Paradigm Shift of Green Buildings in the Construction Industry

The green building movement continues to change the construction industry to not only mitigate environmental problems and challenges associated with construction activities, but also to optimize potential economic and social benefits of incorporating green building strategies and technologies in the built environment. This paradigm change in the construction industry is helping the industry to gain experience with this new way of building and changing its expectations for new hires from construction programs in the United States. To gauge this change, this study investigated the status, perceptions, and future directions associated with the green building movement in construction-related companies in the United States. In addition, the study also identified industry expectations of new hires in terms of green construction knowledge and skills, and the expectations and perceptions about the future of the industry with regard to the green building movement. A survey research method was used to capture current experience levels and capabilities of companies with regard to green construction. Expectations and perceptions about the future of the construction industry with regard to green building were obtained from construction-related companies recruiting from the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech from 2006 and 2008. The findings of this study support the growing importance of green building as a component of the whole construction market and provide a benchmark against which to measure future changes in the industry over time.

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