Sustainable Development: Fundamental Principles of Construction and Energy Conservation in Building Design

This report discusses the fundamental principles of construction and the impact of sustainability issues on decision making for sustainable development. It also explores the impact of energy conservation on building design decisions. The report emphasizes the importance of environment-friendly construction, high-quality material selection, building structure, and integrated supply chain for sustainable development. Additionally, it highlights the significance of alternative energy sources and advanced technology for energy conservation and the development of green buildings.

Sustainable Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
A. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION.........................................................1
Overview of function of construction..........................................................................................1
Fundamental principle of construction........................................................................................1
Impact of Sustainability issues on the decision making for construction....................................3
B. ENERGY AS SUSTAINIBILITY ISSUE..................................................................................4
Sustainability in urban planning, facilities and building designs................................................4
Impact of energy (sustainability issue) on decision making in building design decisions..........5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
The sustainability of the construction is imperative for protecting environment through
the damage from the construction activity (Mateus & Bragança, 2011). However, in the modern
era, construction sector must consider the specific sustainability issue and apply the relevant or
suitable practices in the field of construction for the ethical conduct of the business. In this
regard, the present report is based on the development of sustainable buildings and construction
which focuses on the fundamental principle of construction and the impact on the decision
making for sustainable development. In addition to this, a sustainability issue as energy
consumption has been selected which has direct impact on the decision-making process of
building design. Moreover, varied related academic sources have been referred for the vivid
insight.
A. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION
Overview of function of construction
In the present era, the constructions of building are imperative for fulfilling the basic
need of public. Due to this, it is necessary for management to focus on the different view of
construction process to enhance its productivity. In this regard, there are several functions which
affect the sustainability of construction which includes planning, directing, employment,
managing, controlling and coordinating (Walker, 2015). By focusing on these functions in proper
manner, the construction process is effectively managed which in turn enhances the performance
of construction process. Owing to this, function management helps to increase the productivity
of the construction.
Fundamental principle of construction
According to Allen & Iano (2013) achieving sustainability is important in the field of
building construction process where it is crucial to focus on the basic principle of the
construction.
 Environment friendly- In the present time, the environment protection is the major issue
because of the environment is more polluted from the harmful emission in the
construction process (Razak Bin Ibrahim, Roy, Ahmed & Imtiaz, 2010). In this manner,
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construction process requires raw material and machineries the uses of those things are
harmful for environment because of it reduces harmful gasses in the environment. Thus,
focus on the environment friendly construction process is imperative for protecting
environment from hazard activity. Apart from this, by using environment friendly
construction the construction firm enhance their image in the public. On the other hand, it
also helps to build environment friendly building which further helps in the conservation
of natural resources as water and energy. Owing to this, it is one of the main principles
which must follow in every construction process and protect the environment.
 Material selection- The focus on the selection of high-quality material for construction
for enhancing safety. Along with this, proper selection of material creates safety
workplace culture which enhances the productivity of the workplace. In this regard, the
consideration on safety in construction process is most necessary because the chances of
an accident in the construction process is high (Zhang, Teizer, Lee, Eastman &
Venugopal, 2013). However, proper selection of material reduces that risks which may
occur after the construction such as low life of buildings and high maintenances. In this
regard, Flórez, Castro& Irizarry (2010) asserted that the green material selection
enhances the sustainability of the construction. Owing to this, the focus on material
selection is imperative workers’ safety at construction site and industry as well as
environment conservation.
 Structure- The structure of buildings is important for the durability of buildings. In this
context, there are several types of framing methods which are used for creating building
structure such as light framing and heavy framing (Allen & Iano, 2013). The uses of
these methods depend upon the requirement of country specific region and the budget of
construction. In this manner, the technological innovation helps to reduce the cost and
creates durable buildings (Eastman, 2018). Apart from this, the structure plays important
role in the sustainable development of buildings (Fernández-Sánchez& Rodríguez-López,
2010). Therefore, by using innovative method in construction of building structure, the
project manager reduces the cost of construction project and enhances the sustainability
of the buildings.
The completion of construction at specific time is necessary for maintaining the
cost of project (Ramanathan, Narayanan & Idrus, 2012). This is because the delay in
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construction enhances the financial expenditure in the budget of the construction project.
Owing to this, for giving attention to structure of buildings increase the speed of
construction process. In this regard, the pre-fabrication of structure material increases the
speed of construction. For example, in the China the construction industry build lots of
buildings in minimum time with the help of pre-fabrication technology (Arif & Egbu,
2010). Therefore, modular construction of buildings helps to build the structure in the
minimum time with high quality.
 Integrated supply chain- In the present time the construction of buildings is more
complex because the needs of taller and large buildings are increasing. In this regard, the
integration of supply chain creates continuous slow in the construction process (Shin,
Chin, Yoon & Kwon, 2011). Thus, the integrated supply chain helps to supplying
construction material at accurate time. In the same manner, the integrated supply chain
minimizes the wasting of workers time by reducing their waiting time in the delivery of
raw material through enhancing the collaboration in the supply chain management
(Cheng, Law, Bjornsson, Jones & Sriram, 2010). Apart from this, the logistic are one of
most key problem in construction which dominates the construction and it can be
effectively handled by integrated supply chain (Segerstedt & Olofsson, 2010). Therefore,
the supply chain integration helps to avoid this type of problem through enhancing
control on the supplier.
