K10075 Architecture And Sustainability : Assessment Answers

Answer:

1 Part 1

Sustainability is a very important issue in construction industry, considering the impacts of construction industry on the society and environment, and the increasing challenges of climate change and depletion of natural resources (Hwang, 2012). For these reasons, construction project teams are required to combine their efforts so as to integrate sustainability in every stage of the project. Project managers play a very important role in ensuring that sustainability is promoted, integrated, managed and attained during planning stage, design stage and construction stage of a project. These managers make very crucial decisions that have huge impacts on the project (Alias, Isa and Samad, 2014). There are various ways in which project managers can help to integrate sustainability in construction. Some of these include the following:

1.1 Acquiring sufficient knowledge and skills about sustainability

As postulated by Zhang, She and Wu (2011), successful integration of sustainability in construction projects usually entails complex construction processes and techniques. Therefore it is very important for project managers to acquire adequate knowledge about sustainability concept in construction and gain skills on how to implement this concept. The project managers need to use different approaches such as training so as to understand all aspects of sustainability, including economic, environmental and social aspects.

1.2 Setting clear goals

Project managers should help clients to set and define project goals and priorities before they start conducting feasibility study or developing the design. According to Robinchaud and Anantatmula (2011), defining goals and priorities in sustainable construction helps in avoiding costs associated with making changes during design and construction stages (Noor, 2013). In this case, the goals set should promote sustainability.

1.3 Helping clients understand the value of sustainability

Clients are the owners of the project and therefore they have a great impact on successful implementation of sustainable construction projects. Project managers should help clients to understand the benefits and value of incorporating sustainability in the project implementation process and convince them to provide the necessary support. Once the clients are interested and convinced to support sustainability, it become easier for the project manager to convince other stakeholders.

1.4 Helping end users understand the importance of sustainability

End users are also key stakeholders in sustainable construction projects and they should be included in the entire process from the start. It is upon project managers to find techniques of sharing knowledge and benefits of sustainability with end users so that they can amend their requirements to be aligned with sustainability. If end users understand the benefits of sustainability, they will start demanding sustainable features to be incorporated in the facilities being constructed.

1.5 Assessing suitable methods and tools to be used

Sustainable construction has numerous requirements that are different from conventional construction. For this reason, project managers should evaluate various methods and tools that will be used during design and construction stages so as to achieve the objectives and requirements of sustainable construction. They need to perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of each of the methods and tools, and select the most suitable ones. The project managers should have adequate knowledge on how to conduct these analysis.

1.6 Improving communication, collaboration and coordination among stakeholders

For sustainable construction projects to be successfully implemented, all stakeholder must communicate, collaborate and coordinate throughout the entire project cycle. Project managers can promote integration of sustainability in construction by encouraging and ensuring that stakeholders communicate freely and transparently, are honest, consult each other, collaborate and coordinate at all times (Benita, 2014). This will eliminate frequent conflicts and also make it easier to incorporate sustainability requirements in the project.   

1.7 Ensuring appropriate timing

When implementing sustainable construction projects, it is very important for project managers to ensure that everything is done at the right time during all stages of the project. They need to prepare practicable schedules, assign roles properly, and ensure that all stakeholders are responsible for their roles, decisions and actions. To enhance implementation of sustainability elements or objectives, project managers should also involve all stakeholders from the earliest stage possible.

1.8 Establishing proper sustainability drivers

As stated before, implementation of sustainable construction projects requires more innovative and unique techniques. This requires project managers to identify factors that will drive all stakeholders to support and implement sustainability elements. Some of these include: compulsory regulations, rewards, incentives, tax reliefs or reductions, rating systems, etc. After identifying these drivers, project managers should ensure that all stakeholders involved in the project are fully awareness of them and seek their support.   

1.9 Identify ways of reducing costs

One of the greatest barrier to implementation of sustainable construction is the perceived high costs. Project managers can overcome this barrier by doing accurate cost estimations for all stakeholders and making decisions that will lower these costs. Some of these include use of locally available materials, prefabrication, avoiding design errors, etc. The main target of project managers should be to create an initial schedule and budget, and develop strategies of completing the project earlier, cost-effectively, more efficiently and a greater quality level (Delnavaz, 2012).

2 Part 2

There are various ways in which a project manager can ensure that the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, economic and social elements (Pasker, 2015), are addressed either partially or wholly through design. Environmental aspect focuses on mitigating negative impacts of the project on the environment. Economic aspect aims at importing dependency and reducing energy bills of the facility. Social aspect targets at creating jobs for the locals and increasing comfort and quality of life of the local communities. The first thing that the project manager should do is to integrate and balance these three pillars of sustainability. Therefore as a project manager, the following are some of the ways that can be used to address the three elements of sustainability through design:    

2.1 Site evaluation

The project manager should assess each site so as to establish the potentials that it offers. Some of the elements that should be analyzed include topography, existing vegetation, views, solar exposure, predominant wind and watershed (Green Thumb Design Studio, 2009). The final design solution must factor in these elements. For example, if it is a building project, the building should be oriented in such a way that it maximizes daylighting using sunlight so as to reduce the amount of electricity used for lighting during the day. The same applies to wind where the size, shape and position of windows and doors has to capitalize on predominant wind so as to improve indoor air quality using natural ventilation. This reduces the amount of electricity used for mechanical air conditioning systems.

2.2 Material selection

The construction materials used have huge impacts on the sustainability of the facility built. The project manager should strive to select materials that are locally available, non-toxic, renewable, durable and recyclable. This helps in lowering carbon emissions and improving local economy.  

