The proliferation of residential building energy consumption and CO2 emissions has led many countries to develop buildings under the green rating systems umbrella. Many such buildings, however, fail to meet their designed energy performance, which is possibly attributable to occupant behaviour and unforeseen building usages. The research problem lies in the fact that occupant environmental behaviour is a complex socio-cultural-technical issue that needs to be addressed to achieve the desired energy savings. This study is novel as it investigates complex interrelationships between many observed and unobserved variables using data from four LEED-certified multi-residential buildings in the United Arab Emirates. Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the impact of three unobserved/latent variables: occupant environmental Attitude, Knowledge and Behaviour (AKB) with respect to occupant energy consumption, based on measured/observed variables. Although our Goodness-of-Fit values indicated that we achieved a good model fit, the interrelationship between Knowledge and Behaviour (p = 0.557) and between Attitude and Behaviour (p = 0.931) was insignificant, as the p-values > 0.05. The key study outcomes were: (i) providing information alone could not motivate people towards environmentally friendly behaviour; (ii) even changes in their attitude, belief and lifestyle were not significantly related to their behaviour, as the interrelationships among occupant environmental AKB were not significant; and (iii) knowledge and attitude change should be combined with other motivational factors to trigger environmentally friendly actions and influence behaviour.

The use of marine environment for human life due to its positive effects on life style has created new ideas for offshore construction. In this new generation of offshore projects, the use of offshore pile-deck structures, sea reclamation by offshore soil embankment for creating the artificial Islands and floating structures (pontoon) in the Gulf region have been analyzed. The "World and Palm Jumeirah" projects in Dubai (UAE) and a project in the Kingdom of Bahrain are samples for marine reclamation. The "Mitra" project in "Kish" Island (Iran) is an example of a pile and deck system for offshore housing. The idea for a floating marina in Dubai is an example of a floating building (pontoon) in this region. This paper has studied these three different experiences for offshore construction using the weighted parameters ranking analysis method. Weight factors applied to the effective parameters based on clients/owners' and engineer's preferences. Results show that; although the reclamation solution is much more economic it cannot save the environment properly. A sustainable design of floating concept in the Gulf region for future extensions should gather all requirements economically and environmentally together.