Alternative Approaches for Sustainable Construction Utilizing Specific Decision Support

Sustainable development refers to an economic, environmental and social development that meets the needs of the present and does not prevent future generations from fulfilling their needs. However, sustainable construction leads to a higher cost compared to the traditional building construction. This has become an obstacle for the society to undertake this concept. This study firstly provides an overview of conventional methods of building construction i.e. the initial step towards developing a sustainable decision making tool that can optimize cost, emissions and other construction related issues. In order to make a difference in energy sustainability a comparative assessment is conducted between the conventional method of sustainable construction and the alternatives opted. The efficiency of building construction is also determined with proven techniques that are more widely used to measure the effectiveness (and, indirectly, the productivity) of construction works. Also, selecting inappropriate materials may influence the performance of the building and preclude the achievement of the desired sustainability goals. Consequently, decision makers need proper information about candidate materials such as their properties and characteristics. This study fulfils an identified need to study how perceptions may affect decision making to increase the understanding of issues affecting knowledge in product sustainability and awareness of sustainable materials.