The Concept of Sustainability in Construction - Term Paper Example

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Subject DD Month YYYY Sustainable Construction Technologies Abstract This report takes a close look at the concept of sustainability in construction since its interpretation seems to be misunderstood in most cases. The discourse narrows down to the concept of sustainable construction by analysing a client’s house whilst providing the best recommendations to create a sustainable home. In this case, is is stressed that while constructing a house, there should be an element of flexibility so as to give room to occupant to easily adjust based on their needs. To ensure sustainable construction processes, house may rely on a broad range of alternative building materials so as to handle environmental implications. As such it is capable of home to meet architectural standards of construction. Introduction Sustainability in construction technology is a word whose interpretation changes based on perception. The majority of architects and engineers take sustainability for the ability to conserve the environment compounded with factors related to the efficiency of construction like the consumption of resources, economic development, and sustainment of the economy (Kibert 15). This report applies the concepts of sustainable construction to analyze a client’s house and provide the best recommendations to create a sustainable home. With the rapid changes in the world of economics, commerce, energy, and construction, the need for sustainable technologies means that buildings must meet the present day needs and allow future generations to perform their tasks in their own time (Goodhew 17). Description of the house This house comprises of two rooms, two toilets, a living room with the kitchen and a backyard. The first constructors of the house used mined stones mixed with concrete to create the house. The roofing material consists of iron sheets with wooden ceiling board material. The interior comprises of ceramic material and wooden finishing. The house occupies a quarter of an acre with a large portion of land meant for disposing of waste material. The house faces away from the road and therefore accessing the road from the main road entails a cumbersome task. Vehicles and visitors may not easily access the home due to this fact. The lighting in the compound is along the roofing and therefore does not sufficiently light the entire area. The house comprises of numerous windows that make the house too cold or hot depending on the weather. As the house presently stands, it is not sustainable. The site of the house does not optimize the site potential. The initial plan of the house did not consider the reuse or rehabilitation of its building. The orientation and landscape of the house affect the surrounding ecosystem negatively and inhibiting the transportation network into and out of the home. Locating the house for physical security was an issue previously ignored by the constructors, therefore, the access to roads, parking, and the surrounding lighting remains poor. The house design does not consider water run-off during rainy times. Secondly, the building design does not consider responsible consumption of materials. This, therefore, minimizes the value, increases environmental pollution and wastes resources. The materials used for construction increases liabilities, disposal costs, and hazards. The indoor environmental quality of this house would negatively influence the health, comfort, and productivity of the occupants for numerous reasons. The building design inhibits day lighting, ventilation, moisture control, and minimizes acoustic performance. Materials used for this particular construction permit the release of high VOC emissions. The occupants also have diminished control over the house systems such as lighting and temperature. Thirdly, the client’s house at the time of construction did not properly accommodate maintenance and operating issues that may arise in the future. This would have prevented the failure of various systems in the house. The materials and systems employed for the building discourage the constructors from actively engaging designing by increasing the cost of maintenance by using inappropriate materials that require much water and release toxic chemicals. The house lacks gauges to monitor and control sustainability initiatives such as water use and waste propagation. The building lacks resilience, and therefore its ability to function under adverse conditions remain diminished such as the adversity of temperatures and the occurrence of natural disasters. This research will provide techniques that would ultimately allow the building to survive under such conditions. Building Condition On inspecting the house, the researcher noted rusty iron sheets indicating the presence of acidic rain in the area courtesy of industries emitting carbonic gases. This may also have been an attribute of irregular painting. The house also comprised of holes on the walls, which were probably pathways for rodents and other animals. This caused the presence of dry disintegrated concrete in some parts of the floor. The walls in some areas of the home such as the living room consisted of moss plants and whitish matter, which indicated the presence of moisture absorbed from the ground due to rain. The presence of moisture caused paint in some areas of the house to scrap of easily causing the growth of moulds. The ceiling material was rotting in some regions because of the presence of water and irregular painting. Ceramic materials in the house like sinks and tiles had brownish markings indicating the presence of water drying up after due to poor drainage systems. The house consisted of a septic tank. However, the smell of sewerage found its way back into the home due to poor channeling. This is especially evident from the sinks and the bathrooms. Building Inspection During the inspection of the house, the student used observation as a technique of establishing the materials utilized for the construction of the house. To determine specific materials such as differentiating polished wood surfaces from ceramic, the student used a small hammer by hitting the material to ascertain the material. The student used information collected from books, various researchers, and interviews with construction workers to determine the sustainability of building materials. The student used this data to compile