situation in her
quest to practice sustainable design and construction.
Chapter 12 discussed and suggested practical ways forward for Africa to adopt sustainability in
design and construction. These suggestions were based on the uniqueness of the Africa
construction industry as opposed to that of the developed countries, the need for developing a
green building assessment tool that is different from those of the developed countries.
It is important to note that every chapter of this book contains abstract, keywords, summary and
references to facilitate searching and further reading.
Project design and construction
Many meanings have been advanced for project, depending on the field of its application and
desired goal. Despite the differences in the definitions, they share certain characteristics like time
frame and specificity of event. In the construction industry, project is usually considered to mean
a planned set of connected tasks that are bound to be executed over a certain period and within
specified cost and other boundaries. Hence, a project is usually a temporary endeavor that has time
lines and defined resources. In this book, a project as defined in the context of the construction
industry shall mean construction project.
Project design is the process of providing all the necessary information that is required for the
successful execution of construction project. The information is meant to satisfy clients’
requirements as well as public, welfare, and safety requirements. Due to the many aspects of a
building (architectural, structural, services, and so on), a construction project is bound to have
more than one design. These designs among others usually include architectural, structural,
mechanical and electrical designs among others. Project designs are usually in the form of
drawings and technical specifications. By law, project designs are required to be prepared by
competent personnel that are certified by recognized regulatory body in the required field.
Competency is usually determined by formal education, experience in the required field and ability
to success in oral and written examination. Project designs are required to translate the intentions
of a client into drawings and specifications that can be used by the contractor for the actualization
of the client’s dream project.
Project construction on the other hand is the process of utilizing project design to help clients
achieve their goals. Building construction involves the assembly of different building materials to
construct a building. Apart from assembling materials, project construction also involves the
management of resources such as finance, equipment, skilled and unskilled workers. The
complexity of the activities involved during project construction require that it be managed by an
experienced person usually referred to as project manager. The project manager is responsible for
connecting and balancing the activities of the design and construction personnel. Under normal
circumstance, the design is supposed to perfectly fit into construction with minimal or no
discrepancy. However, this is usually not the case in the current method construction practice as
many construction projects end up being shadows of their designs (see chapter 2).
Project design and contract documents
Project design, construction and contract documents are usually used interchangeably by
construction professional and other stakeholders. However, there is notable difference among the
three documents. It is important to clarify this difference at this stage of the book to avoid
misconception of meanings in the body of the book. Project design documents are the documents
prepared by design professionals which include architects, structural engineers, electrical and
mechanical engineers among others. Design documents are basically drawings (architectural,
structural, mechanical, electrical, etc.) and specifications that depict the pictorial and written
requirements that relate to the materials and equipment to be used for construction project.
Construction documents are also often misconstrued to mean the same thing as contract
documents. However, construction documents, also called working documents include all the
documents that are used by project client to obtain bids from contractors and used by contractors
to obtain price quotations from subcontractors. These documents among others include the
drawings, technical specifications, construction schedules and priced or unpriced bill of quantities
among other. They exclude documents that involve signed agreement between the client and
contractor to execute a project. Hence, contract documents are construction documents plus
general conditions of contract, contract agreement and contract among others. In this book contract
documents shall mean all the documents that are signed by the client and contractor and handed
over to the contractor for the execution of same project at the time he is moving to site for
construction. contract documents expressly state the responsibilities of the client and contractor.
They are also legally binding on the parties (client and contractor).
Characteristics of design and construction contract documents
For a construction project to succeed, the contract documents must be detailed and explicit.
Therefore, it is expedient that a construction lawyer be engaged to review the contract before it is
signed by the client and contractor. The following are the characteristics of design and construction
contract documents (Chiragi, 2005; Merritt and Rickett, 2000):
•
•
•
•
•
Full names, addresses, and signatures of the client and contractor must be represented
Project duration must be clearly stated
Contract sum and terms of Payment must be spelt out
Work schedule must be known
Order or authority on the contract must be known and documented
•
•
•
•
•
•
The quality of materials and performance criteria must be clear
The bearers of anticipated risks must be clearly stated
Right and remedies of parties to a contract during dispute must be stated
The procedure for smooth operation of the contract including treatment of variation must
be stated
The meaning of project success must be clearly defined in the contract
The implication of these characteristics on sustainable development is fully discussed in
chapter 3.
Aim and objectives of the book
Many publications which include books, journals, conferences and opinion papers have been done
in relation to sustainable development, sustainable construction and sustainable building process
among others (Du Plessis, 2007; Halliday, 2008; Lin, 2012; Kibert, 2013; Sinha and Kutnar, 2013;
Castanheira and Braganca, 2014; Ahn, et al., 2016) These materials were aimed at solving specific
problems on sustainability. However, they did not solve the long-standing problem of Africa with
the adoption of sustainable design and construction. Hence, this book is not aimed at repeating the
works done by these publications. The aim of this book is to identify the challenges of Africa with
the effective adoption of sustainable design and construction and then provide ways by which the
challenges can be overcame through external and internal means. This was done by to bridge the
current construction practice (conventional) in Africa with the expected construction practice
(sustainable design and construction). The book therefore sought to achieve two distinct objectives
that were discussed in succeeding paragraphs.
Firstly, it provides a verifiable link between the conventional (cost, time and quality performance)
and modern (sustainability) methods of design and construction by discussing the shortcomings of
the conventional building design and construction method, the need for sustainable building design
and construction in Africa, lessons to be learnt by Africa from the successes and failures of
sustainability adoption by developed nations (examples were used), factors influencing adoption
of sustainable building design and construction and effects of sustainable design and construction
on productivity, human health and the environment at large.
Secondly, the book investigated and discussed the myriads of challenges faced by Africa in
adopting sustainable design and construction. The book proceeded to discussing the ways out and
forward for Africa to efficiently and effectively adopt the concept of sustainable design and
construction. The external and internal ways of overcoming the challenges faced were exploited
in the book.
Contributions of the book to the body of knowledge
The contribution of this book to the body of existing knowledge is required, significant and timely
because it addressed the challenges of African nations with adoption of sustainability in design
and construction, and proffered suggestions to the way forward for those nations. The book claims
that if Africa as a developing continent is not carried along by the developed nations in the adoption
of sustainable design and construction, there is the possibility that global warming, climate change
and depletion of natural resources that are being avoided may be a mirage across the world in the
long run. This is because Africa occupy not only a fair share of the world’s population and land
size, she shares the same environmental space with the adopting (developed) nations. Therefore,
sustainable design and construction can only be a collective goal rather than isolated one.
Targeted users of the book
Although, the book targets Africa, it is recommended for both the developed and developing
nations because of its coverage in contributions to the body of existing knowledge. For
construction practitioners (architects, builders, estate surveyors and valuers, urban and regional
planners, engineers, etc.) and professional bodies in Africa, the book is helpful for the
understanding of the challenges faced by Africa as a continent and the methods of overcoming
them in order to effectively adopt sustainability. Also, the construction professionals in Africa will
learn from the successes (implementation strategies) and failures of the practice of sustainable
design and construction by developed country so that Africa will not replicate the same failures in
their adoption. Apart from the construction professionals in Africa, housing policy makers,
government institutions and parastatal will benefit from the discussions in this book after going
through the myriad of challenges faced by Africa in her quest to practicing sustainable
development and the ways by which the challenges could be countered. Hence, the policy makers
will be able to know how they can influence the practice of sustainable design and construction
with favourable policies and regulations. The book is also useful to teachers of sustainability as
the book deals with the fundamentals of sustainability practice in the world before narrowing it
down to Africa that has failed to adopt it.
Summary of chapter
This chapter introduced the readers to the book by acknowledging the importance of the
construction industry to nations and its challenges overtime with project performance. The chapter
further justified the importance of considering sustainability as the success criterion for
construction projects over the conventional success criteria of cost, time and quality performance.
The focus of the book, which centers on how Africa can overcome its current challenges of
practicing sustainable design and construction was discussed in this chapter. The chapter discussed
the arrangement of the book into its constituent sections and chapters. Furthermore, the subjects
that were fundamental to the book were discussed and contextualized. Other objectives of the book
(apart from helping Africa overcome its challenges on sustainability) to the developed and
developing countries were also discussed. Lastly, the value of the book to construction
practitioners, policy makers, government institutions and parastatals, researchers, teachers of
sustainability and students that want to use system dynamics for their thesis was discussed.
References
Ahn, Y. H., Jung, C. W., Suh, M., and Jeon, M. H. (2016). Integrated construction process for
green building. Procedia Engineering, 145, 670-676.
Castanheira, G. and Bragança, L. (2014). The evolution of the sustainability assessment tool
SBToolPT: From buildings to the built environment. The Scientific World Journal, 491-791.
Chiragi, F. V. (2005). Building Construction Industry in Tanzania: Youth Sports Centres Complex
at Mwananyamala, Dar-es-salaam. Accessed on 11th April 2017 at www.hdm.ith.se
Delnavaz, M. (2012). Project Managers’ Role in Sustainable Building Process. Master of Science
Thesis in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chalmers University of
Technology, Göteborg, Sweden.
Du Plessis, C. (2007). A strategic framework for sustainable construction in developing countries.
Construction Management and Economics, 25(1), 67-76.
Garrison, J. and Tweedie, A. (2008). Modular architecture manual. Kullman Building Corporation,
USA.
Halliday, S. (2008). Sustainable construction. GB: Taylor and Francis Ltd.
Kibert, C. J. (2013). Sustainable construction. Hoboken, New Jersy: Wiley.
Kreider, R. G. and Messner, J. I. (2013). The uses of BIM: classifying and selecting BIM uses. The
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
Lopes, J. P., Oliveira, R. A and Abreu, M. I (2011). The construction industry and the challenges
of the millennium development goals. A paper presented at the Management and Innovation
for a Sustainable Built Environment conference from 20 – 23 June 2011, Amsterdam,
Netherlands
Merritt, F. S. and Ricketts, J. T. (2000). Building design and construction handbook, McGrawHill
Mydin, M. A., Salim, N. A., Tan, S. W., Tawil, N. M., and Ulang, N. M. (2014). Assessment of
significant causes to school building defects. Accessed on 11th April 2017 at www.e3sconference.org
Proverbs, D.G. Holt, G. D. and Cheok, H. Y. (2000). Construction industry problems: The views
of UK construction directors. In: Akintoye, A. (Ed.) 16th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-8
September 2000, Glasgow Caledonian University
Sarhan, J. G., Xia, B., Fawzia, S. and Karim, A. (2017). Lean construction implementation in the
Saudi Arabian construction industry. Construction Economics and Building, 17 (1), 46-69.
Sinha, A., Gupta, R., and Kutnar, A. (2013). Sustainable development and green buildings. Drvna
Industrija, 64 (1) 45-53
Stasiak-Betlejewska, R. (2013). Value management in the international scientific project
management. Toyotarity: Economic issues, 69-78
Tirmizi, M. A. (2003). Sustainable building design strategies for Pakistan, Central Europe towards
Sustainable Building (CESB10 Prague), Accessed on 11th April 2017 at www.slideshare.net
Yu, V. P. (2012). Addressing sustainable development in developing countries through
environmental technology dissemination and transfer. WTO CTE Workshop on
Environmental Technology Dissemination, 12 November 2012, & Geneva. Accessed on 11th
April 2017 at www.southcentre.org
Chapter two
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Conventional versus integrated design and construction process
Abstract
This chapter deals with the discussion of conventional and sustainable design and construction
process. The discussion covered explanations on conventional design and construction process,
the steps involved in its application, the project team members and the shortcomings of the
conventional design and construction process over the years. The shortcomings of the conventional
design and construction process gave room for the discussion of the need for sustainable
construction projects and integrated design and construction process. Hence, the chapter explained
the criteria for adopting the integrated design and construction process, the characteristics of the
integrated design and construction process, the team members of an integrated design and
construction process and their functions, goals and objectives of integrated design and construction
process projects, steps involved in the application of integrated design and construction process
projects, benefits and disadvantages of integrated design and construction process. Furthermore,
this section compared the conventional design and construction process with the integrated design
and construction process based on the work stages involved in both processes. Based on the
previous discussions in this chapter, the section explained the reason for the inability of African
countries to adopt the integrated design and construction process for construction projects and
hence unable to practice sustainable design and construction.
Keywords: conventional design process, integrated design process, sustainable construction
project, Africa
Introduction
It is difficult to discuss the achievement of a successful construction project without referring to
the processes involved in its design and construction. Hence, this chapter is devoted to the
discussion of the processes involved in the design and construction of projects. The subjects
discussed include conventional design and construction process, shortcomings of conventional
design and construction process, need for sustainable construction projects and integrated design
and construction process. The chapter also compared the conventional design and construction
process with the integrated design and construction process based on the work stages of
construction projects. thereafter, the chapter explains the reason for the lack of application of the
integrated design and construction process in Africa. The chapter ends with summary and cited
references.
Conventional design and construction process
The conventional design and construction process, also referred to as the traditional design and
construction process is a process that involves linear and successive engagement of professionals
from the design to handing over of construction projects. Many authors referred to the process as
either conventional design process or traditional design process. However, their discussions
indicate that they are referring to both the design and construction process as it was stated in all
cases that the method separates design functions form construction functions. Therefore, this book
improves on the gap to term the process “conventional design and construction process”
In the conventional design and construction process, project goals are determined and assigned to
specific members of the design and construction team based on their expertise. This ensures that
all design professionals work in isolation from one another or at best have minimal level of
interaction during the entire design process. This isolation continues to manifest at the construction
phase with isolated supervision by design professionals. Conventional design and construction
involves mutual exclusiveness in the responsibilities of design specialists from the conception of
a construction project all through to completion. The design and construction process commence
with the client approaching the architect to translate a conceived design concept into schematic
drawing and specifications for materials and equipment. These drawing are then passed to
structural, mechanical and electrical engineers to advise on the appropriate ways by which the
drawings can be actualized with appropriate structural elements and services.
Based on the advice of these professionals, the detailed design documents which include the
drawings and specifications are produced. These documents are then passed to quantity surveyors
to prepare priced or unpriced bill of quantities for the project. The design documents are sometimes
used to invite tenders from contractors who are mostly selected competitively except in cases
where the project to be executed demand that specialist contractor be engaged. At this juncture,
the burden of delivering the project rests on the contractor while the designers and consultants are
practically assumed to have climaxed their duty. Hence, the conventional design and construction
process depicts a successive linear relationship in the contribution of the design team members.
Steps involved in conventional design and construction process
The steps involved in the traditional design and construction process can be arranged according to
the phases involved in the execution of construction projects or the stages at which the client and
other stakeholders come into a project. Hence, according to phases involved in a project, Figure
2.1 depicts the steps involved in conventional design and construction process.
Team members of a conventional design and construction process
From Figure 2.1, it can be seen that the services of the following construction stakeholders are
required in conventional design and construction:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Project client
Architect
Structural engineer
Mechanical engineer
Electrical engineer
Cost consultant
General/sub-contractor
Facility manager
Project brief (Client)
Schematic design (Architect)
Architectural design (Architect)
Design documents (Architect, structural, mechanical and electrical engineer)
Bid documents (Architect, structural, mechanical/electrical engineer and quantity surveyor)
Construction (Contractor)
Completion/handing over (Contractor and client)
Occupancy (Facility manager and client)
Figure 2.1: Steps involved in the application of conventional design and construction process
Depending on the complexity of the project and the procurement route adopted, the following
professionals may also be engaged in the conventional design and construction process:
•
•
•
•
Project manager (to represent the client)
Civil engineer (to manage civil engineering project for the contractor)
Site/construction manager (to manage building construction process for the contractor)
Landscape architect
Figure 2.2 depicts the linearity of the relationship between client and the professionals involved in
conventional design and construction process:
Project client
Architect
Structural
engineer
Mechanical
engineer
Electrical
engineer
Other professionals
depending on project complexity
contractor
Facility manager
Figure 2.2: Relationship between the client and the professionals in conventional process
Shortcomings of the conventional design and construction process
It is not as if the conventional design and construction process is without its advantages, but in
modern day construction, the disadvantages outweigh its advantages. Some of the advantages of
the conventional design and construction process are inherent in its speed of application to
construction projects, simplicity and reduction of dispute among design professionals when
compared to other design processes. However, the following disadvantages of conventional design
and construction process are the reason for advocating sustainable design and construction (Trent
global, 2016; Turina, et al., 2008; Naoum and Egbu, 2015; Smith et al., 2015; Merritt and Rickett,
2000):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The process reduces interaction, communication and collaboration advantages among
project design and construction professionals, thus endangering the successful achievement
of project goals.
The conventional design and construction process has been used overtime and the feedback
from the industry indicates that the process is not sustainable as it is one of the major cause
of poor performance of construction projects.
In the conventional design and construction process, the responsibilities and payment of
the design team climax during the preparation of detailed design and significantly drop at
the construction and operational stage of projects. This enables construction projects to
develop defects at its operational stage and then reduces the rental and commercial value
of construction properties.
The conventional design and construction procedure, due to the way it is executed usually
ends up excluding important project criteria which later lead to problems of various
magnitude at the operational stage of construction. These problems sometimes become
infeasible or at best very expensive with waste of resources to fix.
It usually results to high operating cost and less efficient building
It leads to sub-standard construction and eventual reduction in the long-term value of
construction projects.
The conventional design and construction process excludes calculations and computer
simulations that are required for the prediction of sustainability performance of
construction projects.
The linearity of how it works makes it rigid and of less sustainable advantage. Attempts to
include environmental sustainable features in the projects after detailed design are usually
herculean, cost consuming and sometimes impossible.
The process is characterized by various problems which include design and construction
error, variation and rework, waste of materials, less utilization of plant and equipment, cost,
time and quality deviations, buildability and maintainability problems and frequent design
changes among others.
These inherent problems of the design and construction process suggests the need for a more
efficient and sustainable project design and construction process. The more efficient design and
construction process is aimed at capturing all project objectives by producing environmentally
sustainable and high-performing projects that requires less maintenance activities. Hence, based
on the disadvantages highlighted, it is clear that conventional design and construction process
negates the principles and practice of sustainable design and construction. The question is, why
sustainable design and construction? Convincing answer to this question will justify the need for
a design and construction process that can achieve it.
The need for sustainable design and construction
Currently, sustainable design and construction is being advocated in both developed and
developing countries owing to the many problems associated with the conventional construction
projects that dominate the world especially developing countries like Africa. The conventional
design and construction process can only deliver conventional projects; it cannot deliver
sustainable construction projects. However, in recent times, conventional construction projects
have led to conspicuous climate change, depletion of natural resources, extinction of biodiversity,
water pollution. Deterioration of the environment and generation of waste among others. These
conditions pose serious threats to living things especially the health and wellness of human beings.
Hence, there is a need to migrate from conventional construction to sustainable construction and
this cannot be done using the traditional design and construction process. The problems associated
with the conventional design and construction process has led to the following conditions:
•
•
•
There is alarming evidence to show that that the ability of the earth to sustain life as it used
to do in the past has been eroded and cannot be sustained for long.
The already depleted part of the earth is almost irreversible and if the depletion continues,
the ecosystems, natural resources and quality of life among others will be battered.
The social, economic and environmental development around the world has contributed to
the over-exploitation of renewable natural (like land, forests, etc.) and non-renewable
resources.
The conditions above are further aggravated by increase in population across the world. The
existing natural resources are already over exploited and increase in population will further
increase the need to even exploit the resources the more in order to satisfy the geometrically
growing population, except a sustainable practice is embraced. Because of these situations,
there is a need to quickly change the way construction is being practiced especially in Africa
to sustainable design and construction. This will curb the current threat to human existence by
achieving the following objectives among others (Khazali, 2014; Uher and Lawson, 1998;
Noor, 2013; Herda and Autio, 2017; Harris, 2000):
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•
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•
•
•
•
•
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Energy efficiency and conservation: there is need to conserve energy and use the available
ones efficiently in order to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and climate change.
Minimization of the use of highly degrading materials like fossil fuel which usually distort
earth formation and lead to environmental disasters in most cases
Environmental sustainability: sustainable design and construction is a means to preventing
deterioration of construction projects and building smart communities and cities
Protection of environment-friendly technologies
Maximization of local materials and resources for construction purposes
Decentralization of construction production and maximization of local skills
Utilization of industrial and mining wastes to produce building materials
Recycling of building wastes for other construction purposes
Use of renewable energy sources to generate energy
Provision of economic stability for adopting nations
Sustenance of already overconsumed biodiversity
Acts as a driver for change in economic, social and environmental growth
Improvement of human life and productivity
Apart from its sustainability features, sustainable design and construction is also poised to
achieve the following long desired goals of the construction industry:
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•
•
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•
•
•
Reduction of time, saving of cost, improvement of the quality of construction and increase
in the sustainability of construction products.
Creation of stimulating and rewarding working environment for construction professionals
Increased degree of construction accuracy through improved design and construction
process.
Reduction of construction waste, rework, poor quality, accident on site, error and so on that
significantly characterize the traditional design and construction technique.
Improvement of environmental impact of construction activities.
Reduction of the operational costs of conventional construction projects
Improvement of the performance of sustainable design and construction to enhances the
productivity, health and performance of construction users.
Promotion of high level employment in an economy that is driven by education and
innovation among others.
Having discussed the need for sustainable design and construction, it is clear that the conventional
design and construction process as it is being practiced cannot achieve its designed goals. Based
on these, an improved design and construction process was developed to cater for the achievement
of those goals. The improved design and construction process did not eliminate the conventional
design and construction process; it integrated the practice of design into that of construction
because sustainable design and construction is a mutually inclusive practice, hence a mutually
inclusive design and construction process is required.
Integrated design and construction process
Usually, construction project involves basically four stages; conception of idea, design,
construction and occupancy. While the traditional design and construction process tend to isolate
the functions of the players at the different stages, the integrated design and construction process
meshes them into unified activities that move to and fro till the project is completed. In this
integrated design and construction process, the client gets more involved in the execution of the
project, the architect acts alongside other construction experts (unlike acting as the boss and
disseminator of information to other actors) if he is not playing the role of project manager, the
structural, mechanical and electrical engineers come into the project at an early stage of the design.
The same is applicable to the quantity surveyor otherwise known as cost consultant. In the
integrated design and construction process, a sustainable design engineer (energy specialist) and
an independent design process facilitator may be required to coordinate the activities of all the
professional and ensure that they keep focus with the objectives of the intended project. The
sustainable design engineer is responsible for energy, thermal and daylight investigation of
construction projects. These activities normally involve a lot of computer calculations, modelling
and simulations as the case maybe.
Furthermore, the early involvement of all design professional in the design process ensures that all
risks and concerns of a project are captured and taken care early enough. Thus, problems that are
associated with design documents like conflicting information, frequent design changes, change
orders, errors and omission among others are reduced to a large extent if not eliminated. The result
of eliminating these design problems is that it also reduces non-value adding activities such as
waste, rework, defects in building and double handling of materials among others at the
construction stage. When non-value activities are eliminated or reduced, the seemingly
unachievable goal of cost, time and quality performance could be a reality. Hence, the integrated
design and construction is efficient in terms of cost effectiveness, time saving, operational
smoothness and maintenance free activities. The process is characterized by high flexibility at the
inception of design but continues to demonstrate gradual rigidity and inability to correct mistakes
as the work approaches advanced stages.
The Integrated Design and construction Process is popularly adopted for the realization of
sustainable and high-performance buildings. The participation of the client, designers and
consultants in the design and construction process ensures that goals and objectives of a proposed
project is jointly formulated, realized and approached collectively. The IDP requires a
multidisciplinary. The process encourages multidisciplinary team collaboration that ensures that
decisions about a project are made collectively based on the jointly agreed goals and objectives of
a project. In the integrated design and construction process, various design options are presented
for consideration and project objectives are harmonized with the chosen design for a project.
The integrated design and construction process was called integrated design process in most
literature. However, just like the conventional design and construction process, the integrated
design and construction process involves both the design and construction of projects, hence it is
better called integrated design and construction process. Therefore, the integrated design and
construction process is adopted for this book. In other literature, integrated whole building design
process has been used to represent the same process.
Criteria to be met in the adoption of integrated design and construction process
The integrated design and construction process has basic criteria for its use, but the criteria change
from time to time based on a number of factors which include uniqueness, complexity, type of
project, goals and objectives of the project. However, the following basic criteria are to be met in
the adoption of integrated design and construction process for many construction projects:
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•
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Establish performance targets for a broad range of parameters, and develop preliminary
strategies to achieve these targets. This sounds obvious, but in the context of an integrated
design team approach it can bring engineering skills and perspectives to bear at the concept
design stage, thereby helping the owner and architect to avoid committing to a sub-optimal
design solution.
Minimize heating and cooling loads and maximize daylighting potential through
orientation, building configuration, an efficient building envelope and careful
consideration of the amount, type and location of fenestration.
Meet heating and cooling loads through the maximum use of solar and other renewable
technologies and the use of efficient HVAC systems, while maintaining performance
•
targets for indoor air quality, thermal comfort, illumination levels and quality, and noise
control.
Iterate the process to produce at least two, and preferably three, concept design alternatives,
using energy simulations as a test of progress, and then select the most promising of these
for further development.
Characteristics of integrated design and construction process
The following features characterize the Integrated design and construction process (Attia et al.,
2013; Ahn et al., 2016; Ministry of Environment, 2008):
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There is inter-disciplinary collaboration among architects, engineers, cost consultant and
other stakeholders involved in a project to achieve the collectively agreed set goals and
objectives for the project.
The relative importance of the performance criteria and goals of the projects are firmly and
jointly established among the client, designers, consultants and contractors.
Cost reduction is not applied to isolated elements of a projects, rather it is applied on a
project as a single unit. This is based on the identification of the fact that a cost increase of
a particular section of a building may reduce the cost of other elements and vice versa.
The integrated design and construction process involves the engagement of additional
project consultants like energy consultant and integrated design and construction facilitator
(to ensure effectiveness of collaboration and raise performance issues) and among others.
The process is iterative rather than linear in approach. Hence, it involves testing of various
design assumptions (obtained through computer simulations) to provide the required
information for project performance.
Apart from the additional consultants involved in the process, subject specialists are usually
consulted for short contributions relating to thermal comfort, material selection,
daylighting and so on.
The goals and objectives of construction projects are not only worked towards, they are
also updated as the project progresses from the design phase to completion.
Even though the process involves some basic steps, it ensures that learning is continuous
as issues that require brainstorming and specific solutions continue to emerge throughout
the project. That is, it does involve strict steps like the conventional design and construction
process that must followed.
Team members of an integrated design and construction process
There are many project specialists that may be needed to do one thing or the other when the
integrated design and construction process is used. However, the following are non-negotiable
team members of an ideal integrated design and construction process:
•
•
Project client
Project manager
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•
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•
•
Project architect
Integrated design and construction facilitator or champion
Structural engineer
Mechanical engineer with expertise in computer simulation and energy analysis
Environmentally sustainable design engineer
Civil engineer with expertise in storm, ground, rain and waste water system
Facility manager (for operation and maintenance)
Cost consultant with expertise in life cycle costing
Landscape architect
General contractor and construction manager
An examination of the team members of an integrated design and construction process indicates
that they are similar to that of the traditional design and construction process except for the
inclusion of integrated design and construction facilitator or champion, environmentally
sustainable design engineer, civil engineer with expertise in water system and landscape architect.
The duty of the facilitator or champion cannot be overemphasized as he is responsible for
coordinating the activities of all the project actors sustainably. He also raises issues from time to
time as they relate to sustainability of the project. The environmentally sustainable design engineer
act as the energy consultant to ensure energy efficiency of construction project.
Integrated design and construction process facilitator
The attributes of an integrated design and construction process facilitator are:
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•
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He must protect the interest of all the project actors of a construction project
He must be equipped with information relating to green building requirement
He must have special ability to specialize in gathering the elements of a project.
He must be focused on the goals and objectives of a construction project
He must be capable of keeping the team members of construction projects on time and
focus for particular occasions as they relate to the project
He must have a decent level of understanding of both the integrated design and construction
process and green building assessment.
Integrated design and construction process champion
The champion is somebody who is propelled and ready to lead the group toward sustainability of
construction project. His duties are close to those of the facilitator but for clarity, the accompanying
are responsibilities of an integrated design and construction process champion:
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•
•
He is to champion the vision of the undertaking and enable the group.
He must have the capacity to think along the side and make others to believe that way.
He should be the impetus to enable the group to achieve the goals and objectives of a
project.
•
•
•
He should be able to manage the political hindrances related to a construction project when
required.
He should be able to drive the project team members to an elevated level of performance
for a construction project.
He must have the capacity to both challenge the client and accordingly be able to listen to
him
A single individual may not really have all these qualities; therefore, there may be more than one
facilitator or champion on a construction project. The champion or facilitator is sometimes
introduced into the project from the onset to facilitate the realization and focus towards the goals
and objectives of the project. Moreover, apart from the listed project team members, the services
of the following construction specialists may be required as the case may be, for workshops or
project design:
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Ecologist
Representative of the users
Representative of building program
Representative from Planning authority
consultant on interior design
consultant on daylighting
Soil engineer
Marketing expert
Land surveyor
Materials consultant
Valuation consultant
Control specialist
Other persons that are affected by the project or may affect the project as the case may be
Goals of integrated design and construction process projects
The goals of construction projects that are procured through the integrated design and construction
process can vary from project to project based on certain factors. However, the following
characterize most of them:
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Accessibility to the project
Productivity must be part of the targets of such projects
Security and safety must be sufficiently catered for in the projects
Aesthetic value of the project must be visible
The project must be sustainable in various aspect
The project must perform the function and operations for which it is designed
Cost-effectiveness is a major goal of such projects
Objectives of integrated design and construction process
Just like the goals, the objectives of integrated design and construction process projects may vary
from one another, but the following are common to many of them:
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Non-renewable sources must be avoided
Emission of carbon dioxide must be prevented
Indoor environmental quality criteria must be satisfied
Project must be capable of long term performance
Project must satisfy the criteria of social and economic sustainability
Opportunities and risks involved in the construction project must be identified for
mitigation
Timelines for project activities must be met
Spatial requirements and interrelationships must be respected
The required specialist consultants and their time of introduction into the project must be
determined promptly to avoid delay
Steps involved in the adoption of integrated design and construction process
The following steps among others are involved in the adoption of integrated design and
construction process for construction projects:
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Project start up
Assessment of construction site
Review functional program and establish project objectives/targets
Assemble design team for the project
Conduct of initial workshop for project design (consider site issues, select building type,
etc)
Definition of performance targets
Development of complete conceptual design
Initial costing of the project
Subjection of project to green star pre-assessment
Development of complete preliminary project design
Conduct of focused design workshop
Development of complete detailed project design
Preparation of tender documents
Subjection of project objectives to Green star assessment
Development of quality assurance methods for construction and occupancy
Commissioning of project
Post occupancy evaluation
Benefits of integrated design and construction process
The following benefits among others ensure that the integrated design and construction process is
preferred to the conventional design and construction process in modern (sustainable) construction
projects:
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Operation and maintenance costs of projects are reduced
Energy consumption is reduced
Use of water and waste water is reduced
Waste generation in the final product is reduced
Indoor environmental quality of project is increased
Productivity of occupants are improved
Well-being of occupants is improved
Rental and sale value of project is increased
Environmental performance of project is improved
Effective collaboration and efficiency among project actors ensure precision in the
achievement of project goals
Goals and objectives of construction projects are unified unlike the conventional
method where the interests of the client and contractor (sometimes designers and
consultants) are sometimes different.
The inclusion of the contractor at the design stage ensures that his expertise is exploited,
and this reduces the disadvantages of the conventional design and construction process
to a large extent if not eliminated.
Sustainable features easy and cost-effective to incorporate
It serves as a good learning curves for future construction projects
Fewer problems are discovered at the end of a project
Construction system is more integrated rather than isolated as in traditional process
Synergy is recognised early and easily employed for the sustainability of
Optimum solutions are discovered during workshop and collaboration and integrated
into the final product (project).
Conflicts design are easily recognised and at early stage of a project
The uniqueness and collaboration among team members ensure that mutual learning
occur among them
Problems associated with the design and construction of projects are identified early
enough and corrected accordingly
Disadvantages of integrated design and construction process
In spite of the advantages associated with the integrated design and construction process, some
school of thought noted that one of its strength, which is the involvement of contractor or his
representative has some debilitating disadvantages. Some of the disadvantages associated with the
act include:
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Delay in the design preparation process is usually the case. This is not only about the
contractor but the entire design team. The process of workshop, collaboration and
brainstorming on the goals and objectives of a project is time consuming; although it is
usually a fruitful exercise
Waste of resources
Quality of construction projects are not established as claimed. This is because contractor
may become selfish in some instances and require minimum quality that will suit his
desire rather than that of the project. Hence, issue of trust is yet to be dealt with as per
contractors’ involvement in the integrated design and construction process.
Comparison between conventional and integrated design and construction process
From the discussions on conventional and integrated design and construction process, it is clear
that even though the processes involved in their adoption for construction projects appear to be
similar, their methods of application are distinctly different. The ideas behind the application of
integrated design and construction may sometimes be different based on the facilitators and some
other factors, the processes involved are practically the same. Hence, this section states the
differences between the conventional and integrated design and construction process as follows:
Table 2.1: Differences between conventional and integrated design and construction process
Conventional design and construction process
Integrated design and construction process
Team members are included when needed
Includes all team members from project
commencement
Less time and energy is required at early stage
Much time and energy are exerted on the project early
Decision is made by fewer people mostly the architect
Decision making is collective
The process ends at the end of construction
The process starts at inception all through to postoccupancy
The process is linear in nature
The process is repetitive and looped
Lesser optimization is possible due to separation of ideas
The process allows for easy construction optimization
Payment is loaded at the design stage
Payment continues through post occupancy
Project systems are designed separately
The building is designed and considered as a whole
Synergy is difficult to achieve in the process
Synergy is easy to achieve in the process
Discussions on conventional and integrated design and construction process
The conventional design and construction process has been used from time immemorial for the
construction of projects and investigations have shown overtime that it brings along with it various
problems and challenges for which mitigation strategies have been suggested in literature. Many
of the mitigation strategies failed to solve the problems of poor project performance in construction
projects. Many research works on project performance identified that the problem of poor project
performance in construction projects was due to the separation of design and construction activities
as in the case of conventional design and construction process. In view of these, the procurement
methods for construction projects was investigated in order to ensure that the design and
construction activities are harmonized. This led to the gradual neglect of traditional and variants
of design and build procurement methods for more inclusive procurement methods (see chapter 4)
that was believed by school of thought to be more efficient than the traditional procurement
method.
The argument is that, is it the problems of the conventional design and construction process that
birth the integrated design and construction process or the advent of sustainability as a project
success criterion? What is clear is that, an examination of the team members of the integrated
design and construction process shows that the process is only applicable to sustainability bound
projects and that explains the reasons why many African countries cannot embrace the process.
Although it appears evident from the foregoing discussions that the work stages of construction
projects are basically the same from conception to commission of the projects; what is different is
the manner in which the stages are executed as depicted by the conventional and integrated design
and construction process. Table 2 shows the difference in the execution of construction work stages
in conventional and integrated design and construction process.
The features and characteristics of the integrated design and construction process are not the
problem that Africa have with its adoption for projects. The problem is basically the type of
consultants and specialists that are engaged to conduct workshop, develop project goals and
objectives and ensure that the goals are in accordance with sustainability features. These
consultants are very few to find in Africa if they exist at all, as the concept of sustainable design
and construction in Africa is relatively new. Even if sustainability is to be adopted in Africa, the
exercise of importing these consultants will make proposed projects unsustainable as the advantage
of cost-effectiveness among others will be eroded. Even the familiar professionals like civil
engineer, project manager, environmentally sustainable engineer and so on need to be
sustainability compliant before construction projects of such nature can be executed in Africa.
The point that is being made here is that, at the moment, Africa lack the expertise to execute
construction projects with the integrated design and construction process and if integrated design
and construction process is the only option for sustainable design and construction, then Africa
will continue to construct unsustainably unless something is done quickly to bridge the identified
knowledge gap.
Table 2.2: Difference in the execution of work stages of traditional and sustainable construction
Stages of traditional project
Construction work stages
Stages of sustainable project
Preparation
Project appraisal
Sustainable project design
Clients brief
Design
Conceptual design
Detailed design
Technical design and specifications
Pre-construction
Construction documentation
Tender documentation
Contractor selection
Construction
Contractor mobilization
Sustainable project construction
Construction to completion
Use
Occupancy /post occupancy
Sustainable building
Summary of chapter
This chapter dwelled on the processes involved in the construction of conventional projects and
sustainable projects. Hence, the conventional and the integrated design and construction process
were the focus of this chapter. The processes involved in conventional design and construction,
the team members, steps involved, and shortcomings of the conventional design and construction
were explained. In addition, the need for sustainable construction projects and integrated design
and construction process were discussed. The chapter further explained the processes involved in
the use of integrated design and construction process, the goal and objectives of the process, the
required team members, the benefits, disadvantages and key differences in the application of
conventional design and construction process and integrated design and construction process. To
further contextualize the discussions, the chapter explained the key reasons for the inability of
African countries to adopt the integrated design and construction process for construction projects
and hence the reason for not embracing sustainable design and construction till now.
References
Ahn, Y. H., Jung, C. W., Suh, M., and Jeon, M. H. (2016). Integrated construction process for
green building. Procedia Engineering, 145, 670-676.
Attia, S., Andersen, M. and Walter, E. (2013). Identifying and modeling the integrated design
process of net zero energy buildings. Proceedings of the high-performance buildings-design
and evaluation methodologies conference, 24-26 June 2013, Brussel, Belgium
Harris, J. M. (2000). Basic Principles of Sustainable Development. Accessed on 11th April 2017 from
www.ase.tufts.edu
Herda, G and Autio, V. (2017). Building sustainability assessment and benchmarking - An
introduction. Accessed on 11th April 2017 from www.unhabitat.org
Khazali, J. (2014). Energy efficient HVAC design: An essential guide for sustainable building.
Accessed on 11th April 2017 from www.springer.com
Merritt, F. S. and Ricketts, J. T. (2000). Building design and construction handbook, McGraw-Hill
Naoum, S. and Egbu, C. (2015). Critical review of procurement method research in construction
journals. Procedia Economics and Finance, 21(5), 6–13.
Noor, S. B. (2013). The role of project manager in sustainable building process: A study on
Malaysian construction industry. A thesis of the faculty of technology, Universiti of
Malaysia, Pahang
Smith, J., Zheng, B., Love, P. E. D. and Edwards, D. J. (2004). Procurement of construction
facilities in Guangdong Province, China: factors influencing the choice of procurement
method. Facilities, 22 (5), 141–148.
Turina, N., Radujkovic, M. and Car-pusic, D. (2008). Design and build in comparison with the
traditional procurement method and the possibility of its application in the Croatian
construction industry. Accessed on 11th April 2017 at www.bib.irb.hr
Uher, T. E. and Lawson, W. (1998). Sustainable development in construction. proceedings of the
14th CIB World Building Congress on Construction and the Environment.
Ministry of Environment (2008). Integrated Whole Building Design Guidelines. Accessed on 11th
April 2017 at www.mfe.govt.nz
Chapter three
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Success criteria of construction projects
Abstract
Chapter three deals basically with the discussion of success criteria of construction projects. The
success criteria for both conventional construction projects and sustainable construction projects
were considered. The success criteria for conventional construction projects were discussed under
the iron triangle (traditional) and new conventional construction project success criteria. The
chapter discussed the measurement of construction project success and justified the reason for the
popularity of cost, time and quality performance as project success criteria in spite of the advent
of new conventional project success criteria. The chapter further explained the reason for the
adoption of sustainability as the only criteria for measuring the success of sustainable design and
construction projects. The justification for sustainability (as a project success criterion) embodying
the iron triangle, new conventional project success criteria and sustainability features were also
provided in this chapter.
Keywords: Construction projects, conventional design and construction, iron triangle, Project
success criteria, sustainability, sustainable design and construction.
Introduction
As a continuation to chapter 2, this chapter discusses the success criteria of construction projects
that are executed with the conventional design and construction process and integrated design and
construction process. Hence, the discussions are based on the success criteria of conventional
construction projects and sustainable construction projects.
Project success as related to conventional and sustainable construction projects
Project success have been defined in literature by many construction researchers. Some of them
include, Murphy et al. (1974) who defined project success as a perception that is based on meeting
technical performance specifications or missions to be performed on a construction project. Pariff
and Sanvido (1993) described it as an intangible perspective feeling that varies with management
expectations, persons and project phases. Takim and Adnan (2008) explained project success as
effectiveness measures plus efficiency measures. While all these definitions seem appealing, they
are not correct in their entirety because project success goes beyond the narrow views of the
definitions. The definition given by Murphy, et al. (1974) only views project success from the
angle of the project client when there are many stakeholders on a project with different interests.
Based on these interests, these stakeholders always strive to strike a balance between clients’
objectives and their personal objectives. Furthermore, the definition of Pariff and Sanvido (1993)
appears to be vague and incomprehensive in nature. How can project success be defined as a mere
feeling when it is actually the motivation and basis upon which a project is embarked upon? The
definition given by Takim and Adnan (2008) is also not sufficient to completely define project
success because it assumes that there are single sets of effectiveness and efficiency measures for
construction projects. Again, this definition cannot suffice since construction as a process or
product have more than one set of persons having stake in it (client, consultant, contractor, user,
government, etc.) and the interests of all of them must be protected to achieve project success. The
question that is yet unanswered is, how can project success be defined?
Without proper contextualization of what project success is, it will be herculean to define project
success criteria. It is important to know that project success can be determined before, during and
after a construction project is completed. At every of these stages of a construction project, the
success criteria differ and sometimes change from one project stakeholder to the other. The
conditions of project uniqueness, complexity, stages and stakeholders among others make it
difficult to satisfactorily define project success. Therefore, one could easily understand where
authors that stated that project success is difficult to define (and there is no universally agreed one)
are coming from. However, knowing the extent to which construction project success measures
can assist in its definition.
Therefore, in this book, project success is defined as the achievement of construction stakeholders’
goals and objectives before, during and after a project has been completed. For instance, these
objectives may be cost, time and quality performance in the case of a client and maximization of
project profit for the contractor. Having defined project success, it is important to acknowledge
that in the case of conventional construction projects where design and construction are distinctly
separated, and project team members are only engaged when they are needed, it is difficult and
almost impossible to achieve project success. The reason for this is the lack of synergy,
collaboration and usual conflicting information that characterize the entire design and construction
process. The problems that embattle the conventional construction projects are almost
unexhaustive and they usually lead to serious and complicated problems like building collapse,
structural failure, reworks, waste, abandonment of construction projects and accident on
construction sites to mention a few. Hence the perennial problem of poor project performance in
the construction industry and the advocacy for another design and construction process.
The integrated design and construction process has been developed to correct the many challenges
and disadvantages of the conventional design and construction process. The integrated design and
construction process is to harmonize both the design and construction process of construction
projects into a single exercise and hence ensure that all team members of work towards achieving
an agreed common goals and objectives. Unfortunately, researches on sustainable construction
projects have noted that, even though the integrated design and construction process solves the
problems of conventional construction projects to a large extent, it has its own challenges that must
be mitigated before it loses the appeal of clients. The discussions on integrated design and
construction process in chapter 2 noted that despite involving all the project team members at the
same time and conducting pre-design workshops to harmonize the goals and objectives of
construction projects, some of the team members for instance the contractor may still have his
selfish overriding interest that is different from the agreed goals and objectives of the project. This
situation may be one of the contributors to the reduced expected performance of sustainable
construction projects (procured through the integrated design and construction process).