Impact of Sustainability issues on the decision making for construction
In the present era, the management focus on sustainability of construction is most
important for development of sustainable buildings (Fawcett, Hughes, Krieg, Albrecht
&Vennström, 2012). In the same manner, the sustainability is imperative for enhancing the
utilization of resources in the construction process. Due to this, the mangers of construction site
are aware about utilization of resources. For example, for reducing water waste on the
construction site the management focuses on the reuses of water by using different techniques as
recycling and regular maintenance of water supply system for water saving. Apart from this, the
material selection process is influenced by the sustainability of construction (Jato-Espino,
Castillo-Lopez, Rodriguez-Hernandez & Canteras-Jordana, 2014). In the same manner, the
managers are concern about the selection of those materials which are reused and recycled at
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construction sites. For instance, the project managers prioritize the usage of light weight carbon
fiber rather than plastic.
Corporate Social Responsibility-The corporate social responsibility (CSR) also influence the
decision-making process at the construction site. This is because the management focuses on the
CSR to reduces accountability of the firm towards the exploitations of natural resources (Zhao,
Zhao, Davidson & Zuo, 2012). In this context, the construction managers need to be aware about
for those issue which influence the nearby community. For example, they covered whole
construction area and reduces the dust pollution in nearby area. Further, they select those
advanced machineries which are less accountable for noise pollution in the surrounding areas.
Therefore, the sustainability of construction changes the decision-making criteria of construction
manager.
B. ENERGY AS SUSTAINIBILITY ISSUE
Sustainability in urban planning, facilities and building designs
In the present era, the energy is the basic utility for every human being. In the same
manner, the construction industry uses the large amount of energy in the construction of
buildings and other infrastructures as bridges. This is because, every operation of construction
are dependent upon the energy as machineries, lighting and other construction equipment. In this
context, Chel & Kaushik (2017) asserted that the building design, energy efficient machineries,
low energy consumption material and incorporating of renewable energy technology are the
main aspect which helps in the energy conservation at urban planning. This is because the
populations are increasing exponentially in the present time which enhances the requirement of
urban planning. However, the over urban planning force the over uses of energy, which has
negatively impact on the environment and reduce the quantity of those natural resources which
are produce energy. Due to this focus on energy conservation is imperative for reducing the
energy and protecting environment in the urban planning. Therefore, the conservation of energy
is significant for sustainable development of urban planning and environment protection.
The solar energy is key alternative source of energy which fulfills all the needs of energy
at the site (Kalogirou, 2013). Furthermore, the use of solar energy is the ideal for environment
conservation because it does not reduce any hazard gas or chemical in the climate. In this
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context, Guy & Shove (2014) asserted that the renewable energy minimizes the usage of
conventional energy as fossil fuels and enhances the uses of infinite natural energy resources as
solar, wind, thermal and photovoltaic. Owing to this, the usage of solar energy in urban planning
is potential to enhance the sustainability of construction. Apart from this, the usage of solar
energy minimizes the other expenditure of construction process. In this regard, the solar system
has lower cost in comparison to other conventional energy generation system and decreases the
amount of electricity bills (Mekhilef, Saidur & Safari, 2011). Thus, the usage of alternative
energy sources reduces the unnecessary investment for construction in energy. Hereby, the onsite
generation of energy is also important for reducing the energy consumption at the construction
site.
Impact of energy (sustainability issue) on decision making in building design decisions
According to Sozer (2010) the development of the energy efficient building changes the
design and material of the constructing building. In this manner, for conserving energy in the
building, the structure of buildings is based on the direction of sunlight through the buildings the
easily observe the sunlight (Chou & Bui, 2014). On the other hand, the glasses are uses in
window of buildings are both energy collective and reflective (Guy & Shove, 2014). This is
because at the winter the glasses observe the heat from sun light and minimize the use of
building heating equipment. Similarly, in the summer it reflects sun light and decrease the
internal temperature of buildings without any uses of air condition equipment. In this context, the
sensors for obtaining internal temperature of buildings are also efficient for energy saving (Wei
& Li, 2011). This is because the sensor alerts the internal system of buildings and change the
working the glass window through it the maintenances of internal temperature are done in
effective manner. Therefore, the decisions on the selection of material are in the favor of energy
efficient for the development of sustainable buildings.
In the green buildings, the regular monitoring of energy consumption in the building
minimizes the wastage of energy (Wei & Li, 2011). In this manner, the infrastructure of the
buildings includes the monitoring devices for energy usage in the buildings and alert for over
uses of energy. In this regard, Ghaffarian Hoseini et al. (2013) stated that the green building
enhances the opportunities for sustainable development of buildings. However, the motoring
devices increases the development cost of infrastructure but, the amount of saving energy from
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those devices are greater than the investment in infrastructure. Apart for this, the installation of
solar panel required extra space on the buildings. Owing to this, it affects the decision making of
building design because of the consideration on space requirement for solar panel. Nonetheless,
the development of green building by focusing on the several energy saving techniques are
helpful for development of sustainable buildings
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above report, it has been concluded the sustainable development of the
buildings, the environment friendly, high quality material, building structure and integrated
supply chain are the basic principle for the construction of buildings. These are considered for
the sustainable development in the construction sector so as to resolve the sustainability related
issues. Apart from this, the consideration of sustainability issues influences the decision-making
process in the selection of material. It can also be concluded that energy conservation is the
imperative sustainability issue; thus, the alternatives sources of energy and advanced technology
reduces the wastage of natural resources along with the development of green buildings.
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