this elaborate report. Table Indicating the Grading System The table provided in this section provides a grading system based on visual inspection of the house. Grade A represents the perfect condition, grade B accounts for the fair condition, and grade C represents rot. Roofing material B Ceiling material C Walls B Floors B Drainage Systems C Electric Cable condition B Backyard B Figure 1: Representing the construction grading system (Hendricks 20) Land/Site Description The house occupies a quarter of an acre. It was constructed in a flat region hence the swampy conditions. There is minimal water runoff from the area. This potentially explains the moulds and moss growing in the house. The distance from the house to the main road is about a hundred meters. The house covers a significant portion of the land, and therefore few changes may occur without demolishing a large part of the house. Recommendations This section of the report provides recommendations for the client. Once the process of redesigning the house has progressed where construction commences, the main issue of concern would be the variability of the means to construct a building. As this house stands, it is consuming much space. It comprises large rooms. A smaller house always means that there will be land available for excavation, fewer materials for processing and transportation, limited space to heat or cool, fewer taxes to pay, less space for cleaning activities and therefore cheaper and easier to build. Based on construction statistics, 700 square feet is the average per individual, and the house should comply with the same (Delgado 3). The house should have an element of flexibility given that the structure of the occupants’ families may easily change. The house should have appropriate mechanical, electrical, structural, and plumbing provisions necessary for changes in the future. Such changes comprise of knowing the right materials that the family might require in the future and anticipate change. The present showering systems consume much water; the house should consist of low flow showers to increase water efficiency. With the tendency of rains, the house may utilize rainwater for flushing toilets. Double-glazing the windows will keep the home while allowing natural heat to flow freely in the house (Dhir 5). The house must also utilize skylights because they are cheap to improve the visibility of objects in the house. Recommended Materials for Use Building construction has indirect and direct implications on the environment, society, and economy. Sustainable construction aims to find the balance between the needs of this house by using an incorporated technique that will create an optimum design. This will therefore reduce or completely annihilate the exhaustion of critical resources like water and raw materials. For a long time, price provides the best criteria for constructors to implement sustainable design principles in construction. This has been the basis for evaluating the same materials or materials constructed for the same purpose. By analyzing the building materials, this paper can attain the cost-benefit analysis of the house over a period. To make the house sustainable, this research will advocate for methods to implement. First, the construction should involve grinding wood products wastes and mix them into a fibrous material that would then manufacture fiberboards, laminated beams and insulation material for the house heating system. Faswall is a composite material that comprises of 89 percent wood and 11 percent cement (Dhir 10). This house would then incorporate Faswall in its construction because it has higher insulating properties as compared to drywall. This will increase the energy efficiency of the home. The use of recycled material would greatly increase energy consumption required to manufacture products in the house because the materials would not need excavation from the earth. This would reduce the amount of energy by 50 percent. This paper will divide the construction of the house into three phases. First, the pre-building phases will provide the information necessary for the production and delivery of materials in a sustainable manner. This will include the process of extraction, processing, transportation, and packaging for use at the site. This phase of construction has impacts on the environment, and therefore an architect must select building material in an intelligent manner. The main means of acquiring construction material has been harvesting natural resources. The construction of this house would require the use of harvestable wood that would have less damaging effects on the ecosystem. The second phase is the building phase, which translates to the useful life of the construction material. This phase comprises of materials assembly into a concrete structure for maintenance, and repair. During construction, the amount of waste created presents a vast amount of wastage. The selection of building material that would generate minimum waste is a wise decision. The exposure to building materials by the future occupants of the home may have health implications (Haselback 15). The reconstruction of this home will disregard the use of materials that potentially release hazardous chemicals or would eventually require recurrent replacement and maintenance. The third phase is the post-building phase that refers to the state of the construction material once their lifespan has expired. In this stage of life, constructors may recycle the materials into other products or discard them altogether. The demolition of this particular house may have an enormous environmental cost. Degradable construction material may produce hazardous waste by themselves or in combination with other materials. The building should use natural materials because they embody less energy and have fewer toxins than synthetic materials. Natural materials need less manufacturing and therefore pose minimal threats to the environment. By reducing the construction waste, the house would annihilate the need for space for landfills and save costs eventually. For example, the construction of the house should mix concrete on the site based on the requirement in contrast to ordering premixed concrete. Concrete mixed on the site reduces waste and employs better quality. When creating the floor pattern, they must correspond with the length of the lumber or steel framings to eliminate wastage created when trimming materials to fit compounded with