This book explores the concepts and practicalities that lead to sustainable construction. It breaks new ground by providing the reader with the underlying principles of how to build sustainably and then assesses many of the tools required for the task. From energy to materials and from procurement to operation, all aspects play their part in turning a theoretically sustainable building project into a reality. There are many guidelines for the designer on how to maximise the sustainability of buildings but this resource text supplements these by focusing on the construction and operational aspects of sustainable buildings, as well as some of the more fundamental design-related considerations.


Offers an excellent text for those learning to construct, design and operate sustainable buildings.

Covers the drivers for sustainable construction, definitions, historical impacts, climate change and global, regional and individual responses.

enables the construction professional to achieve optimum solutions, both in design, process and the aftercare of buildings.

evaluates the effectiveness of different renewable technologies and provides guidance on the practicalities of their use.

Alerts the reader to future trends in this field.

Steve Goodhew is Professor of Environmental Building and Discipline Leader in the School of Architecture, Design and Environment at Plymouth University. He has been teaching and researching in the area of sustainable construction for over 20 years. His main focus has been the assessment and monitoring of existing buildings specialising in the in situ measurement of the thermal properties of building materials, particularly the use of thermal imaging.

By following the process of sustainable construction from blueprint to completed building, this book takes in all the systems, processes, guidelines and standards negotiated along the journey. The author focuses on the practicalities of sustainable construction and how to make it work well, examining the roles of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and project managers to understand how their plans work - or don?t - in practice. In this fast-moving field, the policies, facts, figures and assessment systems change with a remarkable rapidity. However, the underlying principles of how we build sustainability and the basic tools needed to do this remain relatively static.

Sustainable Construction Processes: a resource text introduces the rationale and history behind the drivers for sustainable construction. The text then follows the decision-making process for each stage of a building's life-cycle to illuminate the requirements and challenges of designing, constructing and occupying sustainable buildings. The reader is led through the areas of sustainable procurement, discussing how buildings can meet clients? needs but also the broader needs of society and the environment, without costing us and our communities too much. The elements of building design related to energy, water and materials are examined to demonstrate how construction processes can ensure that our buildings are truly sustainable. Assessment systems are introduced and their basic underlying principles discussed. The challenge of anticipating the behaviours of occupants and the practicalities of building with some of the new sustainable technologies are considered. Finally, the author sets out potential areas of growth and offers some contrasting visions for the future of sustainability.

For students, this resource text offers an excellent base for learning how to construct, design and operate sustainable buildings. And for construction professionals, it helps achieve optimum solutions in the design, the process and the aftercare of buildings.

Preface viii

About the author ix

Acknowledgments x

1 Introduction to sustainable construction 1

1.1 Why a book focused on sustainable construction? 1

1.2 Why construct sustainably? 2

1.3 How can we define sustainability? 2

1.4 The environmental importance of design, construction, and care of buildings 19

1.5 Where next? 19

References 19

2 Procurement and sustainability 22

2.1 Procurement and construction 22

2.2 Drivers for and concepts behind sustainable procurement 23

2.3 BREEAM 2011 and sustainable procurement 30

2.4 Organisational values, risk, and stakeholder goodwill 31

2.5 Contracts and sustainable construction 38

2.6 The RIBA plan of work 39

2.7 The sustainable procurement of materials and equipment 40

2.8 Summary 42

References 42

3 Energy, water, refurbishment, and sustainable building design 45

3.1 Designrelated sustainability 45

3.2 Sustainable design 46

3.3 Energy and design: Building fabric 48

3.4 Energy and design: Renewable energy and sustainable technologies 78

3.5 Water 96

3.6 Design for sustainable refurbishment 102

3.7 Summary 105

References 106

4 Materials and sustainable building design 110

4.1 Materials and design 110

4.2 Responsible sourcing of materials 111

4.3 Life cycle assessment 112

4.4 Wholelife carbon (embodied energy and embodied carbon) 114

4.5 Materials and recycle/reuse 129

4.6 Sustainable construction materials 132

4.7 Summary/what next? 140

References 140

5 Constructionrelated sustainability 143

5.1 Sustainable construction 143

5.2 Site operations and organisation 145

5.3 Materials 167

5.4 Summary 183

References 183

6 Assessment and performance evaluation of buildings and construction processes 188

6.1 Building assessment 188

6.2 Introduction and rationale for the assessment of current and future building performance 188

6.3 Categories of sustainability and building assessment systems 189

6.4 Building and projectspecific tools 201

6.5 Post-occupancy assessments 216

6.6 Commissioning and technical assessment 223

6.7 Building simulation 238

6.8 Summary 244

References 244

7 Behaviour, sustainable construction, and the performance gap 249

7.1 People, sustainable construction, and buildings 249

7.2 The building performance gap 249

7.3 occupant behaviour: the performance gap 251

7.4 Modelling using occupant behaviour 257

7.5 Behaviour in the design process 257

7.6 Behaviour and sourcing materials 260

7.7 Sustainability and the business of construction 261

7.8 Commissioning 263

7.9 Facilities management 264

7.10 Summary 266

References 266

8 The practicalities of building with sustainable technologies 270

8.1 Building with sustainable technologies and innovations 270

8.2 General operational issues 275

8.3 Solar systems and technologies 278

8.4 Wind generation 287

8.5 Biomass 290

8.6 Ground/water/air source heat pumps 293

8.7 Micro CHP 298

8.8 Control systems and smart home energy management 299

8.9 Overheating and controlled ventilation systems 300

8.10 Rainwater and greywater collection systems 301

8.11 Summary 307

References 308

9 Future of sustainable construction 313

9.1 Future directions and policies 313

9.2 Future technologies 321

9.3 Future energy 324

9.4 Future materials 327

9.5 Future ...