Local Application in Abu Dhabi Buildings - Research Paper Example

According to (UNESCO, 2010,243), infrastructures are key elements in determining the quality of life, thus building standards were formulated to ensure stability, efficient energy use, reduce environmental impact, and protect people from fire and other health risks. The quality and safety of the built environment started from the construction or by following guidance for minimum standards quality and sustainability as indicated in existing building regulations. There is either an ethical or moral responsibility in making sure that the built environment is safe to use and these include improvement in the sustainability of new buildings, ethical choice to increase energy efficiency, safety from toxic emissions, basic comfort, and occupants’ safety from fire (Fewings, 2008).

Building regulations lay down some functional requirements that all buildings must satisfy design and construction methods. Note that that these regulations are not always prescriptive but outline certain functional requirements (ex. “appropriate” means of escape in case of fire in UK Approved Documents B) that must be met (Furness & Muckett, 2007a). Since the level of safety and protection in buildings reflects the general economic, social, and cultural features of society, building regulations are important component in the design of buildings(Hasofer et al.

, 2012). In relation to safety and protection of buildings, prescriptive design was introduced, but it lacks technical substantiation and unlikely to yield the most cost-effective design solutions or design that can sustain safety and protection in buildings. This is because according to (Hasofer et al., 2012), prescriptive regulatory design limits the range of design choices and innovation in building design. In contrast, systematic engineering approach such as Performance-based design in fire engineering is more scientific, flexible, and likely to reduce the overall cost of providing fire safety and protection measures in building (Hasofer et al.

, 2012). Some of the advantages of performance-based safety design cited by countries undergoing steady transition from prescriptive-based to performance-based such as UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, and others includes elimination of complexities associated with existing prescriptive regulations. 

Moreover, safety goals in performance-based design are clearly defined, innovation design solutions as well as international harmonization of regulation systems are allowed, cost-effectiveness and flexibility in designs are encouraged while introduction of new technologies are permitted . 1.1.2 History and development of the term “sustainability” in buildings The term “sustainability” is widespread in many sciences, politics, business, and others and it is often used as synonyms for long-term, durable, and system .

According to , the term “sustainability” can be derived from “sus-tenere”, a Latin meaning to maintain or strengthen and with suffix “able” referring to certain ability. Therefore, the term “sustainability” may be interpreted as an ability to maintain something to an acceptable level such as Aristotle’s concept of a household as cited by characterising the ability to produce and reproduce what is need for daily life. Muller-Christ & Remer (1999) cited by same author as a corporate concept referring to the ability to balance resource consumption and reproduction.

Moreover, the adjective “sustainable” when link to the word “development” can results in some form of growth that many expect to be self-perpetuating and will not slow down or wither away . In Engineering, the term “sustainability” is associated with literacy or the ability to develop and maintain knowledge and skills and it produces sustainable design such as prescriptive and performance-based measures predicting the building’s actual behaviour and performance . According to , sustainable design can last and be flexible and endure, adds to quality of the environment involving , clean air, water and renewing and protecting life.

For instance, “green” building assign an element of sustainable design and it incorporates ecologically sensitive materials and creates healthy and safe buildings with efficient use of mechanical systems and high-performance technologies. There is a widespread belief that the term “sustainability” originated from international environmentalist movement of the 1980s but according to , the term was first used to describe a German initiative to conserve and sustain its forestry in 16th and 17th centuries.

The term “ForstlicheNachhaltigkeit” which was coined by the German engineer and forest scientist Hans Carl von Carlowitz means “Forest Sustainability”. This was from the idea of sustainable forest management.Ulrich Grober, an independent German scholar traced the first use of “sustainability” in a book titled “SylviculturaOeconomica” (authored by Carlowitz) and published in Leipzig, Germany in 1713 addressing the increasing scarcity of wood for shoring up mines, building ships, constructing homes, and supplying fuel .

However, according to , the idea of sustainability remains dormant for many years until its global debut in the late 1980s when the term “sustainability” was used by the Brundtland Commission (a body created by the United Nations in 1983) in 1987 to define its sustainable development agenda.By analysis, the term “sustainability” is often associated with environmental impact due to different usage of energy sources. For instance, according to, new building design and energy saving including recovery and retrofitting of old buildings are often associated with regulations specifying the use of green and sustainable building design concept.

These include green issues in the use of building materials, pollution due to construction, and energy-efficiency of buildings particularly in high-rise and high-density built environment. In case of fire safety, the term “sustainability” according to refers to installation and maintenance of fire prevention and suppression equipment. According to the Fire Suppression Systems Association FSSA as cited by statistics showed that 43% of business closed by fire never reopens and another 29% fail within three years.