Farias, F (2013) Contemporary strategies for sustainable design. PhD thesis, Texas A&M University, USA.
Abstract
This exploratory research examined the degree of adoption and impact of the concepts of Building Information Model (BIM), Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), Integrated Design Process (IDP) and Building Energy Simulation (BES) on the design processes of advanced architectural firms when executing sustainable design. Six offices identified by the press for a strong commitment to sustainable design and influence in the design of high performance buildings were selected as cases. In semi-standardized interviews, these firms presented their perceptions of the influence of BIM, BES, and IPD/IDP. The results show that a generalization of sustainable design processes is possible. A design process for sustainability (DEPROSU) model was created by collecting best practices from data gathered from the interviews and the critical literature review. Secondary contributions show that BIM, IDP/IPD and BES have a synergistic effect in sustainable design methods, and that the human resource profile from these firms has evolved towards multi-skilled professionals knowledgeable in BES, BIM, parametric design, sustainability and construction processes. This research provides evidence of commonalities found in the design processes of the selected firms. These commonalities, which have been represented in the DEPROSU model, can potentially be validated as protocols or standards for sustainable design, providing architectural design practices with concrete patterns for improvement and or validation of their design methods.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Calyton, M J |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | sustainability; standards; architectural design; best practice; building energy simulation; building information model; design practice; integrated design process; integrated project delivery; project delivery; sustainable design; professional; interview; simulation |
| Index terms: | architectural firm, design practice, parametric design, exploratory research, best practice, building energy simulation, project delivery, integrated design process, design method, sustainable design, design process, interview, literature review, strategy, integrated project delivery, commitment, validation, evidence, human resource, construction process, architectural design |
| Subjects: | evaluation and assessment methods, psychology, contractual arrangements, research methods, design process, building construction, business, data collection methods, design methods, project delivery, data analysis and analytics, energy systems, design practice, management, professional development |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Site Management, Design Practice, Human Resources, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Information Management, Procurement, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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