de Ridder, H and Vrijhoef, R (2008) Developing a strategy for 'living buildings': Beyond cradle to cradle with living building concept. In: Dainty, A (ed.) Proceedings of 24th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2008, Cardiff, UK.
Abstract
Quite often construction has been blamed for being unsustainable, causing high levels of waste, carbon emissions and use of resources. As in other industries, there is an urgent need to face the challenge to increase the performance of buildings. This urgency has been embraced by McDonough and Braungart (2002) in their book 'Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things'. The idea of cradle to cradle (C2C) is to pursue the 'right kind' of growth, and the key to that is better design of the things we make. The Living Building Concept (LBC) shares the same objectives of C2C stressing the need for good design and changing the way we build. In addition LBC offers a strategy how to apply these objectives in practice, increasing the benefit of buildings for suppliers as well as demanders, and society as a whole. The strategy is aimed at keeping built objects 'fit for purpose' and 'up to date' continuously by applying new technologies and insights for improved performance and sustainability. The strategy implies an integrated approach to the procurement and delivery of built objects. This requires construction clients as well as companies to revise their own strategies too. Clients need to revise their procurement and contracts allowing and challenging construction companies to supply integrated and sustainable products and life cycle service. Construction companies must become integrated suppliers for living buildings applying rules of product development, and the construction sector as a whole to become a 'normal' consumer products industry delivering new products fitted out with the latest technology to its customers. This paper squares LBC with C2C, and indentifies areas where LBC can add to translate the shared objectives of both concepts into an integrated strategy to achieve 'living buildings' and even 'living cities'.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | business model; cradle to cradle; construction; living building concept; sustainability |
| Index terms: | construction sector, product development, business model, strategy, face, life cycle, construction client, construction company, integrated approach, carbon emission, new technology, society, living building |
| Subjects: | business, organization, climate science, innovation studies, practitioner, value management, psychology, innovation and technology management, contractual arrangements, design practice, management, communities and social development, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Procurement, Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Organizational Design, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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