CIB W116—Smart and Sustainable Built Environments - Test Input

• Energy: - nearly 50% of energy generated is used to heat, light and ventilate buildings and a
further 3% to construct them.
• Water: - 50% of water used globally is for sanitation and other uses in buildings.
• Land: - 80% of prime agricultural land lost to farming is used for building purposes and much
of the remainder has been lost through flooding due to global warming.
• Timber: - 60% of global timber products end up in building construction and nearly 90% of
hardwoods.
Therefore, environmental damage resulting from current construction practices is clear and this
environmental damage in the form of Global Warming needs to be addressed if we want to avoid
natural disasters and climate change. The terms ‘Sustainability’, ‘Sustainable Construction’, ‘Material
and Sustainable Development’ are some of the terms which deal and address the solution to Global
Warming and climate change are used nowadays frequently and need to be demystified.
There are many different definitions of sustainability. To engineers, their definition of working is to
maximize uses of materials, skills, and energy for the benefit of mankind (McCarthy, 1998).
According to Du Plessis (2002), sustainability is “the condition or state which would allow the
continued existence of homosapiens and provide a safe, healthy and productive life for all generations
in harmony with nature, local culture and spiritual values”. Sustainability is defined as an
interdisciplinary, holistic and integrated process in the way things are thought, measured,
implemented and managed. Balance and integration of economic, social and environmental
dimensions of life demands changes in patterns of production, consumption, life styles, social
relationships among other dimensions and concept of sustainability is not having a “system” in which
economy is against ecology but a system in which all human actions are integrated to be effective
(Orsatti, 2006, p1). According to Edwards (2005, p1), the definition of sustainability for the architect
is a complex concept; a large part of designing sustainability is to do with addressing global warming
through energy conservation and using techniques such as life-cycle assessment to maintain a balance
between capital cost and long-term asset value. He also stated that, designing sustainably is also
about creating spaces that are healthy, economically viable, and sensitive to social needs, respecting
natural systems and learning from ecological processes, which is reflected on the three perspectives
on sustainable design (Figure 1).
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