Variation of terms for project success measurement
Project success is believed to measure both the effectiveness (doing the right things) and efficiency
(doing things right) of construction projects. The effectiveness and efficiency of construction
projects are usually determined based on certain measures that have been called different names
in literature as follows:
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•
•
•
•
Key performance indicators (KPI)
Project success criteria (PSC)
Project performance indicators (PPI)
Project success measurement (PSM)
Project success metrics and
Project success factors among others.
All these measurement criteria are contextualized by various authors as they fit their study.
however, an examination of the variables considered in the application of the phrases to project
success indicate that they are synonyms to one another and can be used interchangeably. For this
book, project success criteria are adopted to achieve consistency with the title of the chapter.
Project success criteria of conventional construction projects
Project success criteria can be described as standards upon which outcomes of completed
construction projects can be determined as being successful or not based on some sets of
specifications or as conceived by different stakeholders. These standards can change from one
project to the other based on factors such as project type, project size, sophistication, project
participants and clients’ knowledge of construction among others.
Traditionally, the criteria for measuring project success was for a long time pegged at scheduled
time, budgeted cost and prescribed quality but as more information and civilization on construction
projects began to unveil, the iron triangle project success criteria were being subjected to
continuous criticisms due reasons such as the extent of coverage of the criteria and the level of
satisfaction they impose on the stakeholders.
For instance, Ika (2009) noted that many projects have been delivered within time, cost and quality
targets in the past but were considered to have failed based on other measurement parameters. In
the same vein, projects that exceeded or went below their time, cost and quality constraints have
been considered successful in the past based on some other criteria. This means that there are other
project success criteria apart from the long-adopted trio criteria of cost, time and quality
performance. Thus, cost, time and quality performance can measure project success though; they
sometimes fail in their judgements especially as time passes on with those projects failing on other
unconsidered project success criteria.
Although the iron triangle criteria (cost, time and quality performance) are easily measured; they
have been criticized on the ground of inadequacy for reasons such as insufficiency to measure
project success on their own and inadequate vision of the potential for project improvement. Other
evidence suggests that cost, time and quality performance criteria can only measure project success
up to practical completion of construction projects and not after the project has been completed.
The time spent for project construction is quite small when compared with the life expectancy of
the project during occupancy. Hence, success measurement after the completion of construction
projects should take higher priority than before and during project construction. Based on these
assertions, it is clear that project success criteria are multifaceted (far beyond time, cost and
quality) just as in the case of project success. These other project success criteria would be
discussed along with the iron triangle criteria. In this book, the new conventional project success
criteria were termed “modern project success criteria”. Therefore, under the conventional design
and construction process, project success criteria will be classified into traditional project success
criteria and modern project success criteria.
Conventional project success criteria
Project success has been widely used interchangeably with project performance in construction
literature (1998; Chan, 2001, Koelmans, 2004; Camilleri, 2004; Baiden, 2006; Sanchez, 2010;
Idrus, Sodangi & Hussin, 2011; Zanjirchi & Moradi, 2011) and the criteria used for their
measurement were the same in every case. This means that both project success and project
performance have been conceptualized as the same by many construction authors, therefore they
may be used interchangeably as done in this book.
Project success were basically measured with the iron triangle success criteria of cost, time and
quality performance in the early 1960s through to 1980. However, as time passed on, the
understanding of project success and the criteria for its measurement increased. Hence, by the 21st
century, there were agreements that project success is multidimensional and different people
measure it in different ways and at different times. Thus, other numerous project success criteria
were added to the iron triangle success criteria. These criteria led to various discordant views about
what project success is and what it is not. For instance, Griffin and Page (1996) noted that project
success is not elusive but multifaceted and difficult to measure. Chan (2001) affirmed that project
success is an abstract concept, and determining whether a project is successful or a not is very
complex. Nelson (2005) claimed that project success is subjective and consists of ambiguities.
Camilleri (ND) believed that project success is illusive and can be measured in various degrees.
Idrus, et al. (2011) affirmed that the reason for the different meanings of project success to different
people is the lack of standard approach to evaluating project performance.
Regardless of the ambiguity of what constitutes project success, it is clear that the criteria for its
measurement are many. Also, based on the conventional project design and construction process,
project success criteria can be classified into two: iron triangle (traditional project success criteria)
and modern project success criteria. The criteria for measuring project success of conventional
construction projects are described in Table 3.1
Table 3.1: Project success criteria of conventional construction projects and their classification
S/N
1
Author and
year
Shenhar et al.
(1997)
Classification
project efficiency, impact
on customer, business
success, preparing for the
future
Iron triangle, information
system,
organization,
stakeholders’ community
2
Atkinson,
1999;
Ika,
2009
3
Chan, 2001
4
Shenhar and
Wideman,
2002
Internal
project
objectives, benefit to
customers,
direct
contribution,
future
opportunity
5
Takim and
Akintoye,
2002
Efficiency, effectiveness
6
Saqib, et al.,
2008;
Baccarini,
2009;
7
Camilleri,
2004
project
management,
procurement,
client,
design team, contractor,
business
and
work
environment
Project management and
project corporate success
8
Nelson, 2005
Process, outcome
Project success criteria of conventional construction
projects
Cost, time and quality; maintainability, reliability, validity,
information quality and use; improved efficiency, improved
effectiveness, increase profit, strategic goal, organizational
learning and reduced waste; satisfied users, social and
environmental impact, personal development, professional
learning, contractors profit, capital supplier, content project
team and economic impact, symbolic and rhetoric evaluation
of project success
Cost, time, safety, participants’ satisfaction, users’ expectation,
environmental performance, commercial/profitable value,
quality.
schedule, budget, other resource constraints met; functional
performance, technical specifications and standards, favorable
impact on customer, customer's gain, fulfilling customer's
needs, solving a customer's problem, customer is using
product, customer expresses satisfaction; business and/or
commercial success, revenue and profits enhanced, larger
market share generated; creation of new opportunities,
positioning of customer competitively, creation of new
market, assists in developing new technology, addition of
capabilities and competencies
Time, budget, technical specification, safety, profitability,
absence of legal claim; user satisfaction, use of project, fitness
for purpose, freedom from defects, value for money, pleasant
environment, social obligation.
Time, cost, specifications; consistent use of project
management technology; mechanism to capture and share
lesson learnt, assign responsibility to attain benefits; pragmatic
style to organizational initiatives.
Cost, time, product (quality, specifications, ease of use,
modifiability, maintainability); learning, value
9
Al-Tmeemy,
et al., 2010
10
Deacon,
2011
11
Idrus, et al.,
2011
Project
product
success
Project
outcome
management,
and market
management,
Quality target, schedule, budget; customer satisfaction,
functional requirement, technical specification; revenue and
profit, market share, reputation, competitive advantage
Scope, schedule, budget and quality; client satisfaction, other
stakeholders’ satisfaction, product quality, return on
investment
Quality of project, construction cost, construction time,
occupational health and safety, labour dependency,
contractors’ project management, contractors’ manpower
capacity, construction flexibility, environment friendliness,
level of technology
An examination of the project success criteria described in Table 3.1 indicates that, apart from the
cost, time and quality measures that have been traditionally used to determine the success of
construction projects, other criteria only show slight similarity among themselves. Many of the
other criteria are discordant and this may be due to the many perspectives from which project
success can be measured. For this reason, many of project success criteria were only matter of
discussion in literature, they were not grounded in practice. Besides, apart from cost and time
performance that could be measured in concise quantitative terms, other project success criteria
(modern) were largely subjective and their optimum level of satisfaction cannot be easily
determined. All these discredits the applicability of the modern project success criteria to
conventional construction projects. To this end, many conventional projects could only be
objectively measured based on the iron triangle project success criteria of cost, time and quality
performance. To further strengthen the iron triangle project success criteria, cost, time and quality
performance were mostly favoured by construction clients. For these reasons, despite the existence
of modern project success criteria for conventional projects, the iron triangle project success
criteria are still used both by practitioners and researchers today to measure project performance
of conventional projects. This book describes the factors affecting the cost, time and quality
performance of conventional construction projects.
Furthermore, many public and private clients want construction projects to complete in time so
that it can start yielding value for id money. Hence, projects that do not finish on time may likely
incur more cost and suffer setback from prescribed quality. In the same vein, when projects overrun
its budgeted cost, the client begins to lose money especially when the money is obtained from
interest taking sources. This may lead to time overrun as client may need to buy some time to
source for more funds. It may also lead to reduction in desired quality so that total project
abandonment can be avoided. The point being made here is that the iron triangle project success
criteria cannot be successfully treated in isolation as it is being done in the conventional project
design and construction process. Sanchez (2010) noted that different authors coincide in the choice
of indicators that are used in projects to appraise performance in terms of cost, time and quality
since the three elements are closely related and their interactions affect the outcomes of projects.
Time Performance as a measure of project success
Time performance is a key yardstick for measuring the success of construction projects especially
from the client’s perspective. When construction projects fail to meet up with time schedule, they
were generally adjudged to be a delayed project. Kikwasi (2012) noted that project delay is when
construction period is prolonged and construction program is disrupted. The factors influencing
time performance of construction projects have been widely discussed in learned journals and
articles (Aibinu & Jagboro, 2002; Aiyetan, smallwood & shakantu, 2007; Sambasivan & Soon,
2007). The factors appear to be endless as up to 113 of them have been traced to time performance
of construction projects. These factors can generally be categorized into the following groups:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Material factors
Plant/equipment factors
Workforce/labour factors
Contractor’s management factors
Client’s responsibility factors
Designer’s/consultant’s factors
Project management factors
Financier’s/financial factors
Contractual documentation factors
Policies and regulations factors
Project specific factors
Environmental conditions
External factor
Table 3.2 describes the factors influencing the time performance of conventional construction
projects
Table 3.2: factors influencing the time performance of conventional construction projects
Author
Classification of time
performance factors
Walker and
Vines, 1997
Andi and
Wijiya, 2003
labour, material, site,
managerial, equipment,
financial, physical
Moura et al.,
2007
materials, equipment,
workforce,
construction
management, client
responsibility, design,
project manager,
financial problems,
Factors influencing time performance of conventional projects
Original completion time fixed, construction type, contractor and
project manager’s experience, client’s time minimization objectives,
contractor’s ability to make decision, working relationship, design
buildability, complexity of project, management system, contractor’s
risk management technique, communication procedure and number of
projects going on at the same time
Skills, disciplines, motivation, absenteeism, availability, replacement
of new labours, communication between labour; material delivery,
availability, quality; surface and subsurface condition, perception of
neighbours, physical characteristics of building around the site,
material storage area, construction access, requirement for working
space, location of project; supervision, quality control of works,
experience of site manager, estimation of material need, design
changes, communication between consultant and contractor,
communication between contractor and owner, material and
equipment delivery schedule; scheduling of works to be done,
arrangement of site layout; availability of equipment, quality;
payment from owner, material; sizes of area, number of units, number
of storey; rain intensity, economic condition, accident
Changes in specifications, poor planning, low productivity, low
motivation, co-ordination and supervision, errors/omission, late
response to requests, inexperience/incapability, lack of premium,
delayed actions and decisions, complexity of projects,
suppliers/subcontractor’s payments, adverse weather conditions and
cultural/social/environmental obstacles
Mohammed et
al., 2009
contract, institutional
relations project
specifics and external
factor
Project
condition,
management condition,
environmental
conditions
Enhassi et al.,
2009
Baloyi and
Bekker, 2011
client, contractor and
external factors
Ramanathan, et
al., 2012
Financier, project,
project attributes,
client, contractor,
consultant, design, coordination, material,
equipment, labour,
environment, contract,
contractual
relationship, external,
changes and
government relations
Ajayi, et al.,
2012
Shanmugapriya
and
Subramanian,
2013
Ade-Ojo and
Babalola, 2013
location, size, complexity, equipment availability, construction
technology, material availability; skills, number of change orders,
payment delays, time taken to make decisions, productivity of labour
and equipment; weather, soil, labour strike, shortage of human
resources
Site preparation time, planned time for construction, percentage of
orders delivered late, time needed to implement variation orders, time
needed to rectify defects, average delay in claim approval, delay in
regular payment, availability of resources, average delay due to
closure leading to material shortage
Incomplete drawings, design changes, client’s slow decision making,
late issuance of instructions, shortage of skilled labour, poor planning
and schedule, labour disputes and strikes, shortage of manpower,
change orders by client, poor information dissemination and delay in
work approval
113 factors
Permits and approval, changes in scope of work, stakeholders’
experience, site access, design changes, government regulations,
procurement method, material availability, error, omissions during
construction, financial failure, weather condition, bureaucratic
problems
Materials’ market rate, contract modification, level of required
quality, project location, lack of technical skills, clarity of
specifications, completeness of contract documents, equipment
shortage, material and labour productivity, scheduling of labour and
materials for work, financial payment regularity, rework
Accuracy of design, payment, client’s financial capability,
contractor’s financial capability, site condition, weather condition,
design error
In quantitative terms, the measure of time performance is the difference between agreed contract
duration and actual contract duration of construction projects.
The following formulae have been used to determine the time performance of conventional
construction projects
▪
Schedule growth (%) = (Total as-built-time – total-as-planned time) / total as planned time
▪
Delivery speed (month) = Area / total as-built-time /30 days
▪
Construction speed (month) = Area / total as-built-construction time /30 days
▪
Procurement speed (month) = Area / total as-built-procurement time /30 days
Cost Performance as a project success criterion
Lack of cost monitoring on construction projects usually result in cost overrun which is a frequent
phenomenon that is associated with nearly all projects in the construction industry. Cost overrun
is determined as the ratio of the difference between initial contract sum and final contract sum to
the initial contract sum. The determinants of construction cost performance include accuracy of
original cost, inflation of project cost, project planning, price fluctuation, project management,
experience, suitability of construction equipment and method for construction, site conditions,
number of errors in design documents, funding and cost of machineries. Several causes of cost
overrun and factors influencing cost performance of construction projects have been identified in
literature. Because of their enormity, they were grouped into macroeconomic, business and
regulatory environment and management factors.
The factors that fall under these groups were tabulated up to 2013 according to the countries of
their investigation by Odediran and Windapo (ND). The table is updated to 2017 in this book as
described in Table 3.3
Table 3.3: Factors influencing cost performance of construction projects
S/N
1
Author
Memon, et al.,
Year
2014
Country
Nigeria
2
Shanmugapriya
and
Subramanian
2013
3
Apolot
2013
Uganda
4
Abdul-Azis et
al.
2013
Malaysia
5
Ajayi, et al.
2012
Nigeria
Top Rated Factors
Fluctuation of prices, cash flow and financial difficulties, shortages of site
workers, lack of communication, planning and scheduling, site management
and supervision, material procurement, ground conditions, speed of decision
making, contractors experience, change in project scope, design changes
frequencies and owner interference.
Cost of transportation, change in materials specifications, reworks, lack of
coordination, lack of information flow between parties, lack of financial
management and planning, incomplete design, quality of work required and
difficulties in importing machineries
Inadequate manpower, inadequate/inefficient equipment, tools and plants,
reworks due to poor work/wrong materials by the contractor, bureaucracy,
frequent change of work scope, unreliable sources of materials on the local
markets, contractor workload, poor schedule management, poor monitoring
& control, poor communication, bad weather, inadequate manpower
Contractor’s site management, project management and contract
administration, design and documentation, labour related, materials and
machinery, financial management,
Inflation, changes in scope of work, stakeholders experience, quality
control/assurance, exchange rate fluctuations, delay in availability of
materials, equipment and labour, contract and award method, warranty of
facility performance, errors or omission revealed during construction, site
6
Kasimu
2012
Nigeria
7
Mahamid and
Bruland
2011
West
Bank
Palestine
8
Ali and
Kamaruzzaman
2010
Malaysia
9
Ameh et al.
2010
Nigeria
10
Cantarelli et al.
2010
Dutch
11
Kaliba et al.
2009
Zambia
12
Enshassi et al.
2009
Gaza
Strip
13
Azhar et al.
2008
14
Le-Hoai et al.
2008
Gaza
Strip
15
Eshofonie
2008
Nigeria
16
Al-Najjar
2008
Gaza
Strip
condition, owner delay, construction defects, inadequate specifications,
safety and accident, financial capability and government regulations.
Materials price fluctuation, lack of historical cost data, insufficient time, lack
of experience in contracts works, incomplete drawings, lack of labour
productivity, variation, inadequate specification, personal experience in the
contract works, level of competition, terrain of site condition
Materials price fluctuation, insufficient time for estimate, experience in
contracts, size of contract, incomplete drawings, political situation, lack of
historical cost data, period of contract, frequent design changes, type and
content of contract, poor quality and project management, market conditions,
inflation
Inaccurate/poor estimation of original cost, construction cost
underestimation, improper planning, poor project management, lack of
experience, poor contract management, inflation of project costs, high cost of
machineries, fluctuation in price of raw materials, unforeseen site conditions,
insufficient fund, obsolete/unsuitable construction equipment and methods
and mistakes in design
Lack of contractor experience, cost of materials, fluctuation in the prices of
materials, frequent design changes economic instability, high interest rates
charged by banks on loans received by contractors, mode of financing, bonds
and payments, fraudulent practices and kickbacks, incorrect planning, high
cost of machineries, additional works, contract management, poor financial
control on site
Forecasting price errors, poor project design, incompleteness of estimations,
scope changes, inadequate planning process, deliberate underestimation due
to lack of incentive, poor financing/contract management
Bad weather, inflation, schedule delay, scope changes, local government
pressures, strikes, technical challenges and environmental protection and
mitigation
Increment of materials prices due to boarder closures, delay in construction,
supply of raw materials and equipment, fluctuation in the cost of building
materials, project materials monopoly by some suppliers, unsettlement of
local currency in relation to dollar value, design changes, contractual claims
(such as, extension of time with cost claims), inaccurate quantity take-off;
lack of cost planning/monitoring during pre- and post-contract stages and
resources constraints - funds and associated auxiliaries not ready
Fluctuation in prices of raw materials, unstable cost of manufactured
materials, high cost of machineries, lowest bidding procurements procedure,
poor project (site) management/poor cost control, delays between design and
procurement phases, incorrect/inappropriate methods of estimating,
additional works, improper planning and unsupportive government policies
Poor site management and supervision, poor project management assistance,
financial difficulties of owner, financial difficulties of contractor, design
changes, unforeseen site conditions, slow payment of completed works,
inaccurate estimates, shortages of materials, mistakes in design, poor contract
management, price fluctuations
Cost of materials, incorrect planning, wrong method of estimation, contract
management, fluctuation of prices of materials, previous experience of
contractor, absence of construction cost data, additional cost, project
financing, high cost of transportation, poor financial control on site
Increment of materials prices due to continuous border closures, delay in
construction, supply of raw Materials & equipment by contractors,
fluctuations in the cost of building materials, unsettlement of the local
currency in relation to dollar value, project materials monopoly by some
suppliers, resources constraint: funds and associated auxiliaries not ready,
17
Otunola
2008
18
Moura, et al.
2007
19
Kaming et al.
2006
Indonesia
20
Omoreige and
Radford
2006
Nigeria
21
Creedy
2005
Australia
22
Wiguna and
Scott
2005
Indonesia
23
Frimpong et al.
2003
Ghana
24
Nwosu
2003
Nigeria
25
26
Ogunsemi
Vidalis and
Nafaji
Jackson
2002
2002
2002
Nigeria
Florida,
USA
UK
Okpala and
Aniekwu
Kaming et al.
1998
Nigeria
1997
Indonesia
27
28
29
Nigeria
lack of cost planning/monitoring during pre and post-contract stages,
improvements to standard drawings during construction stage, design
changes, inaccurate quantity take-off,
Inflation, fluctuation in material and labour cost, government policy, delay in
approving claims, variation/additional works, delay in sub-contractors’
works, bad estimation, poor planning, poor financial control, under-pricing of
tenders
Design errors and omissions, site conditions, client responsibility, changes
imposed by third parties and external factors.
Inflationary increases in material cost, inaccurate material estimating and
project complexity
Price fluctuation, financing and payment for completed work, poor contract
management, delay, change in site condition, inaccurate estimate, shortage of
materials, imported materials and plant items, additional works and design
change
Design & scope change, insufficient investigation & latent conditions,
deficient documentations, client project management costs, services
relocations, constructability, price escalation
High inflation/increase price, defective design, design change by owner,
delayed payment on contract, defective construction work, poor cost control,
unforeseen site ground condition, weather condition, inadequate compensated
variation order, problem with availability of labour, materials and equipment
Monthly payment difficulties from agencies, poor contractor management,
material procurement, poor technical performances, escalation of material
prices
Insufficient and incomplete drawings, weather condition, inaccurate and
unrealistic establishment of unit rates, inaccurate estimate, competence and
knowledge of owner, unrealistic schedules, number of changes and extra
Price fluctuation, variation of works, financial difficulty
Plans and modification, changed conditions, actions and inactions, claims,
minor changes, weather damages utility delays and invalid reasons
Procurement route, external factors, claims, design brief, design change,
people, site conditions, time limit, design team performance, information
availability
Shortage of materials, methods of financing & payment for completed
projects, poor contract management, price fluctuation
Material cost increased by inflation, inaccurate quantity take-off, labour cost
increased due to environment restriction, lack of experience of project
location, lack of experience of project type, unpredictable weather condition,
lack of experience of local regulation
The following are some of the mathematical formulae used to measure cost performance of
construction projects
▪
Unit cost index = (final design cost + final construction cost)/Area
▪
Cost growth (%) = (Final project cost – Contract project cost)/Contract project cost x
100%
▪
Design cost growth (%) = (final design cost-contract design cost/ contract design cost) x
100%
▪
Construction cost growth (%) = (final construction cost - contract construction cost)/
contract construction cost x 100%
Quality Performance as a project success criterion
Quality performance involves the auditing of a construction project at both the corporate and
project level to determine its level of compliance with specifications. At corporate level, the quality
performance indicators are quality culture, human resource management, communication
improvement information, quality management, supplier management, client management,
external interface management, internal improvement management, operational quality planning
and quality improvement measurement system. At the project level, human resource management,
scope management, cost management, integration management, communication management and
risk management are the quality performance indicators (Odusami, Bello & Williams, ND)
Using service quality metrics, quality performance indicators of construction projects are
performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability, serviceability, aesthetics, perceived
quality, time/timelines, completeness, courtesy, consistency, accessibility and convenience,
accuracy, responsiveness, communication, credibility, security, competence, tangibles,
understand, assurance, empathy and recovery at project level. At corporate level, quality
performance indicators are people and customer management, supplier partnership,
communication of improvement information, customer satisfaction orientation, external interface
management, strategic quality management, team work structures for improvement, operational
quality planning, quality improvement measurement system and corporate quality culture. Idrus
and Sodangi (). Table 3.4 indicates the factors responsible quality performance of conventional
construction projects:
Table 3.4: Factors influencing quality performance of construction projects
S/N
1
Author and year
Tengan, et al., 2014
2
Ajayi, et al. 2012
3
Idoro, 2010
4
Enhassi, et al. 2009
Factors affecting quality performance of conventional construction projects
contractor related (lack of management commitment to quality, lack of training on
quality, lack of management leadership, poor planning and control techniques, level
of competition, number of competitors, financial control on site, resource wastage,
lack of previous experience of contractors, lack of technical and professional
expertise and resources to performance task and lack of education and training to
drive the improvement process) and consultant related (lack of on-site project
management/supervisor, project team’s ability, information and communication
channel, early and continual client/consultant consultation by contractor, project
manager’s competence/experience, fraudulent practices and kickbacks, employee
commitment and understanding, team work among stakeholders and monitoring and
feedback
quality control and assurance, owner and contractor experience, warranty of facility
performance, errors and/or omission revealed during construction, construction
defects, contractor and award method, constructability of design, inadequate
specifications and differing site conditions are quality related factors of construction
project performance
quality of materials used, standard of workmanship, level of defective work, level of
maintenance cost and percentage of retention fee paid
conformance to specifications, unavailability of competent staff, quality of
equipment and raw materials, quality of assessment systems in organization quality
training/meeting.
5
Mahmood,
2006
et
al.
6
Abdul-Rahman, et
al. ND
7
Said, et al. ND
leadership and top management commitment, customer management, training and
education level, teamwork, people’s management and empowerment, supplier
partnership, quality policy and strategy, process management, rewards and
recognition and effective communication
Quality improvement programs, document control, training, selection of supplier and
sub-contractors, insufficient skill level, delayed purchase, completeness of drawing
and specifications, site layout studies, constructability, safety program, operability
review and value engineering studies, soil analysis, review of design and engineering
drawings, internal checking, inspecting and testing and external checking, inspecting
and testing
management commitment, interpretation of standard requirement and training
policies
Due to the subjectivity of the measurement of the quality performance of conventional construction
projects, the following have been used on many occasions to determine the quality performance:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Difficulty of facility start-up
Number and magnitude of call backs
Operation and maintenance costs
Quality of envelope, roof, Structure and foundation
Quality of interior space and layout
Quality of environmental system
Quality of process equipment and layout
However, in recent times as a result of progressive research, the quality performance of
construction projects is now more objectively measured through:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Number of rework in a project
Cost of rework of a project
Number of request for information (RFI)
Time required to process request for information (RFI)
Number of change orders
Number of approved off-specifications
Number of errors detected during construction
Number of quality control tests done
Number of quality control tests passed
Number of reject orders
Cost of quality assurance
Number of quality assurance staff on a project
Sustainability as the only criterion for measuring success of construction projects
A lot of work has been done in the past to ensure that the construction industry contributes
optimally to the development of their nations. While it is acknowledged that the current
contribution of the construction industry to the growth of many countries cannot be
underestimated, it has also been substantiated that the industry is suffering from perennial
challenges that is hampering its incremental contribution to development of their countries.
Beyond the challenges it is facing, the construction industry was found not to be economically,
socially and environmentally sustainable due to its current method of conducting activities. This
is on the heels of its huge contribution to the current global warming, climate change, gas emission
and environmental degradation among others. This anomaly has been attributed to the
conventional design and construction practice that characterizes many part of the world, including
Africa.
Therefore, there was the need to improvise another method of construction practice that can
overcome the challenges faced by the construction industry and at the same time undermine the
continual risks it (construction industry) poses to the present and future generation due to it
activities. While trying to achieve these huge goals, it is also important to bear in mind that that
the stakeholders’ criteria for measuring project success do not change and needs to also be
achieved. That is, regardless of the method used to actualize construction projects, clients still want
value for money, time and quality as it were. In the same vein, contractors want to optimize profit
while users want satisfaction. Therefore, the advocated new method of construction must be all
inclusive and capable of satisfying all the conditions.
As discussed in chapter 1, sustainability dates to as far as the 1980s. This is evident in the project
success criteria that were developed after the iron triangle criteria of cost, time and quality
performance. Some of the criteria that were prominent in the newly developed project success
criteria for construction projects are (Atkinson, 1999; Chan, 2001; Shenhar and Wideman, 2002;
Al-Tmeemy et al., 2010; Idrus, et al., 2011):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reduced waste
Social impact
Environmental impact/performance/friendliness
Favourable impact on customer
Creation of new opportunities
Pleasant environment
Social obligation
Market share and commercial success
Revenue and profit enhancement
These new criteria show that social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability are been
considered in the conventional design and construction process; the problem faced however in
their implementation is how the criteria can be measured. The measurement problem is what
necessitated the need to adopt a project success criterion that can harmonize and objectively
measure all the project success (iron triangle and new conventional measures) criteria identified
and at the same time overcome the social, economic and environmental challenges posed by
construction activities to the world.
In view of this, the integrated design and construction process was developed to both replace and
overcome the challenges associated with the use of conventional design and construction process.
In using the integrated design and construction process, a common set of goals and objectives have
to be set during design workshop and every member of the team must work towards those goals.
The collective name for the goals and objectives is sustainability as all the goals and objectives
of the project must revolve around sustainable design and construction. Sustainability therefore
encapsulates both the iron triangle and the new conventional project success criteria (including
those with sustainability features). The question is how does sustainability cater for the subjectivity
of the new conventional project success criteria?
The green building assessment tool (see chapter 6) was developed based on carefully selected
criteria of sustainable development to allocate scores to each of the project success criteria based
on the level to which they meet stated requirements. Therefore, the green building assessment tool
serves as the measuring instrument for determining the performance of the old and new project
success criteria of construction projects. Hence, sustainability is the only criterion upon which the
design and construction of projects are currently based. Sustainability is expected to satisfy all the
old and new project success criteria and ensure that construction projects satisfy sustainability
criteria in all its ramifications. It is however not certain if sustainability as the only criterion for
measuring the success of construction projects is meeting up with this standard as there are few
studies if there is any to accede to this fact. Many of the studies on sustainable design and
construction now focus on issues relating particularly to economic, social and environmental
development, leaving the stakeholders’ project success criteria of cost, time, quality and safety
among others unattended to. For instance, literature has shown that sustainable design and
construction projects are more expensive to construct than the conventional building projects.
However, consolation is found in the high performance and accumulated cost savings ((Life cycle
costing) that is obtained from the various systems of sustainable construction projects after many
years of use. The fundamental problem with high cost of sustainable design and construction
project is that, certain people, especially the African people cannot afford sustainable construction
projects because of its initial construction cost outlay among others. The implication of this
condition on African countries is fully described in subsequent chapters of the book.
Summary of chapters
This chapter discusses the conventional project success criteria and justifies sustainability as the
criterion for measuring the success of construction projects. The chapter also justifies the reasons
why sustainability is an integrated project success criterion encapsulates both the iron triangle and
new project success criteria of the conventional construction projects. The chapter described
project success measurement, success criteria of conventional construction projects and the reason
for the adoption of cost, time and quality performance for construction projects today.
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performance of building projects. Accessed on 12 September 2012 at www.researchgate.net.
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Chapter 4
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Procurement of construction projects
Abstract
The achievement of success on any construction project may be a mirage without appropriate
selection and use of construction procurement method. This chapter discusses the procurement
methods of construction projects by first differentiating construction procurement method from
construction procurement strategy. The chapter further explained the general factors to be
considered by clients in selecting construction procurement methods. In addition, the various
procurement methods (conventional, non-conventional, integrated and sustainable construction
procurement methods) that have been in use till date were discussed in this chapter. Furthermore,
a case was advanced on the disparity and confusion brought about by the existing different design
and construction processes leading to other construction procurement methods. The shortfall in the
number of design and construction process in comparison with that of procurement method was
particularly noted in this chapter. The chapter noted and explained that apart from the document
procurement methods, there are many other unrecognized and undocumented construction
procurement methods that are in use in Africa and probably other less developed countries. Lastly,
the need to investigate the procurement methods that are predominantly adopted for construction
projects in Africa and harmonize them with the achievement of sustainable design and construction
projects was emphasized in this chapter.
Keywords: Conventional/traditional procurement, integrated procurement, non-conventional
procurement, procurement strategy, sustainable procurement, procurement factors
Introduction
This chapter discusses the procurement processes involved in the execution of construction
projects. It follows that a construction project can only be successfully achieved with the
application of a procurement option that is determined based on certain constraints and factors
such as project success criteria, goals, objectives and subsequently follow a pre-determined design
and construction process. Therefore, the chapter discusses specifically the procurement options for
executing construction projects, the conditions and factors considered for the choice of
procurement options, advantages and disadvantages of the different procurement options and the
disparity in the design and construction process and procurement methods.
Difference between procurement method and procurement strategy
The proper definition of procurement method demands that procurement itself be defined.
Construction procurement is a process by which construction contracts are initiated, managed and
completed. Procurement involves certain processes to follow; these processes are determined by
the different procurement methods that are available for use. Procurement process was explicitly
explained in chapter 2. Different definitions have been documented in literature for construction
procurement method and strategy (Department of Housing and Public Works, 2008; Building and
Construction Procurement Guide, 2014; Naoum and Egbu, 2015)
•
Construction procurement method is the organizational structure used by client to manage
both the design and construction of a project
•
Procurement strategy is a construction document that indicates the result of a strict
screening of procurement alternatives to be adopted by the client for identifying the
recommended procurement method for a project based on project characteristics,
individual features, risks and conditions.
•
Procurement strategy is the procedure followed to decide on the most relevant procurement
approach to undertake a construction project.
•
Procurement strategy is the process adopted by a client to execute a construction project
from its conception to occupancy
•
Procurement strategy is the method used to connect and coordinating team members from
the design to the construction phase of a project.
An examination of the definitions and explanations given to procurement strategy and procurement
methods indicates that the two concepts appear similar but different in conceptualization.
However, obvious in the explanations are discordant views of what constitute procurement method
and procurement strategy. While some of the definitions stated that procurement method is the
option pursued by the client to execute a construction project and procurement strategy is the
procedure followed to arrive a procurement method, other definitions have simply defined
procurement method to mean the same thing as procurement strategy. This indicates lack of
agreement in the definitions of construction procurement strategy and method. Also, while the
MoE (2016) noted that procurement strategy should be documented to display how an organization
has explored different procurement routes and come up with the most appropriate one for specific
construction project, other definitions acknowledged that such procedures followed to decide on
the appropriate procurement option may simply be an informal exercise. Hence, due to the
heterogenous views on procurement method and strategy, there is a need to put their definitions in
perspective for proper understanding of this chapter and book in general.
Therefore, procurement method is defined in this book as the selected option by a client to manage
and execute a construction project from its design through to occupancy stage. Procurement
strategy is a formal (documented) or informal procedure (rules and approaches) adopted to arrive
at the most appropriate procurement method for the management and execution of a construction
project. While some literature imply that procurement system is a synonym for procurement
strategy, other literature has adopted procurement route, procurement option, procurement
approach, delivery method and procurement path among others as synonyms of procurement
method.
Factors influencing the selection of construction procurement method
The selection of appropriate procurement method for achieving construction projects is herculean
because, the criteria upon which project success is based is not only many but involve many
interests that need to be protected. Therefore, the client is faced with a major challenge of having
to engage in risk calculation to select an appropriate procurement method. To increase this
selection difficulty, more than one procurement method may seem appropriate for a construction
project and, also no single procurement method is fit for all construction projects and
circumstances. In a case where more than one procurement method is found to be appropriate for
a construction project, the client is saddled with the responsibility of being meticulous in his
selection of the most appropriate of the fitting procurement method. The following criteria
determine the procurement method to be used by construction client on a project:
•
•
•
The objectives and constraints of construction project
Level of complexity of construction project and
The likelihood of risks occurrence and mitigating strategies during design and
construction phase
Although the objectives and constraints of construction projects are slightly different from one
another, they must be simultaneously considered for effective choice of appropriate procurement
method.
Objectives of construction projects
The following among others are the key objectives of construction projects:
•
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•
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Cost of construction project including its life cycle analysis
Community or stakeholders’ expectations and satisfaction about a construction project
Level of desired quality for the project
Magnitude of work to be done on a construction project
•
•
Time to be allowed for both design and construction of project
Sustainability (social, economic and environmental) features of a construction project
Key constraints of construction projects
Construction constraints vary from one project to the other and are unique to specific construction
projects. hence, the following are the constraints to a construction project:
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•
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Cost constraints
Time constraints
Availability of skills and capacity of project team members to achieve the objectives of a
construction project
Availability of resources, including labour and equipment
Ability to meet up with government policy and regulation
Ability to overcome the physical constraints
Ability to meet market or industrial conditions
Level of complexity of construction project
It is important for the client to consider the criteria of project complexity before selecting the
procurement method to be adopted for construction project. The complexity of construction project
is based on the following factors:
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•
•
•
•
•
Size of the construction project
Scope of the construction project
Number of stakeholders required on a construction project
Duration of the construction project
Level of innovation desired by the client on the project
Economic conditions
Likelihood of risk occurrence on a project and the methods of mitigating them
In this situation, construction clients are obliged to envisage both the unforeseen and anticipated
risk before selecting the appropriate procurement method to be adopted on a construction project.
Hence, risks on construction projects are expected to be identified, assessed and mitigated at the
early stage of construction projects. this will go a long way in enhancing the selection of the
appropriate procurement method for managing and executing a construction project.
Based on the criteria for selecting an appropriate procurement method for construction projects,
the factors affecting the selection of procurement method by clients were developed as follows
(Agha, 2013; Fatokun and Fapohunda, 2012):
•
•
•
Available time for client to actualize construction project
Desired level of quality for construction project
Risk assessment, allocation and avoidance
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Flexibility to change design during design and construction of project
Responsibility of project stakeholders on a construction project
Size, shape, function and complexity of construction project
Expected level of price competitiveness among tenderers
Expected level of cost and time certainty at commencement of construction project
Expected level of disputes and arbitration between client and contractor
Type of construction project to be executed
Experience, certification and ability of client in construction matters
Availability of experienced contractor to execute construction project
Level of willingness of client to be involved in the construction process
Location of project site
level of trust of the client in project team members
Political and regulatory constraints on construction activities
Level of competitiveness of construction project in the market
Availability of material for a project
Client’s financial capability
Sequence of activities of a construction project.
The choice of reimbursement mechanism to be used for actualization of project
Due to the seeming enormity of these factors to be considered by construction clients in the
selection of procurement method, they can be categorized as follows for easy identification and
placement (Smith et al., 2004; Davis et al., 2008):
1. Exogenous factor: these include economic, commercial, technological, political, social
and legal factors of construction procurement method
2. Clients’ attributes: these include client’s knowledge and experience of construction
projects and their impact on the selection of procurement method. For corporate clients,
selection of appropriate procurement method is influenced by organizational culture level
of client’s willingness to be involved in a project. The owner’s familiarity with the
construction process and level of in-house management capability has a large influence
over the amount of outside assistance required during the process, and may guide the owner
in determining the appropriate project delivery method. An owner must make an
assessment of its ability to properly perform under the various delivery methods.
3. Project attributes: these include the size, complexity, location and uniqueness of
construction project. The influence of these factors on time, cost and risk is necessary for
the selection of appropriate procurement method.
4. Owner’s Requirements and Risk Considerations: An owner has several areas of
concern when embarking on a construction program or project. It is necessary to choose an
overall project delivery and contracting strategy that effectively and efficiently delivers the
project. The following are some of the key considerations that will influence the selection
of the project delivery method for a project:
•
Cost constraints: this involves the extent to which client wants price certainty
before construction works commence. This will influence the level of completeness
of design which will subsequently inform the client of the appropriate procurement
method to be used for the project.
•
Flexibility of design: This involves the extent to which client can accommodate
changes during the design and construction phase of projects. This level of
flexibility to allow changes greatly influences the selection of procurement method
for construction projects.
•
Time constraints: this involves the extent to which client wants a project to be
delayed. This will influence client’s selection of appropriate procurement method
to be used for a project.
•
Risk constraints: risk constraints involve the level of risk that the client is willing
to take. This is usually in the form of risk identification, assessment, allocation and
avoidance.
Construction procurement methods
After discussing design and construction process and construction project success criteria, there is
the need to discuss procurement related issues of construction projects to have an in-depth
understanding of construction process. Having defined procurement method, the next thing is to
discuss the various procurement methods in use for construction projects in the construction
industry. Construction procurement methods have been largely identified and discussed in
literature but many of them were done in the past (thus excluding the most recent procurement
methods) while many were done recently (focusing only on the recent procurement methods like
sustainable procurement method). In some literature as well, the arrangement and discussions of
the procurement methods seem not be explanatory enough. In this chapter, apart from the
wholesome treating of all the procurement methods that have been used for construction projects,
they were also classified for proper understanding for the readers. Hence, construction
procurement methods can be classified as follows:
1. Conventional procurement method
• Traditional or design-bid-build procurement method
2. Non-conventional procurement method
• Design and build procurement method
• Management procurement method
• Public private partnership procurement (PPPP) method
3. Integrated procurement method
4. Sustainable procurement method
Conventional procurement method
The conventional procurement method is also popularly called the traditional, customary or
design-bid-build procurement method. Perhaps, the design-bid-build name depicts the processes
involved in the adoption of this procurement route. The conventional procurement method by
design, separates the activities involved in the design, tendering and construction phase of a
project. Hence, the professionals involved in the actualization of a construction project are utterly
introduced at the stages their services are required. This makes the process more serial and less
synergetic in nature. One stage has to be completed before the commencement of another stage.
This procurement route is typical of the conventional design and construction process (see chapter
2). In the conventional design and construction method, the client’s first point of contact is the
architect who obtains the brief of the client and develops it into a schematic design upon which
the design of other consultants may be based. In this procurement route, the architect acts as the
leader of the design team and recommends appropriate design consultants to the client for
structural, electrical and mechanical designs among others.
At the end of the design stage when all contract documents would have been prepared (see chapter
1), the architect being the leader of the team assists the client to obtain bids from interested
contractors and selection of contractor is usually based on competitive tendering. The lowest
reasonable tender is usually the choice of the client in this procurement method. After the selection
process, the client mobilizes the contractor with funds for the construction stage to commence.
Usually, the duties of the design consultants are deemed to peak immediately after their designs
have been completed. Therefore, they are usually only required to appear on construction site when
their attention is required, or they need to check the conformance of the contractor with designs.
Hence, the method ensures that design and construction team members are aliens to themselves.
In the conventional procurement method, the architect is regarded as the project leader (especially
when a construction manager is not specifically engaged) and he recommends virtually all the
persons that are engaged on a contract to the client even though in many cases, the contractual
relationship is between the professionals and the client. That is, the client enters separate agreement
with each of the design consultants and the contractor. The architect represents the client at the
construction stage of a project and thus must be substantially knowledgeable about construction
methodologies and pricing for the purpose of valuation and contractual claims. Also, when a
construction manager is not engaged in the traditional procurement method, the consultants may
jointly perform that role for the client who parts with separate fees for that purpose. This
procurement method was the most used in most part of the world, but with the advent of the
supposed sophisticated procurement methods, most developed nations have successfully adopted
other procurement methods. However, in Africa, the traditional procurement method still appears
to be dominantly used on construction projects regardless of the characteristics of such projects.
With the identification of various problems associated with the traditional procurement method,
suggestions were made on how to ameliorate them. These suggestions resulted in variants of
traditional procurement method as follows (Department of housing and public works, 2008;
Babatunde et al., 2010; Trentglobal, 2016):
Sequential traditional procurement method: this method is based on the initial
conceptualization of the conventional procurement method, where design (contract
documentation) is completed before the call for tenders to execute a project. This method provides
a reasonable level of price certainty, but it is disadvantaged where time is of essence to the project.
Accelerated traditional procurement method: this method was designed to accommodate
traditional procurement method that cannot wait for the preparation of complete documents of a
construction project. Thus, a contractor is engaged to proceed to construction site on the basis of
incomplete project information. The time that is saved on such projects is usually paid for in terms
of cost overrun due to variation and rework in many cases.
Remeasured traditional procurement method: in this method, the work done by a contractor is
measured at completion. Thus, such construction contracts are usually based on approximate
quantities. The purpose of this method is to cater for cost uncertainty especially due to either
incomplete design information or capricious quantities.
