EURO MED SEC 01


SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DELIVERY PRACTICES

SUAT GUNHAN


Abstract

Today’s clients both public and private have additional expectations from builders. Full cycle services capability that includes financing, planning, building, and facilities management started to be pronounced in larger projects. These expectations are mainly driven by sustainability requirements of clients. These projects necessitate a comprehensive planning approach. The comprehensive planning scope includes all project activities from design to post-construction services (facilities management) with collaboration of project stakeholders. There is no defined method of project delivery for sustainable projects yet. The majority of top green building contractors in the United States are experienced in Construction Management at Risk (CMR) and DesignBuild (DB) delivery methods. This research study aims to explore the project delivery processes currently practiced in the United States’ building construction industry. The survey questionnaire was conducted with the selected Top Green Building Contractors (the list of contractors is published in the Engineering News Record Magazine annually). The original list is composed of 100 national construction firms. The San Antonio and Austin firms were invited to participate to the survey questionnaire. The findings reveal the major green building providers’ methods and procedures that are used during sustainable projects’ delivery. The results indicate that the sustainability is seen as more of a common practice for all projects by most survey participants. There is no specific method for sustainable projects yet. A well-defined sustainable building delivery method should ideally originate from DB and/or CMR.

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