reducing the labor cost that the owner might incur (Kersey 8). By using locally available materials, the construction of the house would significantly lower the cost of transportation. Local purchases boost local economies; therefore, the need for imported materials should occur considerately. Energy utilization is a crucial facet of a building whose fundamental goal is to consume energy sparingly at the site of construction. The long-term implications of energy are highly dependent on the materials used for construction. Materials with longer life as compared to other materials require less replacement. In effect, this lessens the natural resources needed for construction and the finances required for installing and related labor costs. The construction must consider the durability of materials because materials that last long during the useful life of the building present more cost effectiveness compared to materials that might require frequent replacement (Wu 6). In this regard, the house should utilize slate or tile because of its long lifespan. Materials consume portions of a building’s operating budget. Over long durations of time, the cost of maintenance may exceed the initial cost of construction. Maintenance costs include labor, cleaning or polishing materials, the equipment and replacement of materials valued at $4,500 (Oke 5). The less frequent the instances of cleaning construction material, the less the frequency of exposure to the cleaning agents. This is particularly important for parts of the house that would need petroleum-based solvents to cleanse. The ability to reuse construction material is a derivative of time and durability. Materials that have high durability last many years through the useful ages of the building. Constructors may easily extract and reinstall the same materials on newer sites. Some of the materials that the house may reuse include windows, door, plumbing fixtures, and bricks. The house can easily utilize old barns during its reconstruction. Some of the parts reclaimed from old buildings that have since been demolished provide strong parts that the present industry of engineers and architects can hardly reproduce (Addis 5). To make this house sustainable, recyclability would be an essential factor of consideration. The house would use steel extensively given that it is one of the most commonly recycled building materials because of the ease of separation from other construction material by the use of magnets (Wu 3). Because constructors can hardly reuse the entire house, they can easily break down the house into recyclable parts. Glass from the house, may easily process window glass, ceramic tiles, and bricks. Sustainable Construction Processes The house may heavily rely on a broad range of alternative building materials based on their environmental implications. The house would utilize alternatives to PVCu window frames such as ethylene-based plastics or modern timber (Nazirah 11). The construction would avoid the use of chemical treatments. It shall avoid rework as it consumes much money and wastes time and materials. By appropriate planning of the purchases so that the constructors may ensure that material arrives in time when the building stage kicks. Another strategy that would require application is the fact that the builders would have to avoid keeping materials for long durations of time because storage could easily damage the goods by dampening them. While constructing plasterboards, the house will use the same dimensions of plasterboards to reduce off-cuts and wastage of materials to save costs (Chun 1). By maintaining accuracy, the construction process may cut down costs and reduce the production of dust. Conclusion When the client follows these set of instructions, they will have a home that meets architectural standards of construction and an efficient home that balances between the immediate needs of the occupants, the environment, resource utilization and the needs of the future generations. The house will stand the test time through numerous adversities, climatic change, and weather patterns. The home will also provide ample comfort for the occupants by using special design. Works Cited Addis, B, and R Talbot. Sustainable Construction Procurement: A Guide to Delivering Environmentally Responsible Projects. London: CIRIA, 2001. Print. Chun, Yoon-moon. Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies: International Conference on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies, 11-13 June 2007, Coventry, Uk. Leiden, Netherlands: Taylor & Francis/Balkema, 2007. Print. Delgado, João M. P. Q. Sustainable Construction: Building Performance Simulation and Asset and Maintenance Management. , 2016. Internet resource. Dhir, Ravindra K, and Thomas D. Dyer. Sustainable Construction: Use of Incinerator Ash: Proceedings of the International Symposium Organised by the Concrete Technology Unit, University of Dundee and Held at the University of Dundee, Uk on 20 - 21 March 2000. London: Telford, 2000. Print. Dhir, Ravindra K, Neil A. Henderson, and Mukesh C. Limbachiya. Sustainable Construction: Use of Recycled Concrete Aggregate : Proceedings of the International Symposium Organised by the Concrete Technology Unit, University of Dundee and Held at the Department of Trade and Industry Conference Centre, London, Uk on 11-12 November 1998. London: Thomas Telford, 1998. Print. Goodhew, Steve. Sustainable Construction Processes: A Resource Text. , 2016. Internet resource. Haselbach, Liv. Greensource Engineering Guide to Leed-New Construction: Sustainable Construction for Engineers. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Internet resource. Hendriks, C F. Sustainable Construction. Boxtel [Netherlands?: AEneas, 2001. Print. Kersey, J R. Sustainable Construction - Implementing Targets and Indicators: Experiences from Ciria's Pioneers' Club. London: CIRIA, 2004. Print. Kibert, Charles J. Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Internet resource Nazirah, Zainul A. "Sustainable Construction: Issues in the Malaysian Construction Industry." (2012). Print. Thompson, J W, and Kim Sorvig. Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors. Washington: Island Press, 2008. Internet resource. Wu, Desheng D. Modeling Risk Management in Sustainable Construction. Berlin: Springer, 2011. Internet resource. Oke, Ayodeji E, and Clinton Aigbavboa. Sustainable Value Management for Construction Projects. , 2017. Internet resource. Read More