Multiple primes traditional procurement method: this method follows the same design,
tendering and construction procedure; it is however different from other variants of conventional
procurement method in the sense that the client engages directly with multiple trade contractors to
execute his construction project. That means, there will be no main contractor but multiple prime
contractors for the project involved.
Traditional procurement method with project manager: in this method, the design-bid-build
procedure is followed as expected in the conventional procurement method, but the client engages
a project manager to represent him in overseeing the sequential process of project design and
construction.
Characteristics of the conventional procurement method
The following are the characteristics of the conventional procurement method (Davis et al., 2008;
Agha, 2013; MoE, 2016):
• The method involves the use of competitive tendering to select the contractor, therefore
requires that contract documentation be completed before the tendering stage
• The method is separatist by design as contractors input is precluded in the makeup of
contract documents
• The method is suitable when the client project criteria require that construction cost be
known.
• The method requires that a professional (usually the architect) spearheads the
administration of the construction process. Other consultants may only help with project
supervision
• The method is suitable when there is sufficient time that can be allowed for the separation
of design, tendering and construction of a project
• The method can be used for small projects that require lesser need for collaboration and
innovation.
• The method is particularly suitable for construction projects that the client is willing to bear
the risks involved in design and contractor to bear the risk at the construction stage. This
•
•
•
•
•
•
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normally lead to disputes and delay when it is not clear if an incident is due to design or
construction.
The method is suitable for projects that have appropriate and experienced skilled workers
to execute the contract
The price certainty of the conventional procurement method is based on the specificity,
accuracy and completeness of construction contract documents. Extra cost is incurred from
errors and omission through variation and rework.
The contractor relies mainly on the amount and accuracy of the information provided by
the client. This gives ample opportunity to the contractor for claims.
The method ensures that tenders are submitted by both the main and subcontractor
Construction contract is mainly signed by the client and contractor
The method involves the preparation of interim and final payment certificates so that the
client can pay the contractor for work done.
The method is suitable for projects where quality takes more priority
Advantages of the conventional procurement method
The advantages of traditional procurement method are as follows:
•
All contractors bid on the same basis and hence elements of bias in tendering is reduced
• There high level of understanding between the architect (project administrator) and the
client. This enhances the level of quality of construction project
•
There is certainty of project cost at the time contract is awarded and this may reduce cost
difference at the end of a project depending on the accuracy of contract documents.
• The method is relatively easy to use as it is understood by many construction professionals
who understand their roles on a project
• Construction risk is shared between the client and the contractor. The risk is minimal if
the contract documents are of high quality.
Disadvantages of conventional procurement method
The following are the disadvantages of conventional procurement method:
• The iterative and sequential nature of the method is a disadvantage for timely completion
of construction project
• Inaccurate and incomplete contract document can give rise to huge cost and time overrun
which result from disputes, rework and variation.
• The contractor does not have input in design as they are not involved at the design stage.
This encourages buildability and maintainability problems to ensue during the project
• Changes to design are relatively expensive and hard to make when construction work has
commenced.
• The method allows the contractor to use his experience to make claims and save money
since his input is not in the design of construction project
• The separation of the design and construction in the method may foster adversarial
relationship among project team members rather than cooperation.
• The method is mostly useful for small projects.
Non-conventional Procurement Method
After several trials of the variants of the traditional procurement method, the associated problem
kept recurring in different degrees and dimensions. This led to the advent of the non-conventional
construction procurement methods. These methods were embraced with the mind of integrating
the design and construction process so that the problems associated with the conventional
procurement method can be reduced or eliminated. It is however far from reality that construction
problems were solved with the non-conventional procurement method; although the method
appears to achieve better results than the conventional procurement method. The non-conventional
procurement method is classified into:
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•
•
Design and build procurement method
Management procurement method
Public private procurement method
Design and build procurement method
The design and build procurement method, also referred to as design and construct procurement
method is an integrated procurement method that involves the engagement of a construction
organization for the purpose of designing and constructing a project. Usually, such construction
organization has both the design and construction arm that can effectively handle both stages.
However, there are times that the organizations engaged by the client do not have design arm (that
is, the organization does only construction), the construction organization is responsible for
engaging a design organization for that purpose. Design and build procurement method can take
place in different ways depending on the level of commitment of the construction organization to
the design of construction project. These levels of commitment are divided into (Davis et al., 2008;
Noor, 2013; Casey and Bamfod, 2014; epm white paper, 2015):
•
Full design and build procurement method: in this method, a single construction
organization does both the design and construction of a project. Such organization has
both the design and construction arms integrated into a construction organization.
•
Partial design and build procurement method: in this method, an organization engages
the service of some design experts to join the design experts in the organization to prepare
the contract documents of a proposed construction project. In this situation, the
organization may not possess the complete expertise to prepare the design documents and
may therefore need to engage additional design professionals to bridge the gap.
•
Separated design and build procurement method: in this method, a construction
organization obtains the brief of the client and thereafter engages a design firm to develop
the contract documents based on the brief. In the situation, construction organizations
usually lack the capacity to render design services to their clients and therefore needs to
source for the service from external design organizations. The deficiencies of the
conventional procurement method are likely to manifest if the contract is not properly
handled by the design and construction organizations.
Types of design and build procurement method
The design and build procurement method exists in various forms as discussed below (Davis, et
al., 2008; Turina, et al., 2008; ISO, 2008):
• Develop and construct: in this situation, the client already has a schematic design of what
he intends to construct. It is upon this scheme design that competitive tendering method is
adopted to select an appropriate contractor for the proposed construction project. It should
be noted that contractors may also be selected on other tendering methods depending on
the type of project and the circumstances that surround it. The client’s scheme design is
then developed into full contract documents and constructed by the selected contractor
accordingly. The contractor is at liberty to choose the client’s designers for the complete
design and he can also choose to engage another set of designers entirely.
•
Package deal: this is usually referred to as turnkey contracts. The buildings involved in
this type of design and construct procurement method are usually proprietary or modular
so that they can be adjusted and moved. Such buildings are mostly repetitive in nature (like
estate buildings) and they preclude the possibility of innovations.
•
Novation: in this method, a contractor takes over the design and construction of a previous
construction project from a client.
Characteristics of the design and build procurement method
The following are the characteristics of design and build procurement method (Babatunde et al.,
2010; Agha, 2013; MoE, 2016; Gofhamodimo, 1999):
• The method is more useful for small construction projects that do not require much
technical innovation.
• The method is used for construction projects that regard time saving (overlapping of design
and construction activities) to be of greater priority to the client.
• The method is used for projects that the construction organization is ready to accept the
risks involved in both the design and construction. Therefore, claims are reduced on such
projects.
• The method is used when the function of construction project is of more priority than
prestige.
• The method is used when project requirements are well established as at the time of
tendering
• The client commits himself to the execution of a construction projects earlier than that of
traditional procurement method
• The designer reports to the contractor and not the client
• The method eliminates the problem of buildability and maintainability in the design and
construction process of projects.
• The method involves a high degree of cost certainty since the design and construction of
project rests mostly on the contractor. However, it may be costlier than the conventional
method.
• The method is used for construction projects that have quality performance as a major
criterion.
• The method is used for construction projects that require a single point of responsibility.
•
•
The method is used when client’s concentration on the design and construction process of
a project is not required.
The method is used when contractor’s input in project design has a high priority to the
client. Thus, there is improved communication between design and construction
professionals.
Advantages of design and build procurement method
The design and build procurement method has many advantages when compared with the
conventional procurement method. Some of these advantages are as follows:
• The client has a point of contact in case there is need to discuss on the progress of a project.
This is due to the integration of design and construction activities.
• Due to the integration of design and construction activities, the client obtains a more precise
and reliable cost value provided his project success criteria are well articulated by the
design team. The price certainty is further enhanced by the difficulty to change project
requirements (client’s design changes) when the contract has been awarded.
• This method reduces the time spent to execute a construction project when compared with
the conventional construction method because of the integration of design and construction
activities.
• This method usually add value to the design of a construction project by way of innovation
because of the introduction of contractor’s experience and input.
• The method encourages multi-disciplinary activities on a construction project as it
integrates both the design and construction activities. These multi-disciplinary activities
are as a result of the improved communication that is promoted among the design and
construction team members.
• Construction can be commenced earlier than the completion time of design documents.
That is, contractor may proceed to site as soon as the contract is awarded to him by the
client
• The contractor’s input into the design process of a construction project ensures that there
is flexibility in the choice of materials for the project.
• This method has lesser possibility of dispute because of the level of communication
between the design and construction team members. The chances of dispute are further
reduced because the client has only one firm to deal with in terms of design and
construction issues.
• The client’s risk is mostly transferred to the construction organization that takes
responsibility for both the design and construction activities.
• The client’s resources are committed to only one construction organization rather than
committing resources to both the design and construction organizations separately due to
isolation of both activities as in the case of conventional procurement method.
• The integration of design and construction activities in the method ensures that buildability
and maintainability issues are greatly reduced in construction projects
Disadvantages of design and build procurement method
There demerits in the use of design and build procurement method. Some of the demerits are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
An inexperienced construction client may find it difficult to adequately communicate his
requirements on a proposed project (brief) to the contractor. In the same vein, there may
be difficulty in selecting an appropriate construction organization to execute the
construction project.
The client commits his resources to a proposed construction project even before the
detailed design for the project had been completed.
The projects end up being more expensive than in the case of conventional procurement
method because of the absence of valuation and bill of quantities. This is compounded
because different contractors present different tenders, methodologies and programme of
works, thus making it difficult to compare bids among themselves.
This method reduces client’s ability to make changes to the requirement of a construction
project after it has been awarded. Hence, new ideas and innovations come at extra time and
cost even when construction has not commenced.
There is less competition in using this method because there are fewer organizations that
offer joint design and construction services; hence apart from the cost escalation that may
be presented by the method, performance may also be dependent on the type of design and
build services that is offered by the construction organization.
The opportunity of checks and balances for a design and build construction procurement
method is diminished as both the design and construction activities are embedded in a
single construction organization.
Management procurement method
The management procurement method is another form of non-conventional procurement method
that involves the client engaging a representative (organization) on his construction project to
oversee the integration and harmonization of the activities of the design and construction team
members. This method ensures that there are three separate organizations for the purpose of
designing, constructing and managing all the activities of a construction project.
Factors influencing the use of management procurement method
The management procurement method should be considered for construction projects when:
• The client wishes to exercise control over a construction project through flexible inclusion
of state-of-the-art technologies and innovations in a construction project without excessive
cost implications.
• A construction project is large, complex and likely to involve the services of several
specialist trade contractors.
• Timely completion of a construction project is of more importance to the client than the
risk of cost overrun.
• A construction project can and require that it be broken down into its constituent parts for
the purpose of time saving.
• The anticipated risks of a construction project are perceived to require the engagement of
a construction management (or construction manager) organization to coordinate the
activities involved in the management and delivery of a project.
• When there is mutual trust among the client, design team, construction team members and
the construction manager.
• The construction manager must be engaged early enough into the contract to benefit from
his experience through improvement to the pre-construction phase and project design.
The management procurement method exists in three categories or variants (Smith et al., 2004;
Stauffer, 2006; Fatokun and Fapounda, 2012):
I. Management contracting: in this method, the client secures the service of a management
contractor who does not participate in the construction activities but engages many trade
contractors to execute different parts of a construction project.
Advantages of management contracting procurement method
The following are the benefits that accrue to construction projects that are based on
management contracting procurement method:
• The client has a single point of contract for accountability, coordination, management and
integration of design and construction activities
• Project schedule may be reduced as there is opportunity to overlap both the design and
construction activities of the project.
• Except for the management contract method, the method ensures that the risk of integrating
design with construction activities is removed from the client and transferred to the
contractor.
• Work packages usually attract competitive pricing among bidders and this advantage
accrues to the management procurement method
• The method ensures that buildability and maintainability problems are reduced as the input
of the contractor would have been incorporated into the project design
• The method defines the roles, responsibilities and risk of all the parties that are involved in
a project.
• The method offers the flexibility to change the design of a construction project after the
contract has been awarded
Disadvantages of the management contracting procurement method
The disadvantages of using the management procurement method include but may not be
limited to the following:
• The method strips a construction project of the opportunity to achieve price certainty until
work packages have been awarded.
• The method requires that a construction client is knowledgeable in construction before it
can be optimally used.
• Clients lose full grip of design as it is being influenced by the contractor and construction
manager in many cases.
II. Construction management: in this method, a client engages the service of a construction
contractor and that of a construction manager to represent him (client) in the supervision
of the contractor. The construction manager is paid consultancy fee in the process and
needs to be close to the client for updates on the construction project. This method is
usually suitable for clients that have sufficient experience of construction contract.
Advantages of construction management procurement method
The following are the benefits of using the construction management procurement method:
• The client has the advantage of continuous design throughout the construction process
without necessarily incurring additional cost.
• Risks related to the management and coordination of construction project is transferred to
the construction manager.
• The engagement of construction manager ensures that the client has a point of contact, thus
reinforcing his level of control on the project.
• The method gives the client the opportunity to change project requirements after contract
award has been done and construction process is in progress.
• The method reduces conflict between the design and construction team as such conflicts
are managed by the construction management organization
• The method renders the opportunity to overlap the design and construction activities of a
project
• The method ensures accountability of the design and construction team members as this
includes the function of the construction manager.
Disadvantages of the construction management procurement method
The disadvantages of adopting the construction management procurement method include the
following:
• The method is devoid of single point of contract because the client has to sign agreement
with many trade contractors involved in the construction project
• The client shoulders most of the risks involved in a construction project as the construction
manager is only engaged to provide management and coordination services for which he
receives a fee.
• The client commits a lot of time and resources to the design and construction process of
the project.
• The actual cost of construction project cannot be ascertained at the early stage as the
process may involve frequent design changes.
Key difference between management contracting and construction management
procurement method
The major noticeable difference between the management contracting and construction
management procurement methods is that, while there is a single point of contact for the client in
management contracting procurement (the management contractor enters into contract with the
trade contractors), the client loses this opportunity as he enters into multiple contract arrangements
with trade contractors in construction management.
III. Design and manage: in this method, a single construction organization enters into two
separate contract arrangements with a client to provide services for him in the areas of project
design and management of the construction process. The method is similar to management
contracting but the difference solely lies in the additional service of design that is rendered.
This procurement method has two variants:
a) Contracting design and manage: in this case, the design and manage organization
is responsible for the design of a construction project. The design and manage
organization also manages the construction process for a client by entering a
contract agreement with the different work contractors that will execute the
contract. That is, it is the design and manage organization (not the client) that enters
into a contract agreement with the trade contractors of a construction project.
b) Consultant design and manage: in this method, the design and manage
organization is responsible for the design of a construction project. The design and
manage organization also manages the construction process for the client by acting
as the consultant on the project. In this case, the organization only performs
oversight functions on a project while the contract agreement is between the client
and the trade contractors.
Public private partnership procurement (PPPP) method
The public private partnership procurement method, also known as partnering, and alliance
construction procurement method involves the contribution of two (public and private sector)
stakeholders to come together for the actualization of an infrastructural project. The public private
partnership procured construction projects are usually long-term arrangements that are driven by
the optimization of the life cycle analysis of those projects through innovations from the wealth of
experience of the private sector. The private firms that usually enter into public private partnership
arrangements consist of design and build, maintenance and finance firms amalgamated inside one
organization. The private sector recuperates the money invested on construction projects through
a fee charged to the public sector on a regular basis or a concession contract which allows the
private organization to collect payments from users of the constructed facility.
Since the advent of public private partnership procurement method, it has been widely adopted to
actualize various types of projects for governments (at various levels) that do not have sufficient
resources to execute large and complex projects. The public private procurement method involves
mutual understanding between the contracting (public and private sector) parties about project
objectives, management, execution, dispute resolution, value for money and profit sharing among
others. The method is applicable to most types of project, but it is particularly suitable for large
and complex projects. Public private partnership procurement method is basically suitable when
there is a need for government to collaborate with private sector organization to achieve financing,
management and/or maintenance of infrastructural projects for public use. Public private
partnership has successfully been used for concession projects like roads, bridges, tunnels,
transportation (including railways), public health, education, water supply, energy generation and
waste management to mention a few. However, despite the benefits of this method, it must be
carefully adopted to avoid complications.
There are many forms in which public private partnership procurement method can exist; the
difference among them largely lies in the mode of financing and repayment of the money invested
by private sector.
Types of public private partnership procurement method
There are many types of public private partnership arrangements. Some of them are briefly
described as follows (Babatunde, et al., 2010; Lam and Chan, 1991, ciob, 2010; MoE, 2012):
a) Operate and Maintain (OM): in this case, a private organization is required to both
operate a facility or infrastructure and maintain it for a specified period.
b) Operate, Maintain and Manage (OMM): in this case, a private organization is required
to operate, maintain and manage a facility or construction project before transferring it to
the government.
c) Design-Build-Maintain (DBM): in this method, a private organization is required to
design, construct and maintain an infrastructure for a specified period before transferring
it to the public sector (government).
d) Design-Build-Operate (DBO): in this method, a private organization is required to design,
construct and operate an infrastructural project for an agreed period before transferring it
to the public sector (government).
e) Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM): in this method, a private organization is
required to design, construct, operate and maintain a facility for an agreed period before
transferring it to the public sector.
f) Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM): in this method, a private
organization is required to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain a facility for a
specific period before transferring it to the public sector.
g) Design-Build-Finance-Transfer (DBFT): in this method, a private organization is
required to design, construct, finance and transfer a facility to the public sector after a
certain period from the completion of the project.
h) Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT): in this method, a private organization is required to
construct, run and transfer a facility to the public sector after a certain period from the
completion time of the project. The design of the construction project is not part of this
arrangement.
i) Build-Operate-Own (BOO): In this method, a private organization does not transfer
ownership; it constructs, operates and owns the facility.
j) Design-Build-Finance-Operate (DBFO): in this method, a private organization is
required to design, construct, finance and operate a facility for a specific period before
transferring it to the public sector. The government owns the facility after it is completed
but leases it to the private organization to run and hence generate funds from it.
k) Build-Rent-Transfer (BRT): This method enables the private organization to obtain a
rental fee from government for an agreed period before transferring the facility.
l) Build-Own-Operate-Subsidize-Transfer (BOOST): In this method government
incentivize the users to ensure that the use of completed facility is viable for the private
organization. However, the private organization is responsible for the construction,
ownership, operation and transfer of the facility to the government after the agreed period
in the contract.
m) Build-Transfer-Own (BTO): in this method, the private organization does not pay
insurance costs for running the facility within the agreed contract period.
n) Renovate-Operate-Transfer (ROT): in this method, a private organization is recruited to
renovate an existing structure and then operates it for an agreed period so that the money
invested on a facility can be recovered before the facility is transferred to the owner.
o) Build-Lease-Transfer (BLT): in this method, a private organization leases out the facility
(not to the government this time) and gets paid for it after construction. This is done for an
agreed period before the facility is returned to the owner.
p) Investment Management/ Investment Services (IM/IS): in this method, a different
organization is engaged to manage a facility on behalf of both the public and private
sectors/investors. The independent organization ensures that the private organization
recovers his invested finance and that the facility remains in good shape at the time of
transfer to the public sector
Roles of the private sector in Public private partnership procurement method
The following roles are usually performed by the private sector in a public private partnership
procurement arrangement:
•
•
•
•
•
Provision of all or part of the required project finance for a project
Acceptance of risks associated with the management, execution and maintenance of the
proposed project
Development of all or part of the design for a proposed project
Takes responsibility for the construction of a project
Takes responsible for the transfer of construction project at the expiration of signed
contract
Roles of the public sector in a public private procurement partnership procurement method
The following are the roles of the public sector in Public private partnership procurement method:
• Takes the final decision on the design, construction and financing requirements of a
construction project.
•
•
•
•
Assesses and takes decision concerning the proposal that is presented by the private sector
for the execution of the construction project
Provision of support systems like land and some other resources for the proposed
construction project
Ensures that the private sector conforms with the requirement of the signed construction
contract throughout the project period.
Ensures that the private sector gets paid through the signed concession agreement for the
specified period and means.
Advantages of Public private partnership procurement method
The following benefits accrue with the use of public private partnership procurement method:
• The public sector gets projects executed for the masses through the help of private sector
involvement in construction design, management, operation and/or financing.
• It helps government to channel other incomes to other useful projects for the masses
• Projects executed with Public private partnership procurement method are usually of high
quality, operation and management.
• Maintenance and operation of Public private partnership projects are efficient and
economical
• Public private partnership procurement method ensures that the public sector gets
maximum benefits from the private sector in areas of weaknesses such as expertise,
finance, technology and knowledge sharing on a construction project.
• Only the users of Public private partnership procurement projects are made to pay rather
than the entire masses.
• Project time is reduced as it commences early enough because of the integrated set-up of
the private sector organization and the need to finish the project on time so that returns can
start coming in for the investor.
• The risks involved in the management and operation of construction projects are
transferred to the private sector.
Disadvantages of Public private partnership procurement method
The public private partnership procurement method is not without its disadvantages despite the
huge opportunities it presents to the public sector. Some of these disadvantages include:
• Public private partnership projects are mostly expensive for low income group to benefit
from due to the unaffordable prices that are placed on them.
• Some conditions involved in the provision and use of public private partnership projects
are not in favour of the masses but maximization of profit by the private sector.
• The method ensures that there is monopoly of market in the execution and management of
construction projects, thus resulting in a high life cycle cost.
• The private sector is usually allowed to increase the amounts paid by users to finance a
construction project.
• Public private partnership projects are usually expensive and when they are not expensive,
the quality sufferers.
•
While the public can secure loans with cheaper interests that can ensure that the execution
of projects is cheap, private sector gets expensive loans that make project execution
expensive.
Integrated procurement method
The integrated procurement method, also known as integrated project delivery method has been in
existence for some years but it is rarely adopted for the execution of construction projects. this is
probably due to the efforts required in adopting it and the amount of input required from the client.
The method is mostly used in the United States and its operation is such that it follows the
integrated design and construction procurement process. Hence, the integrated procurement
method is aimed at ensuring that all the parties (especially the client, designers/consultants and the
contractor) that will be required for the execution of construction project are involved from the
onset. The sole purpose of the collective involvement is to ensure collaboration among
stakeholders, achieve common goals and objectives for a project, optimize efficiency and reduce
waste among others. The inclusion of major project actors from inception of a project for the
purpose of collaboration and collective setting of project goals and objectives is the major
difference that the method has with other construction procurement methods. The integrated
procurement method usually requires an integrator (in case he will be part of the signed agreed) or
a construction manager (when he will not be part of the signed agreement) that will be responsible
for coordinating the services of other team members and ensures that all activities relates to the
achievement of set goals and objectives.
The integrated procurement method remunerates the project team members on a cost-plus
incentive basis when the target cost and non-cost related goals and objectives of a construction
project has been successfully achieved. It is believed that this method amasses all the benefits of
the conventional and non-conventional construction procurement methods to itself. However, it
presents fresh challenges for the client. One of these challenges borders on the human
characteristics of the project actors to be selected for a construction project than their ability to
perform on a project. It is on this basis that some researches claimed that, bring all the project
actors togethers does not necessarily mean that one of them will not have a silent different and
detrimental objective for himself on the project. This may defeat the whole essence of the method
and degenerate into a whole lot of issues such as excessive cost overrun, quality degradation and
time overrun among others.
Advantages of the integrated procurement method
The following summarizes the advantages that accrue from the use of integrated procurement
method for construction projects:
• The client achieves all the benefits of the conventional and non-conventional procurement
methods.
• There is a central set of goals and objectives to be pursued by all team members of a
construction project. This increases the chances of achieving project success.
Disadvantages of the integrated procurement method
The following disadvantages inhibits the frequent adoption of integrated procurement method for
construction project:
•
•
•
•
Reaching a consensus on the goals and objectives of a construction project may be difficult,
costly and time consuming.
Adversarial behavior of any of the project team members may cause a major breakdown in
the progress of work execution. This is because the success of projects executed with this
method large depend on the collaboration of the project team members.
Selection of team members with the right attitude and expertise may be difficult for the
client to achieve especially when he does not already have people he has been working
with.
The method is not popular, and success or failure of its adoption is unpredictable (they are
only speculated).
Sustainable procurement method
The sustainable procurement method, also called innovative project procurement method is a
method that ensures that construction projects attain a certain level of sustainability measured with
an appropriate sustainability green building assessment tool. This method, by practice is similar to
the integrated procurement method as it requires that the contributions of all project team members
are collaborative. However, while the collaboration of the integrated procurement method may not
primarily pursue greenness of construction project, the sustainable procurement method solely
aims to ensure the greenness of construction projects through its collaboration. It is possible that
the goals and objectives of an integrated procurement method tend toward sustainability; its sole
aim is to achieve common goals and objectives for a construction project. The procedure and
practice of both the integrated and sustainable procurement method is the same. The project team
members are also quite similar except that the integrator that is employed in the integrated
procurement method may need to be substituted for a sustainability facilitator, especially when the
integrator lacks sufficient knowledge of sustainable design and construction.
Sustainable procurement method is used for projects mainly developed by governments at all
levels to deliver large and complex sustainable projects. Currently, the quantum of individuals that
embrace sustainable projects are quite few. Attempts to impose sustainability goals on members
of the society have been resisted from many quarters. This may be due to many reasons that will
be mentioned later in this section, but private investors are beginning to embrace it. While
stakeholders in the construction industry are moving away from the conventional procurement
method because of the views that the iron triangle goals are confined and do not measure project
outcomes. However, sustainable procurement method has also not been substantially embraced
due to issues relating to excessive cost of construction and other procurement methods’ ability to
achieve goals other that the iron triangle success criteria.
The overall goal of sustainable procurement is to deliver projects that are economically, socially
and environmentally sustainable. Many potential advantages were attributed to sustainable design
and construction project; the following points should be borne in mind with the use of sustainable
procurement:
•
Regulatory policies toward adoption of sustainable procurement method has the capacity
to impact environmental performance of a construction project and the comfortability of
project users.
•
Sustainable procurement has the capacity to maximize energy efficiency so that there is
reduction in the amount of energy consumed.
•
Sustainable procurement can deliver construction projects that will improve indoor air
quality and enhance the satisfaction of building occupants with the projects.
DISCUSSION ON PROCUREMENT METHODS
The importance of discussing the procurement routes to the achievement of various construction
projects cannot be over emphasized. Procurement routes are the vehicles that confers project
success criteria on construction projects. That is, without proper articulation of the appropriate
procurement method to be used for a construction projects, the goals and objectives of such project
are likely to be unachievable. Because of the peculiarity of construction projects (each one is
unique), construction clients, complexity of projects, technological advancements and economies
of countries among others, different procurement methods have been adopted for construction
projects around the world. Ordinarily, one would expect that there every procurement route is tied
to its own design and construction process. That is, every design and construction process is
expected to have a procurement method or vice versa. This is however not the case. While only
three (conventional design and construction process, non-conventional design and construction
process and integrated design and construction process) types of design and construction process
has been formally identified, about six (four classifications) types of procurement routes with
several variants have been identified and discussed. This connotes that some of the procurement
routes share the same design and construction process or do not have document design and
construction process altogether. This is not only confusing, it complicates the design and
construction of projects.
While the design and construction processes of projects have been well formalised in literature,
that of procurement routes of the selected process has been haphazardly and discordantly
discussed. This is so because the procedures and classification of procurement methods have been
different across various publication over time. Only the conventional procurement method enjoys
significant unanimous discussion. Beyond this, it is important to note that there are many
undocumented or unpopular procurement methods in use in Africa or other parts of the world. For
example, in Nigeria, when the government has in-house experts that are capable of managing or
executing a construction project, the “direct labour” method (the in-house professionals execute
the project) is used. This method is also called the “direct managed” procurement method. The
design and construction process of this procurement method is undocumented as a procurement
route and it is informal. Many studies, especially in Nigeria have investigated the method it has
however not be document as a procurement method for construction project. One may arguably
note that its recognition was relegated especially when it is not a common procurement route in
the western economy.
Another procurement method that popular in Nigeria is the “Labour only” procurement method.
This method involves the client procuring construction projects by engaging the services of a prime
contractor for construction purposes while he procures the materials to be used for such projects.
The direct labour and labour only procurement methods have not enjoyed discussions on the
processes involved in the design of their projects. This is likely going to be due to the informal
processes of getting designs of construction projects done in Nigeria. This however, does not
preclude that they are procurement methods. Therefore, in addition to the procurement methods
mentioned earlier, this book recognizes that there are many other construction procurement
methods that may be known but informal and uncelebrated. They include among others the
following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Labour only procurement method
Direct labour (direct managed) procurement method
Alliance procurement method
Engineer-procure-construct-manage procurement method
Producer-controlled procurement turnkey procurement method
Price-focus procurement method
Panel of suppliers’ procurement method
The integrated design and construction process was designed to overcome the challenge (iteration
and separation of design and construction) of conventional and non-conventional design and
construction process. However, the process has been graduated and used for the procurement of
sustainable construction projects. it then becomes obscure that an integrated design and
construction process that is supposed to be used for integrative activities of design and construction
is also being used for the collaborative design and construction process (sustainability).
Collaboration is beyond mere integration. Therefore, it appears that there is no hard and fast rule
for the procedures to be followed for procuring sustainable construction projects. it can only be
argued that the integrated design and construction process is the easiest or the most appropriate
process to managing and executing sustainable design and construction.
It has been argued in some literature that some of the goals and objectives of sustainable design
and construction have already been taken care of by some modern construction techniques like
lean technique, just-in-time and value management to mention a few. Reduction of energy
consumption, environmental degradation and use of sustainable materials have also been practiced
for a long time in the construction industry. One may say such methods were not formalized and
made top priorities as it is the case in recent construction practice. It is therefore unclear what
actually constitutes the process involved in sustainable design and construction. These conditions
may take their toll on the achievement of practice of sustainable design and construction especially
in Africa where its adoption is relatively lower than desired. There may be the need to carefully
consider the procurement methods that are famously adopted for construction projects in Africa
and hence investigate how these procurement methods may be harmonized with the achievement
of sustainable design and construction projects.
Summary of chapter
This chapter discusses the procurement methods of construction projects. The chapter defined
construction procurement method and construction procurement strategy. The chapter also
explained the general factors considered by clients in selecting construction procurement methods.
In addition, the chapter discussed the various procurement methods (conventional, nonconventional, integrated and sustainable construction procurement methods) that have been in use
till date. The chapter further made a case for the disparity and confusion brought about by different
design and construction processes leading to other construction procurement methods. The
shortfall in the number of design and construction process in comparison with that of procurement
method was particularly noted. The chapter noted that apart from the document procurement
methods, there are many other unrecognized and undocumented construction procurement
methods that are in use in Africa and probably other less developed countries. All these conditions
may take their toll on the achievement of practice of sustainable design and construction especially
in Africa where its adoption is relatively lower than desired. There may be the need to carefully
consider the procurement methods that are famously adopted for construction projects in Africa
and hence investigate how these procurement methods may be harmonized with the achievement
of sustainable design and construction projects.
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Chapter 5
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Concept of sustainability and sustainable design and construction
Abstract
The objective of this chapter is to basically discuss the concept of sustainability and sustainable
design and construction. Before then, the chapter defined isolated terms of sustainable, design and
construction before finally defining sustainable design and construction. The origin of
sustainability was discussed with the contradictions in the meaning of the concept of sustainable
development between the ecologists and the economists. The chapter was able to advance basic
facts for embracing the practice of sustainable development amidst the misunderstanding of the
concept of sustainability. Furthermore, the general and specific objectives of sustainable
development and sustainable development and construction were discussed. The aspects, elements
and characteristics of sustainable design and construction were also explained in this chapter.
Lastly, the chapter had a section on the discussion of the challenges of sustainability as it different
concerns both the developed and developing nation.
Keywords: Concept of sustainable development, sustainable design and construction, elements of
sustainability, characteristics of sustainable design, objectives of sustainability
Introduction
This chapter discusses the concept of sustainable design and construction by first discussing the
meaning of sustainable design and construction. The chapter subsequently discusses the origin and
objectives of sustainable design and construction. In addition, the elements, characteristics and
benefits of sustainable design and construction were discussed in this chapter. The chapter closes
with summary and references.
Definition of sustainability and sustainable design and construction
The word “sustainable” connotes the ability to maintain an event or activity at a certain level or in
perpetuity. Design could have various meanings to people depending on the field of application of
the word. In the construction industry however, design may be defined as the process of providing
necessary information that is required for the achievement of project success as specified by project
team members (client inclusive). In the same vein, construction may be described as the assembly
of materials and services towards the physical actualization of project design. To that extent,
sustainable design and construction may simply be defined as the ability to maintain the provision
of necessary information and assembly of materials and services for a construction project at a
certain level or in perpetuity. This means that, whatever design and construction that has the
possibility of being discontinued at any point due to impossibility of getting any its required items
is unsustainable.
The current method of design and construction, especially in Africa is unstainable. This is because
there is still consistent exploitation of natural resources without any plan for their replacement and
use for the future generation. These exploitations have also consistently been a source of pollution,
gas emission and energy inefficiency. As postulated by the proponents of sustainability, if this
practice is continued without check, there is every possibility that design, and construction will
not be sustainable in the nearest future. As it currently is, the impact of the unsustainable activities
of the construction industry on environmental degradation is put at 15% of fresh water resources,
40% of the world's energy and 23-40% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Hussin, et al.
(2013) put the figures at one-quarter of world’s wood harvest and two-fifth of material and energy
flow. Luxembourg, United Kingdom, United States of America, Belgium and Czech Republic
among the developed nations have high contributions to these figures (Harris, 2000). The
contributions from developing countries, especially Africa are not known at the moment and this
may be due to the less significance attached to it by the government and researchers from those
countries. However, South Africa being one of the new adopters of sustainable design and
construction found that the country adds 23% to world’s greenhouse gas emission and 4% to total
carbon dioxide emission (Sebake, 2008).
Origin of sustainability and sustainable design and construction
Sustainable design and construction lends its credence to the general debate on sustainability of
world activities. The concept of sustainability was first articulated by the World Conservation
Strategy of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in
1980. The debate however formally commenced in 1987 when the Brundtland report, also
described as the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED)
noted the need for the practice of sustainability and hence defined sustainability as sustainable
development, and sustainable development as the development that meets the needs of the present
without jeopardizing the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs as well.
The question is, in what context is development defined? One could say the answer is not farfetched; that development is contextualized as a general term in the Brundtland report’s definition
and may need to be adapted to different fields of study as appropriate. In the construction, building
and civil engineering projects are the final products of the industry. These products are aftermaths
of both design and construction. Hence, development in the construction industry means design
and construction of building and civil engineering projects. in the same vein, sustainable
development is contextualized as sustainable design and construction in this book. Hence
sustainable development in the construction industry may be described as the design and
construction of projects that meet the need of the present without jeopardizing the ability of the
future generation to design and construction their own projects (building and civil engineering).
The concept of sustainable development generated so much rift particularly between the ecologists
(identified as the pessimists) and the economist (identified as the optimists). Before then however,
there was the general notion of how sustainability could be applied to the two general sets of
nations (developed and the developing nations) in the world. The idea on one hand is that,
developed nations have depleted natural resources till date to acquire that status and it is doubtful
if the already depleted natural resources can return to status quo, hence the process of wealth
acquisition for the developed nations must be reviewed to accommodate sustainability features
that will meet up with the requirement of ensuring that the future generations are self-sustaining.
On the other hand, the developing nations are poor and can only become rich when there is
evidence of national development.
This development must henceforth be done in such a way that natural resources will not be
unsustainably depleted. It appears the developed nations have been able to manage their
developments going forward, with the establishment of several monitoring institutions and
documents to manage and control the depletion of natural resources, gas emissions and climate
change generally. Many developing nations, particularly Africa still appear to be totally naive,
unconcerned or bereft of ideas on the practice of sustainability in general. As an expression of
opinion, many African countries have a lot of political and socio-economic issues to grapple with,
hence the notion that issues relating to sustainability (balance of social, economic and
environmental issues) practice can still wait as signs of its negative effects are not already
manifesting. However, the concept of national poverty leading to environmental degradation and
depletion of natural resources (developing nation) is intertwined with the concept of already
degraded environment and depleted natural resources leading to impoverished nation (developed
nations). This drives home the connection between the practice of sustainability in developing and
developed nations. No one set between the two may be able to successfully single-handedly adopt
sustainability without the other (See further discussions on Africa and Sustainability practice in
chapter 10). This led to the ideology that sustainable development should be hinged on the
integrated solution of merging the three aspects of social and economic development with
environmental preservation. As such it could be ensured that social and economic status of nations
are matched with the preservation of the ecosystem for the upcoming generation.
Furthermore, as sustainability fall within the domain of social and natural sciences, ecologists and
economist have consistently had varying and contrary opinions about the construct. While the
ecologists opine that improvement of social welfare and economic status through the depletion of
natural resources and degradation of the environmental is detrimental to the human race because
they are hardly replaceable and the rate of consumption of the resources is well above the rate of
replenishment if there is anything of such in the first place. On the contrary, the economists agree
with the degradation of the environment and depletion of natural resources; however, they opined
that the social status attained, and economic wealth being created in the process can compensate
and substitute for the degraded environment, as such is not worth worrying about. Dwelling on the
progression of these arguments may not be so beneficial for this book; it is however worth
mentioning that there is point of convergence in both analyses. The convergence rests on the
creation of social and economic wealth through natural environment. This book takes the
dimension of the ecologists which states that, economic prowess and healthy social status is based
on healthy and natural environment. Therefore, balance must be struck among the three of them
before one can truly acclaim sustainable development. Hence, the three constructs are
interdependent, and one should not be left to suffer at the expense of the other.
Flint (2013) argues that regardless of the opinions and who is right between the natural and social
scientists, the following reasonable and logical facts should make every nation and persons buy in
to the principle of sustainable design and construction:
•
Natural resources are limited: the earth itself is closed and the natural resources upon
which human beings survive are enclosed within it. It was argued that (based on the first
law of thermodynamics that things are not created or destroyed, they are just transformed)
the enclosure of the earth means that there are ecological limits that must not be strained
in the face of man’s insatiable needs and ever-growing world population. Hence, natural
resources must not be consumed beyond the limit of reversibility.
•
Change is a constant and should be expected: the fact that the previous global practice
centres around economic wealth and social improvement should not preclude the new
discovery on taking the continuously depleted natural resources into consideration
especially when it is an important element of the global system upon which the inhabitants
of the earth subsist.
•
All social and economic prowess are entrenched in a healthy environment: as
mentioned earlier, the natural environment is the basic source of economic wealth and
social health, hence the hinge to human existence on earth. Therefore, human activities
must ensure that environmental continuity is not hampered in anyway or else human being
will go to extinction at some point.
•
The elements of the global system are interrelated: as a follow up to the first point, there
is a globally complex, systemic and dynamic interrelationship among economy, society
and the environment. Sustainability then means that the interconnectedness of all the
elements (however disconnected they appear) must be analyzed such that the environment,
social status and economic impetus of nations and individuals remains balanced. Therefore,
none of these elements can be treated in isolation to achieve sustainability.
•
Systemic diversity contributes to stability and resilience: it is important that the global
system be planned for stability and resilience in the long-term at best, perpetuity. Resilience
in the socio-economic activities of human communities is determined by the level of
diversity within the complex global system.
•
Equity is the basis of functional systems: justice is required in the distribution of social
and economic wealth of every nation. Also, there must be equal opportunity for everyone
to access and utilize the available resources of a nation. It is only this way that the practice
of sustainability can be successful without conflict and conflicting interest. Therefore, there
must be fairness in the practice of wealth accumulation and use of available resources.
•
Complex and dynamic systems often contain uncertainties within them: it must be
acknowledged that science and knowledge acquisition are inherently uncertain. They
should therefore only be updated with more enlightening information. This is applicable to
models within the context of complex systems like sustainability. Hence, solutions on
scientific and complex systems must be made within the uncertainties, bearing in mind that
more discoveries would lead to more certain results.
It is important to acknowledge that, in spite of the uncertainties that characterize science and its
complex systems, only discussions based on facts can win public sympathy. Therefore, all
scientific arguments may be restricted to scientific discussions while public engagements are based
on the identified facts. Hence, these facts should be basis upon which the need to practice
sustainable design and construction should be based to amass public agreement.
Objectives of sustainable development
Having established that, in the midst of uncertainties and misalignment, there are sufficient
reasons for the urgent need and shift in purpose to practice sustainability in both the developed
and countries. It is not sufficient to just understand the concept of sustainable design and
construction; it is more important to understand the objectives that underpin the clamour for its
adoption for effective practice. Just as the definition and understanding of sustainable development
generated different ideologies and meanings to various people based on their field of practice, so
also do the objectives differ from one field to the other. What is collective is that the practice of
sustainable development is human-centred and without the violation of environmental quality. The
following are the objectives of sustainable development that cuts across every field of study (Lele,
1991; Sinha et al. 2013):
•
•
•
To provide assistance for the poor since they have to degrade and destroy their
environment to improve their conditions
To advance self-reliance of people within the constraints of natural resources
To promote cost-effective development using traditional economic criteria
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
To ameliorate the huge problems of health management, technology advancement, food
self-reliance, pollution, energy utilization, unemployment, access to clean water and
accommodation for all.
To advance individuals focused initiatives
To coordinate the protection of natural resources with global development
To accomplish value and social equity
To give social self-assurance and cultural diversity to people
To maintain ecological integrity
To resuscitate and change the nature of development
To ensure sustainable level of population
To conserve and improve asset base of nations
To re-arrange innovation and manage risk
To combine environmental and economic possibilities during decision making
To re-situate international monetary relations
To make development to be more participatory
To reuse and recycle materials
To reduce environmental impacts of human activities
To control emission of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide and close high-pollution
thermal power plants
The aim of sustainable building and construction is to provide aesthetics, comfortable and
affordable construction project that does not violate environmental constraints. The following
objectives are specific to the sustainable design and construction (Kates et al., 2005; Kim, 1998):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
To promote efficient use of energy, water and other resources
To promote occupants’ health and safety and improve employees’ satisfaction and
productivity on construction sites
To reduce waste on construction sites
To reduce environmental pollution due to construction activities
To reduce environmental degradation due to extraction of construction raw materials
To promote renewability of consumed energy
To promote health and safety practice on construction
To protect biodiversity
To embrace diversity for the gains of sustainable development
To encourage training on the practice of sustainable development
To encourage employees’ share of ownership in construction organization
To reducing the impact of occupancy and post occupancy of construction projects
To improve the life cycle analysis/costing of construction projects
Elements of sustainable building design and construction
Regardless of the field of study, sustainable development consists of three aspects of economic,
social and environmental development. In the past, national and global development is measured
with social status and economic prosperity with little or no consideration for environmental
impacts of those developments. This situation is not different in the micro sector of the construction
industry as construction projects were only based on the traditional procurement process whose
success criteria is also traditionally based on cost, time and quality performance. As an
improvement to these criteria especially after the mention of the need to consider the
environmental impact of human activities in the Brundtland report, project success criteria started
considering some environmental criteria by itemizing them among other project success criteria.
