Ding, G K C (2010) Sustainability assessment of residential development: An Australian experience. International Journal of Construction Management, 10(2), pp. 19-32. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
Environmental performance of residential development has played an important role in achieving the goal of sustainable construction. Green homes have been or are being built in many countries. This paper discusses the issues of sustainability and its roles in residential developments. This paper also examines the development of a building and sustainability index (BASIX) for mandatory assessments of all residential developments in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Data collection includes examining the methodology of BASIX in assessing sustainability performance of residential development in the three broad areas of energy and water efficiency as well as indoor thermal comfort. The introduction of BASIX has had a profound impact on the construction industry. An online survey of users of BASIX in the construction industry revealed that the tool has played a significant role in providing a guideline for the sustainability performance of a proposed development and lifting the standard of design practices. The tool has led to better thermal comfort for users and reduced water and energy consumption by all new residential developments in NSW. However successful this has been, there is more to be done such as control of waste and energy usage in the manufacturing of building materials.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | environmental building evaluation; sustainability index; sustainable residential development |
| Index terms: | methodology, New South Wales, lifting, sustainability assessment, sustainable construction, survey, energy consumption, building evaluation, thermal comfort, building material, residential development, construction industry, environmental performance, design practice, efficiency, sustainability performance, Australia |
| Subjects: | building materials, energy systems, data collection methods, asset management, occupational health and safety management, environmental engineering, industry analysis, performance management, research methods, economic development, sustainability assessment, sustainable construction, design process, Geography |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Design Practice, Urban Studies, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here