Adaptation of the methodology SBTool for sustainability assessment of high school buildings in Portugal - SAHSBPT

Decades ago, the only requirement to construct a building was to give men the right conditions for the performance of their activities. Nowadays, there are major concerns related to sustainability in buildings. With regard to the objective of sustainable development in buildings—which integrates economic, social, and environmental dimensions relating to the comfort of consumers and the protection of the earth—several forms of sustainability assessment are currently used in the construction industry e. g. , the Sustainable Building Tool (SBTool), the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). There are international sustainability assessment tools planned specifically for school buildings and tools specific to the reality of Portugal, such as SBtoolPT (Sustainable Building Tool, Portugal), Natura Domus and LiderA (Leading the Environment for Sustainable Construction). Currently, with the concern in Portugal to requalify high schools, it has become required to elaborate a specific sustainable building tool for school environments according to the reality of Portugal. The imporancet of a specific methodology thar asses sustainability for the school environment is to reduce the environmental impacts of these buildings, develop the conditions of environmental comfort of students, improving learning and quality of life, increase the awareness of student about sustainable This work emphasizes the SBTool methodology that is applied in several countries and can be adjusted to high school buildings as the basis for the development of a country. The main purpose of this thesis is to adapt an already existing methodology of sustainability (SBToolPT), maintaining some indicators while adding and modifying others, to elaborate a method specifically dedicated to the Sustainability Assessment of High School Buildings in Portugal—SAHSBPT. To achieve this goal, other methodologies that already include parameters relating to the school environment are analysed, such as the SBTool for K–12 Schools, LEED Building Design and Construction School (LEED BD + C Schools) and BREEAM Education 2008. It was intended to test the viability and validate this new methodology version by applying it to a school building in Guimarães, Portugal. For that purpose, the following strategies were adopted: literature review; deep study of the SBTool system; study of the sustainability indicators, categories, and dimensions of sustainable methodologies; application of the methodology to the high school building of Escola Secundária Francisco de Holanda, built by Parque Escolar. This work also intended to start the study to adapt this methodology to Brazil, beginning with the specific analyses of two schools in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Questionnaires about ergonomic, thermal, visual, acoustics and air quality comfort, and other sustainability awareness aspects were applied in the Portuguese school, to determine the weight of each comfort indicator according to the Portuguese reality. The same questionnaire was applied in two high school buildings in Juiz de Fora – Academia School and Santa Catarina School – to understand the difference between those Portuguese and Brazilian realities regarding comfort conditions. A comparison between the results of the three schools was made, proving the necessity of the elaboration of a methodology for different regions. This study also demonstrated the need to include ergonomic aspects in the sustainability assessment methodologies of school buildings.