These environmental criteria became subjective as there was no basis upon which the
environmental impact of construction activities can be determined. However, recently, with the
integration of the traditional construction process with the environmental impact of construction
activities, sustainability justifiably became the sole criterion upon which design and construction
of projects are based. Hence, to discuss the elements of sustainable design and construction, there
is need to consider the triple bottom aspects of sustainable development.
Aspects of sustainable design and construction
There are basically three aspects of sustainable development. These three aspects are interrelated,
and no one could be achieved to the detriment of the other. Hence, a balance must be struck within
them to achieve sustainable design and construction. The three aspects are (Akadiri, 2012;
Thomashow, n.d):
•
•
•
Environment aspect
Social aspect
Economic aspect
Environmental aspect: Environmental aspect involves ensuring that human activities do not
bastardize the natural resources upon which global sustenance is hinged. That means the
environment must be protected against damaging activities. To achieve this balance, issues such
as use of land, reduction of mining activities and so on must come to the fore. This will ensure
reduced global climate change and carbon emission among others. Methods of minimizing this
environmental impact of construction activities include adoption of mixed-use development,
protection and enhancement of biodiversity, protection of agricultural lands, efficient energy
consumption, calculated resource degradation, creation of habitat, improvement of water and air
quality by minimizing carbon emission, waste reduction and elimination, prevention of the breach
of environmental requirements, reuse and recycling, sustainable transportation plan, conservation
of excess water and energy and landscaping activities among others. In the construction industry,
environmental aspects could mean energy efficiency, design for life cycle costing, use of local
materials for construction, waste minimization through lean design and construction.
Environmental or natural resources can be classified into at least six as follows:
•
•
•
•
Non-recyclable and non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels
Recyclable but non-renewable resources such as mineral resources
Rapidly renewable resources such as fish
Slowly renewable resources such as timber
•
•
Natural resources such as air, soil, water
Flowing resources such as wind and solar energy
Economic aspect: the economic aspect refers to the level of global, national and individual wealth.
It involves maintenance of high level of macro and micro economic growth and unemployment.
A sustainable economy is expected to be stimulating, resilient, environment conscious and
available to all the members or individuals that are stakeholders in the economy. Sustainable
economy does not give room to inequality or concentration of wealth in the hand of a few members
of a community. Sustainable economy must be multifaceted through availability of means of
livelihood for everyone in the working class. It must generate sufficient fund to finance the poor
and public-sector projects, exportation of national goods for revenue and importation for national
needs. Sustainable economy can be achieved through the creation of enabling environment for
revenue generation, dedication of adequate land space for agricultural investment, attraction of
investors, promotion of locally produced goods and services, creation of international trade
relationships to generate revenue and jobs and ensure that national fortune is equitably distributed.
In the construction industry, sustainable economy could mean improvement of productivity,
employees’ satisfaction, profit maximization, suppliers’ satisfaction, clients’ satisfaction, reduced
construction defects, construction cost and time savings and predictability among others.
Social aspect: the social aspect of sustainable development means that every member of a
community must have access to decent accommodation, employment, transportation, education,
health services and other social amenities for full incorporation to culture and politics of the
community. Social aspect of sustainability works in conjunction with the economic and
environmental aspects of sustainability for full stability. The method of achieving equitable social
amenities across the people regardless of their income and ages include allowance of nondiscriminatory participation in public affairs and decisions, embracing of arts and different cultural
values, provision of assistance to less privilege persons in the community, promotion of
developmental ideas, public health, public services and recreational services to all members of a
community. Social aspect of the construction industry could mean provision of workers training
and assessment, level playing field and opportunities for all and healthy and safe work
environment, motivation and morale boosting activities, all-inclusive decision-making process,
minimization of noise effects, traffic effects, project delay, effective communication procedure,
building local economy through procurement and employment, establishment of long-term
connection with clients and local supplier and giving clients best value for money among others.
The relationship among these three aspects of social, economic and environmental stability have
usually been represented with various diagrams. Popular and most common among the diagrams
are the three interconnected circles where the intersection point is termed sustainability. This book
cannot agree less that the interconnection of the three aspects is sustainability. Beyond that
however, this book posits that the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainable
development make up project success for sustainable design and construction projects. Hence,
sustainability is replaced with project success and also regarded as the only criterion for modern
day construction projects.
Environmental sustainability
Project success
Economic sustainability
Social sustainability
Figure 5.1: Aspects of sustainability in construction projects
More specifically, Table 5.1 describes the economic, social and environmental aspects of
sustainable design and construction (SDC) of projects.
Table 5.1: Elements of sustainable design and construction
Economic aspect of SDC
1. Energy conservation
• Passive cooling and heating
• Avoid of heat loss and gain
• Use low energy incarnate
materials
• Use energy efficient appliances
with timing devices
• Alternative energy source
• Energy conserving site and urban
planning
•
•
•
•
•
2. Water conservation
Reduce low flow shower heads
Reduce vacuum assist toilet
Reduce aboriginal landscaping
Reuse collected rainwater
Reuse collected graywater
3. Material conservation
• Renovate existing structure
• Material conserving design and
construction
• Adopt reclaimed and recycled
materials
• Well-sized building system
• Use non-traditional building
materials
4.
Serviceable construction
Social aspect of SDC
1. Preserve national conditions
• Understand effect of design on
environment
• Respect topographies
• Do not obstruct water table
level
2.
•
•
•
•
3.
Urban design and site
planning
Avoid pollution
Promote
multi-use
development
Provide
human
centred
transportation
Factor construction design
into transportation
Design for human comfort
thermal comfort
visual comfort
acoustic comfort
adequate daylighting
operable windows
good indoor air quality
designs to accommodate
physically challenge
• non-toxic materials
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
4.
Access to services
Environmental aspect of SDC
1. Ecological
sustainable
materials
• Use materials from renewable
sources
• Use
harvested
materials
without environmental damage
• Use recycled materials
• Use recyclable materials
• Use low maintenance materials
• Minimize needed energy for
material distribution
2. Minimize site impact
• Do waste separation activities
• Use non-toxic materials to
improve workers’ health
3.
4.
5.
6.
Reduction of gas emission
Reduced
freshwater
consumption
Change of land use policies
towards
environmental
preserve
Reuse land and existing
structures
5.
6.
7.
Life cycle costing
Maintainable structural
components
Adaptable structures
5.
Health and safety
From Table 5.1 it could be observed that the elements of sustainable design and construction under
the three aspects of sustainability are intertwined as some of them could not but appear under more
than one aspect. Therefore, it becomes almost obvious that no one aspect can stand alone, and the
achievement of success in one or two of the three aspects do not result in project success or
sustainable design and construction.
Characteristics of sustainable design and construction
For construction projects to be successfully achieved, it must possess certain characteristics.
These characteristics are summarized as follow (Emas, 2015; Lylykangas, 2016):
Sustainable design and construction Planning
The initial move toward sustainable design and construction is arranging for protection and
conservation amid the perusing, pre-design and eventually the design stages. The initial phase in
this procedure is the investigation of how existing building assets can be reused. Reusing existing
structures and materials conserves natural resources, and brings down the general cost of design
and construction. Protection of open space and existing vegetation reduces the negative effects of
a building on the environment. Little and basic measures taken on any project to conserve space,
materials, and energy could indicate critical effect on sustainable design and construction.
Planning is all an act of pre-construction and it forms part of the design and construction process.
Hence, discussions on steps toward sustainability of construction projects should form the basis of
the initial workshop among project team members in an integrated design and construction
procedure. The discussion should be all-encompassing and cut across all the elements of
sustainable design and construction as earlier discussed.
Choice of sustainable construction site
The choice of construction site for a sustainable project must be carefully done. Selection of
brownfield or greyfield is usually advised and preferred to greenfield wherever possible. New
developments on destinations that have fragile biological communities should generally be
avoided. An appropriate construction site usually includes zone outside of a building itself and
addresses issues relating to landscape, overflow, waste, drainage and dregs control. Building
arrangement usually affects a community, water cycle, and amount and nature of water overflow.
Landscaping should be done in such a manner that it protects normal seepage framework, water
cycle of the site, limits erosion and sedimentation for cleaner overflow. The trapping of storm
water overflow and redirecting it back to the original channel lessens total sewer stacks and limits
capability of road flooding. Lessening disintegration and sedimentation of waterways considers
more beneficial aquaculture as well as diminishes future expenses to repair hindered waterways.
The key points to note in this section include:
•
Choice of brownfield or grey field for construction
•
•
•
•
Construction orientation and site landscape must be highly prioritized
Less energy, time and cost should be expended on transportation
Minimal footprint due to environmental degradation must be ensured
Urban fabrics that are also non-toxic must be used
Efficient use of water in construction project
Water efficiency relates to the use of water by a construction framework and its users. This process
starts with general preservation of water through decreased consumption of portable water. Also,
Efficient use of water in a building does not just lessen the impact of construction on freshwater
resources, it likewise brings about money related savings. Use of rainwater and greywater reduces
pressure on the use of portable water. Water preservation largely rely on the level of education of
construction project’s users and their commitment to the course. Be that as it may, programmed
sensors and controls on water installation facilities should be adopted for this exercise. The key
points to note for water efficiency in construction projects include the following among others:
•
•
•
•
Use of rainwater gutter to collect water for reuse
Use of grey water
Use of green roof
Low water usage system should be put in place
Energy efficient construction project
The initial phase in planning an energy efficient construction project is setting up the mutual
benefit of maximizing energy efficiency between the client, designers/consultants and
contractor/representative. Energy efficiency demand that all project team members cooperate and
meet on a regular basis to ensure continuous homogeneity of idea all through the procedure. Setting
energy efficiency as a high priority criterion ensures that a significant measure greenhouse gas
produced into the air is reduced and additionally, alleviates global climate change. Like water
proficiency, energy efficiency measures such as the use of monitors, sensors and control
mechanisms must be considered in all parts of a construction project. For all construction projects,
whole-life costing analysis must be done to determine the cost impact of construction and its
operations. The key points to note for energy efficient construction projects among others are:
•
•
•
•
Energy saving appliances and measures must be adopted
Energy production option must be considered
Natural lighting in a construction project must be prioritized
Artificial lighting of construction project must be efficient
Indoor Environmental Quality
Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) of a building impacts the well-being, productivity and general
health status of users building. The IEQ considers contamination levels of indoor conditions
(caused by unsafe chemicals) and additionally level of thermal control and aesthetics of a
construction project. The IEQ is particularly necessary to consider as its negative impacts lead to
poor indoor air quality in a building and is easily manifested in the health of the users. These
impacts incorporate decreased profitability and productivity in work. It also expands distress in
workplaces and lead to building-related diseases such as asthma and other related diseases. To this
end, non-toxic materials are recommended for use with a sustainable building. Where toxic
materials become inevitable, they should be low-toxic materials and must be introduced in such a
way that their effects will be minimal on indoor air quality. Natural lighting and ventilation
improves the indoor air quality of a construction project by enabling outside air to course through
a construction space and diffused sunlight to brighten spaces better than artificial lighting. The key
points to note under indoor environmental quality are:
•
•
•
•
Noise disruption must be prevented
Wind movement must be harnessed
Quality indoor air quality must be provided
Adequate daylighting must be provided
Use of sustainable materials for construction projects
Choice of materials for sustainable construction is more than choosing material based on cost
effectiveness or aesthetics. Material selection for sustainable construction must be based on life
cycle analysis, durability, impact of the material on construction project, its users and the
environment at large. Sustainable construction materials must be deliberately selected with the
consideration of its source and destination. The extraction of the raw materials used to produce the
material, its fabrication and the transportation must equally be accorded careful consideration.
Materials whose source and destination at the production, transportation and use are the same are
preferred to those that will end up as a waste. Use of locally, renewable and recyclable materials
have the capacity to reduce energy utilization and total cost of generating, transportation and using
non-locally produced construction materials.
Effective waste management system
Effective waste management technique is important for a sustainable construction project to be
successful. Controlling waste generation during construction is significant because most waste is
generated during the occupancy stage of a construction project. During construction, waste may
be greatly reduced by adopting modular construction techniques which ensure that material
assembly is based on modular sizes, thereby decreasing the quantity of material waste generated.
Off-site or Pre-fabricated construction materials also have the capacity to reduce the amount of
waste generated on a construction site. Also, it is desirable to engage waste management
organizations whose responsibility on waste management is to guarantee that material waste is
recycled or renewed somehow rather than ending in landfill as could reasonably be expected.
Waste reduction activities can be incorporated into the construction users during the occupancy
stage of a construction project by assigning designated spots for waste disposal and segregation.
All construction projects are expected to utilize waste disposal monitors and tracking systems to
measure the quantity of waste generated and reduced during construction.
Public enlightenment
A project team member or an externally engaged personnel should be saddled with the
responsibility of advancing instructive teaching or enlightenment exercise to the community
members and the entire populace, in relation to the operational changes and innovative ideas
introduced in the construction of the project. Part of the enlightenment should incorporate
enlightenments on the best ways to imbibe sustainability practice into their daily living, including
the design and construction of the built environment. Every construction project should be an
opportunity for members of the community to learn new things concerning the practice of
sustainability in their daily living. For all construction projects, life cycle costing (LCC) analysis
must be conducted to show the impact of estimated cost on construction projects and operations.
Discussion on the concept of sustainability and its challenges
The concept of sustainability generally appears simple or oversimplified especially when its
definition and the aspects it covered are put into consideration. However, implementation of the
requirements and elements of its success appear difficult. Therefore, there are various global issues
that affect sustainability. One of such issues is the supposed lack of consensus about the certainty
of the need to live sustainably in every aspect of our daily living. The people behind this argument
are basically the pessimists (ecologist) and the optimists (economists). With these sets of beliefs,
the way to convince the general public about the need to live sustainably is to strike a balance
between the belief of the economist and the ecologists. Further to this challenge also is the debate
of the need to consider environmental preservation while accumulating social and economic
wealth. this is more so because economists argue that human resources can substitute or
compensate for lost natural resources and waste generated in the process.
The issue of social, political and economic inequality among nations and individuals appear to
pose a major threat to the practice of sustainable development around the world. The less privilege
nations and individuals may feel cheated about withdrawing from their environment to create
national or individual wealth, especially when the call for sustainability is coming from the
quarters of nations that are not only wealthy but have significantly degraded their own environment
to amass the economic wealth and social status. To overcome this challenge, there may be the need
to find a way to appeal the sense of reasoning of aggrieved nations or persons. In addition,
changing the status quo is not always easy and it may take some time and deliberate effort to see
adaption towards sustainable development. This situation is more compounded as the concept of
sustainable development is more of futuristic (planning) than the present. That is, the effects of not
living sustainably is not evident especially in climes where changes in environmental degradation,
climate change and the so on are not conspicuous.
Another challenge is inherent in the uncertainty that beclouds the benefits of sustainable
development in terms of cost and strategies of implementation in certain aspects. Besides,
whatever the benefits appear to be, they are usually not based on instant gratifications, thus
discouraging channeling of efforts in that direction especially from the poor nations who have only
little to expend on their huge immediate needs. In addition, the challenges of sustainable
development may cut across all nations in the world, it may also however, be different in
magnitude, scope and specificity from one country or continent to the other. For instance, carbon
emission may be a sustainability challenge in more advanced countries of Europe but may not be
the case in some other less developed nations. Theirs may just be the need to protect biodiversity.
Sustainable concepts appear to assume that the problems are the same across all nations and this
may not be right. Hence, there may be the need to determine the sustainable development
challenges as they relate to different nations so that they can be tackled according and avoid
wasteful efforts of doing the wrong thing. Also, since economic and social development have been
the focus of many nations before the introduction of the concept of sustainable development,
sustainability appears to be addressing only environmental conservation issues and sometimes at
the expense of economic and social development. Although, this is against the holistic preaching
of sustainability that it is meant to strike a balance among environmental, social and economic
equity. Based on all these general challenges of sustainable development, its lack of
implementation has been aggravated by the following reasons:
•
Conflicting objectives, techniques and analyses of the need to adopt sustainability across
nations especially between the developed and developing ones.
•
Economic insufficiency of mostly less developed nations
•
High unemployment rate in a community or nation
•
Lack of responsibility in government, enterprises and human conducts
•
Inaccurate impression about other countries or communities
•
Concentration of money and power in the hands of a few citizens or members of a
community
•
Imbalance between work, family and other activities
•
Lack of comprehension of human association with nature
•
Lack of trust in "the other"; and
•
An economy driven by benefits thought processes, insatiability and utilization of
accumulated wealth
If all these challenges are allowed to continually thrive, there is likelihood that the practice of
sustainable development will remain impracticable in certain parts of the world like Africa where
most of the challenges are evidently present. The concept of sustainable development should not
be perceived to entail basically environmental conservation because it has been made understood
that there is an interrelationship among the three (environment, social and economic) aspects of
sustainable development and none of them can stand in isolation to be called sustainable
development.
There is a need to make a case for sustainable development despite all the challenges that have
been pinpointed. This case could only be made based on the facts about human existence and its
environments as discussed earlier. These facts should make all and sundry to solidarize with the
adoption of sustainable development and put all misunderstanding and arguments to the past. For
nations that may appear to care less about practicing sustainable development, they should expect
the problems of environmental degradation, climate change and carbon dioxide emission to
conspicuously diffuse to them in a short time. Hence, the need to embrace the global concept of
sustainable development.
Summary of chapters
This chapter discusses the concept of sustainability otherwise regarded as sustainable
development. After careful description of design and construction, the chapter defined the term
sustainable design and construction. Furthermore, the chapter explained the origin of sustainable
development and links it with the concept of sustainable design and construction. The arguments
that ensued between the ecologists and the economics and were discussed in this chapter.
Subsequently, the facts about human and its environments were logically discussed as the basis
for relegating the arguments of the economists and the ecologists to the background and then
embracing the practice of sustainable development across all nations. Also in this chapter, the
objectives of practicing sustainable development (general and specific objectives) and the aspects
of sustainable development were discussed. The elements and characteristics of sustainable design
and construction projects were also discussed in this chapter. Lastly, there was a discussion on the
concepts of sustainable development and its general challenges on implementation before chapter
was summarized.
References
Akadiri, P. O., Chinyio, E. A. and Olomolaiye, P. O. (2012). Design of a sustainable building: a
conceptual framework for implementing sustainability in the building sector. Buildings, 2,
126-152
Cortese, A. J. and Thomashow, M. (2014). The nine elements of a sustainable campus. Accessed
on 18th June 2017 at www.mitpress.mit.edu
Emas, R. (2015). The concept of sustainable development: definition and defining principles.
www.sustainabledevelopment.un.org
Flint, R. W. (2013). Basics of sustainable development. Springer Science and Business Media
Harris, J. M. (2000). Basic principles of sustainable development. Global development and
environment institute, Tufts University
Hussin, J. M., Rahman, I. A. and Memmon, A. H. (2013). The way forward in sustainable
construction: issues and challenges. International Journal of Advances in Applied Sciences,
2 (1) 15-24
Kates, R. W., Parris, R. M. and Leiserowitz, A. A. (2005). What is sustainable development?
Goals, indicators, value and practice. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable
Development, 47 (3) 8-21
Kim, J. (1998). Introduction to sustainable design. National population prevention centre for
higher education, University Avenue
Lele, S. M. (1991). Sustainable development: a critical review. World Development, 19 (5) 607621
Lylykangas, K. (2016). How to measure sustainability? The assessment of sustainability in
construction and architecture. Accessed on 18th June 2017 at www.ril.fi
Sinha, A., Gupta, R. and Kutnar, A. (2013). Sustainable development and green buildings.
Drvnaindustrija, 64 (1) 45-53
Chapter 6
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Sustainable Design and Construction Assessment Tools
Abstract
The sustainable design and construction assessment tool is a necessary document that act as
guideline for determining the extent to which a construction project meets the criteria for
sustainable development. However, there different versions of the assessment tools based on
country specificity such as geographical location, cultural differences and climate conditions.
Therefore, it is necessary to cross-examine the early and commonly used sustainability assessment
tools based on the criteria and points allocated to each of them. This was necessary to enable
countries in Africa identify the relevant criteria to be inserted in their assessment documents and
the points to be allocated to each of them. Hence, the assessment tools considered include the
BREEM, LEED, BEAM, Green Globe, Green star, CASBEE and Green Mark scheme among
others.
Keywords: Africa, Building code, Green building, Sustainability assessment tool, Sustainable
construction, Sustainable design
Introduction
This chapter discusses the tools that are used by various countries to assess and rate the level of
sustainability of construction projects for design, construction and occupancy. The examination of
the assessment tools is necessary to determine the suitability or adaptability of the tools for
measuring the sustainability level of construction projects in Africa. Therefore, of importance in
this chapter is the examination of the criteria used to determine the sustainability level of
construction projects.
Nomenclatures of sustainable design and construction assessment tools
The green building tool is a document that is used to examine and rate the level of compliance of
a building with different aspects of sustainable development during the design, construction and
occupancy of the building. This tool has been designated with various nomenclatures in literature
among which are the following (Portalatin et al., 2015; Vierra, 2016; Say and Wood, 2008;
Nalewaik and Venters, 2008; Sebake, 2008):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Green building rating system
Green building tool
Building environment assessment tool
Building environment assessment method
Building environment assessment system
Environment assessment tool
Environmental assessment framework
Sustainable rating system
Rating systems
Green building standards and certification systems
Sustainable building rating system
Green building certification system
Green building guidelines
In this book, sustainable design and construction assessment tool is adopted:
•
•
to suit the title of the book and hence be consistent
to ensure that the assessment tool is not only covering buildings or environment but the
entire design and construction process which covers both the building and its surroundings.
Also, green construction is only an aspect of sustainability that is being covered in the
assessment tools, therefore, the use of green is found unsuitable for use in this book.
Green building codes
Since realizing of the need to live and construct sustainably, many countries around the world have
developed different ways by which both new and existing construction projects can be made to be
sustainable so that the global effects of construction activities on the environment may be greatly
minimized. in view of these, countries, especially the developed ones instituted many
organizations to administer various codes for design and construction of projects. Hence, such
projects were expected to design and build in compliance with the minimum specifications for
construction. These codes, usually referred to as green codes were basically implemented by
government units and authorities to ensure that construction projects satisfy requirements relating
to both environmental and material concerns among others. The codes were basically mandatory
(as opposed to sustainable design and construction assessment that were voluntary) minimum
requirements that were either in prescriptive or performance format (Vierra, 2016).
The prescriptive format: specifies the minimum requirements for materials and plant that will be
used on construction projects.
The performance format: is designed to ensure that a construction project achieves a certain
performance level at the end of construction rather than prescribing requirements for various
elements of the construction project. The green codes were aimed at achieving efficiency in the
areas of:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Planning, design and construction of projects
Water efficiency and conservation
Energy efficiency and conservation
Material conservation
Resource efficiency and
Environmental quality
The green building codes were found to be good in certain aspects but inefficient to satisfy the
requirements of sustainable design and construction because they were mostly based on single or
multiple attributes at best. While single attribute codes addressed only a single item of sustainable
development criteria, multiple attributes codes addressed more than one item of sustainable
development but does not address sustainability criteria in its entirety. Types of green codes that
were used in the past among others include the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The California green building standards code (CALGreen Code)
Energy star
Forest stewardship
SCS global services
Green seal
Cradle to cradle
Green guard
Green squared
Types of sustainable design and construction assessment tools
Due to the inefficiencies of the green building codes, enlightened clients began to clamor for more
integrated approach to achieving sustainable design and construction of projects rather than the
single or multiple attribute green codes. In view of this, professionals in the construction industry
of developed countries came together to formulate ideas on how integrated sustainability features
may be introduced to construction projects. This forms the genesis of the existence of sustainable
design and construction assessment tool.
The sustainable design and construction assessment tools are mostly simply understood,
implemented and applicable to most types of construction projects (interior and exterior spaces).
Also, many of the sustainable design and construction assessment tools were either developed
based on peculiarities (climate, geographical conditions, etc.) of the countries where they are to be
used or adapted from the ones used by other countries to suit the situation of the adopting country.
Sustainable design and construction assessment tools are administered using two basic techniques
(Reijnders and van Roekel, 1999; Gibberd, 2002; Forsberg and von Malmborg, 2004):
Quantitative assessment technique
The quantitative assessment technique involves the adoption of quantitative data (life cycle
assessment tool) to conduct the life cycle assessment of a construction project. The quantitative
assessment technique also includes some qualitative assessment criteria that require careful and
precise treatment.
Qualitative assessment technique
This technique is based on the assessment of the design and construction of a project based on
selected (environmental) criteria for which different parts or sections of a building earns score
before it is finally rated as a whole. This technique is the currently commonly used method of
assessment in many parts of world and will be discussed subsequently in this chapter. The
qualitative assessment technique requires that there is an expert that will be involved in the rating
process of the construction projects. The qualitative assessment technique is also referred to as the
environmental assessment framework and rating system.
The qualitative assessment technique is the focus of this study because it represents the bulk of the
assessment methods that are used and recognized for certifying green buildings around the world.
It is acknowledged that there many sustainable design and construction assessment tools that are
already developed (in use) and being developed. While some are adapted for use in other countries,
others were entirely newly developed. The reasons for ensuring that adapted sustainable design
and construction assessment tools are countries specific are:
•
Differences in the climatic conditions of countries and continents. This does not only
affect the climate, it also includes level of development, expertise, readiness of the
government and clients among others.
Differences in the management and practices of construction across countries. These
differences normally ensure that that the risks and risk mitigation techniques are different.
Differences in the type and nature of infrastructural projects that are being constructed.
This include the amount of waste generated during construction and the ability to recycle
those wastes among others.
•
•
Characteristics of adapted sustainable design and construction assessment tools
As a result of these differences, there is need to ensure that adapted sustainable design and
construction assessment tool are:
•
•
Available in local languages of the country that adapted them
Nationally recognized and endorsed by the government, professional organizations and
the citizens.
•
•
•
•
•
Consistent with other international standards and sustainability design and construction
assessment tool.
Appropriate and fashioned towards local/regional contents and conditions
Comparable with similar sustainable construction projects in other parts of the world
Developed in conjunction with local experts to fully identify and include local contents
Able to generate income for the adapting country or the organization responsible for
certifying sustainable construction projects
Advantages of adapting sustainable design and construction assessment tools
Based on the characteristics of adapted sustainable design and construction tools, it presents the
following benefits to the adapting nations at large:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
It is recognized and endorsed by the people and the government.
It is available for use in both the local and international languages
It affords the nation the opportunity to claim ownership of the tool
It has the opportunity of being fashioned in line with what is obtainable in the country
(local content).
Adaptation ensures that resources are saved and knowledge of the tool that is adapted is
optimized.
It has the opportunity of being a source of revenue generation.
It covers the whole life cycle of sustainable design and construction projects.
Sustainable Design and Construction Assessment Tools
There are many sustainable design and construction assessment tools that are used by different
countries to rate construction projects, however, the following common ones are considered in this
book:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)
Building Environmental Assessment Method Plus (BEAM Plus)
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Ecology, Energy reduction, Waste reduction and Health (EEWH)
Green Globes
Comprehensive assessment system for building environmental efficiency (CASBEE)
Indian Green Building certification
Korean Green Building Certification
Green star
Green Building Standard
LIDER A
Haute Qualite Environnementale
•
•
•
•
Green Mark Scheme
3 Star
Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA)
German Sustainable Building Certificate (GSBC)
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)
The initial sustainable design and construction assessment tool was developed in the United
Kingdom in the 1990s by the Building Research Establishment (BRE). The establishment sought
to act as a voluntary organization for ensuring that willing persons and organizations get their
buildings certified for sustainable development. As a result of this intention, the BREEAM was
established in 1990 as the first recognized assessment or rating tool to certifying building for
sustainable development. This tool ensured that people build voluntarily beyond the requirements
of the subsisting code in the UK. The assessment requires that a third party that is trained and
knowledgeable in practices that enhance sustainability features in the design and construction of
projects is engaged to man the process.
While the BREEAM was functioning in the UK, 14 countries which include Austria, Canada,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland,
United Kingdom and United States commenced the process of ensuring that sustainable building
design and construction process was prioritized across many European countries in 1996 (IFMA,
2015). By 1998, these countries that amass about 50% of the total volume of construction activities
in the world formed the World Green Building Challenge (WGBC). It was the formation of the
WGBC that informed the national green building councils of constituent countries to formulate
sustainable design and construction assessment tool for their countries or adapt an existing one for
certification purposes. The sustainable design and construction assessment tool that began as a
voluntary process is now being made to be mandatory in many countries especially those ones that
have projected a certain percentage of their construction projects to be green/sustainable at a
certain pre-agreed year.
The BREEAM is applicable to structures such as industrial, multi-residential, educational and
office projects among others. The following steps apply to the application of BREEAM to
construction projects:
•
Registration
•
Assessment of construction project by a third party known as BREEAM assessor
•
Filling of assessment report by the assessor
•
Review of assessment report
•
Award of certificate
The BREEAM is applied at the following phases of construction projects:
•
Planning phase
•
Design phase
•
Management/construction phase
•
Operation phase
Based on the phases covered, the following categories are the thrust of the BREEAM:
•
Management
•
Health and well-being
•
Energy
•
Transport
•
Water
•
Land use and ecology
•
Materials
•
Waste and pollution
In addition, the BREEAM assesses construction projects with the following criteria and scores at
the various phases of its application:
•
Site selection (20.34%)
•
Water (2.26%)
•
Energy (32.71%)
•
Materials and resources (13.50%)
•
Indoor environmental quality (12.89%)
•
Project management (12.05%) and
•
Other sustainable criteria (6.25%)
Based on the level of satisfaction of the criteria for determining the sustainability of construction
projects, they are scored with the following points:
•
< 30% (unclassified)
•
30 – 45% (Pass)
•
45 – 55% (Good)
•
55 – 70% (Very good)
•
> 70% (Excellent)
•
> 85% (Outstanding)
During the application of BREEAM to construction projects, factors such as climate, ecology,
materials and resources, culture, construction operations, building regulation, infrastructure,
historical context and political decisions are considered for scoring. Currently, BREEAM has
registered up to 714,000 buildings till date and certified up to 116,000 of them
(www.breglobal.com). BREEAM is being used in the United Kingdom and adapted by the Green
Building Councils (GBC) of the Republic of Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Turkey,
Iceland, Romania and Spain among others. Apart from these countries, many top organizations
such as Toyota and Price Waterhouse Coopers have encouraged the adoption of BREEAM for the
rating of construction projects.
Building Environmental Assessment Method Plus (BEAM Plus)
The BEAM was developed in Hongkong in 1996 by the Hongkong Green Building Council
(HKGBC) to certify and ensure that buildings in Hongkong are built sustainably. The sustainable
design and construction assessment tool was first named HK-BEAM; in 2010 however, the
HKGBC improved the HK BEAM and named it BEAM Plus. The HKGBC was constituted by the
Construction Industry Council (CIC), Business Environment Council (BEC), BEAM society and
the Professional Green Building Council (PGBC). The BEAM plus, just like the BREEAM
requires that trained and HKGBC accredited personnel called the “BEAM Pro” are engaged by
clients to ensure that projects that seek certification meet the criteria for sustainable development.
The BEAM plus certification was designed to be valid for a period of five (5) years. The BEAM
plus is designed to be administered on existing and new buildings and assesses construction
projects based on the following criteria:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Site aspect
Material aspect
Energy use
Water use
Indoor environmental quality
Innovation
The certification is graded based on (1) Gold and (2) Platinum
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Just like the other sustainable design and construction assessment tools, the Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) was established by the United State Green Building Council
(USGBC) in 1998. The LEED is applied to both new construction and existing buildings. The
LEED is applied to construction projects such as offices, neighborhood development, retail,
healthcare, schools, commercial interior, and homes among others. For new construction
(measured at 16-24 months after occupancy), the LEED comprises of the following criteria:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sustainable sites
Water efficiency
Energy and atmosphere
Materials and resources
Indoor environmental quality
Innovation and design process
(14 credits)
(5 credits)
(6 credits)
(14 credits)
(15 credits)
(5 credits)
For existing buildings (large buildings usually above 50,000 sq.ft), the criteria for assessing
construction projects are:
•
•
•
Sustainable sites
Water efficiency
Energy and atmosphere
(14 credits)
(5 credits)
(14 credits)
The latest version of LEED is LEED 4.0 that was upgraded from LEED 3.0 and LEED 2.2
respectively. The difference between the two versions is in their weighting. Table 6.1 compares
the points awarded for the criteria in LEED 2.2 and LEED 3.0.
Table 6.1: Comparison between LEED 2.2 and LEED 3.0
Criteria
LEED 2.2
LEED 3.0
Site selection
19.38
24.51
Water efficiency
4.47
5.66
Energy and atmosphere
25.34
32.99
Materials and resources
20.87
13.20
Indoor environmental quality
22.38
14.14
Innovation and design process
7.46
9.40
Total points
99.9
99.9
26-32 points (certified); 33-38 points (Silver); 39-51 points (Gold); 52-69 points (Platinum)
Table 6.2 indicates the allocation of points for the criteria considered in the LEED 4.0. It also
shows the amendments that has been made to the previous versions.
Table 6.2: Allocation of points for the criteria in LEED 4.0
Criteria
LEED 4.0
Location and transportation
Sustainable sites
Water efficiency
Energy and atmosphere
Material resources
Indoor Environmental Quality
Innovation
Regional priority
16
10
11
33
13
16
6
4
Total points
110
40 – 49 points
(Certified); 50 – 59 points (Silver); 60 – 79 points (Gold); 80+ points (Platinum)
The categories of assessment when using the LEED assessment tool are:
• Awareness and education
• Energy atmosphere
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Innovation in design
• Location and linkages
• Materials and resources
• Regional priority
• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency
The process involved in the adoption of the LEED for certification of construction projects include
the following:
•
•
Registration
Design submittal
•
•
•
•
Design review
Construction submittal
Construction review
Rating award
Currently, LEED is one of the most widely adapted sustainable design and construction assessment
tool across the world (over 165 countries). Some of the leading adapters of LEED include but are
not limited to Canada, China, India, Brazil, Republic of Korea, Germany, Taiwan, United Arab
Emirates (UAE), Turkey and Sweden. LEED has certified up to 103,000 buildings since its
establishment. The LEED in addition also render services for volume certification (set of similar
buildings), LEED campus and multiple buildings (several buildings on the same site) and
government agencies (federal, state and local agencies).
Ecology, Energy Saving, Waste Reduction and Health (EEWH)
The Ecology, Energy saving, Waste reduction and Health (EEWH) was developed by the
Architecture Research Institute (ARI) of the Ministry interior in 1999 for use on construction
projects in Taiwan. The adoption of EEWH for public and government construction projects in
Taiwan is a compulsory scheme and the award/certificate is jointly issued by the Ministry of
Interior and Taiwan Green Building Council (TGBC). Over 5000 construction projects have been
certified in Taiwan since the adoption of the EEWH.
Green Globes
The Green Globes was established in 2000 by some groups in the United states and Canada.
However, it has no country affiliation like other sustainable design and construction assessment
tools. It was developed to act as an alternative to the LEED by emphasizing ease of use, low fees
and users’ education through its web-based application. The Green Globes obtains its accreditation
from the American National Standard Institute (ANSI). The Green Globes is applicable to new
building designs, renovation works, management and operation of existing buildings, building
emergency management, building intelligence and fit-up buildings among others. The Green
Globes is used for assessment of construction projects for sustainability compliance in many
countries, but it is more prominently used in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. In
Canada, Green Globes is administered by the Building Owners and Managers Association
(BOMA) with the title of BOMA best. In the United States, Green Globes is being managed by
the Green Building Initiative (GBI). The Green Globes is used at the following phases of
construction projects:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pre-design project initiation
Pre-design site analysis
Design development
Construction documentation
Construction management
Project commissioning
Each of these phases are examined with the Green Globes under the following subjects:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Energy reduction
Environmental purchasing
Site selection
Water performance
Low impact systems and materials
Emission and occupancy comfort
Since the development of the Green Globes, there have been slight changes in the contents and
modes of application in the countries where it is used. However, in all cases, the Green Globes is
heavily loaded towards energy performance of the construction projects to be assessed. Hence, the
criteria considered by the Green Globes for assessing the sustainability of construction projects are
as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Site aspect
Water performance
Energy performance
Materials and resources
Indoor Environmental Quality
Project management
(16.19)
(13.33)
(26.67)
(10.05)
(18.10)
(6.67)
Just like other sustainable design and construction assessment tools, the Green Globes requires
that a third-party assessor assists with the certification process by examining the supporting
documents for compliance with certification application.
The rating scale in the United States and Canada are as described below:
United States
•
•
•
•
35-54% (One globe)
55-69% (Two globes)
70-84% (Three globes)
85-100% (Four globes)
Canada
Basic practice compliance
70-79%
80-89%
90-99%
BOMA BEST level 1
BOMA BEST level 2
BOMA BEST level 3
BOMA BEST level 4
Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE)
The Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE) was
developed by the Japan Sustainable Building Consortium (JSBC) which was established in 2001
to assess and certify construction projects for sustainability. The CASBEE was developed to cater
for both internal and external parts of construction projects. That is, CASBEE caters for
construction projects in the areas of indoor air quality, outdoor pollution and combination of indoor
air quality and outdoor pollution. The CASBEE requires that a trained individual that has taken
and passed CASBEE exam be engaged on construction projects that seeks to obtain certification
for sustainable development. More than 450 construction projects have been certified with
CASBEE. In addition, the method used by CASBEE to assess and rate construction projects for
sustainability is quite different from the other assessment tools. It consists basically of six
categories that are partitioned into two sections as follows:
Quality
• Indoor environmental quality (IEQ)
• Quality of service
• Outdoor environment of site
•
•
•
Loading
Energy
Resources and materials
Offsite environment
The CASBEE was meant to improve the quality of lives, reduce the life-cycle of resource use and that of
environmental loads that relate to the built environment. he sustainability of construction project is
determined by finding the ratio of the “quality” to that of “Loading”. Based on this, the category
of sustainability is determined and rated as: Sustainable (S), A, B+, B- and C.
The criteria used by CASBEE to measure the sustainability of construction activities are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Energy efficiency
Resource and material
Offsite environment
Noise and acoustics
Preservation and creation of biodiversity
Thermal comfort
Lighting and illumination
Air quality
Flexibility and adaptability
Town and landscape
Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)
The IGBC was developed by the Confederation of Indian industry (CII) in 2001 for use on
construction projects in India. The CII consists of major stakeholders in the construction industry
which include the government, Architects, Builders, Quantity Surveyors, and so on. The IGBC is
design for multi-purpose adoption and it is based on the LEED. The IGBC contains schemes that
trains and offer certification programs among the citizens. India is one of the leading adopters of
sustainable design and construction assessment tools for construction projects.
Korean Green Building Certification (KGBC)
The Green Building Certification System (GBCS) is the sustainable design and construction
assessment tool that was developed in 2002 for construction projects in South Korea. The initiative
was jointly developed by the Ministry of Lands, Ministry of transport and Ministry of maritime
affairs. Currently, the name of the assessment tool has been modified to Korean Green Building
Certification (KGBC). The KGBC requires four independent external auditors (not one as in the
case of majority of the assessment tools) to verify the documentation and application of
construction projects for certification.
Green Star
The Green Star assessment tool was developed by the Green Building Council of Australia
(GBCA) in 2003 to assess and certify construction projects for sustainability. It was designed for
construction projects that are office designs, office as-built buildings, office existing buildings,
office interiors, shopping centre, health centre and education among others. The categories of the
Green Star particularly for office design, office as-built and office interior are as shown in Table
6.3. The Green Star was adapted by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) in 2007
to certify construction projects for sustainability practice. South Africa, being the first to practice
Green Building certification has since encouraged many other countries in Africa to adopt the
Green Star rating system for construction projects. The associate countries of South Africa in the
adoption of Green Star are Botswana, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia. Countries like
Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, Cote D’ Ivoire, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan and Zambia among others
are showing interest in adopting the Green Star. Nigeria and Kenya are developing local contents
to be added to the Green Star SA. Currently, Green Star SA has certified up to 200 construction
projects in the last 10 years of sustainability practice.
Table 6.3: Categories and classifications of office design, office as-built and office interior
Categories
Management
Indoor Environmental Quality
Energy
Transport
Water
Materials
Land use and ecology
Emission
Innovation
Office design/as-built
7 classifications
16 classifications
7 classifications
4 classifications
5 classifications
8 classifications
5 classifications
9 classifications
3 classifications
Office interior
6 classifications
15 classifications
4 classifications
3 classifications
1 classifications
11 classifications
6 classifications
2 classifications
3 classifications
These categories and classifications were based on the following criteria and points:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Site selection
Water
Energy
Materials and resources
Indoor Environmental Quality
Project management
Others
(19.99)
(7.14)
(24.28)
(17.85)
(23.56)
(2.14)
(5.00)
The points are distributed for certification as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
10-19 points (1 star);
20-29 points (2 star);
30-34 points (3 star); minimum point to receive certification award
45-59 points (4 star); certified rating for best practice
60-74 points (5 star); certified rating for Australian excellence
75+ points (6 stars); certified rating world leader
The processes that must be followed to qualify for the adoption of Green star for building projects
are: (1) Registration (2) Determination of submission date (3) Submission of report
(4) Award of certificate. Since the adoption of Green Star, more than 800 construction projects
have been certified and countries such as New Zealand and South Africa adapted the Green Star
Australia to suit their own purpose.
Green Building Standard
The Green Building Standard is the sustainable design and construction assessment tool of Israel
that was established by the Standard Institutions of Israel (SII) in 2005. The assessment tool was
altered and upgraded in 2011 by the Standard Institution of Israel, ministry of environmental
protection, ministry of interior, ministry of building and housing and Israeli Green Building
Council. The Green Building Standard certification is done by an auditor who would assess
construction projects in 2 stages:
•
•
Planning stage and
Construction stage.
The Green Building Standard certification usually undergo biannual review process to update it
and currently, it is awarded based on eight (8) categories using five (5) star rating system. The
Green Building Standard was intended for many large structures including industrial structures
and multi-residential buildings in the environment.
LIDER A
LIDER A is a sustainable design and construction rating tool that was developed in 2005 for use
in Portugal by Professor Pinheiro. It was designed to require a voluntary external sustainable
design and construction assessment facilitator to guide the entire project team through the design
and construction process. LIDER A was designed to cater for whole life cycle (from inception to
operation) of construction projects especially the commercial and institutional buildings. LIDER
A basically involves seven (7) categories as follows:
•
•
•
Materials and resources
Integration of local content
Environmental management
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•
•
Adaptability of socio-economy
Environmental comfort
Environmental loads
Innovation
Haute Qualite Environnementale (HQE)
The HQE was developed for assessment of construction projects for France in 2005. It requires
that an independent auditor is engaged to assess construction projects and ensure that their
applications are adequate and sufficient for certification. The HQE has 14 categories out of which
a minimum of seven (7) must be satisfied to qualify for sustainability certification. The 14
categories were divided into sections:
•
•
Environmental management system
Environmental building quality
Green Mark Scheme
The Green Mark Scheme is the sustainable design and construction assessment tool that was
created by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore in 2006. The certification
of new construction projects is compulsory in Singapore and this has probably increased the
number of certified construction projects to more than 2000 in 2014. The Green Mark basically
involves two processes:
•
•
Pre-assessment briefing with assessment teams on the requirement for getting
certifications for construction projects
Assessment and rating of construction projects based on the Green Mark sustainable
development criteria.
