scholarly journals The knock-on effects of green buildings: high-rise construction design implications

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Blackburne ◽  
Koorosh Gharehbaghi ◽  
Amin Hosseinian-Far

PurposeThe aims and objectives of this research are to establish whether or not the transition into green building in high-rise construction is practical. This is after considering several perspectives including financial, economic, environmental, and social. This subsequently leads to an evaluation on whether or not the continuation with a standard conventional build of high-rise buildings remains to be the most feasible option. Such objectives, therefore, aim to allow for validation of how and why high-rise construction designs are impacted through green buildings effects.Design/methodology/approachThrough six defined steps, the methodology commences with an introductory section of what it means to build green. This section is further broken down to evaluate what factors are involved in constructing a green building. Furthermore, the life cycle energy (LCE) is used as a framework to evaluate the knock-on effects of green buildings and subsequent high-rise construction design implications.FindingsThrough defining the ongoing relationship of green materials and sustainable design, various implications for high-rise constructions were discovered. First and foremost, it was determined that the LCE is the central consideration for any high-rise building design. In evaluating the LCE, and overall operating energy of the 50-year cycle of a building was carried out. As the results showed, the operating energy represents around 85% of the total energy that is consumed at the end of the 50 years cycle of the building. Precise LCE calculation can lead to a more efficient design for high-rise buildings. As a result, an increased understanding of the current status of green buildings within the construction industry is paramount. This understanding leads to a better insight into the contributing factors to green building in high-rise construction and the construction industry in general.Originality/valueThe potential contribution that can be gained from this research is the awareness that is raised in the research and development of green buildings in high-rise construction. This can be achieved by using certain materials such as new energy-efficient building materials, recycled materials and so on. This research will contribute to defining a new way of sustainable buildings, particularly for high-rise construction. The outcome of the research will be beneficial for practitioners such as design engineers and other related professions.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kofi Agyekum ◽  
Chris Goodier ◽  
James Anthony Oppon

PurposeThe majority of the literature on green buildings in Ghana focuses on environmental benefits, innovative designs, construction technologies and project management techniques. However, little is known about how such facilities are financed. This issue creates potential knowledge gaps, one of which this study aims to address. This study examines the key drivers for green building project financing in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an explanatory sequential design with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. An extensive critical comparative review of the literature resulted in the identification of eight potential drivers. One hundred and twenty-seven questionnaire responses based upon these drivers from the Ghanaian construction industry were received. Data were coded with SPSS v22, analysed descriptively (mean, standard deviation and standard error) and via inferential analysis (One Way ANOVA and One-Sample t-Test). These data were then validated through semi-structured interviews with ten industry professionals within the Ghana Green Building Council. Data obtained from the semi-structured validation interviews were analysed through the side-by-side comparison of the qualitative data with the quantitative data.FindingsThough all eight drivers are important, the five key drivers for the Ghanian construction industry were identified as, in order of importance, “high return on investment”, “emerging business opportunity”, “ethical investment”, “conservation of resources” and “mandatory regulations, standards, and policies”. The interviewees agreed to and confirmed the importance of these identified drivers for green building project financing from validating the survey's key findings.Research limitations/implicationsKey limitations of this study are the restrictions regarding the geographical location of the collected data (i.e. Kumasi and Accra); timing of the study and sample size (i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic making it difficult to obtain adequate data).Practical implicationsThough this study was conducted in Ghana, its implications could be useful to researchers, policymakers, stakeholders and practitioners in wider sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, financial institutions can invest in green buildings to expand their green construction and mortgage finance products to build higher value and lower risk portfolios. The findings from this study can provide investors with the enhanced certainty needed to help guide and inform their investment decisions, i.e. what to invest in, and when, by how much and how a scheme being “green” may influence their rate of return. Also, for building developers, it will give them a clearer understanding of the business case for green buildings and how to differentiate themselves in the market to grow their businesses.Originality/valueThis study's findings provide insights into an under-investigated topic in Ghana and offer new and additional information and insights to the current state-of-the-art on the factors that drive green building project financing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Wenxin Luo

<p>For the development and progress direction of contemporary construction industry, greening has always been one of the most important topics, which is basically consistent with China’s guidelines on environmental protection and resource conservation, with emphasis on whether it can effectively improve the ecological environment quality in urban areas, control various hazards caused by pollution, and build a healthy urban environment for people. Nowadays, the building materials market has also developed in an all-round way, and the types of materials for exterior wall insulation are also increasing. Relatively, the practical application difficulty of various technologies in the construction industry also shows an increasing trend. In order to better highlight the important role of insulation materials for green buildings, this paper will explore the application of exterior wall insulation materials with strong energy saving in green buildings.</p>


