Assessing the performance of sustainable technologies for building projects

Abstract

At present, the performance of sustainable technologies in buildings is generally not assessed holistically, but rather from a primarily single issue perspective, e.g., only financially or environmentally. Such an approach is limited in that it ignores the interaction of the technologies within the physical facility itself as expressed through life cycle costs, the impact on the surrounding environment, design objectives of the project and its stakeholders whose value systems may conflict. This work identifies the primary cause-and-effect relationships of selected sustainable building technologies and illustrates elements of a framework for the systematic assessment of their performance from an environmental, social, economic, and technical perspective. Rooftop garden technology is used to demonstrate application of the framework. The primary goal of this work is to improve the understanding and decision-making capabilities of the building industry and government when faced with decisions regarding investment and policy regarding sustainable building technologies. A secondary goal is to identify knowledge gaps in our understanding of sustainable technologies.Key words: risk identification, sustainable technology, knowledge management, infrastructure projects, sustainable buildings.