Optimization of Green Building Design Processes: Case Studies within the European Union

Abstract

Green buildings have recently become a key aspect of the construction field and bring along a renovation of the whole industry chain. Such changes introduce new challenges for all subjects involved, and designers are also affected by such issues, especially for the development of projects based on international green building standards. Within this scope, project management plays a key role in the optimization of the design phase. This research analyzes the design process of international projects from the project management perspective through a multiple case study approach, considering the sustainability-related tasks that negatively affect the project design development under two types of contractual approaches: Design-Build and Design-Bid-Build. It aims to identify whether the Design-Build or Design-Bid-Build process is the best solution for developing green building projects. Two case studies in Italy and two case studies in Spain are analyzed, and the effects of the project management issues are evaluated under three different points of view: Time, cost, and level of sustainability of the building. A poorly planned process for the achievement of the various green building features of the project can impact the project schedule and the budget, whereas, a poorly managed project could also negatively impact its green building features. Finally, this research also highlights the positive relationship between process integration and green building design development.Sustainability 2020, 12, 2276 2 of 16 of necessary inputs and integrate them to meet pre-defined objectives [18]. During the last years, several research studies have analyzed project management processes to optimize green building projects focusing on various aspects, such as leadership factors [19,20], building information modelling implementation [12,21], lean construction [13,14], economic value [22], schedule performance [23], procurement approaches [24], rating systems [3], best practices [11], project-based organizations [25], processes [1], design teams [26], and design development [27,28].The management of the design phase is especially critical within the facility lifecycle, as any later changes will produce cost overruns and delays [12,29]. Designers involved in the development of projects based on international green building standards face additional challenges, primarily the need for additional design time, uncertainty regarding special equipment and materials, inclusion of green requirements in the contractual specifications, and planning green activities within the general master plan [1,8,29]. In this scenario, the standardization of procedures through green building certification is appropriate [5,30]. This way, reference standards, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [31], or the British Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method [32], have begun to be implemented as an international benchmark for the definition of common sustainable quality for buildings. LEED and BREEAM are the most used reference st...

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