2.3 Renewable energy and energy efficiency

The project manager should ensure that the design of the project meets particular performance expectations and at the same time reduces energy consumption, minimizes emission of greenhouse gases, and saves money (Akadiri, Chinyio and Olomolaiye, 2012). During design stage, the project manager has to insist that the design incorporates energy consuming systems and appliances of specific ratings. This includes Energy or Green Star appliances, geothermal heating systems, wind turbines, photovoltaic systems, and solar water heaters, among others. For lighting fixtures, they must be LED. The main target should be to reduce energy demand from non-renewable sources, increase use of renewable energy, and minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

2.4 Water efficiency

It is also important for the project manager to specify and insist that all water appliances and fixtures used are of low flow. This will reduce the amount of water consumed and save money. Landscaping should also be done using native plants that are irrigated using efficient irrigation systems that use less water. An example of such systems is vacuum toilets, which use very little amount of water. Additionally, it is important to incorporate a rainwater harvesting and storage system. The project manager should also ensure that the design incorporates use of greywater so as to minimize water usage.    

2.5 Waste minimization and management

The project should be designed so that it minimizes waste and encourages recycling. One of the ways that the project manager can attain this is to ensure that the design maximizes use of renewable, recycled and recyclable resources. These resources should be allocated and used appropriately especially during construction stage. Based on the estimated amount of wastes that the facility will produce when in use, the project manager should also identify appropriate systems that should be incorporated in the design so as to improve collection of waste and recycling of waste.

2.6 Carbon footprint evaluation

This is very crucial especially in an attempt to improve environmental sustainability. The project manager should perform lifecycle analysis and measure carbon footprint of all resources to be used during construction and the performance of the facility when it is in use. In other words, evaluation of carbon footprint is done for all stages of the life cycle of the facility. Once these estimates are determined, the project manager can identify suitable materials or processes that can be incorporated in the design so as to reduce carbon footprint.  

2.7 Visual comfort, acoustic comfort, safety and security, and analysis of lifecycle costs

Another way that the project manager can address sustainability is by incorporating safety and security, visual comfort and acoustic comfort features in the design. This will help in improving safety and security, visual and acoustic comfort of persons involved in the construction process and the end users. Besides this, the project manager has to conduct comprehensive lifecycle costs of the facility so as to establish approach elements or techniques that can be used to reduce the cost of construction, operating and maintaining the facility (Braganca, Vieira and Andrade, 2014; Phoenix Brick Yard, 2017).

2.8 Education

The project manager can also help in addressing sustainability through deign by educating all stakeholders involved in the project, including the client, design team, consultants, contractors, suppliers and end users, about sustainable design, needed maintenance, sustainable systems, and use of eco-friendly materials. If this is done then these stakeholders will factor in sustainability elements when giving any opinions or contributions during design stage. As a result of this, the sustainable design created will be supported by all members which improves the efficiency of completing the project.

References

Akadiri, P.O., Chinyio, E.A. and Olomolaiye, P.O. (2012) Design and a Sustainable Building: A Conceptual Framework for Implementing Sustainability in the Building Sector. Buildings, 2012(2), pp. 126-152.

Alias, A., Isa, N.K.M. and Samad, Z.A. (2014) Sustainable Building through Project Planning Process. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 3(4), pp. 207-218.

Benita, Z. (2014) Communication skills impact on sustainable and green project management. World SB14 Barcelona Conference, October 28-30, Barcelona.

Braganca, L., Vieira, S.M. and Andrade, J.B. (2014) Early stage design decisions: the way to achieve sustainable buildings at lower costs. The Scientific World Journal, 2014(2014), pp. 1-8.

Delnavaz, M. (2012) Project Manager’s Role in Sustainable Building Process. Thesis (Master’s Degree), Chalmers University of Technology.

Green Thumb Design Studio (2009) Going Green [Online]. Available: https://www.greenthumbdesignstudio.com/sustainable-design.htm [Accessed April 17, 2017].

Hwang, B.G. (2012) Sustainable Project Management for Green Construction: Challenges, Impacts and Solutions. World Construction Conference, June 28-30, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Noor, S.B. (2013) The Role of Project Managers in Sustainable Building Process: A Study on Malaysian Construction Industry. Thesis (Bachelor’s Degree), Universiti Malaysia Pahang.  

Ochieng, E.G., Wynn, T.S., Zuofa, T., Ruan, X., Price, A.D.F. and Okafor, C. (2014) Integration of Sustainability Principles into Construction Project Delivery. Journal of Architectural Engineering Technology, 3(116),

Pasker, R. (2015) Supporting the Development of Sustainable Buildings. Baden-Bade, Germany: European Association for External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems.

Phoenix Brick Yard (2017) Sustainability [Online]. Available: https://phxbrickyard.com/technical/sustainability/ [Accessed April 17, 2017].

Robinchaud, L.B. and Anantatmula, V. (2011) Greening project management practices for sustainable construction. Journal of Management in Engineering, pp. 8-57.

Zhang, X.L., Shen, L.Y. and Wu, Y.Z. (2011) Green strategy for gaining competitive advantage in housing development: a China study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19(1), pp. 157-167.

Zuofa, T. and Ochieng, E. (2016) Sustainability in Construction Project Delivery: A Study of Experienced Project Managers in Nigeria. Project Management Journal, 47(6), pp. 44-55.