3-Star
The 3-Star is the sustainable design and construction assessment tool that was developed in 2006
by the Ministry of construction in China for the certification of construction projects that meet up
with documented requirements. Usually, the adoption of the 3-Star require that a building or
construction projects must have been occupied for a minimum of one year before an application
for sustainability certification can be done. This process ensures that an applicant will be able to
submit data relating to energy consumption, water use, etc. upon which certification is based.
Hence, based on the qualification of construction projects, 3-Star certification is awarded by the
Federal republic of China while the 1 Star and 2 Star are awarded at local government level.
Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA)
The Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is the sustainable design and
construction assessment tool that was developed in 2006 for use on construction projects in India
by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). The GRIHA is largely weighted towards energy
consumption, water consumption and biodiversity of large and new construction projects. The
assessment tool consists of thirty-four (34) categories and four (4) criteria. Among the 34
categories, it is compulsory to meet eight (8) of them, partly compulsory to meet four (4) of them
and the others are optional.
German Sustainable Building Certificate (GSBC)
The German Sustainable Green Building Council was responsible for developing the GSBC in
2008 based on the GB Tool and the three aspects of sustainable development (environmental,
economic and social aspect). The GSBC was designed to address the Life cycle costing (LCC) or
Life cycle analysis (LCA) of construction projects in Germany. Like other assessment tools, it
requires an external auditor to examine and guide project teams through the certification
procedure. GRIHA was adapted for use on construction projects by Austria in 2009. The processes
involved include:
•
•
Registration
Issuance of pre-certificate based on the show of intention of client to obtain the
certification
Documentation of the construction process in preparation for certification
Issuance of final certificate for compliance with the criteria for sustainable
development.
•
•
Other sustainable design and construction assessment tools
It is important to acknowledge that there are other sustainable design and construction rating tools
apart from the ones discussed. Examples of such assessment rating tools among others are:
•
•
•
Pearl Rating System (PRS)
Built Green (BG)
Living Building Challenge (LBC)
•
•
•
•
Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB)
Passive House Institute United State (PHIUS)
SITES
WELL Building Standard
Discussion on sustainable design and construction rating tools
Having discussed the various sustainable design and construction assessment tools, it is important
to highlight some details and state how they affect the practice of sustainable development in
Africa. Although, there are strong indications that some other African countries apart from South
Africa and a few others could soon declare their alignment with one or more of the sustainable
design and construction assessment tools; the question is how can we be sure that such practice is
not motivated by some unethical practices especially in countries where a few privileged people
exploit the poor and corruption is the order of the day? Even when the practice of sustainable
design and construction is being handled by government agencies, it is very possible to find that
such practice is motivated by moves to rip the citizenry of their hard-earned money rather than
ensuring that the primary purpose of the practice is achieved.
This sad but true situation is further enabled by the arguably unstandardized manner by which the
sustainable design and construction assessment tools are used. Firstly, it appears the top countries
that initiated the development of sustainability assessment tools are in silent race to ensure that
their country specific tools are being adopted by other countries. This is evident in the recent rating
of the countries that have adopted LEED since 1998 that it was developed for use in the United
States (Long, 2015). In order to take the lead in race for the wide adoption of LEED, it was ensured
that there were two versions, one is the unedited version of the LEED and the other is the edited
version of it. This book posits that, this practice is rather jeopardizing the purpose of sustainability
practice than helping it.
Firstly, the rates and level of developments of countries are different. This difference is particularly
more pronounced between developed countries (the developers of the sustainability assessment
tools) and the developing countries (the secondary targeted user of the sustainability assessment
tools). It may appear as if the developed countries are trying to help the developing countries with
these acts; they are not in the actual sense because of the developmental differences of the
countries. It is suggested that other means of assisting the developing countries to create their own
sustainable design and construction assessment tools should be devised if the initiators of
sustainable development really mean business about sustainable practice.
It is important to note that while many developed countries have been able to calculate their
adverse contributions to greenhouse emission, environmental degradation, energy inefficiencies,
water use and so on, many developing countries especially Africa could not statistically establish
how unsustainably they have lived. This constitutes a major setback to the ways forward as what
and what to consider in the sustainability assessment tools are rather unclear and unknown. This
leaves such countries to only rely on external documents that may not favour their economies and
climates among others.
IFMA (2015) noted that, despite the globality of sustainable development across countries around
the world, its ratings are not. While IFMA (2015) tend to suggest that the rating of items in the
sustainability assessment tools should be the same across countries, this book argues otherwise
because the elements that constitute unsustainable development in different countries do not only
vary, their contributions to unsustainable development vary as well. This means that, within the
context of sustainable development practice, the elements that will be considered should be
different per country. This further points to the fact that, to develop country-specific sustainability
assessment tool countries must ascertain the elements to be included in the sustainability
assessment document. This has not been achieved by many African countries, hence the difficulty
to develop country-specific sustainable design and construction assessment tool for rating
construction projects.
Furthermore, the yardsticks considered for allocating points to different sustainability criteria in
the sustainable design and construction assessment tool is unknown. The leaders in the practice of
sustainable development would perform better if they can tutor or state the guidelines for arriving
at the different points allocated to the criteria considered. This is necessary to accommodate the
variations in the geographical and cultural backgrounds of practicing countries. Moreover, it could
be observed that the scoring of elements of sustainable development in the sustainability
assessment tools are close despite the huge variances of the level of depletion of sustainability
elements, differences in climate conditions, cultures and geographical locations. This is evident in
particularly the climate where some countries are mostly cold throughout the year and some are
mostly hot throughout the year and these are not accounted for in the rating of elements in
sustainability assessment tools. Even within a country, some of the elements in the sustainability
assessment tools cannot be justifiably given the same rating because of the same factors. This is
because the resources available in different parts of a country may be different just as the climatic
conditions may be different.
Summary of chapter
This chapter discusses the common sustainable design and construction assessment tools mostly
used by the early adopters of sustainability around the world. These assessment tools cover the
year of establishment, the establishing body, the categories examined by the assessment tools and
the criteria upon which sustainability rating is based. The levels of sustainability rating for each of
the assessment tools and the allocation of points to the criteria considered were also discussed in
this chapter. The chapter was concluded with a discussion session that compared the assessment
tools among themselves with a view to analyzing the reasons for the differences in the criteria for
allocating points to sustainability. The discussion session also elaborates on the way Africa
countries can develop their own country-specific sustainability assessment tools.
References
Forsberg, A. and von Malmberg, F. (2004). Tools for environmental assessment of the built
environment. Building and Environment, 39, 223 – 228.
Gibberd, J. (2002). The sustainable building assessment tool assessing how buildings can support
sustainability in developing countries. A paper presented at the Built Environment
Professions Convention on 1-3 May in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Long, M. (2015). USGBC announces international rankings of top 10 countries for LEED green
buildings. Obtained on the 17th November 2017 from www.usgbc.org
Nalewaik, A. and Venters, V. (2008). Costs and benefits of building green. AACE International
Transactions, 1-9
Portalatin, M., Shouse, T. and Roskoski, M. (2015). Green building rating system. Obtained on
the 17th November 2017 from www.ifma.org
Reijnders, L. and van Roekel, A. (1999). Comprehensive and adequacy of tools for the
environmental improvement of buildings. Journal of Cleaner Production,7. 221 – 225.
Say, C. and Wood, A. (2008). Sustainable rating systems around the world. CTBUH Journal, 2,
18 – 29.
Sebake, N. (2008). An overview of green building rating tools. Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research, 1-7
Vierra, S. (2016). Green building standards and certification systems. Vierra Design and
Educational Services, LCC
Chapter 7
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Implementation strategies of sustainable building design and construction: Lessons from
adopters
Abstract
For any country to successfully adopt sustainability practice, there is the need to take cue from
early adopters and determine how the geographical, cultural and climatic condition of the country.
Hence, this chapter investigated the sustainability features and implementation strategies of
selected construction projects (residential, commercial and large office buildings) from the United
States, United Kingdom, China, Australia and Canada. For the projects investigated, the lessons
that could be learned by Africa in her quest for the practice of sustainable design and construction
were discussed. It is therefore hoped that the lessons would be helpful for the construction industry
and the nations in Africa at large.
Keywords: Africa, Building projects, Sustainable construction, Sustainable design, sustainability
lessons
Introduction
There are many countries around the world today (mostly developed) that have embraced the
adoption of sustainable design and construction assessment tools for rating and certifying the
greenness of construction projects. These ratings are usually based on many criteria and moves
towards economic, social and environmental bottom line are the basis for earning scores or points
upon which successful sustainable construction projects are determined. In this section of the book,
the methods used on construction projects to earn points for sustainable development and hence
get certified were discussed. To achieve this feat, the implementation strategies for case study
projects from the early adopters of sustainable design and construction assessment tools were
reviewed and reported accordingly. These strategies were found to be pathways for Africa in her
quest to adopt sustainable development. This chapter discusses the implementation strategies that
could be followed to practice sustainable development and chapter 8 deals with the pitfalls to be
avoided by Africa in her quest to practice sustainable development.
Many sustainable construction projects, mostly buildings have been recorded in literature with the
methods and alternatives used to achieve sustainability rating and certification. All sustainable
construction projects have unique features that qualify them for the sustainability status they
attained. Such statuses are hereby reviewed and recorded for learning by non-adopters (especially
Africa) of sustainable construction development. It is important to state that, while many
researchers have concluded that sustainable design and construction incur up to an additional 5%
increase above conventional construction projects, some other investigators have noted that
sustainable design and construction do not have to mean extra cost especially when the planning
stage have been properly implemented. Whatever the case may be, it is more important to
understand that sustainable construction projects pay off in terms of whole life cycle of the
projects, health and productivity of occupants. These, in addition to other benefits are sufficient to
collectively pursue sustainable development in Africa. Hence, the following sections record
sustainability achievement strategies for the construction industry and African countries in general.
General considerations for the successful implementation of sustainable design and
construction
Sustainable construction projects have the immense capacity to be water and energy efficient,
reduce use of raw materials, land and waste during planning, construction and occupancy. To attain
these goals, the following general features should be put into consideration:
Energy efficiency
• Building designs should be based on energy efficiency rather than engaging in retrofitting
activities after construction
• Ensure that the surrounding of openings in a building are air tight in order to ensure that
the Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioner (HVAC) systems are efficiently used.
• The use of certified energy efficient appliances should be encouraged
• Consider using ground based alternative heating and cooling systems
• Building should be constructed in such a way that the will benefit from day lighting and
solar heat gain
• Well-sealed, insulated and energy efficient windows and doors should be used
• Construction should be done close to work and commercial centres to reduce fuel
consumption
• Plantation should be used to reduce heat and provide shades fir buildings
Environmental consideration
• Land resources should be used efficiently
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•
•
•
•
Construct in developed areas and revamp deteriorated buildings where necessary
Do construction in clustered manner or build vertically rather than horizontally to reduce
open spaces
Construct on brownfields (mostly abandoned lands) rather than green fields to ensure
than a once neglected area is revitalized
Preserve biodiversity and natural resources like streams, wetlands, etc. while constructing
on an undeveloped site
Avoid steep slopes, provide ground cover and preserve topsoil when constructing
Materials should be used both in an efficient and innovative manner
• Small buildings that maximize space, materials and are comfortable should be preferred
to bogus construction.
• Consider using environmentally friendly materials that are either renewable or recyclable
for slabs, walls and roofs among others
• Use the integrated design approach to ensure that the best design that optimizes materials
are used.
• Consider using durable materials that do not require frequent replacement
• Consider modular construction technique in order to reduce construction waste to the
barest minimum
Reduce water use for construction
• Install low-flow appliances such as showerheads and water closets in homes
• Landscaping should be drought tolerant, of low maintenance and pesticide
• Reduce paved area of a building to reduce paved roads, parking space and so on
• Use rainwater runoff for non-drinking purposes in the house.
Implementation strategies for selected case study projects
Projects from the United States
Three projects from the United States were investigated on the implementation strategies for
achieving sustainability rating. This investigation covers the various activities that ensured that the
projects were successfully completed and rated for sustainability achievement. The activities were
presented to act as guidelines for emulation by Africa in her quest for sustainable development
(Green build, n.d).
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•
Erie-Ellington Homes of Boston Massachusetts
Suburban Colonial project
State of the Art Town home
The Erie-Ellington Homes of Boston Massachusetts summarily had the following features and
implementation strategies during its planning, construction and occupancy:
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•
Standard double leaf storm resistant window was used throughout in the building
Foundation was made with PVC siding and bricks
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Narrow (15ft) asphalt paved surface leading to car garages was adopted to reduce paved
areas
Building was made of standard insulation package to prevent air and heat leakages
Cooling and heating system employed was gas furnace with duct work to circulate warm
air within the building (Energy efficient heating and cooling systems)
Standard appliances were used in the building to reduce energy and water use among others
Landscaping was in lawn grass; short trees were planted beside fence and saplings big trees
were planted in the compound to provide beauty and shade for the house
Wastes generated during construction was small and used for filling of some other parts of
the building.
The Suburban Colonial home consists of the following sustainability features and implementation
strategies:
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Energy efficient windows were used for the building. Besides, majority of the windows
were placed on the side with high solar heat gain during the winters season.
Bricks and fibreboards were used in place of wood and PVC vinyl due to their longevity
and freedom from maintenance.
Fiberglass shingles was used for roofing due to its life span
Building compound was paved with stones
The building was given extra insulation with cellulose materials (due to its recyclable
ability) rather than fiberglass
It was ensured that construction was air and heat tight to avoid leakages
Mechanical means of ventilation was installed for sufficient air exchange.
Certified energy efficient appliances were installed in the building to reduce energy
consumption
Building was constructed near commercial centres and public transport to reduce fuel
consumption.
Low-flow showerheads were installed throughout the building.
Waste generation was reduced in the building through the use of typical material sizes
where achievable.
The state of the Art Townhome was constructed in a sustainable manner with the following
distinguishing features and implementation strategies:
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Large sized windows were place where passive solar heat gain was possible, and the
smaller ones were placed in other places
Sustainable wood siding made from lumber was used for windows
Metal roof was considered because of its durability
Paved surfaces were based on porous gravel drive paving
Geothermal heating and cooling systems (ground-based) was considered in this building
Trees were planted to give both aesthetics and shades during summer
Rooms had ceiling fans installed
Water heating and electricity generation was done with solar cells
Certified energy efficient electrical and electronics systems were used in the building
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Low-flow showerheads, toilet appliances and washing machine were used in the building
Landscaping was natural, low maintenance, drought tolerant and with less need for
pesticides and herbicides.
Small wetland was preserved and enhanced in the building
Waste generation during construction was reduced to a large extent
Discussion on the three construction projects
These construction projects have similar features. it is quite convincing that the projects consist of
sustainable features, but it is unclear, the extent to which these features bettered the conventional
construction projects. It appears many of the appliances that were installed for the purpose energy
efficiency (energy efficient appliances), water efficiency (Low-flow appliances) and indoor
environmental quality (ground-based geothermal system) were purposely made for those reasons,
hence giving additional costs to the construction projects. Furthermore, many of these sustainable
development features as indicated in these projects appear to also be achievable and being achieved
in conventional buildings by experienced design and construction teams. All that needed to be
done is to get the appliances installed in the building.
However, the initiative of window placing should be acknowledged as being peculiar to
sustainable design and construction. It appears that, some of these features were considered, even
in the construction of conventional buildings especially when space orientation permits. In
summary, it is justifiable and arguable to state that some or many of the so-called conventional
buildings were sustainable to an extent as some clients and professionals ensured that those
sustainability features were incorporated in the conventional construction projects. Therefore, it is
not clear if sustainability was based on the features of buildings (sometimes present in
conventional buildings) or the adoption of the integrated design and construction process for the
planning and design of the projects. As against, the goals of sustainable development, the projects
considered as being sustainable did not convincingly demonstrate huge preservation of the
environment and economic features.
The Vowel’s residence: the project was constructed in a rural area with a land mass of six acres.
On the project, the following features were incorporated to achieve sustainability (Vowel and
Vowel, n.d):
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Gray water area was created to capture and filter rainwater collected from roof gutters and
water using appliances like washing machines for reuse in the building.
Storm water was also collected from roof runs, concrete driveway and the lawn into rain
barrels around the building and two drain ditches (one was stone-filled and the other was
earthen ditch) respectively.
Rain barrels were placed in the building to specifically collect and store rain water runoff
from roof tops.
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Blown-in foam insulation was employed to replace batt insulation of building’s floor and
utility rooms. The blown-in foam insulation was less toxic, resistant to rodents and insects
when compared to fiberglass batt insulation
Solar system was used to produce hot water. However, an on-demand tankless back-up
water heater was made available to automatically swing into action when the solar
produced hot water is finished. This is to improve energy efficiency.
Clothes were dried on clothesline when there was favourable weather for that purpose
Lighting fixtures installed in most of the homes were compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs
Nylon air filters were used to replace fiberglass ventilation systems because of the ease of
cleaning and less introduction of toxic particles into the atmosphere
The amount of light inlet in the house was improved with the placement of many windows
on the building.
Marmoleum was used to lay the floor of the utility room because of the 100% natural and
organic materials from which it is made. It also durable, hardens with time and contains
anti- bacterial properties.
The detached store in the building was built from recycled and reclaimed materials such as
sliding barn door and green roof. The roof of the storage was basically of cedar stumps
obtained from on-site forest, pea gravel and organic substances found on the building site.
The walkway of the building was made constructed with recycled plastic and sustainable
composites that requires only small maintenance.
Discussion on the vowel’s building
The construction of the vowel’s house has basic and useful lesson for Africa. one of such lessons
is that, sustainable design and construction of projects may be achieved with natural resources that
are found on green sites. The vowel’s building made no major changes to green site, instead they
were mostly enhanced for housing improvement. This construction concept underscores the
importance of engaging creative project team members on the integrated design and construction
process. Another set of project team members on the integrated design and construction process
could have adopted a more expensive and less sustainable route for the project.
Another lesson to learn is that sustainable design and construction does not necessarily mean that
new and expensive products should be used for the execution of a building. Where it quite
unachievable to use on-site green materials, the next possible option that should be considered to
save cost is the adoption of in-shape used materials. After taking these steps, it could be wise to
consider costly home appliances and materials (like the ground-based geothermal systems and the
likes) that have long term benefits of whole life cost saving and support improved quality of health
for the occupants.
Eastside Harvest House: this is a single-family building that was constructed in a sub-urban area.
The location of the building ensured that the availability of rain, sun, agricultural soil and climatic
conditions were exploited. The integrated design and construction approach was adopted, and this
ensured that alternative technologies for achieving energy savings, water efficiency and indoor
environmental quality among others. The design and construction of the building epitomizes
flexible, simple, neat and modern construction that was roofed in metal materials. The building
was situated on a half plot of land which contains terraced rain gardens, underground storage
apartment and detached extended family suite. The following features and implementation
strategies were found to be unique about the building (Solid waste division, 2015):
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Water cisterns (12, 000 gallons) were stationed to collect rain water from the metal shed
roof for reuse in the building. This helped to reduce water consumption in the building
especially with the use of UV sterilizer to produce potable water for both drinking and nondrinking purposes.
The harvested rain water was also used for exterior purposes such as landscape irrigation,
water fountain and vegetable beds.
Non-porous surfaces of the building’s floor were sloped to drain water rain gardens.
Landscaping of the building was drought-tolerant
Soil in the surrounding of the building was excavated and redistributed before final grading
Dual-flush toilets were installed in the building to ensure that only a small volume of water
was used for toilet activities
Photovoltaic (17 kW PV) system was used to generate power for the building
Motorized sunshade was installed to deflect unwanted heat from parts of the building
Window installation was made of triple glazing and filled with argon to achieve high
efficiency
Electric water heater tank was installed to complement solar pre-heating system in the
building
Energy efficient appliances that achieved R-20 to R-50 levels were installed in the building
CFL lighting fixtures were used in the building
Carpets were avoided to improve the indoor air quality in the building
Zero VOC paints were used on the walls of the building with low toxic water-based sealants
and adhesives
Central heat recovery ventilator was installed in the building
Cabinets in the building were free from formaldehyde and insulated with cellulose
ABS were used for plumbing in the house to replace PVC
Drain planes were installed on walls to control water movement
Roof cantilevers were installed to prevent moisture infiltration into the building
Ductless and ducted inverter driven mini split pump was installed in the building
FSC wood was used as both materials and finishes in the building
Construction was based on waste management deconstruction plan of about 98% recycling
rate.
Full recyclable glass cullet was used as capillary break under slab
Blown-in cellulose materials were used as insulation in the building
Metal roof covering with 55% recycled content (40 years warranty) was used for the
building.
Discussion on the Eastside Harvest house
This project comprises of many initiatives that were meant to ensure that the building was
sustainable. However, unlike the vowel’s building that majorly adopted the green technique for
most of its construction, this building involved the use of alternative materials and equipment
(most probably at a higher cost) to achieve sustainability. The reason for this may be due to the
locations of the two buildings examined (one in the rural setting and the other in the suburban
centre). This means that, it is possible that the vowel’s building was able to achieve the green feat
due to its location that enabled access to the green features.
Another possibility is the experience of the integrated design and construction process team
members. It requires a high level of initiative to achieve sustainable and high-quality building
without incurring excessive costs. It is not unexpected that, due to the relative newness of
sustainable development, the materials and equipment required to achieve them may also be
relatively new, of lesser patronage and hence be costlier than materials for conventional buildings.
In addition, the role of the client in achieving the direction taken to achieve sustainability cannot
be underestimated. Some clients would be rich enough to afford the cost of alternative materials
and equipment for achieving sustainability; such clients are expected to act differently from clients
that want to achieve sustainability but have little funds to spare in that regard. Another factor that
could playout in the achievement of sustainability is the size of land upon which construction is
done. Where there is large expanse of land, it is expected the conception of a project will be
different from that without space. In summary, it appears the location of a building plays a key
role in the achievement of sustainable construction projects.
The zHome: this is a building with ten units of one, two and three bedrooms, located in the NW
centre of Issaquah highland. The buildings were clustered around a central courtyard. The building
was constructed with the mind of whole-life cycle and the features that were responsible for its
uniqueness are as follows (Liljequist, n.d):
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Landscaping reduced water runoff by 60%; it was bird friendly and lawn free.
Underground cistern (1000 – 1700 gallons per unit) was installed to collect rainwater from
the roof for reuse in the main building.
Natural rain garden consisting of fern, vine, bunch grasses and so on were placed on the
site to absorb overflow
Walkways and drive areas was made to be pervious to allow for runoff filtering so that
local waterways may be eased of stress
Water efficiency was achieved by both mechanical design and harvesting of rainwater
Landscaping of the compound was drought tolerant
Appliances in the house include dual flush toilets, energy efficient washing machine, plate
washer, low flow aerator and shower heads.
Solar photovoltaic system was used in the building
Energy detective monitoring was installed in the building
Water furnace ground source heat pumps were installed for both hot water and heat
generation
Floors, walls and ceilings of the building were insulated
Double glazed window was installed for solar heating
Air tight wall frames were installed
Exterior wall panels were prefabricated
Certified energy efficient appliances were installed in the building
•
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Energy efficient CFL and LED lights were used in the building
Charging stations for electric vehicles were installed
Materials used include exposed concrete, nontoxic composite wood, low toxicity finishes,
FSC certified bamboo, radiant heat and heat recovery ventilators.
Rain screen walls and drain mats were installed to allow exterior moisture to drain thus
preventing mold growth
Recycle content of the building include concrete works, siding, roofing, etc.
Local contents of the building include roofing, siding, concrete, drywalls, etc.
Durability based materials in the building were the roof, cement siding, concrete floors and
bamboo among others
Minimal PVC Vinyl was used on the building
Rock wool insulation was used in place of cellulose and fibre glass batt insulation to
balance indoor air quality and energy impacts.
As previously noted, the important lesson to learn is that, the success of sustainable construction
is dependent on the sensibilities of the project team members and the use of integrated design and
construction process.
Kittatas County project: during the construction of this project (the first certified green building
in eastern slope of Kittatas County, a steering committee (representing integrated design and
construction process) comprising of all professional in the construction industry was formed. The
project received sponsorship to defray its total cost because it was the first of its kind in the
community. The unique features and implementation strategies of the sustainable construction
project were as follows (Adelstein, n.d):
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Insulated concrete foams were used in the building to ensure that walls were nontoxic,
inert, strong and without mold growth among others
Ducts and pipes were sealed to reduce heat loss, contaminants and mold growth
Energy efficient windows (made of pressure treated wood, wind and rain resistant) that
provided UV light reduction was used in the building
A tankless water heater was provided on demand to reduce the use of gas and electricity.
The heater had built-in sensor, runs one cycle and has a life span of 25 years
A ground based geothermal heat pump was installed for heating and cooling to reduce
energy cost without using the conventional electricity source and external condensing unit.
Radiant floor heating system was installed for even distribution of heat for comfort in the
building
Air and water tight HVAC system was installed for efficiency
Heat recovery ventilator was installed for improved air quality in the house and control of
excessive humidity
Electrostatically catalyzed air purifier was installed to remove and kill germs, eliminate
odour and destroy toxic chemicals
Foam insulation was introduced to prevent infiltration of air and enhance energy savings
Certified energy efficient appliances were installed to reduce electricity consumption,
water and energy use.
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Compact fluorescent lighting fixtures which include lighting controls, timers and
incandescent bulbs were used for the building
Recycled glass was used to make kitchen counter but with concrete base. Recycled glass
was also used to make bathrooms and mosaics
The floor of the building was made from planks that was sustainably harvested from trees
such that the tree will continue to grow
Kitchen and bathroom appliances like bathtubs, sinks were maded from recyclable metals
Dual flush toilets were installed to cater for liquid and solid wastes separately
Low VOC paints were used on all walls of the building because of their less toxicity and
improved air quality.
Book shelves, kitchen cabinets and window sills were made from formaldehyde-free wood
and varnishes with low VOC
Indoor air quality was improved with central vacuum system, no carpet, air purifier, radiant
floor heating and low toxic finishes
Landscaping was drought tolerant, requires less water and use of pesticides and
insecticides
Paved surfaces of the building are pervious to allow water runoff into the ground
Plants and soil was made available in the surrounding of the building to reduce and treat
storm water instead of installing large drain pipes for expelling water.
Townhome at Rainier Vista (Seattle): the townhome building was sustainably constructed with
high energy efficient design, hot water tank and solar atrium. The building also had air ventilation
system (for good air quality), certified energy efficient appliances, dual-flush toilets, less VOC
paints and finishes and durable materials. The uniqueness of the building that qualified it for
sustainability rating was based on the following (Rose, 2007):
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Design of building was simple
Land was bought at the right price
Unnecessary molds and finishes were avoided to save construction cost
Porcelain tiles were used in place of granite to save cost
Shower curtain rods were used instead of glass cover at shower
Insulation was near perfect to save energy cost through efficiency
Durable materials and goods were used to reduce replacement and maintenance
Water conservation techniques were adopted to reduce water and sewer bills
Highly efficient, free-standing gas fireplace and hot water radiator system was installed in
the buildings
Heat recovery ventilator was installed to warm incoming air
Windows are mostly placed on the sides with the highest gain of passive heat
Homes were pre-designed to accommodate solar cells
Real wood and plywood were installed instead of particle boards that contain formaldehyde
Wall water drains(flashing) were installed to remove water and mold growth
Air quality was improved with air handling system
Blown-in-batts fiberglass insulation was used because it is free from formaldehyde
Low VOC paints and finishes were used due to their low toxicity
Dual flush toilets were installed to reduce water usage
The cost of construction in this building was offset by the use of green features. However, some
equipment that cost more had to be introduced for better indoor environmental quality. The
equipment increased the cost of construction, but the life cycle cost is greatly reduced during the
use the building.
Six large projects in the United States were investigated to determine the features that qualified
them for sustainability rating (Torcellini et al., 2006). The projects are:
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Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies, Oberlin College
Zion Visitor Center
Cambria Office Building
Philip Merrill Environmental Center, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Thermal Test Facility
BigHorn Home Improvement Center
Due to the large similarities in the implementation strategies of the six projects, the lessons were
collated and reported together as stated below:
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Energy efficiency of construction projects is not usually as planned: the performance of
construction projects in terms of sustainability, especially energy efficiency is not always
as planned. The performance may however be substantial but not as much as designed or
simulated. Some of these less than simulated performance was generally experienced in:
(a) Optimism of the project team members on the behavior of occupants on energy saving
system
(b) Lack of control system to coordinate energy saving system
(c) Energy saving from daylight design was adequate but less than designed
(d) PV systems had performance issues after installation
(e) Also, inverters and some other systems had faults
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The client drives the sustainability initiatives of their project: rather than leave the initiative
of sustainability practice to the project team, otherwise known as the integrated design and
construction professionals, it was learnt that the success of execution of sustainable
construction projects largely depend on the client. Not even the facilitator can successfully
steer the whole process without the major input of the client. Hence, it was learnt that the
client must be actively involved in the whole process unlike the case of conventional design
and construction process.
Decisions are not determined by cost: it was learnt in these projects that money is not
usually the reason why some things were done and the others were not. They were mostly
motivated by the wants of the clients. However, cost was usually given as excuse when the
client does not want something to happen.
Building performance is determined by the level of technology: the performance of
construction projects in terms of energy efficiency depends majorly on the technology
adopted to achieve it. However, there is no single method or a set of methods to be used to
achieve sustainability in construction projects. Therefore, the best principle to achieve high
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performance for construction projects is to weigh the available options based on different
criteria and take decisions as they uniquely relate to the proposed construction projects.
The goals and objectives of a sustainable construction project must be set early enough:
the success of sustainable construction projects largely depend on the time the goals and
objectives were set and whether they are achievable or not. It must be understood that,
energy performance and sustainability features of a construction project require concerted
efforts towards simulation strategies to determine the impact of every decision on a project.
A whole-project design technique is the best for sustainable development: even though
construction projects consist of various elements, the best design technique is the integrated
approach where the effects of one decision on the whole building is put into consideration
in every case. This means that, a decision that is thought to be best may have adverse effect
on other parts of a building. Hence, a construction project must be treated as a single
system, although with many different elements.
Adequate information is required for high performance and strategic management: it is not
sufficient to set goals for sustainable projects, it is more important to work towards
achieving them through tracking and verifying that the pursuit of the goals is on course. To
achieve this, there is need for feedback geared towards ensuring that the goals are met.
Discussion on the six projects
The lessons from these projects may be useful for Africa: it is important to understand that, despite
not executing these projects in Africa, some of the lessons may be replicated in Africa for
successful sustainability practice while the pitfalls are avoided. All the available options may be
examined for adaptability, longevity and appropriateness to determine the best options for specific
construction projects. based on these lessons, the following best practices for the design,
construction and operation of sustainable construction projects are:
(a) Adopt the whole-project design technique throughout the design, construction and
operation stage of sustainable projects
(b) Conduct regular post occupancy performance evaluation (PPE) of sustainability
features of construction projects
(c) Measurement procedures for the performance of construction projects should be
implemented
(d) Passive solar system should be adopted in the lighting system of construction projects
(e) Use energy recovery ventilators and economizers for natural ventilation when required
(f) Adopt evaporative cooling system in dry climates
(g) Adopt responsive control systems, such as the PV generator to incorporate on-site
storage and energy production to minimize charges and loading
Lessons from Australia
While the projects invested from the United States were mostly residential, the lessons from
Australia would be based on sustainable commercial buildings. These projects have slightly
different concepts of execution from those from the United States. The lessons from Australia was
combined rather than consider different projects, because of the similarity in the construction
procedures. Generally, the measures adopted to drive energy efficiency of construction projects,
especially large construction projects like commercial and office buildings were based on the
following strategies (Bond, 2010):
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Rather than the encouragements and voluntary nature of sustainable construction adopted
in the United States, Canada made stringent energy efficiency laws for all classes of
commercial buildings
It was made mandatory that large office and commercial buildings should declare energy
efficiency at certain intervals
Reforms were made to the current energy efficiency standard and assessment. The reforms
also affected government agencies and were required to upgrade their building to energy
performance buildings.
To achieve high construction efficiency (sustainability) benefits and lowest cost, the Green
Building Council of Australia (GBCSA) recommended the following appliances for use on
construction projects:
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Automatic HVAC switch off
Building user training programs at the point of tenancy agreement
Reduction of photocopiers and printers in the buildings
Lighting design and zoning must be efficient
CFL Fluorescent bulbs were recommended for use
Fire-tested water retention technology were recommended
Use of passive solar system/orientation was recommended
Energy use control and monitoring system was to be in place
Drought, insecticide and pesticide resistant landscaping was recommended
Refrigerants with low or zero ODP was recommended
One internal plant person was suggested
Paints, varnishes, sealants and carpets with low VOC were recommended for walls
Fittings and fixtures for water efficiencies were recommended in buildings
High frequency ballast was recommended
Construction materials was to contain little or no PVC or other toxic elements
Provision must be made for changing rooms and bicycle storage
It was acknowledged that some of these requirements may be unachievable due to Site constraints
which may include availability of space among others, surrounding buildings being affected and
existence of certain structure that may not be demolished on site.
Discussion on lesson from Australia
As previously stated, while these requirements were made mandatory for large construction
projects in Australia, they were optional in countries like the United States. However, some large
organization (commercial) in the United States recognized that the adoption of sustainable design
and construction would not only improve their organizational goals, it would also advance their
competitiveness in the market. In view of this, such organizations decided to embrace
sustainability goals by adopting the following strategies:
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Use of energy modelling techniques (monitoring and control): this include enhancement of
existing HVAC system, building envelope, lighting, plumbing, windows positions and
water efficiency measures
Receive certification for Leadership in Energy Environmental Design (LEED): the LEED
supported the use of the following appliances for energy efficiency:
(a) CFL fluorescent bulbs to reduce energy consumption
(b) R50 ceilings for adequate insulation
(c) R30 walls for adequate insulation
(d) Certified energy rated appliances for energy efficiency
(e) Occupancy sensors to monitor water and energy use among others
(f) Reflective shingles
(g) Low flow toilets to reduce water usage
Centralization of utility bills for utility data management
Adoption of component-by-component approach to energy efficiency and management
Installation of energy management systems (motion detectors, windows sensors, real-time
price signals) to reduce wasted energy and cost
Distribution of brochure on energy consumption to building occupants for education on
how to Save Money and Resources Together (SMART). The brochure is usually to
occupants as part of their leasing agreement or renewal.
For sustainable design and construction to be successful, organizations in the United States noted
that the adoption of the integrated design and construction process is key. This was based on the
collective ambitions of the project team to achieve a common set of goals. Further to this however,
it was noted that the experience of the project team members in conducting sustainable
construction project is more important than just adopting the integrated design and construction
process, as green features need to be exploited to save cost. Hence, whatever appliance is not
needed should not be acquired for sustainable construction. This included the avoidance of
expensive items such as photovoltaic and black water treatment plants that was embraced and used
on some sustainable buildings as discussed earlier. Rather, the concept encourages the use of
passive solar design. This procedure can ensure that sustainable construction projects are
completed at worst with an extra cost of not more than 2% over a similar conventional building.
Rather than use the photovoltaic system, the chilled beam technology was found to be efficient in
distributing cool air and improving indoor air quality. Besides, the chilled beam technology
requires less ceiling height, thus presenting the opportunity to include more floors in a building
and get more rent. The chilled beam consumes lesser energy when compared with air HVAC
system. In addition, space can be saved with convection current system of air circulation as no
duct is required to pump air. Finally, the use of double glazed window, although expensive is
admits more light into a building and reduces heat.
Lessons from China
When China was to commence the full-blown adoption of sustainable development, lessons were
borrowed particularly from the United States. Some of these lessons were found to be suitable for
early adopters of sustainable design and construction like Africa, not just China. Firstly, the level
of energy use and conservation in the country for construction projects was established. This was
in a bid to determine the where to take-off in the adoption of sustainable development. Secondly,
the energy conservation projects that were on-going in the country were improved in order to
increase the energy conservation of construction projects in the country. Lastly, a country-specific
sustainable design and construction rating tool was developed based on the geographic location,
culture and climate of the country. Not all the lessons of what obtains in the adopting nations were
adopted by China. For example, the United states ensured that the adoption of sustainable
development was incentivized (Weyl and Hong, 2017).
Due to the voluntary nature of the programme, grants and bonuses were being offered to
construction projects, especially the private ones up to the construction of a certain floor area. In
addition, construction permits are quickly issued to those that indicated sustainable development.
Permits fees were even reduced up to a limit of 5-15% of the approved fees. In addition, the
certifying organizations in the United States partnered with social entities in the country to get
support and provide support for clients that were willing to do sustainable construction projects.
beyond this, awareness was created on a regular basis on the benefits and the need to build and
live sustainably in the country. The developers were given various incentives for choosing to
engage in sustainable design and construction. due to the awareness of the certifying body of the
role of the clients and tenants, the incentives were extended to them for continued operation of
sustainable development in the buildings.
Lessons from Canada
In Canada, nine uncompleted but sustainable construction projects were investigated and the initial
lessons that could be learned by Africa among other developing countries were as follows (Karen
et al., 2014):
• It could be difficult to determine the actual building occupancy of buildings except it was
monitored and recorded as it occurs. It is important to ensure that the building performance
evaluation addresses this. The worst-case building occupancy may be determined and used
for design.
• Building occupancy is not static and significantly varies from the one used for design. This
can have significant impact on sustainability features like energy efficiency and water use
among others
• It was difficult to control indoor acoustic quality. This needs adequate attention in case of
future projects
• There appears to be no correlation between conventional lighting and occupant satisfaction.
For instance, high daylight does not appear to negatively affect the satisfaction of
occupants, rather it appears to increase it.
• It appears there was no correlation between the acclaimed integrated design and
construction purpose and performance. Performance issues reported related to the gaps
identified in the integrated design and construction process.
• The performance of construction projects has strong correlation with the capabilities of the
management staff of the projects rather than installed facilities themselves
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Some of the reported cases of performance issues relate to the commissioning of the
construction projects. Hence, on-going commissioning could be a better option for
sustainable construction projects.
Lack of metering inhibited the assessment of energy efficiency and water use on
construction projects.
Occupants’ survey was instrumental to the determination of the performance of
construction projects that were unavailable due to lack of metering.
Lessons from the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the lessons learnt during the construction of the London 2012 construction
projects were (UKGBC, 2012):
• Clients must take the leadership role in the execution of construction projects by setting
clear goals for the projects, staying on the goals as much as possible and working together
with the project team to achieve those goals
• The project team members and the client must work together with a common set of goal.
Therefore, it is important that the client constitute the right project team, invest on the
project team, and reward their achievements accordingly.
• All the project team members must be engaged early enough on a project and preferably
together at the inception of construction projects
• Communication must be proactive and progressive. It must ensure adequate understanding
throughout the construction process, emphasize the need for sustainability features and
embrace superior arguments during decision making.
• As innovation is unique on all fronts, it is expected the client and the project team will not
be nervous to make innovation.
• Setting sustainability goals and committing to achieve them can inspire people’s opinion
about sustainability.
• Project team members must continually update their knowledge of simulation and
modelling techniques towards energy savings.
• Clarity of project goals and collaboration with other contractors could attract community
support for sustainable design and construction.
• There is need to be transparent about sustainability implementation so that learners can
benefit from the whole process and legacies could be left
• Sustainability must be simplified by translating the global goal of a construction project
into work packages
• Conventional generic codes should not be used to drive sustainable design and construction
• Regular visit to site and feedback to the project team is key to the success of sustainable
construction project
• Supplier and manufacturers should be involved, early enough on the project so they can
give informed information about the design options as they relate to materials.
• Preconceived ideas on sustainable design and construction should be probed whenever
there is need for clarity and their impacts on the environmental, social and economic status.
• Sustainable design and construction is the responsibility of the client, project team,
occupants and the community at large; not just the professionals.
• Sustainable design and construction does not have to attract extra cost as there are simple
and straightforward solutions to both sustainable design and construction.
General comments
Based on the sustainable construction projects investigated in this chapter, it could be seen that
there no one way to achieving sustainability. This is evident in the manner in which some of the
projects adopted many mechanical systems (although sustainable) to offset the conventional
methods of design and construction. Due to the various ways that could be used to achieved
sustainable design and construction, it was difficult to ascertain the exact level of increment
incurred by sustainable projects over their counterpart conventional projects. while certain highly
rated sustainable projects acknowledged that the cost of construction for both sustainable and
conventional construction projects are the same, some other sustainable construction projects have
been said to be up to 5% higher in cost that their counterpart conventional construction projects.
This underscores the need for more researches on how sustainability was achieved in some
construction projects without incurring additional costs. One method identified in the study is the
used of green technique rather than alternative mechanical means for water use, energy efficiency,
landscaping and so on.
Africa involves many poor nations where additional cost of construction would only discourage
the practice of sustainability rather than embrace it. However, if it was possible to assure the people
that extra costs will not be incurred, it then becomes largely achievable to introduce sustainable
design and construction into the scheme of construction in those countries.
Summary of chapters
This chapter investigated case study projects from the United States, United Kingdom, China,
Canada and Australia. The investigations centred around the sustainability features and
implementation strategies of various construction projects executed in the countries. After
investigating the sustainable feature and implementation strategies, the lessons that could be useful
for Africa in her quest for sustainability practice. The types of projects considered were residential,
commercial and large office projects among others
References
Adelstein, A. (n.d). Suncadia built green case study. Obtained from www.builtgreen on 15th July
2017
Bond, S. (2010). Lessons from the leaders of green designed commercial buildings in Australia.
Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 16 (3) 314-338.
Green build (n.d). Home sustainable home: Green building and design alternatives unit overview.
Obtained from www.es.scribd.com on 15th July 2017
Karen, B., Gray, B., Anne-Mareike, C., Ghazal, E., Mark, G., Murray, H., Mohamed, I., Shauna,
M., Mohamed, O., Leila, S. and Adrian, T. (2014). Do our green buildings perform as
intended? Obtained from www.hsbecanada.com on 15th July 2017
Liljequist, B. (n.d). zHome reaches the stars: a built green Emerald-star case study. Obtained from
www.issaquah.wa.us on 15th July 2017
Lstiburek, J. W. (2008). Why green can be wash. ASHRAE Journal, 50 (11) 1-4
Rose, M. (2007). Affordable housing case study: A townhome at Rainier Vista in Seatle. Obtained
from www.martharoseconstruction.com on 15th July 2017
Schilling, J. and Vasudevan, R. (2013). Strategic lessons in sustainable community building- the
groundwork USA network. Obtained from www.groundwork.org.uk on 15th July 2017
Solid waste division (2015). Custom home case study: Eastside harvest house-5 star built green
home in Kirkland. Department of Natural Resources and Parks Solid Waste Division.
Torcellini, P., Pless, S., Deru, M., Griffith, B., Long, N. and Judkoff, R. (2006). Lessons learned
from case studies of six high-performance buildings. Obtained from www.osti.gov/bridge on
15th July 2017
UKGBC (2012). London 2012 sustainability Lessons Learned: reference and source guide.