Author(s):  
D. P. Kothari

The green building design aims to minimize the need for the non-renewable energy of these resources, optimize their sustainability and maximize their conservation, recycling and usage. The use of effective building materials and construction techniques is maximized. Architectural bioclimatic technology will also optimize on-site usage of sources and sinks. It requires only minimum electricity to fuel itself and efficient appliances to meet its lighting, air-conditioning and other needs. Green buildings architecture optimizes the use of renewable energies and efficient waste and water management methods to create practical and hygienic working conditions for indoor environments. Materials such as chemical, physical and mechanical material properties and an appropriate specification are the fundamental elements of construction design and responsible for the mechanical strength of the design. The construction of green buildings is also the first step in choosing and utilizing eco-friendly materials with or better characteristics than traditional building materials. Based on the practical, technical and financial requirements, construction materials are usually selected. But, given that sustainable development has been a core issue in recent decades, building industry that is directly or indirectly responsible for a substantial share of annual environmental destruction, by pursuing environmentally sound constructions and buildings should take responsibility for contributing to sustainable growth. The quickest way for manufacturers to start integrating environmental design practices into buildings would be the diligent procurement of eco-friendly sustainable construction materials, including options for new material uses, recycling and reusing, organic product creation and green resource use. This paper aims to show how green building materials will help reduce the impact on the atmosphere and create a cleaner building that can be healthy for the occupant or our environment. In the sustainable progress of a nation, the choice of building materials that have reduced environmental burdens is helpful.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 270-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Krueger ◽  
Adam Stoker ◽  
Gabrielle Gaustad

Purpose The construction, use and demolition of buildings carry enormous environmental burdens. As one step to reduce a building’s environmental impact, green building design guidelines and certification programs, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Cradle to Cradle and the Whole Building Design Guide, promote the specification of alternative, non-traditional building materials. Alternative materials carry a variety of potential benefits: reducing the amount of energy and other resources needed to create building materials; creating healthier indoor and outdoor environments; diverting or reducing waste from landfills; reducing the use of scarce, critical or economically volatile materials; and spurring innovation in the building industry. However, a lack of clarity surrounds alternative materials and creates a barrier to their usage. The purpose of this paper is to review definitions of alternative materials in various design guidelines in order to provide context to their specification and usage. Design/methodology/approach Through a survey of green building programs and guidelines, existing literature on alternative materials, and life-cycle assessment using multiple inventory databases, this study tackles the following questions: what constitutes an alternative building material; what are the current barriers to their specification; how are they specified in the most common design guidelines; and do alternative building materials present a “greener” alternative? Findings These results show that while often alternative materials do in fact show promise for reducing environmental impacts of the built environment, by how much can be a challenging question to quantify and depends on a variety of factors. While many green building guides and certification systems provide recommendations for use of alternative materials, the sheer diversity and uncertainty of these systems coupled with the complexity in understanding their impacts still present a significant barrier to their specification. Much work remains in a variety of disciplines to tackle these barriers. A clear emphasis should be on better understanding their environmental impacts, particularly with respect to the context within the built environment that their specification will provide energy, resource and emission savings. Other key areas of significant work include reducing costs, removing regulatory and code barriers, and educating designers, consumers, and end-users. Originality/value Alternative materials are defined and specified in a diversity of contexts leaving the design and construction communities hesitant to promote their use; other work has found this to be a key barrier to their widespread usage. By compiling definitions, barriers and design guidelines instructions while also exploring analytically the benefits of specific cases, this work provides a foundation for better understanding where new, more sustainable materials can be successfully specified.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-70
Author(s):  
Norashikin Fauzi ◽  
Nur Izzah Awaluddin

This study provides an overview of the urban heat effect of the high rise non-green building in theurban area located in Kota Bharu, Kelantan by collecting and analyzing related data using skyview factor (SVF).The SVF is one of the essential aspects related to pollution, temperaturevariations, heat island and several other environmental specifications. A common method throughfish-eye photographs were taken at ground level with a digital camera together with a detachable180’ fish-eye lens. The result highlighted the SVF value at six high rise non-green buildings wasin a range between 0.24 and 0.67. The highest temperature recorded was 42°C on rooftop ofKelantan Trade Center building whilst the lowest was 30°C on rooftop of Ibu Pejabat PolisKontinjen Kelantan. The surrounding and building materials were found to have a persistentinfluence on the formation of urban heat.


