A Study on the Implementation of Sustainability Principles in the Design Stage of Building Construction

Ooi, Liang Jie (2020) A Study on the Implementation of Sustainability Principles in the Design Stage of Building Construction. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Sustainable development where buildings are being constructed based on the sustainability principles and in hope that the whole process of construction is able to minimise the damage towards the environment as well as achieving the human-ecosystem equilibrium. Additionally, by applying sustainable principles during the design stage, it brings benefits of reducing the environmental impact as well as economic savings. Even though sustainable development can bring benefits, however, sustainable buildings are rarely being seen and not quite popular in Malaysia and in fact is new in Malaysia. Most buildings are being constructed in conventional ways which focus on cost and time saving and less emphasising on the fact of environmentally friendly. Therefore, the outcome of this would be our environment is being terribly affected as more and more pollutions or global warming as a result from more buildings are being developed without taking good care of the environmentally friendly option during construction. As time goes by, more buildings are being constructed and this brings a bad impact on the environment. Hence in order to overcome these problems, this research study is carried out to identify the benefits, barriers of implementing sustainability principles in the design stage and also the sustainability principles that can be implemented in the design stage. The methodologies that will be used in this research is a literature review to distinguish the benefits and barriers of implementing sustainability principles in the design stage and also proposing sustainability principles that can be implemented in design stage based on previous researches. This is followed by distribution of questionnaire survey forms to a variety of construction parties such as architects, engineers and quantity surveyors for these 3 objectives. The data collected will be analysed using Cronbach’s Alpha analysis to check the reliability and Descriptive analysis to study the 3 objectives. The findings indicate that the most agreed benefits of implementing sustainability principles in the design stage are the improvement of the efficient use of energy, promoting cost-efficiency and reduction the waste of water. Besides, for the second objectives, the most accepted barriers of implementing sustainability principles in the design stage are the lack of professionals, high initial cost and surrounding influence. Lastly, for the third objectives, the most acknowledged sustainability principles by the respondents that can be implemented in the design stage are minimising pollution, creating a healthy environment and the economy. For future research purpose, it is recommended that more proof is needed to reinforce the proposed objectives.