Obtained from www.ukgbc.org/lessonslearnedguild on 15th July 2017
Vowel, M. and Vowel, K. (n.d). Remodeled home case study: vowels residence. Obtained from
www.universalandgreen.com on 15th July 2017
Weyl, D. and Hong, M. (2017). Lessons from China’s ambitious green building movement.
Obtained from www.pinterst.com on 15th July 2017
Chapter 8
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Failures of sustainable design and construction: lessons from adopters
Abstract
There are many discouraging aspects of sustainable design and construction as it is being practiced
today. One of such aspects is the failures that characterize sustainable construction projects. These
failures stem from many reasons that range from the quality of sustainable contract documentation,
quality of sustainable materials, experience of the clients, designers and contractors among others.
The failures have also led to many legal issues in the form of litigations, arbitrations and
mediations. This chapter discusses the failures on sustainable construction projects that have been
completed in developed countries that are adopting sustainable development. The chapter
discussed the top five areas of sustainable construction projects that lead to failure. The impact of
new sustainable construction materials and experience of project team members on project failure
was also discussed in the chapter.
Keywords: Litigation in sustainability, sustainable construction, sustainable design, sustainability
failure, sustainable materials.
Introduction
The practice of sustainable design and construction in every part of the world have been
substantially adjudged to be very important and non-negotiable on all fronts, especially when the
consequences of not practicing sustainability is becoming more obvious daily. Despite this
consensus however, many countries have not embraced it while many others are just in the process
of adopting it. The previous chapter discussed the implementation strategies (successes) of
sustainable design and construction projects, while taking cues from advanced countries like the
United States, United Kingdom, Canada and China among others. It is important to note that,
despite the widely advertised reasons and justifications for the practice of sustainable design and
construction in the construction industry, there have been some failures in the projects at the
design, construction or occupancy stage of some of the sustainable projects. This chapter covers
some of the specific, commonest and general failures of the design, construction and occupancy
stages of sustainable projects, taking cue from already completed projects by adopters of
sustainable development.
Implementation problems of sustainable construction projects
While many sustainable construction projects got completed, there were many problems
encountered and discovered at the occupancy stage. For instance, in the United States, it was noted
that sustainable construction projects have been severally embattled by varying temperature as
some of the occupants complained that the buildings were too cold for them in some instances.
Temperature problems are further aggravated when they are being dictated by the natural
temperature in the construction zone. Where there were no mechanical systems to control the
temperature that comes in to a building, the buildings were always cold when the outside
temperature was cold, and it was hot when the outside temperature was hot.
For instance, a building that is constructed with brick will likely be consistently cold during the
winter and consistently hot during the summer. Hence, such buildings need their temperature to
be balanced by mechanical (heating and cooling) system. In certain cases of hot temperature, the
swirl diffusers were installed to distribute fresh air through the chilled beam technology. It was
however noted that the distributed air was rather too cold on many occasions. Considering the
projects discussed in chapter 7, the implementation failures that were discovered at construction
and occupancy stages were as follows (Schilling and Vasudevan, n.d; Vowel and Vowel, n.d; Rose,
207; Mc Fadden, 2007; Deng, 2012, Liljequist, n.d; Solid waste division, 2015):
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Many VAV systems could not supply air at consistent rate because of internal failure of
some mechanisms.
Using energy efficient VAV systems to achieve high ratings require many facilities and
Independent evaluation groups (IEG)
It was discovered that, despite the knowledge of the purpose of sustainable development,
it was difficult to satisfy everyone with the collective set goals for a project
Sustainable construction projects could sometimes be complex, thus requiring a lot of a lot
of professionalism and expertise
The operating cost and time of tuning sustainable construction projects are higher than that
of conventional building.
The current time used to commission sustainable construction projects is rather too short
as many design and construction problems relating to the project suffice after the
commissioning
Some of the modules do not fit their intended purpose and as such, lead to wastages
Some of the passive lighting created in the homes were not adequate. Some of the homes
created more heat as well, requiring that more air conditioners that consume space are
provided in the homes.
Some of the building employed materials that were toxic (had PVC) and not
recyclable/renewable
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Some of the available construction materials were not available locally. They needed to be
imported, thus increasing the final costs of construction projects and the time to acquire
them.
Dual flush toilets (2-4 litres) are very good but they sometimes create problems as they
only clear the bowl of the closet without clearing the pipes
Despite designing atriums for heat insulation, light illumination and natural ventilation,
they were characterized by extreme heat and glare
Rural projects with bicycle and bike tracks are difficult to accommodate
Connecting electricity generating plant to the national or local grid could be time
consuming due to several negotiations with government departments.
The heaviness of wind turbines inhibits the generation of sufficient energy to remove air
from buildings
Many plants and appliances such as photovoltaic plant and ground base geothermal system
are so expensive that they significantly add to the final cost of sustainable construction
projects
The problems identified on sustainable construction projects indicate that sustainable development
still requires some concerted efforts to clearly illuminate its purpose to the construction
stakeholders. This is necessary because many sustainable construction projects have faced serious
criticisms based on their performance at design, construction and occupancy stage (Safari, 2015).
These problems can only be solved when the problems associated with sustainable construction
projects are sufficiently articulated. Without taking these steps in the shortest time, the clients’
urge for sustainable design and construction across the world may soon be punctured and hence
dwindle (Winston, 2009; Bray and McCurry, 2006; Lstiburek, 2008).
During the evaluation of Building 661 Retrofit project on its sustainability performance,
information relating to the actual condition of the building and the problems encountered during
its commissioning and occupancy were collected from the investigating organization, Consortium
for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI). The building had existed since 1942 but had to be
renovated by CBEI in 2013 for other purposes rather than entirely demolish the ancient building.
The lesson from the retrofitting process were recorded for non-adopting countries like Africa to
learn. The process adopted for the retrofitting was sustainable and the undemolished part of the
building ensured that less of the environment was degraded through reduced material sourcing
from environmental sources. It also meant that the historical features of the existing building were
still preserved while sustainability was being pursued. Sustainable features in the retrofitting
consisted of chilled beam cooling systems, displacement diffusers for air supply through the floor,
outdoor air system with exhaust air recovery system, energy efficient hot water heater and heat
recovery system for heating and cooling of spaces among others. The building also had lighting
and fittings sensors, vacancy and occupancy controls and LED lighting installed. The materials
used were mostly free from toxic properties like PVC and VOC; there was moderate use of foam
insulation on walls and roofs to reduce heat loss; double-glazed windows with low heat emission
were installed for passive lighting. Despite the achievements however, there were failures (Just
like many other sustainable projects) relating to installation, performance, maintenance and cost
among others.
One of pronounced failures of the building was the leaking of air and vapour at the doors and joints
between laminated beams and external walls in the atrium. These leaks affected the cooling
appliances (HVAC) in the affected areas of the building and caused them to carry more loads than
anticipated, thus reducing the efficiency of cooling appliances among others. Another failure was
that, the outer part of the top plates and headers of window in some part of the building was not
wrapped and finished by the subcontractor, thus creating another source for air leakage and water
inflow. In addition, while the contractor failed to provide validation and commissioning documents
for the project, the measurement and verification of the system was done by trained investigators
who discovered that many of the sensors installed in the building were wrongly programmed, thus
leading to wrong readings. Also, electric metres, pumps and motors sub-metres, liquid flow
stations and air flow stations were wrongly installed, thus giving wrong information on readings.
Furthermore, it was discovered that the flow of the heating loop in the building was high, thus
leading to low transfer of heat from heaters to the conditioned areas; the outdoor air system was
found to have performance problem, thus affecting air discharge; the valve of the pre-heating coil
stopped modulating and air discharge was obstructed; and there was error in the programming of
the control logic of the building by mechanical engineer. Another failure of the building was found
in the variance between energy input and output of the chilling unit into the Dedicated Outdoor
Air System (DOAS) system due to improperly programmed metres; wrong sizing of pipes and
improperly centering of paddles into pipes. The investigation of this project is central to this
chapter for learning because there were not many retrofitting projects that could be studied for
learning and adoption. Hence, this project is important not only for new sustainable construction
projects, but also renovation sustainable construction projects.
One fundamental reason for the failure of the retrofitted sustainable construction projects was that,
while the building was performing below expectations, the project team members never returned
for their performance feedbacks on the projects after commissioning. The reasons attributed to
these included (Du Plessis et.al. 2006):
•
•
•
•
•
The high level of optimism that was displayed on behalf of users about their acceptance of
the innovations of sustainable construction projects
Lack of software to ensure synergy among the various technologies installed in sustainable
construction projects
The performance of photovoltaic systems got degraded due to faulty inverters, standby
losses, snow, etc.
The insulation values of materials used for calculations were always inflated, thus reducing
the performance of sustainable construction projects
Although, passive daylight from glazed windows were usually high, they were also usually
below expectation thus contributing to glare in certain parts of sustainable construction
projects.
In view of these avoidable and improvable failure, there is obvious need to elevate the skills of
professionals, trades and manufacturers of sustainable materials, appliances and construction
projects. There is also the need to develop separate training guidelines; increase the level of
awareness of the different areas of failures of trades, professionals and appliances/materials and
finally present case study projects that have one problem or the other for improvement learning on
subsequent sustainable projects. According to Brown and Cole (2008), the reason for the low
performance of many sustainable construction projects is that, less than 20% of their contracts
were properly prepared as they rarely address sustainability issues. This assertion was affirmed
after investigating the contracts of 100 sustainable construction projects, of which 89% were
pursuing LEED rating, 7% were pursuing NGBS rating, 1% was pursuing Green globes rating, 1%
was pursuing Energy Star rating and the rating pursued by the remaining 2% was undisclosed. All
the projects (public schools, private offices and multi-family residential buildings) were situated
in different areas of the United States and they contained several errors of which emphasis was
laid on those relating to sustainability because of the focus of this book.
One of the greatest errors or failures in the contracts was the failure to state and describe the
obligations of the parties involved the design and construction of the sustainable projects. To
deepen this crisis, the contracts (28%) failed to mention the assessment tools that were being
pursued, and the professionals responsible for achieving the different criteria in the assessment
tools were not mentioned in 22% of the contracts. In addition, the design professionals failed to
clarify their unified role on sustainable construction projects. In some cases, the contracts failed to
mention the need to achieve sustainability on the projects, thus making the whole process rather
vague. It is important to note that many of these errors and failures as associated with sustainable
construction projects, are also characteristically evident in conventional construction projects. In
fact, it is not clear if these problems were surmounted on conventional construction projects (as
claimed by the construction industries of the developed countries with the use of lean construction
techniques, building information modelling and value engineering among others) before the advent
and paradigm shift to sustainable construction projects. In many developing countries, these
problems still largely characterize conventional construction projects. Hence, it may not be too
surprising to see the resurgence of the same contract documentation problems in the long
advocated sustainable design and construction projects, especially when the professionals
responsible for the errors on conventional construction projects are still the ones designing
sustainable construction projects. It may easily be alluded that the transfer of knowledge from
conventional to sustainable construction projects also transferred the failures of conventional
construction projects to sustainable construction projects. in view of this, it may not be out of place
to state that, in a short while, litigations and arbitrations that were inherent in conventional
construction projects may soon be experienced in large scale (some are being experienced already)
on sustainable construction projects if this trend of failures had to continue unabated.
The problems of sustainable construction projects are multifaceted and goes beyond just the
contracting. Being relatively characterized by new construction innovations, some sustainable
materials are new and untried mostly untested with time, thus posing unique risks of application
on construction projects. This uncertainty contributes to the broad prime contracting provisions
made by suppliers and manufacturers of sustainable products, which gives little or unclear liability
to them (suppliers and manufacturers) in the event of failure of their products to meet sustainability
goals or prescriptions. Meanwhile, there is a strong connection between the ability of materials
and products to achieve sustainability prescriptions and the ability of sustainable construction
projects to achieve good sustainability assessment rating. This is because, sustainable materials
mostly form the elements of sustainable construction projects and are highly weighted in the rating
scale of sustainability assessment tools. While the non-achievement of targeted sustainability
rating could lead to litigation between the client and the project team members, litigation based on
the prescription of material appears to be difficult. Hence, the need to work on the exactness of
material prescription while more is being done to improve the quality of sustainable contract
documentation.
There are lots of problems associated with the durability and effectiveness of sustainable materials
when compared with already established conventional materials. For instance, vegetative roofs are
mostly wet and less durable in comparison with conventional roof. Hence, they may be subject to
failure if not well designed, insulated, constructed and maintained. Recycled materials may have
challenges with durability and water infiltration, untested sustainable materials are riskier to use
for construction when compared with conventional materials, designing for increased ventilation
to meet indoor air quality may result in interior humidity in hot climates if not properly done. In
addition, the reliance of on subcontractors to install new materials and appliances lead to the
inability to determine whether it is the material, designers or the installation that is at fault. Hence,
the difficulty to hold a particular person responsible for failure. The moisture absorption of some
of the insulation materials (expandable foam) are overrated and this can affect the performance of
insulated wall. Besides, the insulation materials pose health risks to occupants. LEED assessment
tool require that 14,000ft3 per square foot is needed for flush out. However, the problem with this
is that many HVAC systems were not designed to cover such amount of space. This makes
contractors to improve efficiency by adding extremely expensive dehumidifying system and this
may sometimes lead to system failure in some cases. In summary cost may not be the main
problem of green construction; the problems appear to stem from the high underperformance of
sustainable construction projects. if the identify failures are not fixed within manageable period,
the interests and supposed benefits of sustainable design and construction may soon be eroded.
This may mean that, clients will stop patronizing sustainable design and construction. Hence, in
addition to trying to overcome the failures of sustainable design and construction and their causes,
the following should be done:
•
•
•
Designs should henceforth incorporate climate-specific criteria for sustainable design and
construction.
Moisture control should take precedence over green building development
Risk management plans that provide guidelines for both design and construction should be
developed for sustainable projects.
At the meeting of the Society for College and University Planning Annual Conference in Montreal,
it was noted that there was need to reconcile sustainability failure of construction projects as many
projects consist of green planning only without green building (Redden, 2008). The Zurich
Services Corporation (2011) noted that the top five areas of failure for sustainable construction
projects were cost of greening and cost of insurance; legal issues; performance issues; designers’
inexperience and regulatory issues. These areas of failure have increased the amount of both legal
cases and insurances for sustainable construction projects around the world. It appears that the
risks involved in sustainable design and construction projects will continue to increase rather than
decrease with the growth of sustainability concept in the construction industry (Bueren and Jong,
2007).
While Perkins (2018) was advocating for better ways like arbitration and mediation rather than
litigation to resolve green construction disputes, the areas of failures of a sustainable construction
project leading to dispute between a client and contractor was discussed. While both parties held
different positions, and claimed different amounts for damages in the process, the client (claiming
for lost status and market differentiation) particularly alleged that his project lost LEED
certification due to the non-existent acclaimed experience of the contractor on sustainable
construction. The signed contract between the two parties had mandated the contractor to ensure
that he obtained LEED certification for the proposed project. However, while LEED rating
required supporting documents to be submitted online to earn sustainability credits, the client
alleged that documents to support waste management system, material disposal (receipts), indoor
air quality procedure and use of sustainable materials such as certified lumber doors among others
were not submitted and available for submission by the contractor.
After the hearing at the American Arbitration Association (AAA), it was noted and learnt that
failures on sustainable construction projects were due to lack of sufficient knowledge about green
building to create building contract. It was noted that, the contract did not contain any green
building provision and the claim of the contractor was only verbal. It was also noted that the client
did not also know the green features he needed in his building. The designer had only participated
in one green building while the contractor had no idea at all about what green building was about.
Hence, the key lessons from the failed project were to always ensure that the obligations of all
parties to a sustainable project were well spelt out and understood by all the parties; ensure that all
parties have the requisite experience to perform their duties on the project to the fullest; ensure
that the goals and objectives of sustainable construction projects are well represented in the
contract documents; ensure that the party responsible for preparing and submitting all documents
with respect to green certification is defined; and define the party to be held accountable if green
certification is lost. It is important to note that, many of the challenges that bedeviled conventional
construction projects for many years appeared to have been transferred to sustainable construction
projects one way or the other. Some of these problems, going by the discussions on failed
sustainable construction projects include communication gaps among project participants,
construction complications due to project complexity among others, claims and disputes, errors in
contract documentations, omissions, bankruptcy, project abandonment, etc.
During the construction of a custom home in the United states, benefits relating to similarity of
construction cost between conventional and sustainable construction projects were acknowledged.
The environmental benefits of sustainable construction projects were also noted. However, it was
noted that the preference for environmental products normally increases market for sustainable
products. The construction of the custom home attracted a few challenges that needs to be taken
care of in case of subsequent projects. Firstly, sourcing for materials was difficult because of the
location (rural area) of the project. Instead of using FSC certified framing lumber which was
locally unavailable, conventional wood was used as framing and FSC wood was cosmetically used
for finishes to save cost and reduce transportation. Secondly, the initial of some materials were
high but had to be offset by renewability of the appliances and performance of the materials.
Examples of such materials include foam insulation and geothermal pump among others. Thirdly,
there were some materials whose costs are comparable with those of conventional projects, but
their installation requires specialist attention and hence increase cost in many cases.
Discussion on implementation failures of sustainable construction projects
The conventional method of construction was affected by many challenges that reduced both its
performance and contributions to the economy of their nations for a long period. The challenges
that were linked to conventional construction projects were many and they include disputes on
construction projects leading to litigation or arbitration, project abandonment, cost overrun, time
overrun, poor quality performance, errors in contract documents, variations, rework, waste, and so
on. These challenges led to continuous researches that aimed at optimizing construction activities
so that performance can be improved. The results of these researches led to innovations such as
Building Information Modelling (BIM), Value Management (VM), Industrialized System
Building (ISB), modern procurement methods, lean construction techniques, etc. to manage
construction process. These innovations were proven to be beneficial to the construction industry
and sometimes improve construction practice. It is however not clear the extent (in quantitative
terms) to which the construction management techniques reduced or eliminated the challenges of
the conventional construction techniques.
Sustainable development came at a time when the construction industry was still busy with the
transfer of knowledge based on the new construction improvement techniques for conventional
projects. While many of these techniques were at best, scantily adopted in developed countries
including Africa, the call for sustainable design and construction came to be. This on its own is a
cause for confusion in the construction industry, especially in Africa as it is unclear whether to
pursue conventional construction in line with the new construction management techniques,
pursue sustainable construction without regard for conventional construction or pursue both
conventional and sustainable construction at the same time. Many of the failures and problems
(cost of construction, disputes, poor contract documentation, designers’ inexperience and
contractors’ defaulting among others) that were associated with sustainable construction projects
were also characteristically associated with the supposed out-of-fashion conventional construction
projects. This problem is aggravated by the adoption of sustainable construction materials that
have not been time-tested to execute construction works.
This book suggests that, in addition to the reason (newness of sustainable design and construction)
attributed to the failure of sustainable construction projects, the use of the construction knowledge
of conventional projects to implement sustainable projects is also a major cause of the failures in
sustainable construction projects. In Africa, many poor people are already complaining about the
high cost of constructing conventional projects as it affects their not having shelter over their head.
Now that it has been substantially proven that sustainable construction projects cost at least 2-5%
above conventional projects, it is not clear how these set of persons could overcome the challenges.
A larger percentage of the African population is poor hence, sustainable construction projects
appears rather hard to achieve by people. Many governments in Africa have not been able to
provide shelter or support for majority of her citizens that do not have roof over their heads.
The summary of this discussion is that, there appears to be a strong relationship between the
failures in conventional construction projects and sustainable construction projects. it also appears
that the failures in sustainable construction projects will give rise to countless litigation issues and
insurance on sustainable construction projects. Also, unabated persistent failures in sustainable
construction projects may mark a downward slope for the adoption of sustainable development on
construction projects. Hence, the need to embrace various solutions that have been suggested
toward minimization of failures in sustainable construction projects.
Summary of chapter
This chapter was basically dedicated to the examination and discussion of the failures that were
encountered during the design, construction or occupancy of sustainable construction projects.
These failures were extracted based on case study projects that have been executed in advanced
countries based on the common sustainable design and construction assessment tool such as the
LEED, Green Globes and so on. The chapter discovered the importance of understanding a contract
and defining the parties that supposed to do what on any construction project.
References
Bray, J. and Mc Curry, N. (2006). Unintended consequences: how the use of LEED can
inadvertently fail to benefit the environment. Journal of Green Building, 1 (4) 152-165
Brown, Z. B. and Cole, R. J. (2008). Engaging occupants in green building performance:
addressing the knowledge gap. ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, 7,
37-48.
Bueren, E.V. and Jong D. J. (2007). Establishing sustainability: policy successes and failures.
Building Research and Information, 35 (5), 543-556
Deng, M. (2012). To promote green buildings in China: lessons from USA and EU. Journal of
Resources and Ecology, 3 (2) 183-191
Du Plesis, C. (2007). A strategic framework for sustainable construction in developing countries.
Construction Management and Economics, 25(1) 67-76.
Lstiburek, J. W. (2008). Why green can be wash. ASHRAE Journal, 50 (11) 1-4
Liljequist, B. (n.d). zHome reaches the stars: a built green Emerald-star case study. Obtained from
www.issaquah.wa.us on 15th July 2017
Mc Fadden, M. (2007). Remodel case study. Obtained from www.nwpimaging.com on 15th July
2017
Perkins, W. (2018). sustainability and the environment. Obtained from www.perkins.com on 15th
July 2017
Redden, (2008). Sustainability failures. Obtained from www.insidehighered.com on 15th July 2017
Rose, M. (2007). Affordable housing case study: A townhome at Rainier Vista in Seatle. Obtained
from www.martharoseconstruction.com on 15th July 2017
Safari,
M.
(2015).
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building
performance
th
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failures.
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from
Schilling, J. and Vasudevan, R. (2013). Strategic lessons in sustainable community building- the
groundwork USA network. Obtained from www.groundwork.org.uk on 15th July 2017
Solid waste division (2015). Custom home case study: Eastside harvest house-5 star built green
home in Kirkland. Department of Natural Resources and Parks Solid Waste Division.
Vowel, M. and Vowel, K. (n.d). Remodeled home case study: vowels residence. Obtained from
www.universalandgreen.com on 15th July 2017
Winston, N. (2009). Urban regeneration for sustainable development: the role of sustainable
housing. European Planning Studies, 17(12). 1781-1796.
Zurich Services Corporation (2011) Sustainability report of 2013-2014. Obtained from
www.ethz.ch on 15th July 2017
Chapter 9
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Factors influencing the adoption of sustainable building design and construction
Abstract
Sustainable development has been adjudged by majority of researchers and stakeholders as the
way to ensure that the world continues to grow in the present and in the future. Despite this
revelation however, many African nations have not keyed into the vision of adopting sustainable
design and construction. This chapter investigates the factors responsible for the adoption and nonadoption of sustainable design and construction in the construction industry. The chapter reveals
that the factors influencing sustainable design and construction are many and can be conveniently
classified in many ways. Some of the classifications that were considered in this chapter are:
internal, external and management factors; economic, social and environmental factors; materials,
energy, water, indoor environmental quality, surrounding environment, and miscellaneous;
stakeholders’ involvement, leadership and responsibility, principles and techniques, and feedback
and building public confidence; scope and quality of input of resources to sustainable construction
project, flexibility of design changes to maintenance and variation, estimation of the cost of design
and construction, unforeseen inflation in the prices of materials for sustainable construction and
management of the size and complexity of sustainable project. At organizational level, the factors
influencing the adoption of sustainable design and construction were categorized as product
innovativeness, process innovativeness, business innovativeness, new technology, adhocracy and
market orientation. The last classification of factors considered in the study are motivating factors
and readiness of stakeholders. The focus of this chapter was to discuss the factors that constitute
the various categories that were identified.
Keywords: sustainable design, sustainable construction, economic factors of sustainability, social
factors of sustainability, environmental factors of sustainability, sustainability in Africa,
Introduction
Sustainable design and construction is a global concept in the construction industry. While many
nations (mostly developed) have adopted it, many are on the verge of adopting it. The history of
the construction industry indicates that the disadvantages of the conventional methods of
construction require construction projects to be built in sustainable manner. In spite of the
disadvantages of the conventional methods of construction and the benefits of sustainable
construction projects, the levels at which African countries adopt sustainability do not only vary,
it is also low. The reason for this is that, there are various factors that influence the adoption of
sustainable design and construction in the construction industry. The discussion of these factors as
they affect developed and developing nations like Africa is the focus of this chapter.
Factors affecting the adoption of Sustainable design and construction
There are a few studies that have investigated the factors influencing the adoption of sustainable
design and construction by developed and developing countries. The method used to describe and
classify the factors vary from one another. Although, the classifications were mostly scientific and
logical, they appear not to have holistically captured all the social, environmental and economic
factors of sustainable design and construction. This chapter discusses the various classifications of
the factors influencing sustainable design and construction, but got more explicit on the economic,
social and environmental factors. This is because, the social, economic and environmental factors
are the cardinal focus of sustainable development.
Hendrickson (2008) classified the factors affecting sustainable design and construction into
materials (efficient use, waste reduction, removal and management), energy (use of renewable
energy, energy efficiency and generation), water (reduction of water usage and enhancement of
water quality), indoor environmental quality (indoor air quality, thermal comfort and reduction of
noise level), surrounding environment (enhancement of biodiversity, maintenance of old areas and
increasing awareness on sustainable design and construction) and miscellaneous (flexibility of
design and construction to accommodate changes and enhance safety).
In the work of Lam et al. (2010), twenty factors affecting green construction were categorized into
four based on factor analysis. The categories and twenty factors identified are:
Stakeholders’ involvement
• Top management’s directive for environmental protection
• Concerns of construction stakeholder
Leadership and responsibility
• Environmental regulations
• Conflict of interest
• Bias to certain products or processes
• Liability for detrimental effects of final products
• Worries associated with the risk of using green construction technology
Principles and techniques
• Availability of advanced green technology for construction works
• Consideration of the life cycle of sustainable projects
• Energy consumption and use of renewable energy
• Impact of water, air and soil on the environment before, during and after construction
• Selection of materials based on their renewability or recyclability
• Material selection based on their risk level on the environment
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•
•
Green performance assessment of sustainable construction projects
Availability of green specification clauses
Adoption of green practices or procedures during construction
Feedback and building public confidence
• Availability of green production information from reliable database
• Use of information from potential suppliers as specification with care
• Clear requirements of green characteristics for prescriptive specifications
• Verifiable green performance criteria for performance based specifications
Enhassi et al. (2016) found that the key factors of sustainable design and construction that ensures
the success of construction project management are scope and quality of input of resources to
sustainable construction project, flexibility of design changes to maintenance and variation,
estimation of the cost of design and construction, unforeseen inflation in the prices of materials for
sustainable construction and management of the size and complexity of sustainable project. At
organizational level, the factors influencing the adoption of sustainable design and construction
include product innovativeness, process innovativeness, business innovativeness, new technology,
adhocracy and market orientation.
Kimber and Lipton (2005) discussed that the critical factors of sustainable design and construction
are both internal and external. Internal factors include corporate governance and stakeholders’
engagement. External factors include legal systems in a country, cultural and social factors. The
factors of sustainable design and construction were categorized by Bamgbade et al. (2015) into
management, internal and external factors. The management factors considered are: attitude of
corporate organizations towards sustainable design and construction; internal factors involve
availability of supportive environment for workable policies, resources, infrastructure and
performance evaluation system; external factors of sustainable design and construction include
local laws and regulations, construction industry market trends and social pressures. In summary,
the factors of sustainable design and construction were described as follows:
Motivating factors
Management
• Personal interest of the top management
• Supporting policy
Internal resources
• Promoting business objectives
• Sufficient financial supports
• Specific knowledge and expertise
• Well-developed infrastructure
• Effective measuring system to monitor the performance
• Needs to enhance reputation and promote business
• Needs to further advance the business
Motivation by External Factors
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•
•
The laws and regulations in the country
Social pressure to contribute to the community
External market and global trend
Readiness
Management
• Willingness of top management to drives towards sustainability development
Supporting Resource
• Supporting policies and strategies setting
• Sufficient financial resources for sustainability development
• Specific knowledge and expertise are employed
• Enabling internal infrastructure
• Company culture to take serious consideration in sustainability development
• Awareness of sustainability development strategies
Current Practices
• The degree of sustainability development helps business development in comparison to
other development strategies
• Resources allocation in sustainability development
• The prestige and/or recognition in sustainability development, comparing to other
companies
• The level of integration of sustainability in business
In another study, Abisuga and Oyekanmi (2014) categorized the factors influencing sustainable
design and construction into internal factors (awareness and knowledge of clients about sustainable
construction, size of contracting and consulting firms, organization willingness to practice
sustainable design and construction, organizational top management commitment, cost and
economic viability of sustainability practice and availability of clients that embrace sustainable
construction projects) and external factors (government support for sustainable development,
willingness of clients organization to embrace sustainable design and construction, interest of the
public to support sustainable design and construction, availability of sustainable construction
materials, level of research and development that support the adoption of sustainable design and
construction, and awareness and availability of skilled personnel to implement sustainable
development).
Kheni and Akoogo (2015) stated that the factors that influence sustainable design and construction
are awareness of sustainable construction, relative advantage of sustainable construction in
business and project use, compatibility of sustainable design and construction with the clients and
organizational goals, complexity of sustainable construction projects, feasibility of adopting
sustainable design and construction, and influence of peer firms on an organization.
Basiago (1999) noted that the drivers of sustainable construction generally include:
• Clients’ demand and requirements
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Attraction and retention of the right staff
Moral obligation to protect the environment
Cost efficiency and effectiveness
Stakeholder influence on sustainability of construction projects
Legislation and Regulations
Reputation of company and brand image
Clear and consistent guidelines for measuring sustainable construction
Awareness and knowledge by top management
Investment
Availability of life cycle cost analysis
Winning more contracts to remain in business
Financial Incentives (tax rebates, high profit margin, etc.)
Competitive advantage
The factors influencing sustainable design and construction was categorized into three, in line with
the three-cardinal coverage of sustainability. The three categories are economic, social and
environmental factors (Vivian, 1999; Basiago, 1999).
Economic factors of sustainable design and construction
The economic factors of sustainable design and construction seeks to basically determine the cost
efficiency and effectiveness of a construction project over its life span. Economic factors of
sustainable design and construction relates to development, growth, productivity, market
allocation of resources, consumption of resources, assumption that natural resources are unlimited
and belief that economic growth will go from rich to the poor. It puts social, economic and human
capital in monetary perspective. Hence, the economic factors of sustainable design and
construction include (Suridechakul, n.d):
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•
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Cost efficiency (based on life cycle costing)
Affordability of the project
Sustainable design and construction with minimum cost option
Job creations within the local economy
Cost efficiency of sustainable projects
The cost efficiency factor of sustainable design and construction refers to the most cost saving
approach to design and construction of sustainable projects in the long run rather than short run.
That means, the cheapest construction in the short run may not eventually and in many cases not
be the most cost efficient. Cost efficiency refers to the life cycle cost of sustainable construction
projects. Sustainable design and construction considers initial capital cost viz-a-viz the running
cost of construction projects. As a matter of fact, one of the key benefits of sustainable construction
projects are low running or operational cost, maintenance cost and high construction performance.
In the past, there were beliefs that the completion costs of sustainable construction projects are
higher than those of conventional construction projects; recent researches have indicated and
scientifically proven that high completion cost of sustainable construction projects is not necessary
bound to be except in instances where costly equipment, appliances and materials were employed
for the project (Nalewaik and Venters, 2008).
During the periods when sustainable developments just commenced, its materials were expensive
because of scarcity. The cost of engaging professionals that specialize in sustainable design and
construction were equally high, thus contributing to the overall cost of sustainable construction
projects. Therefore, the cost efficiency of sustainable construction projects is inherent in its energy
cost savings, water cost savings and reduction in the number and type of equipment used for the
construction project. Furthermore, the cost efficiency benefits of sustainable construction projects
based on capital cost savings, low operational cost, high returns on investment, improved
productivity, efficient resource use and marketing of organizational brands among others.
According to Dobson et al. (2013), majority construction stakeholders believe that sustainable
construction methods result in increased capital costs. Although, many of them also hold the
opinion that, the importance of sustainable design and construction is sufficient to justify the extra
capital cost incurred. While majority of the stakeholders in the construction industry agree that
sustainable design and construction is the best way to go, it appears difficult or impracticable for
less-developed nations. In addition, it appears many of the propagated cost efficiency of
sustainable construction projects over conventional projects lack scientific evidence as no
verifiable sets of data that can be used to execute such project exist. Besides, there is need to have
prototype construction projects of sustainable and conventional versions for effective comparison
on cost efficiency in the long run.
Affordability od sustainable construction project
It is no longer news that sustainable design and construction is of higher value in terms of both
appearance and performance. However, there is the issue of practice, of which one of the
influencing factors is the affordability of sustainable construction projects by developing nations
(especially Africa) and its citizens. Affordability of construction projects is important to many
today. Developing nations get farther from affordability with increased price inflation of building
materials and continued degradation of natural resources. While some studies have noted that it
may be easier for already developed nations to practice sustainability, there may be need for
developing nations like Africa to practice resource degradation for some while before engaging in
sustainability practice.
One of the visions of the United Nations is that, developed nations may need to provide funds and
resources to developing and poor nations to enhance their practice of sustainability and prevent
environmental degradation. This position was due to the realization of the fact that, many of these
nations may not be able to practice sustainable design and construction. it is however not clear if
that objective is meet met by the United Nations and the developed nations. If it is being met, it is
unclear the extent to which the developed nations are helping poor states to achieve sustainable
design and construction (Nair, 2015). Whatever the case maybe, this is one dividing practice line
between the adopters and non-adopters of sustainability. Many programs are being executed in
practicing nations to encourage people to embrace sustainability; these programs are more equally
important if not more important to encourage the practice of sustainability in Africa. some of the
programs include (Nalewaik and Venters, 2008):
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Use of certified energy star rated construction products
Rebates on utility rates where applicable
Embracing solar tax credits where possible
Embracing revenue tax credits due to sustainability practice
Embracing tax cuts for certification of sustainable projects
Engaging in equipment pilot programs
Obtaining research grants from the departments of energy
Concentrating on the incentives of renewable energy
Applying for green building loans where available
Obtaining grants for energy modelling and commissioning
Taking advantage of expedited permit reviews
Taking advantage of reduced insurance premiums for commissioned sustainable
projects
Taking advantage of the financing and installation services of energy companies
Green affordable projects may be described as optimally constructed projects that incorporates
sustainable features. The major problem with many of such projects bother on the less priority
given to life cycle costing. Many of the projects also suffer from quality and aesthetics despite
incorporating sustainable features. Some of the affordable sustainable projects are mostly
constructed with traditional woods and shipping containers (recently). The most prominently
addressed features in sustainable affordable projects are energy consumption, material use and
good indoor environmental quality (Wang et al., 2015).
Choice of the most reduced cost option for sustainable projects
Based on reports of researches on sustainability, it could be concluded that the construction cost
of sustainable projects largely depends on the method and the options adopted to achieve
sustainability. While many sustainable construction projects have been completed at comparable
cost with conventional construction projects, many others have also been completed with higher
cost (Bawazir, 2006). For instance, while many sustainable projects rely on natural means to
achieve their goals, other sustainable construction projects rely on alternative methods (costly
mechanical equipment and appliances) to achieve their goals. Therefore, the options taken to
execute sustainable construction projects goes a long way in determining the total life cycle cost
of the project.
The following ten suggestions were given by Brookstone (n.d) for lowering the construction costs
of sustainable projects while still optimizing efficiency and sustainability:
Use Automated controllers: this involves the use of automatic controllers for regulating energy,
water and other consummation in a building. The technologies can save cost on heating, ventilation
and Air Condition (HVAC) systems, lighting fixtures, security, fire alarms and so on.
Retrofitting construction is more desirable: where is possibility, it is preferable to work on
retrofitting or refurbishment projects rather than commence a fresh project on a virgin land. This
is because, land for construction continues to reduce with increase in new construction projects.
Hence, sustainability is supported, and cost is reduced when conversion works are sustainably
carried out on existing projects.
Use porous floors and pavements: porous floors and pavements allow water to pass through them,
hence reducing the quantity of run off in a compound.
Use Tilt-ups: this construction method is used for construction of walls. The walls are casted in
panels and then lifted as a single element to receive rood. It is however similar to the traditional
method of construction as the foundation to receive the wall are prepared in the same manner as
the traditional method of construction. the cost benefits of this construction method are cheaper
cost of concrete walls, reduced manpower for construction, reduced waste during construction,
saves construction time, absorption of heat, adoption of natural materials for construction, reduced
maintenance, and achievement of energy efficiency. Also, the concrete wall can be aesthetically
built. For example, colour and texture may be added to the wall to add to its beauty.
Prevention of inflation: this involves the contractor, preventing increase in the cost of construction
materials as much as possible. There are many ways by which this can be done to reduce the risk
of incurring inflation on sustainable construction projects. The contractor may encourage the client
to commence construction project on time by stating in his quotation that price allocation is only
valid for prescribed number of days. The contractor may also introduce an inflation clause that
provides for him to be reimbursed accordingly in the case of increase in materials’ cost. Lastly,
the contractor may procure materials in bulk rather than in bits to beat recurrent inflation of
materials’ prices.
Green construction: money will be saved if green construction is embraced at the expense of
conventional construction projects. the savings get more pronounced in the long run with reduced
maintenance and operating cost among others. Beyond these, green building has the capability to
reduce the environmental effects of conventional construction and improve the overall health of
the people. The key areas that are touched by green construction are sustainable site development,
energy efficiency, use of sustainable materials, water efficiency and indoor environmental quality.
Prepare for Economic Swings: during the construction of sustainable projects, it is important for
construction organizations to build a strong and diverse customer base. Also, there is need to
preserve money for periods when it will be needed and there is less inflow. There is need to keep
positive attitude towards sustainable construction and avoid delaying important decisions
regarding construction projects and the organization.
Government Incentives: government and some other establishments instituted various programs
that are geared towards encouraging people to embark on sustainable design and construction.
some of these programs include provision of tax credits, reduces certification fees, fast process of
giving development approval/permit, free/low technical assistance cost, access to grants and low
interest loans.
Optimization of IT Systems and Cost Control: when a construction organization is abreast of the
latest technology for costing and preparing important documents, there is high likelihood that cost
will be saved as expected.
Design for Disaster: this involves ensuring that sustainable construction projects are designed in
such a way that they will not be eroded during disaster.
Sustainable construction projects as a means of job creation
The construction industry is generally regarded as one of the few sectors that massively provide
job opportunities for people. Sustainable construction activities are seen to provide more jobs than
the regular conventional construction projects. This is due to the many features (social,
environmental and economic) of sustainable construction in which area jobs could be created. The
study of Kievani, et al. (2010) indicates that, due to sustainable construction, South Africa
provided up to 1000 and 1500 jobs in Johannesburg and Soweto respectively in the areas of lighting
fixtures and installations, sensors, solar systems and insulations among others. Countless number
of jobs were created in Botswana with the installation of solar heating and lighting systems, and
domestic cooking gas systems. In Nepal, over 2000 jobs were created with the installation of PV
systems; many jobs were created in Lithuania for upgrade, maintenance and improvement of
energy efficiency of rehabilitated block of flats. Several jobs were also created in India with the
upgrade of vernacular building systems using local construction materials.
Social factors of sustainable design and construction
Social factors of sustainable design and construction deals with equitable sharing of wealth,
empowerment of citizens, accessibility to sustainable facilities, participation in sustainability
practice, sharing in economic wealth, embracing cultural identity and ensuring institutional
stability. It also includes preservation of economic growth and alleviation of poverty. The purpose
of the social factors of sustainable design and construction is to determine the safety,
comfortability and flexibility of sustainable projects for people with differing capabilities in a
community. Thus, the factors to be considered under social sustainability of design and
construction include:
•
•
•
•
•
Indoor environmental quality of sustainable construction projects
Safety of the people and environment within a sustainable construction project
Social amenities in a building and the community
Recreational amenities in a building and the community
Accessibility to jobs and amenities by occupants of sustainable building
Indoor environmental quality of sustainable construction projects
Indoor environmental quality refers to the level to which indoor conditions supports the health and
well-being of occupants. Enhanced indoor environmental quality increases productivity, health
and well-being of people at home and at work. Naturally, indoor environmental quality is improved
with passive lighting design which invariably save energy and reduces the use of HVAC systems.
Indoor environmental quality is basically defined by the following (Vilcekova and Burdova, 2015):
•
•
•
•
•
•
Daylighting/visual comfort (combines sufficient direct and indirect light during the day
and night)
External views to the environment
Indoor air quality (containing sufficient oxygen and less quantity of pollution)
Thermal comfort/insulation (deals with the temperature and humidity within which
occupants feel comfortable)
Less Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Materials to be used
Water quality
Thus, indoor environmental quality is a combination of air quality, natural lighting, thermal
comfort, acoustics, ventilation, visual comfort and so on. Among these parameters of indoor
environmental quality, air quality appears to have the greatest direct impact on human health and
they are easily compromised by dusts (dirts) and volatile chemicals.
Safety of people and the environment within a sustainable construction project
Health and safety is generally an important aspect of every industry of which the construction
industry is not exempted. Due to the newness in the concept of sustainable design and construction,
the practice of health and safety in conventional construction is lesser in scope than sustainable
design and construction. Indoor environmental quality of sustainable projects is also directly linked
with the health and well-being of occupants of sustainable construction projects. Apart from safety
of the people, sustainable construction projects are also aimed at guaranteeing safety of the
environment in conjunction with that of the people (Rajendran, 2006).
Sustainable design and construction safety includes project team selection, health and safety in
contracts (identification and specification of less hazardous materials), engagement of competent
personnel for hazard related activities, stakeholders’ commitment to health and safety, health and
safety training for all workers, involvement of employees in health and safety programs,
investigation and reporting of incidents and near misses, health and safety inspection for violations,
health and safety performance measurement and practice of personal hygiene to minimize human
health problems. Reduced rate of air flow into buildings, external pollutants such as carbon
monoxide are toxic and poisonous to human health and productivity.
Social and recreational amenities in sustainable construction projects
Amenities are important part of any society and, communities without social, cultural and
recreational facilities may soon go to the decline. In many cases, old settlements, especially in
Africa had social amenities as part of their plans before construction. However, with increase in
the demand for different types of construction projects (civil and building projects) and increase
in population, spaces and funds that are required for providing those amenities are being converted
for other purposes. Hence, many new settlements lack the much-required amenities for communal
coexistence. For successful execution of sustainable projects, there is need to ensure that new cities
and communities are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. Higher priorities are
being given to economic and environmental aspects of sustainable projects while the social aspects
continue to be neglected during the planning and construction.
The essentiality of social amenities in any community cannot be underestimated because of the
huge contribution they make to having vibrant an inclusive community for peaceful and creative
coexistence. Social and cultural amenities cover areas such as sense of community identity;
tolerance, respect and engagement with people from different cultures, background and beliefs;
friendly, co-operative and helpful behaviour in neighbourhoods; opportunities for cultural, leisure,
community, sport and other activities; low levels of crime and anti-social behaviour with visible,
effective and community-friendly policing; and opportunities for all people to be socially included
and have similar life opportunities (Enhassi et al., 2016).