Abstract. Owing to the recurrent modifications in the lifestyle and demands of humans the regular life of buildings is decreasing whereas the demolition or renovation of the buildings increases. Building materials and their components ingest just about 40 percent of world-wide vigour per annum in their life segments such as fabrication and procurement of building materials, construction and demolition. The development of the construction industry completely relies on the deployable resources. To abate the consumption of construction materials in current years, the construction industry has established an environmental track, which wishes to use naturally available materials. Reviving such technology, further developing this technology green building materials are paramount for constructing green buildings. Such a green-building constructional model does not require energy contributions frequently for production. The advantage of reducing the energy used in manufacturing, increases strength. Green Building material is one which utilizes less water, optimizes energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste, produces less carbon dioxide emissions and provides improved space for inhabitants as compared to conventional buildings. It includes environmental, economic, and social benefits as well. This paper aims to provide knowledge about some of the green building materials that help for sustainable living. These elucidations can obligate a significant influence in contemporary construction owed to the escalation in the charges of traditional construction materials.


2019 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 03025
Author(s):  
Liu Jun ◽  
Zhang Jinfeng ◽  
Tu Qian ◽  
Hu Haowei ◽  
Shui Taotao

With the accelerating urbanization process and the development of the construction industry, the role of green building design in architectural design is constantly reflected. The comprehensive implementation of green building is an important measure to promote China's energy-saving emission reduction and low-carbon city strategy. However, there are relatively few cases in which green building design is applied to super high-rise civil buildings, and in-depth research and data analysis must be carried out. The design points in green super high-rise civil buildings in Huangshan area were briefly summarized, and the actual cases of a green super high-rise civil building design in Huangshan City were analyzed, which is conducive to laying the foundation for the application of green building design to super high-rise civil buildings.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atanes Papoyan ◽  
Changhong Zhan ◽  
Guanghao Li ◽  
Xueying Han

PurposeThe concept of green buildings (GBs) in contemporary building design has risen in popularity with the rapid economic development resulting from globalization. The primary objective of this research is to provide an impetus to improve the methods of green technology adaptation, taking the Russian Federation as an example.Design/methodology/approachGlobally, the first green building rating systems were implemented in the 1990s. The Russian Federation had launched its national green building rating systems apart from the international green building rating systems that were implemented in the country.FindingsBased on qualitative analysis, a common approach in the Russian market for certifying green construction was identified. The collected information can be considered evidence of market entry and aid in preparation for possible market shocks.Originality/valueFurthermore, the study determined seven significant rating measures that were generally applied by various green building rating systems, and the most influential rating measure was “energy,” followed by “site,” “indoor environment,” “land and outdoor environment,” “material,” “water” and “innovation.” Additionally, this study determined the primary research endeavors of the analyses of contemporary green building rating systems and presented the scope for future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kofi Agyekum ◽  
Emmanuel Adinyira ◽  
James Anthony Oppon

PurposeThe increased awareness of global environmental threats like climate change has created an upsurge of interest in low embodied carbon building materials for green building delivery. Though the literature advocates for the use of hemp-based building materials, there is no evidence of studies to explore its potential use in Ghana. Therefore, this study explores the potential factors that limit the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to solicit the views of built environment professionals operating in construction, consulting and developer firms. The questions were developed through a comparative review of the related literature and complemented with a pilot review. Data were analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics.FindingsOn the average, the majority of the respondents showed a moderate level of awareness of hemp and its related uses in the construction industry. Also, certain key factors like the perceived association of hemp with marijuana, lack of expertise in the production of hemp-related building materials, farmers not getting the needed clearance for the cultivation of hemp, lack of legislation by the government in the legalisation of hemp and the inadequate knowledge of consumers on the benefits of hemp-based building materials were identified as potential limitations to the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery.Originality/valueThe findings from this study provide insights into a less investigated area in sub-Saharan Africa and further provide new and additional information to the current state-of-the-art on the potential for the use of hemp in the building construction sector.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Khoshbakht ◽  
Zhonghua Gou ◽  
Xiaohuan Xie ◽  
Baojie He ◽  
Amos Darko

Universities spend billions of dollars on green buildings as a sustainability commitment. This research investigates occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality (IEQ), building design (BD), and facilities management (FM) in five highly ranked green higher educational buildings in the subtropical climate of Australia, in comparison to nine non-green counterparts. The results disclose that the green building users were more consistently satisfied than the non-green building users with BD&FM elements, such as design, needs from facilities, building image, cleaning, the availability of meeting rooms, and storage. On the other hand, the study revealed weaknesses of green buildings in IEQ, such as noise, ventilation, and artificial lighting. The individual environmental control positively correlated with satisfaction in non-green buildings, but did not significantly affect satisfaction in green buildings. This study also identified the influences of non-environmental factors on occupant satisfaction, such as gender, age, sitting close to a window, hours spent in the building and in the workstation, and the number of people sharing office space. The research provides evidence and guidance for investing in, designing, and managing green educational facilities.


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