A process model for sustainable design of buildings- towards an adaptable "route map for green code compliance"

The paper relates an ongoing project whose aim is to construct a generic process model for the sustainable design of buildings. The construction and use of buildings accounts for around 50% of ‘greenhouse’ gas emissions, making their design a key issue in the global challenge to cope with climate change. Accordingly, several codes and methods of measuring compliance have been designed. Starting with BREEAM and LEED in the UK and USA respectively, they have now proliferated, and some have been adapted for international use. There is a brief comparative discussion of these methods. One of the main objectives of the work we are presenting is to integrate key sustainability design criteria within a workable building design process model. Basic process models for building design have existed for some time, and the suitability of a number of models is considered. An account is given of the development of the sustainable design process model, its transfer into an electronic format, and its testing in the particular context of the newly-emerging green compliance code for Egypt. It is intended that the resulting sustainable design process model should be adaptable to any national or regional green compliance code. Its format will also enable the integration into the model of links to energy and carbon assessment tools and other performance simulation packages.

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