Amenities are nonmarketed qualities of a community that make it attractive for working and living
(Green, 2001). Amenities may be in the form of wildlife, recreational areas, cultivated landscapes,
unique settlement patterns, historic sites, social and cultural traditions. Amenities are usually
fixated in a particular community and cannot be moved to another place. The usefulness of
amenities varies according to people and places. The most common of the usefulness is the addition
of user value which may mean direct and indirect use of the amenities.
The following are the characteristics of amenities generally (Green, 2001):
• Amenities are usually fixed and confined to a specific geographical location.
• Amenities are basically irreversible unless they are to be destroyed for other purposes
• Amenities have strong relationship with income generation in their domiciled economies
• Amenities cannot be easily substituted after completion. Therefore, they are unique and
specific for different areas.
Amenities and job creation in a sustainably constructed community
It is important to note that some communities greatly rely on their amenities for development and
income generation. Such communities derive benefits from increased population, employment
generation, income generation and economic wealth. The level of growth of amenities-dependent
economy is determined by the type of amenity. For instance, communities with tourism features
are likely to have non-resident immigrants while the development of communities that have
amenities such as schools (higher institution) are likely to have resident immigrants. These
determine the type of growth and development of such communities in the long or short run.
Environmental factors of sustainable design and construction
The environmental factors of sustainable design and construction are aimed at determining the rate
at which associated resources such as materials, water, energy and waste among others were used.
Environmental factors of sustainable design and construction deals with the protection of natural
resources and preservation of biodiversity. It demands that natural resources are maintained for
economic wealth. That is, resources should get replaced faster than they are degraded. The
environmental factors of sustainable design and construction include the following (Bamgbade et
al., 2015; Law, 2010):
• Energy generation and consumption
• Amount of greenhouse carbon emissions
• Water use, efficiency and conservation
•
•
•
•
•
•
Material use and efficiency
Use of construction land space
Waste management
Protection and promotion of biodiversity
Level of noise and air pollution
Level of dependence on personal car
Energy generation and consumption
One of the environmental factors of sustainable design and construction is the means and quantity
of energy that can be generated and consumed. Energy generation in sustainable construction
involves the use of Photovoltaic installations, LED light installations and fixtures. Renewable
energy is mostly generated through the installation of solar panels, inverters and batteries among
others. The amount of consumable energy is a strong factor to be considered before making a
choice of the type of energy to be sourced. Many times, it may not be easy to totally go off-grid
when the energy to be consumed is considerably high. Many of the renewable energy sources
become more expensive as the energy to be consumed increases, thus necessitating a combination
of both renewable and non-renewable energy. Energy consumption gets reduced with the use of
recent and certified energy rated appliances for lighting, HVAC and so on. Hence, poor nations
and citizens that have lesser technologies to achieve this energy feat may be confronted with the
challenge of financing renewable energy in spite of its usefulness
Amount of greenhouse carbon emissions
Conventional construction methods have been largely associated with huge carbon emission when
compared with other industries. Sustainable design and construction is aimed at reducing carbon
emission by ensuring that the environmental effects of depleting environmental resources are
minimized to a bearable minimum. Apart from this, activities of burning and engaging in gas
spilling were aimed at reducing gas emission. However, researches noted that gas emissions are
higher in developed countries where construction works are being carried out in large scale.
Therefore, gas emission is typical of developed countries that already embraced sustainable design
and construction. Also, it was indicated that, poor nations may need to degrade their natural
resources to accumulate economic wealth, thus adding to gas emission. That means there is a
strong relationship between greenhouse gas emission and environmental degradation. It also
means, poor nations may not be left with many options than to degrade their natural resources if
they are to create even sustainable economic wealth. Greenhouse gas emission is not only
associated with depletion of environmental resources, it also involves community activities such
as bush burning, wood burning, gas usage and other domestic smoke generating activities.
Water quality (use, efficiency and conservation)
One of the aim of sustainable design and construction is the control of the use of water during and
after construction. There are many developed and developing countries that have shortfall in the
amount of rain per year, and thus in need of water for domestic and commercial use. Sustainability
reduces the rate at which water is used, ensures that rainwater is collected through runoff and
preserved in underground and sunk septic tank. Some of the collected water are not portable, so
they are only used for flushing and washing. In some regions, used water are collected and recycled
(treatment) for reuse.
All these conditions determine the adoption of sustainable design and construction. For example,
in a country like Nigeria where the amount of rainfall per year probably exceeds what the people
need, there may be less consideration for water collection and recycling. However, in a country
like South Africa, where the amount of rainfall per year is probably less than the needed quantity
by the country, there is the need for urgent embrace of sustainability in terms of water collection
and recycling. That is not to say that, countries with high quantity of rainfall should not practice
water efficiency and recycling. The urge to do so may just not be pressing enough when compared
with countries with less quantity of water generation.
Material use and efficiency
Materials are major components of construction that distinguishes conventional projects from
sustainable projects. sustainable design and construction has a totally different approach right from
inception to completion and even use of construction projects. Traditional materials, otherwise
known as alternative building materials are being preferred to the conventional sandcrete blocks,
concrete and mortar. It is also preferred that natural materials that do not necessarily warrant
explorations that can cause carbon emission are used. Materials with less volatile and toxic organic
compounds are more desired on sustainable construction projects. Renewable energy sources such
as solar and photovoltaic systems are encouraged to reduce load on national grid.
Despite the advantages of sustainable construction materials, it appears they are costly to procure
in some cases. In other cases, they are not available in some countries at commercial scale and
may require that they are imported for construction works. Imported construction materials have
history of increasing the total cost of construction and hence become less viable for national
projects. There are some of these sustainable materials that are abundant for construction purposes
but as mentioned by Meriani (2008), many African countries lack the technology to process these
construction raw materials for commercial use. It requires national fortune and deliberate policy
to develop technologies for mass production of construction raw materials. For poor nations, it
may be a thing of the future to embrace the sustainable design and construction based on the
economic implications on the nations and their citizens. The readiness must be there on the part of
the government and the people.
Use of construction land space for sustainable construction projects
Construction land space is being awarded points in many of the already implement sustainable
design and construction rating tools. Some of the points are awarded based on the percentage of
land use, type of land use for construction and so on. It is expected that on green fields, greens
including trees should be suitably preserved. Also, issues such as soil erosion should be prevented.
In order to ensure that land spaces for other purposes like agricultural, recreational and social
amenities are preserved, residential and commercial buildings are encouraged to go vertical rather
than horizontal. It is also preferred that existing construction stocks are sustainably rehabilitated
for use rather than doing new construction.
Waste management in sustainable design and construction
Waste management has different components in sustainable design and construction. however, the
main target of waste management is to reduce the amount of generated waste to the barest
minimum during and after construction. To reduce waste generation on construction site, many
techniques are being adopted. Some of them involve the use of modular construction which
involves construction elements being constructed in standard sizes and then erected on
construction sites without the need to cut waste. Other techniques of waste management is the use
of Building Information Modelling (BIM) by design and construction experts from the design stage
all through to handing over. The lean construction technique is also aimed at reducing construction
waste. Supposed waste that is generated on site is expected to serve other purposes like backfilling
rather than carting them away. Construction waste can also be recycled for reuse.
It is important to state that; waste management techniques require construction stakeholders
including the government to jointly act so that its achievement can be feasible. In the construction
industry of many African countries where the conventional construction method still prevails, the
waste management techniques are not being employed, hence excessive generation of waste. Some
of the construction experts do not embrace change from their current construction practice. The
governments of these nations have not demonstrated the willingness to enact policies towards
sustainable waste management in the construction industry.
Protection and promotion of biodiversity
Sustainability discourse gave preference to the protection and enhancement of biodiversity. In the
past, construction activities have been mindless of what becomes of biodiversity; however, in
recent times, biodiversity has been seen as a part of human existence and thus must be protected
during human activities like construction. As such, construction must continue to avoid
reclamation of land spaces (green fields and forests) wherever possible. It is preferable to renovate,
convert and rehabilitate existing projects in sustainable manner.
In some developing countries like Nigeria where construction activities are less organized, the
citizens are mostly responsible for providing shelter for themselves and in their quest for cheap
land, they move to reclaim bushy areas and send biodiversity into extinction. Unless, the
government begin to take responsibility for providing shelter for the people, the realization of
protecting biodiversity may be a mirage. Therefore, the factor of protecting biodiversity depends
on the willingness of the government to protect by ensuring that the responsibility of housing
provision is removed from the shoulder of the citizens.
Noise and air pollution in sustainable construction projects
Noise and air pollution are important factors in the achievement sustainable construction projects.
the indoor environmental quality comprises of acoustics and indoor air quality which have been
adjudged with some other elements as having huge impact on the health, well-being and
productivity of users. Noise pollution factor is being catered for by introducing insulators into
different parts of a building to prevent inflow and outflow of sound.
Level of dependence on personal car
Reduction in the use of personal car is counted for sustainable construction project. Sustainable
construction projects are expected to be designed in such a way that access to public transport and
train stations are easy. Also, it encourages the use of bicycles with the provision of bicycle tracks.
However, the position of the land for construction is a strong factor in the achievement of low
dependence on personal car. For example, in some developing nations and probably some
developed nation, the distance of the rural areas where people live makes it almost impracticable
to transit without personal cars. This is because, government investment on transportation has not
been extended to such areas and there is no way such people can access urban centres without the
use of personal cars.
Discussion on factors influencing the adoption of sustainable building design and
construction
It is clear that, the factors affecting the adoption of sustainable design and construction are many
and are based on the perspectives of the researchers. There are many ways by which these factors
can be categorized as described in this chapter. Some of the factors influencing sustainable
development were at organizational level, some were at project level and some were at
stakeholders’ level. The economic, social and environmental factors influencing adoption of
sustainable design and construction were discussed in this chapter, but they appear not to cover
certain salient points that particularly affect non-adopting nations in Africa. All the factors
mentioned in the chapter are critical to the adoption of sustainable design and construction but in
Africa. However, the following are the disabling factors that influence the non-adoption of
sustainable design and construction by many African countries:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Government policies, laws and regulations towards sustainable design and construction
Risks associated with green construction in Africa
Availability of technology to practice sustainable design and construction
Availability of sustainability project management skills
Size of clients, contracting and consulting firm
Organizational willingness to practice sustainable design and construction
Cost and economic viability of adopting sustainable design and construction
•
•
•
•
Interest of the public in embracing sustainable design and construction
Level of research and development in sustainable design and construction
Relative advantages of adopting sustainable design and construction
Training and education in sustainable development
Government policies, laws and regulations towards sustainable design and construction
This is about the most troubling factor that is hindering the adoption of sustainable design and
construction. For any business to be successful, there must be a government law to support the
goals and objectives of such businesses. There is therefore the need for various governments in
Africa enact supporting laws towards the adoption of sustainable design and construction. Many
African countries are still developing and hence have many challenges rattling their nations. These
challenges occupy top priorities in government list while sustainability issues are at near bottom
of the list. Many African governments, except for a few like South Africa only pay lip service to
the adoption of sustainable design and construction. If every other thing is in place and there is no
law to back them, they will probably fail. Hence, for African countries to successfully practice
sustainable design and construction, government agencies must promulgate laws that will ensure
its success. This is the practice in virtually all developed nations that are already adopting
sustainable design and construction.
Risks associated with green construction in Africa
Studies have shown that the practice of sustainable design and construction comes with a lot of
risks. The cost of completing sustainable construction projects has been found to be in excess of
conventional construction projects except in a few cases. Apart from the cost of construction, some
of the sustainable construction projects that have been executed in adopting nations have failed.
Some of the causes of failures are the unavailability of sustainable construction materials, lack of
sustainable project manager, poor contractor’s workmanship, poor contract documentation and so
on. Many of these causes of failure are inherent in African economies and are likely to lead to
failure of sustainable construction projects.
Availability of technology to practice sustainable design and construction
Many traditional materials have been discovered in Africa for sustainable construction but the
technologies to process them for use on sustainable construction projects are largely unavailable.
When raw materials are discovered, they need to be enhanced and processed for mass production
to meet the needs of the people. Apart from materials, other sustainable technologies for renewable
energy, water efficiency, waste management, and so on are lacking. Trying to import them will
mean that, the skills to installs them will have to be imported. These will not only increase the cost
of construction by a wide margin, it will impact negatively impact the maintenance of such
construction projects as the expertise to carry out the maintenance works will have to be imported.
This underscores the urgent need for training and development, enabled by government laws and
regulations.
Availability of sustainability project management skills
The problem of sustainable project management skills is global in nature. Without the availability
of experienced sustainable project managers, the success of construction projects will be a mirage.
There are important skills that are expected to characterize a sustainable project manager, which
are quite different from those of project managers of conventional construction projects. These
skills require licensed training as it is being done by adopters of sustainable design and
construction. Hence, the non-availability of sustainable project managers precludes the successful
practice of sustainable design and construction.
Size of clients, contracting and consulting firm
The size of construction (client, contracting and consulting) firms is a strong factor that influence
the adoption of sustainable design and construction. the size of construction firms is determined
by many factors among which are company turnover, number of projects executed, size of
workforce and so on. Many firms in Africa lack the necessary ingredients to practice sustainable
design and construction. many of them are struggling to survive in business as many construction
contracts in Africa are being executed by expatriate firms. There is need for favourable government
regulation if small and medium sized organizations are to be enabled for sustainability practice in
Africa.
Organizational willingness to practice sustainable design and construction
While some organizations have the ability to practice sustainable design and construction, the
willingness is lacking. The unwillingness to practice sustainable design and construction by able
organizations may be due to other factors such as the interest of clients in sustainable construction
projects, lack of enabling environment necessitated by government regulations, cost of sustainable
design and construction, viability of sustainable projects, lack of expertise and so on. The goal of
adopting sustainable design and construction by an organization is not a short-term goal but a longterm goal.
Cost and economic viability of adopting sustainable design and construction
Studies have shown that the cost of completing sustainable design and construction project is about
2% higher than that of conventional construction projects. Where the cost of sustainable projects
is relatively higher than expected, it is important to investigate the willingness of clients to
purchase or the ability of such projects to command commensurate rental value. Higher
construction cost may lead to discouragement to invest capital on such projects, especially when
cost is a higher priority in comparison to the features of sustainable construction projects. There is
the need to ensure that clients understand the long-term benefits of sustainability practice over
consideration of initial cost of construction.
Interest of the public in embracing sustainable design and construction
The interest of the public in the practice sustainable design and construction is germane to the
success of the whole process. Therefore, there is need for public awareness on the economic, social
and environmental benefits of sustainable design and construction to the people, community and
nation. This will spur the interest of the public towards sustainable practice. There is the need for
government regulations on the practice of sustainable construction by the public.
Level of research and development in sustainable design and construction
The availability of materials for the construction of sustainable projects is an important
requirement for the success of sustainability practice. As discussed earlier, many sustainable
materials have been found but there have been less research and development to foster the course
of sustainability practice. Despite discovering various materials, there need for research and
development, geared towards discovery of how they can be improved for durability. There is also
the need to discover various technologies for mass production and use. Government need to
encourage research and development on sustainable design and construction across all technology
based higher institutions and research institutes.
Relative advantage of adopting sustainable design and construction
According to researches, the relative advantages of sustainable design and construction are only
speculative rather than scientific. There is lack of research to substantiate that the benefits allocated
to sustainable design and construction are correct. There is also lack of data to scientifically project
the benefits of sustainable design and construction.
Training and education in sustainable development
For successful implementation of sustainable design and construction, there is need for training
and development. The adopters of sustainability have training programs for sustainability
facilitators and this must be replicated by other nations that are yet to adopt sustainability. It is
important to understand that the concept of sustainable development is different from that of
conventional construction projects; therefore, there is as a matter of importance the need to give
training as they relate to every aspect of sustainable design and construction. the government and
professional institutions are expected to be at the fore front of these training exercise.
Summary of chapter
This chapter discusses the factors influencing the adoption of sustainable design and construction.
the general factors that concern both the adopting and non-adopting nations were considered. To
further the discourse, the particular factors that pertain to African countries as non-adopters of
sustainable design and construction were considered. The factors that were considered were
classified into internal, external, management, economic, social and environmental. The chapter
discussed the various factors identified under the economic, social and environmental
sustainability. Some of the factors were unable to reflect the ones responsible for the non implementation of sustainable development. These were explained under the discussion session of
the chapter.
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Chapter 10
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Effects of sustainable design and construction on humans and the environment
Abstract
The importance of discussing the advantages and disadvantages of sustainable design and
construction to developing and developed nations cannot be overemphasized. This chapter
discussed the advantages and disadvantages of practicing sustainable design and construction in
different economies. The advantages of sustainable design and construction were categorized (and
discussed) and in different ways among which are: tangible and intangible benefits; direct and
indirect benefits; economic, social and environmental benefits of sustainable design and
construction. In the same vein, the disadvantages of sustainable design and construction which
include high cost of construction, relative newness of the concept, availability of sustainable
materials, poor indoor air quality, lack of skilled personnel, construction risks (arbitration and
litigation), over-preference for environmental sustainability above economic and social
sustainability, and so on. The chapter closed by discussing how Africa is affected with the practice
of sustainable design and construction despite its advantages and disadvantages.
Keywords: Benefits of sustainability, disadvantages of sustainability, sustainable design,
sustainable construction, sustainable materials
Introduction
The practice of sustainable design and construction is becoming non-negotiable for all nation as
the impact of building unsustainably is grave and imminent if care is not taken. Beyond the adverse
effects of unsustainable design and construction to the present generation, its impact on the future
generations have been found to be equally grave. What is worrisome is the level of importance
attached to the practice of sustainable design and construction by some countries, especially in
Africa. The reason for this carefree attitude may be due to lack of knowledge of the advantages
and disadvantages of practicing sustainable design and construction in the construction industry.
This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages that accrues to societies that adopt
sustainable design and construction so that non-adopting communities can have a full grasp of
what is being missed on a daily basis. The advantages and disadvantages of practicing sustainable
design and construction were combined to give the effects of sustainable design and construction
that reads as the title of this chapter.
Advantages of practicing sustainable design and construction
There are broad and uncategorized economic, social and environmental benefits of sustainable
design and construction. They include reduction in operational costs, improvement of valuation
cost of construction projects, improvement of environment impact, reduced risk and maximization
of life cycle cost of construction projects. the benefits also include increased productivity through
reduction of sick leaves, staff turnover, improved customers’ patronage and public awareness. The
investigation of Gonchar and Akhtar (2011) reveal that the main financial benefits of sustainable
design and construction are low running cost, reduction of energy consumption, waste reduction,
reduced spending on water, maintenance cost, extended life of building and its system and
improved occupants’ health and well-being. Sustainable design and construction also offsets initial
capital cost through increased rental value, sales value and property rating.
Just as it was done in previous chapters, the advantages of practicing sustainable design and
construction to the people, communities and nations were discussed under the three cardinal
headings (economic, social and environmental) of sustainability.
Social benefits of sustainable design and construction
The social benefits of sustainable design and construction projects are those benefits that directly
impact on the health and well-being of the people. Social benefits cuts across the citizenry,
buildings/civil engineering projects, community, society and the nation at large. Social benefits of
sustainable design and construction of buildings deals with the comfort, health and occupants’
satisfaction. These three variables that connect social benefits of sustainable design and
construction of buildings are interrelated though; their theorists have different origins. Comfort
reside in the domain of physiologists, health is domiciled in the domain of public health and
occupants’ satisfaction is resident in the domain of psychologists. Depending on how a building is
constructed, its effects on the lives of occupants may both be positive and negative.
While the positive impact has been noted to be good health, productivity and well-being among
others, the negative effects of poor building include fatigue, sicknesses, absenteeism, insecurity
and distractions. The negative effects of buildings are due to the lack of green building features
which include poor indoor air quality, poor visual comfort, and poor interior designs based on
material selection, number of occupants and furnishings in the house. Hence, only sustainable
design and construction can be used to overcome the challenges. Beyond the benefits of sustainable
design and construction to building, benefits such as enhanced indoor environmental quality,
knowledge transfer, reduced pollution and so on accrue to the community or society as a result of
practicing sustainable design and construction (Hassan, 2017).
Health benefits of sustainable design and construction
The health benefits of sustainable design and construction commences from the conception of a
building and is basically hinged on indoor environmental quality. Health is determined by the
relationship between the environment and the body system of humans such as respiratory,
digestive and visual systems. This relationship leads to negative effects in susceptible human
beings through chemical and airborne means. According to the study of Fisk (2001), building
environment relates with asthma and allergy, sick building syndrome (SBS) and
respiratory/communicable diseases.
SBS is a situation that results in human sickness due to the poor condition of a building. The
occupants of such buildings are mostly affected with varying forms of sickness that eventually go
on to degenerate the overall health of the building occupants. The symptoms of SBS are fatigue,
dizziness, body pains, breathing problems and problems related to the sensory organs.
Furthermore, the condition of a building and its environment has strong relationship with allergies
and asthma. For instance, dusts, mold growth and so on easily lead to catarrh, asthma and other
allergies. To reduce the effects of allergies, there is need to improve indoor air quality by carrying
out general maintenance pf air equipment such as HVAC, humidity control and avoidance of
indoor smoking. Communicable diseases are mostly airborne and transferable through that
medium. Therefore, to reduce airborne diseases, there is need to improve circulating and reduce
crowding.
It is important to state that despite the existence of negative building environment, people are
affected in different ways and degrees due to many other factors like body resistance and level of
environmental pollution. Also, features such daylight, space utilization, biodiversity and so on
contributes positively to the health, productivity and well-being of building occupants. Satisfaction
with daylighting are affected by factors such as access to windows, lighting control and the location
of occupant in a building. Thermal satisfaction is one building feature that determines the
performance of occupants in daily activities. However, it appears to be lower in many cases due
to factors such as stress level, age, gender and level of preferred heat.
Community benefits of sustainable design and construction
The social benefits of sustainable design and construction are centred around the occupants but
there are other direct and indirect benefits that also accrue in the process. The benefits of
sustainability practice also measure the quality of life of occupants through life expectancy and
state of health of occupants. Social benefits of sustainable design and construction also include
the quality of environment, educational facilities, recreational facilities, access to public
amenities, community satisfaction and pride among others.
Environmental benefits of sustainable design and construction
Apart from the social benefits that accrue from the practice of sustainable design and
construction, there are important environment benefits that also accrue. The following are the
environmental problems that are caused by conventional construction methods:
Materials
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Degradation of non-renewable materials
Waste due to manufacture and transportation
Environmental pollution
Site preparation
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Use of heavy plants that contributes to greenhouse gas emission
Extinction of biodiversity
Reduction in water quality due to contamination from insecticides, pesticides, etc.
Destruction of natural habitat that are required for absorbing carbon dioxide
Runoffs and erosion
Energy use
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Water pollution due to mining of coal, thermal pollution and extraction of mineral
resources Greenhouse gas emission from carbon dioxide, leading to global warming
Air pollution due to gas emission from power plants, heavy metals, transportation
and energy consumption of the building
Extraction of natural products leading to destruction of habitat and biodiversity
Occupancy
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Heavy production of solid waste that require disposal
Excessive water consumption and waste of potable water
Depletion of ground water
Depletion of ozone layer due to heavy use of HVAC equipment
Climate change in urban centres due to massive conventional construction
activities
Runoff and discharges to groundwater
Reduction in the quality of indoor air and water
Environmental benefits of sustainable design and construction therefore seeks to overcome the
challenges by achieving the following:
Reduced greenhouse gas emission and air pollution
One of the key characteristics of sustainable design and construction is, reduced air pollution
and greenhouse gas emission. These are achieved through reduced energy consumption (use of
energy efficient fittings and fixtures, and renewable energy). Gas emission is also reduced when
electricity consumption is reduced, thereby reducing climate change. When greenhouse gas
accumulates, it tends to give rise to sea level, global warming and reduce efficacy of agricultural
products.
Reduction of solid waste generation
The conventional method of construction ensured that many countries, especially the developed
ones generate a lot of waste which include paper, compound waste, plastics, cans, metals, etc.
Many of these wastes (woods, paper, mortar, insulation, roofs, metals, concrete, asphalt, bricks,
blocks, glass, rubbles, waterproofing materials, etc.) were found to be recyclable as they are
mostly related to construction. Furthermore, occupied buildings generate similar wastes (papers,
cans, metals, plastic, glass, food, etc.) that can also be recycled. Waste reduction on construction
sites reduces cart away to landfills. Besides, the use of recycled materials on construction sites
has the capability to produce employment in recycling companies.
Therefore, the following are ways by which sustainable design and construction practices can
reduce waste generation:
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Provision of space for storage and collection of recyclable waste materials like paper, glass,
metals, cans, plastics, etc.
Waste management practices on construction site should be encouraged. For example,
demolition and land clearing waste may be used as backfilling and other site purposes
rather than carting them away for landfill.
At the design stage, recyclable and environment-friendly materials should be prescribed
for construction purposes. standard and documented sustainable materials should be used.
Modular construction technique should be adopted to prevent waste on construction site.
Also, durable materials should be given higher preference over less durable ones.
Space utilization in sustainable design and construction
The utilization of space in sustainable design and construction brings the following advantages:
• Erosion and sedimentation are controlled, storm water is effectively managed, and
landscaping is done is done in sustainable manner. The achievement of this means that the
design of sustainable projects must involve sedimentation (reduction of dust and particles)
and erosion control plan (reduce disruption of natural water flow), adoption of natural
water efficiency method (reduce runoff into natural water drainage system) and selfsustaining landscaping construction (drought resisting plants should be used, plants
requiring chemical treatments should be avoided and porous paved surface should be used
to enable filtration of water through the soil).
• Lighting disturbances are reduced with the efficient use of low wattage bulbs and fixtures
around walkways and driveways.
• The use of water is also reduced during and after construction. this is achieved by using
low flow showerheads, pressure controlled toilets, no water urinals, dual flush toilets,
captured rainwater for non-potable uses in the house, use of graywater and groundwater.
• Reduction in the use of fossil and nuclear fuels through energy efficiency measures. Energy
efficiency measures also reduces the disposal of nuclear wastes, sludge from power plants
and fly ash. It also reduces the propensity to destroy natural habitat and other environmental
resources.
• Sustainable materials that are both recyclable and rapidly renewable are used for
construction. examples of these materials include fibre boards, bamboo and certified wood.
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Design of construction projects are done in a way that they can be reused. Such designs are
usually in form of modules and lean technologies using materials such as glass and light
gauge steel among others.
Economic benefits of sustainable design and construction
It is general consensus that sustainable design and construction gives long term financial rewards
to client, users, designers, contractors, government and other stakeholders. This long term financial
rewards are usually in the form of water consumption, energy consumption, maintenance works,
and so on. However, what is being constantly debated is whether sustainable design and
construction come at an extra cost above conventional construction projects. while some literatures
have argued that sustainable construction projects come at a higher cost, some other literature
argued that sustainable construction projects do not necessarily have to incur extra cost.
Some literature argued that sustainable construction projects cost lower than conventional
construction project. What is unanimous in the field of sustainable development is that, costly
sustainable construction projects have the propensity to recoup its excess cost within a very short
period.
The economic benefits sustainable design and construction may be categorized into direct and
indirect. Direct benefits were explained earlier as savings on energy, water, waste reduction and
so on. However, some of the social and environmental benefits translate into indirect cost savings.
For example, sustainable design and construction increases productivity, reduces absenteeism,
improves the health and well-being of occupants, thereby producing more economic benefits for
respective stakeholders. For the community, sustainable design and construction gives economic
benefits in terms of reduced maintenance cost of infrastructure due to waste water treatment, plant
maintenance and so on. Also, for the client, the economic benefits of sustainable design and
construction are reduced construction risk, extended life of building, community support for
sustainable construction projects and lesser construction risk.
The initial cost of sustainable construction project depends on a number of factors which include
the wishes of the client on the resources to be used, the experience of the designers to use green
components that can equally achieve sustainability. The following methods have been designed to
reduce initial cost of sustainable construction costs:
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Construction projects should be sited in such a way that its orientation will admit sufficient
light at different times of the days and years. The building should also be shaded with
natural habitats to increase coolness in the building, thus reducing the need for HVAC
equipment and invariably the initial cost of construction.
Rather than use green fields for construction, it is preferable to renovate and convert
existing buildings into sustainable construction projects. This will reduce time of
construction, cost of construction and encourage the use of recycled construction materials
rather than new materials.
Designs of construction projects needs to be moderate yet meet the goals of the client and
occupants. This will reduce the total cost of construction.
Unneeded finishes and features in construction projects should be avoided.
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Prevent overdesigning of structural components and use appropriate waste reduction
techniques such as modular construction, value engineering and lean techniques among
others.
The integrated design and construction method should be used for sustainable projects so
that the most optimum solution to design and construction can be adopted
Waste management techniques like recycling and reuse of used materials should be
encouraged to reduce overall construction cost
Costly Infrastructure on the surrounding of construction projects should be reduced.
Infrastructure to be encouraged include use of natural drainage system rather than
connection to public sewer, use of potable water, use pervious surfaces for walkways and
driveways, using natural landscaping, etc.
Sustainable materials with cheaper initial costs than conventional materials should be used
for sustainable construction projects. examples of such materials include fly ash, carpet
with recycled content, low VOC paint/recycled paint, certified wood products, no water
urinals, etc.
The following are the direct economic benefits of sustainable design and construction:
Energy cost saving
Sustainable design and construction has the capacity to reduce energy cost. This is because of the
different technologies that are available for cost monitoring and control. The technologies involve
the use of energy systems that takes building of national electricity grid. They also include the use
of energy monitoring equipment and energy efficient light and fixtures
Water cost savings
Just like the energy saving technique, water cost saving involves the use of technologies that reduce
water consumption in the house. These technologies include the use of dual flush toilets, no water
urinal, low-flow showerhead, water meters, etc. Collected graywater reduces the use of potable
water for non-potable needs.
Cost saving on maintenance activities
Sustainable design and construction is meant to reduce the cost of maintenance and increase
the durability of building elements. Designs should give easy access to mechanical equipment.
To reduce maintenance cost:
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Adequate space for access to services must be provided
Durable and sustainable materials will usually reduce overall maintenance cost.
Low VOC paints are usually durable and must be encouraged
Design of sustainable project should incorporate comfortable points for collecting
wastes (papers, plastics, cans, glass, etc.) for recycling rather than disposing.
Fluorescent and LED lights are preferred to incandescent lights due to their wattages
and life hours
Recycled carpet tiles can easily be removed and replaced separately rather than
changing the whole carpet.
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The use of landscape that does not require fertilizer, irrigation, insecticide or pesticide
require less maintenance.
Reduction of absenteeism at work
Studies have shown that there is a strong relationship between sustainable features of construction
projects (especially indoor environmental quality) and absenteeism at work. The more comfortable
the indoor environmental quality, the lesser is absenteeism at work.
Improved workers’ productivity
As good indoor environmental quality reduces absenteeism, it improves workers’ productivity.
Productivity at works comes in form of lesser errors and labour cost.
The indirect economic benefits of sustainable design and construction are:
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Reduction in the cost incurred on complaint
Reduction of design and construction risk
Reduced liability and insurance cost
Improved workers recruitment
Reduced labour turnover
Extended life of a building due to durable and green materials
Improved rental value of building
Improved resale value of building and
Ease of locating or siting construction project
Increased attention and concentration
improved logical thinking at workplace
organizational performance and increased self-assessment score
less demand for municipal infrastructure
Overall growth of construction region and locality
The benefits of green technology were summarized by Bhardwaj and Neelam (2015) as:
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Non-emittance of dangerous chemical such as volatile organic compound into the air
Ability to attract economic benefits to communities where sustainable construction projects
are located
Green buildings incur lesser maintenance cost hence, there is lesser need to set aside huge
amount as operational cost
It uses renewable equipment which translates to continual energy, water, etc.
It reduces the impact global warming and carbon emission with its less degradation of
environmental resources.
The benefits of sustainable design and construction were also categorized into tangible and
intangible benefits (Nalewaik, 2008). While tangible benefits are visible, intangible benefits are
not, but they can be felt. Some of these tangible and intangible benefits of sustainable design and
construction projects are:
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Life-cycle cost savings
Savings from the design of construction projects
Improvement in the process of sustainable construction project
General improvement of performance in the building
The good psychological factor
Life cycle cost saving
As explained earlier, the coat of completing a sustainable construction project may be more, less
or equal to that of conventional construction project. In the worst case, where its cost is higher than
conventional construction project, sustainable construction project has the capability to recoup the
excess cost and make extra savings that makes it worth the while. Beyond construction cost, life
cycle cost saving may also include operational cost, maintenance cost, cost of technology, cost of
productivity and even savings on human health. Some of the areas of life cycle cost saving are
energy consumption, water consumption, etc.
Savings from the design of construction projects
Cost saving is also made through efficient design of sustainable construction projects. These
design cost savings are due to:
• Flexibility of design through careful consideration of site planning
• Efficient design of project infrastructure
• Reduction of the quantity of mechanical and electrical equipment through natural
ventilation, daylighting, no/low flow plumbing, etc.
• Use of renewable energy source like photovoltaics
• Use of traditional and sustainable building materials that does not incur much
transportation cost
• Avoidance of unnecessary finishing materials for sustainable construction projects
Improvement in the process of sustainable construction project
The process of executing sustainable construction projects is different from that of conventional
construction projects. The difference is almost in every aspect of the construction process. It ranges
from the type of materials, design team, construction procedure, etc. the construction process
reduces disturbance to adjoining buildings, waste collection and treatment/recycling, reduction of
poor indoor environmental quality, etc.
General improvement of performance in the building
Sustainable construction projects result in improved indoor environmental quality which also lead
to enhanced indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and daylighting. Researches have confirmed that
all these indoor conditions have positive effects on both productivity and health of the people.
Examples of some effects are reduced absenteeism, turnover, reduction of toxic components,
improved learning ability, quick recovery of health status, reduction of sick buildings, reduction
of damage claims, etc.
The good psychological factor
The psychological factor of sustainable design and construction is basically the social benefits of
sustainable projects which include enhanced public image, resource conservation, corporate
responsibility and marketability among others.
In summary, the key benefits of sustainable design and construction are:
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Life cycle costing
Energy efficiency
Water efficiency
Material efficiency
Reduction in global warming and climate change
Improved indoor air quality
Improved indoor environmental quality
Low-maintenance project
Improved employee attendance
Enhanced productivity
Increase sale value
Increased rental value
Tax benefits
Improved sales of retail products
Disadvantages of sustainable design and construction
Sustainable design and construction has a few disadvantages in spite of the advantages mentioned
in its favour. These disadvantages are discussed in this chapter so that sustainability-adopting and
non-adopting nations can understand the factors to tackle as sustainable development is being
embraced. Hence, the disadvantages of sustainable design and construction are (Gonchar &
Akhtar, 2011; Bhardwaj & Neelam, 2015):
:
• Lack of information on issues concerning the practice of sustainable design and
construction by various sectors of the economy
• The cost of implementing sustainable design and construction is high and unbearable by
some poor economies. This is true in many instances, although some studies have claimed
that, there is possibility of having sustainable construction projects that are equal or even
lesser in cost than conventional construction projects. however, since sustainable
construction projects require some specific type of material, they have higher tendencies
of costing more than the regular conventional buildings.
• The economic, social and environmental impacts of sustainable construction projects were
not objectively determined as many of them are speculative and futuristic in nature.
Available data to substantiate the recorded benefits are slim
• There is lack of sufficient skilled workers and project managers for the implementation of
sustainable construction projects.
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The labour cost of sustainable design and construction project is very high. This is due to
the shortage of experienced workers on sustainable projects.
After noting that the advantages of sustainable design and construction are cost, efficiency (water,
energy and material), preservation of infrastructure and returns on investment, Weetas (2016)
stated that its disadvantages are location of energy sources, availability of raw materials and lack
of air cooling features. For instance, where solar system is to be used for power generation, there
is the need to ensure that solar panels are placed in such a way that they can absorb sufficient heat,
and this sometimes gives challenges as the direction of orientation may change continually. Also,
getting and transporting sustainable materials may be difficult, especially in urban centres where
they are not readily available. The materials are sometimes scarce and only available in places
where the transportation cost will shoot the overall construction cost in the upper region.
Toole (n.d) noted that, the next popular disadvantage of sustainable building after cost of
construction is its impact on indoor air quality. It was noted, despite enlisting indoor air quality as
a requirement for sustainable building, emphasis is being placed on environmental impact at the
expense of indoor air quality and the health of occupants. In a bid to use recycled contents,
materials with toxic compounds and chemicals are used for construction in place of unrecycled
and non-toxic materials. Also, the use of renewable energy normally leads to choking of indoor
air quality which invariably adversely affect the health of occupants. Indoor air quality has been
traced to many health problems like asthma, cancer, breathing problems, etc.
Moreover, Morris (2003) stated that, the disadvantages of sustainable design and construction are
initial cost, funding for sustainable construction projects, availability of sustainable materials,
location and time frame. While many of these disadvantages have been largely discussed, few
studies have dwelled on the funding and time frame aspect of sustainable design and construction.
due to uncertainty of getting quick returns on investment on sustainable project, it became difficult
to obtain loans toward execution of such project. Similarly, because of the campaign for the use of
recycled content and majorly green/sustainable materials, it became difficult to easily get and
transport sustainable materials to construction site in some cases. Sustainable construction projects
sometimes have to wait until needed materials are processed and recycled, thus delaying the start
and completion times of such projects.
Another key disadvantage of sustainable design and construction is the existence contract
documentation, technical and legal issues. Usually, the design of conventional construction
projects contains errors and other issues. However, the newness of sustainable construction and
lack of sufficient design specialists for sustainable construction projects make its documentation
more susceptible to errors and variation. The errors and variation are key sources of technical
problems which eventually lead to legal issues between the clients and project team.
For corporate organizations, the disadvantages of adopting sustainable design and construction
are, cost of conversion, extra cost of required product, lack of regulatory support for sustainable
construction, consequence of going paperless and effect of customers backlash. The initial cost of
converting from conventional construction to sustainable construction may sometimes prove too
much for some organizations to bear. Also, changing from conventional to sustainable construction
may mean extra cost on needed sustainable products and equipment. In addition, national or other
bye-laws may prove unfavourable to organizations that intend to switch to sustainable design and
construction from conventional construction. despite the benefits of going paperless, an
organization may lose important data if storage sources such as laptop and backups get lost or
damaged. Lastly, it is possible for corporate organizations to give fake advertisements about their
products and this may lead to future liquidity if customers get to understand about the unholy act.
Discussion on the effects of sustainable design and construction
This chapter discusses the effects (advantages and disadvantages) of sustainable design and
construction. What needs to be deliberated is, if the advantages really cut across all nations if it is
practiced. In the opinion of this book, the answer is no? However, it is believed that many of the
advantages will accrue to any nation that adopts sustainable design and construction. Sustainability
becomes easy to practice if all its elements (social, economic and environmental aspects) are
favourably represented. This representation explains the reason for the ease with which many
developed nations adopt sustainable design and construction. For many developing countries in
Africa, the economic and even the social aspect is missing. Many African nations and their citizens
are so poor that, they are striving to gain economic independence.
According to some schools of thought, poor nations can rarely become economically independent
without degrading the environment. This is evident in the extent of environmental degradation of
developed economies before the turn around to sustainable design and construction. The United
states, United Kingdom, Canada and a host of other developed countries have reported the huge
volume of waste generation, greenhouse gas emission and environmental degradation that they
had before the practice of sustainable design and construction. reports from various studies
indicates that the construction industry is one major industry that contributes to carbon emission,
climate change and environmental degradation through conventional construction method.
Part of the agenda of the United Nations during the launching of sustainable development was to
assist the poor nations with issues relating to sustainable development. This was in recognition of
the views of the economists that, economic wealth is inversely proportional to environmental
development. That is, there must be environmental degradation if economic wealth must be
created. Although, the economists also believe that social, economic and environmental aspects of
sustainability will always balance themselves out and environmental degradation will always
recover with time.
At the moment, African countries appear to be very interested in practicing sustainable design and
construction, however, it appears that the level of comfort of the countries, economically and
socially is playing a huge role in the whole process. For countries like South Africa and a few
others that appear to be economically, politically and relatively stable, the practice of sustainable
design and construction is relatively transforming. However, countries without good economic,
social and political independence will find it more difficult to implement sustainable design and
construction. Therefore, knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of practicing sustainable
design and construction among African countries is not just sufficient; there is need to provide
means through which, poor but willing countries can get started on the process. That is not to
undermine the importance of having knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of adopting
sustainable design and construction. The disadvantages of sustainable design and construction are
not many, but they call for urgent attention if people are not to be allowed to get discouraged with
its adoption. The two major disadvantages among others are high cost of construction and poor
indoor air quality. Both challenges are being worked upon as alternative construction methods for
sustainable projects are being discovered with a view to ensuring that they cost lesser or equal to
conventional construction projects. in the same vein, indoor air pollution is sorted in such manner
that reduces the retention of greenhouse gas emissions within the living area of a building.
Summary of chapter
This chapter discusses the effects of adopting sustainable design and construction. There are many
advantages and disadvantages of practicing sustainable design and construction. The enormity of
advantages warrants them to classified into different categories. The chapter discussed the
advantages based on the categories adopted by authors. Hence, the advantages of sustainable
design and construction were classified into tangible and intangible benefits. They were also
classified as direct and indirect benefits. However, among these classification, the most convenient
is the one that classified the benefits according to the aspects of sustainable development which
are economic, social and environmental sustainability. The chapter also discussed the
disadvantages of adopting sustainable design and construction. These disadvantages are not many,
but they call for urgent attention if people are not to be allowed to get discouraged.
References
Bhardwaj, M. and Neelam (2015). The advantages and disadvantages of green technology. Journal
of Basic and Applied Engineering Research, 2 (22) 1957-1960
Fisk, W. J. (2001). Health and productivity gains from better indoor environment and their
relationship with building energy efficiency. Report 25 of indoor environment Department,
Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley national Laboratory.
Gonchar, M. A. and Akhtar, S. H. (2011). The financial benefits of green building. Obtained from
www.greenbaumlaw.com on 15th July 2015
Hassan, M. S. (2017). Examining the effects of challenges faced in green construction on project
outcomes: a Chinese perspective. International Journal of Engineering and technology, 9
(4) 315-321
Morris, N. (2003). Health, Well-Being and Open Space. Edinburgh, Scotland, Edinburgh College
of Art and Heriot-Watt University, Open space Research Center for Inclusive Access to
Outdoor Environments.
Nalewaik, A. and Venters, V. (2008). Costs and benefits of building green. AACE International
Transactions, 1-9
Toole, M. (ND) What are the disadvantages of green building? Obtained from
www.healthyholistic-living.com on 15th July 2015
Weetas, P. (2016): Green buildings: advantages and disadvantages. Obtained from
www.weetas.com on 15th July 2015
Chapter 11
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Challenges of sustainable design and construction in Africa
Abstract
This chapter discusses the challenges of African countries with the adoption of sustainable design
and construction. After the general mention of the challenges of sustainable design and
construction, the challenges that are peculiar to Africa were discussed. Some the challenges
discussed include poverty of the people and the nation, lack of healthcare service, inequality in the
distribution of wealth among the people, fear of change from conventional construction to
sustainable construction, corruption in governance, environmental pollution, and so on. The
chapter also pinpointed areas of the existing sustainable design and construction tools that are not
compatible with African situation. Examples include the variance in the climatic conditions of
developed and developing countries, cultural differences and assumptions that electricity supply
is constant among others.
Keywords: challenges of sustainability, environmental pollution, environmental health,
sustainable design in Africa, sustainable construction in Africa
Introduction
It has been established through the previous chapters of this book that the practice of sustainable
design and construction in the construction industry is not luxurious but a necessity for both the
developed and developing nations. The book has also cleared the air on the various aspects that
are geared toward effective practice of sustainability. This chapter focuses on the challenges of
Africa with the practice of sustainable design and construction.
Challenges of sustainable design and construction
The challenges of sustainable design and construction appear to be many, although they are being
gradually surmounted by adopter especially those from developed countries. For the African
countries, the challenges seem to be difficult to surmount and peculiar to Africa. The peculiarity
of the challenge of Africa with sustainable design and construction is basically in the method of
construction in Africa. In poor African countries, the citizens, rather than the government (as it
obtains in the developed countries) are mostly responsible for providing shelter for themselves.
This means that, it is more difficult for the government to regulate how sustainable design and
construction will be practiced in various African countries. In Nigeria, the cost of acquiring land
in urban centre is forcing many people to move to rural areas of the country. The rural areas are
usually neighbouring to the urban centres however, they cause deforestation of green fields. Aside
the adverse effects of the construction method identified to sustainable design and construction,
deforestation by itself is unsustainable.
In the work of Du Plessis (2007), it was identified that the challenges faced by African countries
are systemic and they include:
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Rapid rate of urbanization
Intense poverty of African countries and their citizens
Inequality in the social status of the people
Lack of competent skills to implement sustainable design and construction
Lack of institution or institutional capacity to enhance the practice of sustainable design
and construction
Poor level of governance
Staggering economy of African countries
Environmental degradation due to poverty
As discussed earlier, the movement of people to the urban centre to work has consistently mounted
a lot of pressure on the available accommodations in those places. This has ensured that
accommodations are expensive both to rent or construct. One major challenge is the acquisition of
land for construction in the urban centres. This has drawn people to neighboring states and as such
greenfield for mostly agricultural purposes are being degraded. This automatically leads to
depletion of natural resources and lack of support for biodiversity. While rich individuals are able
to afford accommodation in the urban centre, the poor people are not. Poverty does not only affect
the people in Africa, it also affects the national government. Many African countries are poorly
developed and due to the extra cost of sustainable development and poverty, there is tendency
continuously delay the practice of sustainable design and construction.
For nations that are poverty stricken and also lack indigenous skills to help them with the practice
of sustainable design and construction, it will be too expensive to practice sustainable design and
construction. This is because, much expenses will be incurred to import skilled workforce for
design, construction and even maintenance of sustainable projects. Besides, the social status of
African people is largely unequal. In this inequality, it is horrible to know that the largest
percentage of the populace are very poor and are unable to afford sustainable design and
construction. in such a situation where there are many poor people in a country, the sanest step is
for the government to step in and assist the people.
However, many of these African governments lack the institution and institutional frameworks to
achieve the feat. Hence, the continual degradation of the environment by the government and the
citizens. Apart from the lacking skills on sustainable design and construction, sustainable material
materials are not available in many African countries. In countries where some traditional
materials have been discovered, the skills and expertise to convert them to useable sustainable
materials in large scale are lacking. Many of the materials require plant and equipment for mass
production but such plants are not available in many developing countries. Attempts to import
them proved abortive because of the cost of acquiring and maintaining them.
Many African countries have indicated their willingness to pursue sustainable design and
construction but due to the reasons discussed earlier, it has been at best on their wish list. While
sustainability is encompassed by the trio of economic, environmental and social aspects, issues
relating to cultural, technical, commercial, institutional and political interest are beclouding
Africa’s implementation process of sustainable design and construction. These hindrances warrant
a more holistic approach towards solving the problem of Africa with the adoption of sustainable
design and construction.
In the study of Yu (2012) and Qain et al. (2015), the challenges attributed to non-adoption of
sustainable design and construction are:
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Lack of infrastructure
Lack of finance
Shortage of skilled workers
Insufficient policy to support sustainable design and construction
High cost of technology
Inappropriate technology
Access or purchase restrictions from manufacturers and suppliers
Rathi and Jagtap (2016) categorized the challenges of sustainable design and construction in
developing countries (Africa inclusive) into the following areas:
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Issue relating to utilization of new materials, equipment and technologies
Issues relating to project management
Issues relating to housing
Issues relating to environment
Issues relating to power
Issues relating to natural hazards
Issues relating to transportation
Issue relating to utilization of new materials, equipment and technologies
This challenge bothers on the discovery and utilization of new sustainable materials, equipment
and technologies. The three elements of sustainable design and construction (materials, equipment
and technology) are intertwined and none of them may be successful in isolation. For this reason,
despite the discovery of a few sustainable materials, they have not been so much useful to the
African countries because of the lack of sufficient and appropriate technologies to harness their
production. Technology is a major driver for equipment development and refinement of newly
discovered traditional materials. in spite of the challenges, the growing market for equipment
market may force entrepreneurs to go into their manufacture despite the involvement of huge
capital investment.
Issues relating to project management
The conventional project management has been faced with several challenges which has led to
issues of cost overrun, time overrun, quality degradation, waste, and sometimes collapse of
buildings and loss of lives. With the shift in focus from conventional construction to sustainable
design and construction, construction targets have equally shifted to achievement of economic,
social and environmental goals. These goals ensured that the conventional practice of project
management is different from the practice of sustainable project management. Sustainable project
management requires that, new personnel are trained on the requirements for successful practice
of sustainability. Or else, conventional project managers need to be retrained to cope with the
challenges of sustainable design and construction. in Africa, the bulk of project managers still
practice on conventional construction projects, hence lack the required skills to man sustainable
design and construction of projects. the following summarize the challenges of sustainable project
management in Africa (Keeler et al., 2013):
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Inequality of workforce
Handling of complexity of project
Coping with construction time frame
Environmental changes
Litigation and arbitration
Unfavorable government policies
Issues of site selection
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Lack of infrastructure and infrastructural development
Issues relating to contract management
Issues relating to project management consultancy
Issues relating to project control techniques
Issues relating to health and safety practices
Issues relating to housing
One of the major challenges of Africa is the inability to adequately and conveniently house their
citizens. This is due to many factors among which national poverty and lack of adequate
institutional framework for construction. In many African countries, citizens acquire shelter for
themselves through informal means such as loans from co-operative societies, savings from
incomes, and so on. These financing methods prevent acquisition of quality buildings and
completion of projects within acceptable time frame. The main challenges of Africa with housing
include the introduction of local building materials and inadequate/improper financing.
Issues relating to environment
Apart from the challenges relating to project management, there are also challenges relating to
shortages of resources, social and economic stress, issues of transportation, issues relating to power
supply and generation, issues relating to natural hazards, housing related issues, weaknesses of
government institutions and inability to deal with important sustainability issues. Air pollution,
waste management problem, pressure on existing infrastructure and land degradation due to
erosion and flooding. All these issues are due to poor governance, poor environmental performance
and lack of institutional initiatives among others.
Issues relating to transportation
Among many important infrastructures required for the promotion of sustainable design and
construction, transportation appears to be non-negotiable. However, in many African countries,
the level of infrastructural development including transportation do not support sustainable
development especially the transportation of building materials and the siting of projects near
transportation access area.
Issues relating to power
In Nigeria for example and a host of other African countries, power generation and distribution
are still a big issue. Sustainable construction projects require adequate supply of electricity.
Alternative power sources are usually expensive because they have to be procured and transported
in foreign currencies. Maintenance and installation of those equipment sometimes pose threat to
the survival of such equipment in Africa.
Issues relating to natural hazards
Luckily, many African countries are not susceptible to natural hazards like earthquake, hurricane,
typhoon, etc. however, a few hazards relating to flooding and erosion are very prominent. These
hazards are mostly due to poor planning of African cities and their effects can easily erode the
values of sustainable design and construction. These are related to environmental challenges that
need to be eliminated for the successful practice of sustainable design and construction. the
solution to this problem also lies with the government.
Issues relating to project approval
Some of the challenges of sustainable design and construction are inherent in the approval of
necessary construction documents. These challenges are; negative environmental and health
consequences; creation of additional problems through implementation of building regulation; lack
of organizational capacity for change; and lack of participation in code change and code
development through the use of alternative means. The negative consequences mentioned have
grave effects on the health, safety and well-being of the people. The consequences are tangible,
usually long-term and massive. The negative impacts of implementing building regulations are
usually due to poor awareness of the risks involved in the practice of conventional construction
projects. the problem is further aggravated when the current building regulation is being put
forward for the approval of sustainable construction projects rather than develop a new regulation
for sustainable projects. furthermore, implementing organizations lack the capacity, resources and
the needed time to train their staff on alternative means of approving construction documents.
People that lack sufficient knowledge on how building regulations are developed and implemented
will usually not participate in the desired change process to facilitate the adoption of sustainable
design and construction. This is a major setback to the implementation of sustainable design and
construction as many African populace fall into this category.
In an empirical study, Eisenberg, Done and Ishida (2002) found that officials responsible for code
administration attributed the challenges of sustainable design and construction with green
products, materials, system and design application to insufficient information to meet safety
requirements, inadequate knowledge with product, material, system or design, insufficient
technical capacity, conflicting intentions of regulation, inadequate time to conduct research on
green products, system and design, unfamiliarity with green products, design, system and materials
and personal experience with the failure of green buildings among others. In the same study, code
users’ highly rated challenges are lack of sufficient time to process approval, lack of sufficient
supporting information, rejection of similar green products by building departments, experience
of past rejection of similar green products by building department, lack of sufficient fund to process
approval and lack of confidence in authenticity of supporting information.
Non-technical challenges of sustainable design and construction
Non-technical challenges of sustainable design and construction appear to be major concerns for
implementation of sustainable development. One major non-technical challenge is the relationship
among stakeholders. This challenge bothers on the level of communication and the silent role
rivalry that is being exhibited among professional in the construction industry, especially in Africa.
Professionals in the construction industry (in Africa particularly) are usually greedy and have no
respect for professional rules, hence want to execute the roles of every other professional on
construction projects. This is the usual practice for conventional projects, but very injurious to
successful implementation of sustainable construction projects. of course, this challenge is possible
because of the existing policies and regulations, existing structure of the construction industry and
market forces.
Furthermore, the barriers of sustainable design and construction include, dissemination of
sustainability technology which could be as a result of lack of collaboration among stakeholders,
lack of available services, lack of appropriate articulation of demand, adoption of wrong building
regulations, unequal distribution of cost and benefits of sustainable construction among
stakeholders, lack of interaction and cooperation among project stakeholders. Also among the
challenges of sustainable design and construction is the artificial distance between design and
construction team and the end users. The information on the environmental performance and
interaction of sustainable materials remain largely unknown and hence, constitute major setback
to the implementation of sustainable design and construction. in addition, there is lack of
consistent, complete and comparable information on sustainable building materials. the available
information sometimes proves difficult to interpret (Seo, 2002; Lin, 2012).
Beyond challenges relating to information, stakeholders rarely consider sustainability measures
during the design stage of sustainable construction project. Also, sustainable construction projects
are in low demand especially in Africa. Even if the demand is high, currently, there is lack of
regulation to guide the design and construction process. It is also assumed that the cost of executing
sustainable construction project is higher than conventional construction projects. in summary,
Griffin, Knowles, Theodoropoulos and Allen (2010) stated that the challenges of sustainable
design and construction are increased cost or perceived increased cost, compliance with code and
regulation, availability of green materials, expectations of clients, construction time, method and
quality and understanding of stakeholders about green options and available time to identify green
building alternatives.
The major challenge is inherent in the focus of the developed and developing countries on
sustainability. Due to the good standard of living and high accomplishments of developed
countries in economic and social spheres of life, many of the citizens and government of those
countries can worry more about environmental preservation. In developing countries however,
where majority of the people are poor, lack access to basic amenities like shelter, food and basic
education, they tend to worry more about improving their social and economic aspects of life. This
they do basically through the depletion of existing natural resources and deprivation from doing
so may mean continual poverty and reduced standard of living for them. In Africa, it is difficult to
get any institution (including the government) to cater for the health, housing and feeding of the
people. While sustainability by its definition suppose to mean a balance or relationship between
the three bottom line aspects of social, environmental and economic development; its actual
practice has led nations to concentrate more on the areas that are lacking above others. This
explains the reason for the shift in focus of developed and developing countries in the practice of
sustainable development.
Isnin et al. (2012) identified a number of challenges that affect sustainable design and construction.
these challenges include; insufficient information on sustainable materials especially those that are
self-labelled and uncontrolled; the different interpretations given to sustainability by different
countries of the world and available information on sustainable construction especially on the
invention of new materials is always a step behind the innovations themselves. This ensures that
there are always lesser information concerning the performance of sustainable construction
materials. The lacking information when such happens is on the impact of those materials on health
and well-being of end users among others. Some of the available information on green products
are confusing to stakeholders due to inconsistencies and incompleteness. Some of the researches
providing the vague information lack empirical support.
The following are the shortcomings of conventional construction in Africa that makes it require
the adoption of sustainable design and construction (Ozolins, 2014):
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Passive heating and cooling techniques are usually satisfactory for human comfort and
well-being
Uniqueness of construction projects
Favourable climatic condition
Confined practice of cultural values
High rate of unemployment
Limited amount of skilled labor
Poor clients with limited resources
lack of infrastructure such as utilities and transportation
Large percentage of poverty in Africa
lack of security from government and parastatals
Factors that make sustainable design and construction assessment tools of developed
countries unsuitable for Africa
Furthermore, the most used sustainable design and construction assessment tools were developed
in the developed countries and mostly adapted with a few changes at best, in the few African
countries that are practicing sustainability. Example is the Green Star Australia that is being
adapted in South Africa. However, the design of those rating tools was based on the specific
conditions of those developed countries, hence many issues that are peculiar to Africa were not
addressed. Some of the issues that make the assessment tool not perfectly adaptable to Africa are:
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Security: security is very poor in many African countries and this needs to be addressed
for successful implantation of sustainable design and construction.
Maintenance of sustainable construction projects must be reduced to the barest minimum
because many African countries are indigent and lack the expertise to conduct
maintenance activities
Unlike in the developed countries like America where people were acclaimed to spend
more than 60% of their time indoor; this is usually not the case in Africa as many people
conduct their daily activities outdoor. Therefore, Africa’s sustainability features require
both indoor and outdoor environmental quality rather than just indoor environmental
quality. Suggestions for achieving this include construction of roof overhangs to shade
exterior walls, promotion cross ventilation and orientation of building among others.
Local building cultures are required in the assessment tools of many African countries
Construction should be based on available skills and expertise rather than engaging
foreign facilitators and sustainable designers
Labour-intensive sustainable materials should be prioritized to reduce employment in
many African countries
Minimal access between construction site and manufacturers shops should be prioritized
to reduce transportation, because transportation infrastructure in Africa is large poor
Provisions should be made in sustainable buildings to reduce dust and water in dry and
rainy seasons accordingly.
An experienced and considerate contractor than can match the requirements for safety,
noise pollution and environmental impacts should be considered.
Maintenance plans for sustainable construction projects should ensure there is less
environmental pollution among other things
All completed sustainable construction projects should have users’ guide. The guide will
usually explain what the users must do to achieve energy efficiency, water conservation
and waste management among others.
Design of sustainable construction projects should be flexible and easily adaptable. It
should accommodate activities such as conversion, extension, maintenance and even
deconstruction.
Sustainable design and construction in Africa should embrace the use of lesser and
maintenance free materials. examples of such materials include water-free urinals, bricks
and stainless steel.
Outdoor space should be provided because many African people spend a lot of time
outside their buildings.
Cloth lines should be provided in sustainable construction projects. this reduces energy
consumption and improves operation cost.
Natural cooling strategies of sustainable projects should be encouraged in Africa rather
than use of mechanical means. Examples of such strategies include shading of building
facade or planting of vegetation to reduce indoor temperature of buildings
Natural ventilation should be embraced rather than use of heating ventilation and airconditioning system. This method promotes human health, reduces energy consumption
and operational cost.
There is need for water overflow appliance and cut-off to plumbing appliances. This will
enhance water conservation and reduce operational cost of sustainable buildings.
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Exposed parts of sustainable construction projects should be made of durable materials
and materials that require less maintenance.
Material to be used for sustainable construction projects must be easy to maintain. Ease
of maintenance include replacement cost, cost of repair, availability of parts and cost of
labour and equipment among others
Top soils from construction sites should be preserved and taken to areas where they can
support growth of plants and vegetation.
Hence, the sustainable design and construction assessment tools that are used in developed
countries are based on the following assumptions that do not hold true for Africa:
• Availability of uninterrupted power supply
• Abundance of sustainable building materials
• Extensive use of electricity for household convenience
• Availability of skilled workforce to construct and maintain sustainable buildings
• Availability of professionals to handle sustainable design and construction process
• Sufficient security from theft in sustainable buildings
Further challenges of sustainable design and construction are the increased cost of green
construction due to material and labour prices, the technical difficulties experienced during
construction, risks involved in contract documentation and execution, the long approval procedure
for sustainable construction projects and recycled materials and naivety of professionals in
developing countries about green construction practices. CEC (2008) identified lack of building
regulations, codes and consensus-based sustainable design and construction assessment tool as a
major challenge of green construction in Africa. Other challenges identified include separation of
invested capital from operation cost and understanding the life-cycle analysis of sustainable
problems. In a situation where the client is not the user, interest in interest in sustainability
investment may dwindle, especially amidst uncertainties that the client will recoup his investment
on sustainability. This is of course in addition to the perceived higher initial cost of sustainable
projects. another challenge is the unclear benefits of sustainable construction projects to investors.
However, despite this uncertainty cost escalates due to scarcity of resources and green technology.
The complexity of some sustainable construction projects leads to risks and uncertainties on the
achievement of sustainability features and cost effectiveness among others.
In summary, doubt over the reliability of sustainable technology, life cycle cost, initial cost,
economic benefit of sustainable construction project and the performance of sustainable projects.
in addition, there is the challenge of experienced workforce, inconsistencies in government
regulations and policies, lack of and lack of research on improvement strategies of sustainability
practice. Some African countries have regulations and laws guiding the practice of sustainability;
but those laws are not enforced, hence the poor people in the country avoid sustainable
construction. in addition, many African countries lack the required database from which
information relating to water and energy use may be obtained.
Some African countries have unguarded land use planning, this making people to do construction
in unorganized manner. For example, land in Nigeria is expected to be vested in the state
government; however, some group of individuals in connivance with traditional rulers have taken
over the responsibilities of selling lands to individuals. Many of these lands are supposedly
agricultural lands but they are being converted to residential and factory projects thereby reducing
arable land for agricultural products among others. The challenge with this process is that, when
people buy lands, they also have to apply to the state government for certificate of occupancy. This
makes the whole land process clumsy. As a matter of fact, the lands acquired by people are usually
too large for the volume of construction.
Furthermore, with the level of development in Africa, it is near certain that the shift from
conventional construction to sustainable construction will leave some people, especially the
indigent behind. However, sustainable development is supposed to be all-encompassing. Hence,
sustainable design and construction present divers opportunities for nations and their citizens, the
opportunities are however not equally available due to social and economic disparity among
African people. In addition, sustainable design and construction seem to be increasing
collaboration among different countries, the challenge however is that, these nations operate under
different circumstances (lifestyle, weather, etc.). Besides, challenges such as access to healthcare
facilities, sanitation, waste management, lack of access to information, political participation and
education among others have continuously hampered effective practice of sustainable
construction. lack of access to all these is the reason for the low life expectancy of people in Africa,
hence the fight for survival rather than the practice of sustainable development.
The challenges to be tackled in Africa before successful practice of sustainable design and
construction are (Dalal-Clayton, 2003; Couret, 2008):
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Extreme poverty (majority of the people live on less than 1 dollar per day)
Lack of universal primary education
Gender inequality
Women discrimination
High mortality rate
High maternal mortality
Sickness and diseases such as malaria, cancer, HIV/AIDS
Lack of environmental sustainability policies such as access to potable water,
environmental pollution, slums and improved living standard
Lack of training on the practice of sustainability
Lack of physical resources
High cost of construction
Lack of global partnership among countries
Lack of infrastructure like good roads
Lack of communication
Inefficient use of water and energy
Lack of good banking system
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Huge waste creation and poor waste management system
Lack of capacity and experience to reuse and recycle construction materials
Lack of urban planning for the informal city and semi-urban areas
Weakness of the management process of housing programs in the urban centres
Violence, insecurity and high crime rate in urban communities
Lack of awareness of what sustainable design and construction is all about.
Discussion on challenges of sustainable design and construction in Africa
The concept of sustainability generally appears simple or oversimplified especially when its
definition and the aspects it covers are put into consideration. However, implementation of the
requirements and elements of its success appear difficult. Therefore, there are various global issues
that affect sustainability. One of such issues is the supposed lack of consensus about the certainty
of the need to live sustainably in every aspect of our daily living. The people behind this argument
are basically the pessimists (ecologist) and the optimists (economists). With these sets of beliefs,
the way to convince the general public about the need to live sustainably is to strike a balance
between the belief of the economist and the ecologists. Further to this challenge, is the debate of
the need to consider environmental preservation while accumulating social and economic wealth.
This is more so because economists argue that human resources can substitute or compensate for
lost natural resources and waste generated in the process.
The issue of social, political and economic inequality among nations and individuals appear to
pose a major threat to the practice of sustainable development around the world. The less privileged
nations and individuals may feel cheated about withdrawing from their environment to create
national or individual wealth, especially when the call for sustainability is coming from the
quarters of nations that are not only wealthy but have significantly degraded their own environment
to amass the economic wealth and social status. To overcome this challenge, there may be the need
to find a way to appeal the sense of reasoning of aggrieved nations or persons. In addition,
changing the status quo is not always easy and it may take some time and deliberate effort to see
adaptation towards sustainable development. This situation is more compounded as the concept of
sustainable development is more of futuristic (planning) than the present. That is, the effects of not
living sustainably is not evident especially in climes where changes in environmental degradation,
climate change and the so on are not conspicuous.
Another challenge is inherent in the uncertainty that beclouds the benefits of sustainable
development in terms of cost and strategies of implementation in certain aspects. Besides,
whatever the benefits appear to be, they are usually not based on instant gratifications, thus
discouraging channeling of efforts in that direction especially from the poor nations who have only
little to expend on their huge immediate needs. In addition, the challenges of sustainable
development may cut across all nations in the world, it may also however, be different in
magnitude, scope and specificity from one country or continent to the other. For instance, carbon
emission may be a sustainability challenge in more advanced countries of Europe but may not be
the case in some other less developed nations. Theirs may just be the need to protect biodiversity.
Sustainable concepts appear to assume that the problems are the same across all nations and this
may not be right. Hence, there may be the need to determine the sustainable development
challenges as they relate to different nations so that they can be tackled according and avoid
wasteful efforts of doing the wrong thing. Also, since economic and social development have been
the focus of many nations before the introduction of the concept of sustainable development,
sustainability appears to be addressing only environmental conservation issues and sometimes at
the expense of economic and social development. Although, this is against the holistic preaching
of sustainability that it is meant to strike a balance among environmental, social and economic
equity. Based on all these general challenges of sustainable development, its lack of
implementation has been aggravated by the following reasons (Subramanian, 2007):
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Conflicting reasons and techniques for the practice of sustainable design and construction
Poverty or economic incompetence of African countries
High rate of unemployment in a community or nation
Poor governance by African leaders and corruption.
Inaccurate impression about other countries
Imbalance in the distribution of national wealth
Imbalance between work and family
Lack of understanding of the complexity of the relationship between nature and the
environment
Fear of change to sustainable construction by professionals and other stakeholders
If these challenges are allowed to continually thrive, there is likelihood that the practice of
sustainable development will remain impracticable in certain parts of the world like Africa where
most of the challenges are evident. The concept of sustainable development should not be
perceived to entail basically environmental conservation because it has been made understood that
there is an interrelationship among the three (environment, social and economic) aspects of
sustainable development and none of them can stand in isolation to be called sustainable
development.
Summary of chapters
This chapter discusses the challenges of Africa with the adoption of sustainable design and
construction. There are some challenges that are general, there are however some challenges that
are peculiar to developing countries. These challenges are so enormous and choking that they have
consistently hampered African countries from benefitting from the practice of sustainable design
and construction. Among the key focus of this chapter is the discussion of issue relating to
utilization of new materials, equipment and technologies; issues relating to project management;
issues relating to housing; issues relating to environment; issues relating to power; issues relating
to natural hazards and issues relating to transportation. Many of the challenges facing Africa in the
practice of sustainable design and construction are mostly subsets of the issues discussed in this
chapter. In addition, the chapter discussed the contents of existing sustainable design and
construction assessment tools that are not so applicable in the African context. The ones that were
also missing and needs to be included for optimum performance in Africa were also discussed.
References
Couret, D. G (2008). Sustainability in Developing and Developed Countries Washington, DC:
BVSDE
Dalal-Clayton, B. (2003). The MDGs and sustainable development: the need for a strategic
approach. Obtained from http://www.iied.org/Gov/mdgs/ on 15th July 2017
Du Plessis, C. (2007). A strategic framework for sustainable construction in developing countries.
Construction Management and Economics, 25, 67-76
Eisenberg, D., Done, R., and Ishida, L. (2002). Breaking down the barriers: Challenges and
solutions to code approval of green building. Development Center for Appropriate
Technology, Tucson, AZ
Communication for Environmental Cooperation (2008). Green Building in North America:
Opportunities
and
Challenges.
Obtained
from
http://www.cec.org/files/PDF//GB_Report_EN.pdf on 15th July 2017
Griffin, C., Knowles, C., Theodoropoulos, C., and Allen, J. (2010). Barriers to the implementation
of sustainable structural materials in green buildings. Structures & Architecture, 1st
International Conference on Structures & Architecture, 369-370.
Keeler, K., Clevenger, C. M. and Atadero, R. (2013). Framework for sustainability challenges
within the building industry. Proceedings of the 49th Annual International Conference of
the Association of Schools of Construction, South Africa.
Lin, Y. P. (2012). Sustainability of ecosystem services in a changing world. Journal of Ecosystem
and Ecography, 2 (2) 1-2
Ozolins, P. C. (2010). Assessing sustainability in developing country contexts: the applicability of
green building rating systems to building design and construction in Madagascar and
Tanzania. A Ph.D thesis of the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University.
Qain, Q. K., Chan, E. H. and Khalid, A. G. (2015). Challenges in delivering green building
projects: Unearthing the transaction costs. Sustainability, 7, 3615-3636
Rathi, A. and Jagtap, A. (2016). Challenges before construction industry in India. International
Journal of Advance Engineering and Research Development (IJAERD), 3 (5), 2348 – 4470.
Seo, S. (2002). International review of environmental assessment tools and databases. CRC for
Construction Innovation, Brisbane.
Subramanian, N. (2007). Sustainability – challenges and solutions. Indian Concrete Journal, 3950
Yu, V. P. (2012). Addressing sustainable development in developing countries through
environmental technology dissemination and transfer. WTO CTE Workshop on
Environmental Technology Dissemination, 12 November 2012, & Geneva. Accessed on 11th
April 2017 at www.southcentre.org
Chapter 12
O.S. Dosumu and C.O. Aigbavboa (2018)
Way forward for Africa to practice sustainable design and construction
Abstract
This chapter discusses the solutions to the challenges of Africa in her quest for the adoption of
sustainable design and construction. The key methods by which Africa can make progress in the
adoption of sustainable design and construction were categorized into self-acknowledgement of
the current situation and condition of Africa, educating Africans on the need to live sustainably,
taking disciplinary measures towards achieving sustainable development and involvement of the
local community in sustainability construction process. All other methods identified would fit into
one of the four categories mentioned. The chapter was able to discuss the roles of the government,
private sector, academic institutions and the rich among others in the journey towards adoption of
sustainable design and construction.
Keywords: sustainability solution, sustainability practice, sustainability in Africa, sustainable
education, sustainable community
Introduction
Chapter 11 discussed the myriad of challenges confronting Africa in her quest to adopting
sustainable design and construction. This chapter takes a step forward by proffering solutions to
the challenges identified so that Africa’s transition from conventional construction to sustainable
construction can be smooth and sustainable.
Way forward to practice sustainable design and construction in Africa
Many solutions have been proffered in order to assist Africa adopt sustainable design and
construction. first, it should be noted that the condition of Africa warrants careful and special
attention. The solution to the problem at hand is all inclusive and different stakeholders have to
perform their roles. The roles to be played by developed countries are different from the roles of
African countries themselves. In the same vein, the roles to be played by international organization
and funding body are different from the roles of the people living within and outside Africa. For
instance, at the United Nations program, where the foundation of sustainable development was
laid, part of the objectives that were stated included that, poor nations will be assisted by way of
funding and grants so that that they can effectively and efficiently practice sustainability. This is
in recognition of the fact that, Africa and other developing countries are faced with challenges that
may preclude their adoption of sustainable design and construction.
Many African nations are still largely based on mortar and brick construction. This is simply
because of the lack of technology, skills and even fund to harness their traditional materials. This
chapter posits that the adverse effects of living unsustainably will soon be globally felt regardless
of the efforts that are put in place by developed countries to reduce those effects. These adverse
effects may mostly stem from the lack of practice of sustainable design and construction in Africa.
Some efforts have already been channelled into making Africa practice sustainable design and
construction. These efforts have however not yielded conspicuous fruits as many African countries
are still not better that what they were before those efforts. It is in fact not clear whether some of
those efforts were politically motivated because the rationale for choosing countries and the efforts
to be put it are not understood.
One would expect that efforts that would help Africa achieve sustainability practice would at least
be regional. Regional in the sense that, one would expect that the efforts would be planned in such
a way that, technology will become transferable through the selected countries in the various
regions. This will serve as alternative to occasions where it was possible to assist as many indigent
African countries as possible. Despite the level of poverty in Africa, it is certain that some can
raise sufficient funds to support that is being offered from outside the African region. Hence, donor
countries and organizations need to take into cognizance, the fact that helping Africa through the
adoption of sustainable design and construction is also helping the world prevent the endemic
damage that may be caused by the non-adoption of sustainable design and construction.
Since many of the advantages, disadvantages and effects of sustainable design and construction on
the present and future generations are largely based on speculations, it is necessary to arrive at
more certain outcomes. This will assist the adoption of sustainable development and boost
confidence of African nations to adopt sustainability. Simulations through computer models have
the capability to predict future occurrences based on the present. The models can also predict
environmental, social and economic resources based on some independent variables like
population, economic growth and choices of technology among others (Subramanian, 2007).
Hence the following are the suggestions for moving forward in Africa on the adoption of
sustainable design and construction (Hussin et al., 2013):
•
•
•
•
Self-acknowledgement of our current situation in Africa
Educating ourselves on the need to live sustainably
Taking disciplinary measures towards achieving sustainable development
Involvement of the local community in sustainability construction process
Self-acknowledgement of our current situation on sustainability in Africa
To adopt sustainable design and construction, it is expedient to acknowledge that the situation of
African countries is not as good as that of developed countries. Hence, there is need for more
pragmatic solutions to the problem of Africa with sustainable design and construction. The poverty
level, level of awareness of people with sustainable design and construction, the conviction of
people about the need for sustainable development and so on are reasons for the non-adoption of
sustainable design and construction. Besides, as discussed in the challenges, the level of skill
development, project management and technological advancements are reasons why Africa find it
difficult to progress in her quest for sustainable development. One may even be tempted to believe
that, the less development of African countries is tantamount to less adverse effects of sustainable
design and construction in Africa.
However, it is important to know that regardless of the level of development and degradation of
immediate environment, the effects of unsustainable development are global. Hence, there is need
for the African people to change both their attitude towards sustainable development and also
change their methods of construction. The life expectancy of African people has been generally
adjudged to be low. This may not be unattached with the current unsustainable way we live. This
is in addition to the current poor health facilities in many African countries. There is a strong
relationship between the health and well-being of the people and environmental development.
There is need to make sustainable choices in Africa by inculcating issues relating to the
environment in government policies and school curricula.
Educating ourselves on the need to live sustainably
Just as the volume of people residing in rural areas of Africa are many, the volume of people with
less than primary education is also many. This inhibits such people to become privy to information
relating to the need sustainable design and construction. for those that are educated and live in
urban centres, the level of awareness of sustainable development and it advantages to the people
and community are not known. Hence, there is need for public sensitization of what sustainable
development is all about, its advantages and the imminent consequences of not embracing it. There
is need to sensitize the people about the need to put mechanisms in position to achieve
sustainability now and in the future.
Taking disciplinary measures towards achieving sustainable development
There is the need to take measures towards ensuring that every member of a community adopt
sustainable design and construction. These measures are necessary because many people do not
take issues that are not directly related to them seriously. Disciplinary measures may include
payment of fines for sustainability offences that are backed by government policies. This suggests
that, the government herself need to come up with policies and regulations that will be
implementable and implemented on sustainable design and construction. The following are the
roles of government on the way to adoption of sustainable design and construction (Delnavaz,
2012):
•
•
•
•
•
Setting of clear goals on the environmental impact of sustainable design and construction
Early setting of sustainable priorities and goals
Ensuring that clients understand long-term tangible and intangible benefits of sustainable
design and construction
Provision of relevant information on the benefits of sustainable design and construction
to stakeholders
Establishment of communication procedure among stakeholders, especially between
client and end users
Involvement of the local community in sustainability construction process
Sustainability by nature, requires that the community be involved in the whole process. This is to
enhance their knowledge on the way it operates and also to enable the members of the community
to participate and cater for the social needs of such projects. Naturally, the first beneficiary of any
construction project is the immediate locality. This is the same for sustainable construction
projects.
Other methods that can assist Africa with the adoption of sustainable design and construction are:
•
•
•
•
•
Training of local skilled and unskilled workers on the operation and maintenance of
sustainable construction projects
The design of new sustainable projects must be flexible and adaptable for future works.
Communities should develop sustainable design and construction assessment tools as it
relates to their environment. This is far reaching and applicable that adapting tools that
were purposely developed for different economies.
Sustainable goals and objectives must be such that will create employment for youth,
improve health care and social balance. These are key problems that are begging for urgent
solutions. This may involve the construction of sustainable projects with labour intensive
approach.
Sustainable and renewable materials that are not costly should be prioritized for sustainable
construction projects
•
•
Passive means of climate control should be used to reduce energy cost. These means
include the use of roof overhangs, natural ventilation and planting of vegetations to reduce
heating effects. These will reduce mechanical ventilation.
Security should be providing through the use of security sensors, strong and durable
materials.
For Africa to effectively practice sustainable design and construction, two major approaches were
identified as being germane (Du Plessis, 2007):
•
•
Creation of viable local construction sector
Ability of the local construction sector to respond to the demands of adopting sustainable
design and construction
These approaches could only work when all the stakeholders play their roles on the actualization
of clear project goals and strategies towards their achievement. To make this possible, technology,
institutions and value systems are the enablers. The enablers must be operated bearing in mind
that, there are variables like rapid urbanization and self-help housing construction that will act as
barriers. Non-government organizations, civil societies and government parastatals are not doing
enough to sensitize people and make demands for sustainable construction. the construction sector
in Africa itself is not being castigated or reprimanded by any institution for her unsustainable
construction, leading to mostly environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources.
Communities are required to protest the degradation of their environment by local and international
constructors, but poverty, lack of information, education and awareness of the adverse effects of
environmental degradation has hampered the whole process.
In Africa, many of the citizens are clamoring for development and are making serious
infrastructural demands from their governments; such citizens are however not requesting that the
developments should be based on sustainable development. The construction sector itself has not
been responsible enough to practice sustainable design and construction in spite of their awareness
of the grave impact it has on the nation and the people. The steps that can be taken to overcome
the obstacles of sustainable design and construction include capacity building, increasing the
awareness of the people, sourcing for international and local funding, building connection and
collaboration and providing information that are peculiar to Africa. To achieve all these, there is
need for roundtable discussion among stakeholders which include the government, professional
bodies in the construction industry, university researchers and other research institutes, civil
societies and international organizations. This can only be made possible after due consultation.
In African countries, where sustainable design and construction is already in operation, there is the
need to increase the awareness of sustainability concept and enforce it among construction
organizations. In order to enforce sustainability concept, the sustainable design and construction
assessment tool has to be backed by government laws and policies. Including sustainable design
and construction in government policies may not only be costly to implement, it may require a lot
of time and political willingness (Mpakati-Gama et al., 2011). The effect of cost and time may be
reduced with the involvement of private organizations and professional experts. Public private
partnership has yielded tremendous results on construction projects in Africa. This success can be
replicated on sustainable design and construction.
The following were the suggestions of Rathi and Jagtap (2016) on the ways forward for Africa to
adopt sustainable design and construction technique:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Provision of knowledge on the successes of sustainable construction material, products,
designs and systems
Making adequate information on safety available to all construction stakeholders
Increased familiarity with sustainable construction product, materials, designs and
systems.
Provision of adequate training on sustainable construction product, material, design and
systems.
Support for higher institutions to conduct multidisciplinary researches on sustainable
construction products, materials, designs and systems
Models for Personal experience of sustainable materials, products, design and systems
should be developed
Some school of thought believe that, despite the condition of countries in Africa, they (African
countries) are richer than the developed countries because of their possession of human and
environmental resources. However true this belief may be, researches have proven that Africa lack
the technology to harness her potentials in terms of sustainable development among others. The
richness in human resources is not clear, as these human resources have not been able to develop
the required technology for the transformation of the construction industry among other industries
in the continent. In spite of the technology challenge, it was suggested sustainable development
could still be promoted if:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Upcoming development areas are well planned with sustainable solutions
Income groups are mixed to encourage cross interactions and social benefits
Communities are made to finance themselves
More intensive use of land is embraced
Urban agriculture became a policy issue
Individual transportation system is discouraged and use of bikes are promoted
Mixing of the rich and poor will not only promote social life of people in a community, it will
bring infrastructural development as well. The high-income group will be responsible for the
funding of infrastructure development, provision of jobs in some cases for the unemployed. Some
of the jobs may even be within the community. This eventually promotes social interaction among
various classes of people. in addition, high density construction of vertical rather than horizontal
nature should be encouraged. Individual ownership of land spaces should be discouraged, and joint
ownership of land should be promoted. This will ensure that different types of houses by many
families are built. Moreover, promotion of urban farming will increase food supply and reduce
pressure to feed a nation from rural and mechanized farmers. To reduce carbon emission, traffic
congestion and promote healthy living, individual urban transportation should be discouraged and
less economical means of transportation like bicycles should be embraced. This requires a lot of
efforts, especially in climes where the transportation model of the developed world have been
followed. In the case of energy, renewable energy is usually expensive and require the intervention
of large companies to split the cost in months or years so that poor and low-income earners can
afford it. Renewable energy may also be done in small scale where subscribers will pay in
installments.
Government licenses and approvals for sustainable construction projects should be operated with
transparency in order to assure individuals and organizations of fairness and environmental
friendliness. Government may also introduce tax rebates and grants to encourage investment in
sustainable design and construction. Certified sustainable products and materials must be labelled;
unlabeled products should be totally discouraged by government and users. As sustainable design
and construction is the duty of all, clients and contractors need to perform their own bit in the
success of sustainable programme. For instance, clients should become aware of sustainable design
and construction and hence insist on having the best based on environmental performance rather
than just economic and social benefits. This demand will go a long way in forcing construction
organizations to offer their best in terms of sustainable development in spite of their unwillingness
and fear of change. Institutions such as professional and academic institutions should also continue
to do workshops and seminars with the aim of sensitizing the public on the need to embrace
sustainable design and construction. academic institutions should channel efforts towards
researches on sustainable materials, technology, design and systems.
The following measures were suggested as ways forward in Africa’s quest for sustainability
practice (Isnin, Ahmad & Yahya, 2012):
•
•
•
•
Proper planning of health and safety management system
Develop risk management techniques for activities on sustainable projects
Detailed guidelines for deconstruction and maintenance of existing building
Making manuals and instructions on sustainable development available to clients and
designers so that they can produce, and complete designs as required
Discussion on way forward for Africa on sustainable design and construction
From the discussion in this book so far, it is clear that the practice of sustainable design and
construction is not about choice but of necessity. Due to the level of technology, awareness,
readiness and already felt effects, the developed nations have moved to adopt the sustainable
design and construction. This was after the need for it was contemplated and agreed at world
forum. Since the adoption of sustainable design and construction, reports indicate that a lot of
economic, social and environmental benefits have accrued to adopting nations. While some
countries have made sustainable design and construction compulsory, other made it optional with
incentives (financial and non-financial) for adopters. To further formalise the adoption process of
sustainable design and construction, assessment tools were developed to rate and score sustainable
buildings. While some adopters adjudged that, the process is expensive, others have claimed it is
not. While these claims could only be substantiated through evidenced researches, virtually all
writers have claimed that the benefits of adopting sustainable design and construction (with or
without high construction cost) outweigh its disadvantages.
Currently, many European and Asian countries among others have already plugged into the
practice of sustainable design and construction. This is however not the case for Africa. While
many African countries have discussed the adoption of sustainable design and construction in
various fora, many of them are still struggling to swing into action. A few African countries like
South Africa have initiated and commenced the adoption of sustainable design and construction
but the progress and acceptability of the programme is relatively low in the country. For about ten
years that sustainable design and construction has been inaugurated, only about 200 projects have
been built in line with sustainability. This indicates that, the challenges facing non-adopting
African countries also have their measures in adopting African countries, however few they may
be. Many challenges have been identified as being peculiar to Africa in her quest to adopt
sustainable design and construction. These challenges are the reasons for the special approach to
sustainable design and construction that is advocated for Africa. The special approach is based on
the many incompatibilities between situations in the developed and developing countries. Hence,
the approaches that can make the adoption of sustainable design and construction viable must be
those without unachievable technology, based on available materials rather than imported, locally
trained workers and natural means of ventilation (window orientation and planting of vegetation)
among others.
The responsibility of making sustainable design and construction work in Africa is although much
on the government, it will not likely succeed without the cooperation of other stakeholders.
Commitment is required from the clients, material manufacturers, contractors, consultants,
community members, private sector, international community, academic community, etc. While
planning for sustainable design and construction in Africa, proper attention should be given to
health and safety management system and risk management in the process. Apart from these, there
is need to develop assessment tools that are typically based on communal situations rather than
adapting the assessment tools of the advanced countries.
Summary of chapter
This chapter dealt with the solutions to the challenges of Africa with the adoption of sustainable
design and construction. The solutions identified are multifaceted though, they are expected to be
carried out by all the stakeholders involved in the process. Among other solutions, it is germane
to ensure that solutions are based on the circumstances surrounding Africa. Options must be cheap
and free from excessive maintenance. Proffered solutions will only succeed if Africa can
acknowledge her current situation, get educated on how to practice sustainability, take measures
that are geared towards successful implementation of sustainable design and construction and
involvement of all stakeholders including the local community in sustainable construction process.
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