Industrialised, Integrated, Intelligent sustainable Construction - I3con

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SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK 2 housing standards as current and past generations. In terms of housing affordability this process might be measured by monitoring the incidence of housing stress. In this sense, Yates et al. (2007) refer to housing policy and suggest that sustainability exists when “all obligations, current and future, can be met without changing current policy setting” (Yates et al. 2008 p.7). Social sustainability is not as well understood as economic and environmental sustainability. Chiu (2004) argues that social sustainability is regularly interpreted from three perspectives. The development-oriented interpretation emphasises social acceptability, in noting that development is socially sustainable when it keeps to social relations, customs, structures and values. The environment-oriented perspective suggests that development is sustainable when social conditions, norms and preferences required for people to support ecological sustainable actions are met. Finally, the people-oriented interpretation of social sustainability emphasises maintaining levels of social cohesion in society and preventing social polarisation and exclusion. In terms of housing, these conceptual understandings suggest that the social sustainability of housing encompasses (Chiu 2004 p.69): • The social preconditions required for the production and consumption of environmentally sustainable housing; • Equitable distribution and consumption of housing resources and assets; • Harmonious social relations within the housing system; • Acceptable quality of housing conditions. The term “environmentally appropriate” has a myriad of interpretations, depending on whether the environment is perceived to have intrinsic value, or value only because of its use to humans (Payne and Raiborn 2001). Again the interpretation is dependent on the societal value of the environment. It has been suggested that environmental sustainability depends on preserving a series of inter-related dynamic equilibriums (Pirages 2005): 1. Between human populations living at higher consumption levels and the ability of nature to provide resources and services 2. Between human populations and pathogenic microorganisms 3. Between human populations and those of other plant and animal species 4. Among human populations Human activities and behaviours regularly alter these equilibriums. For example, increases in human populations tend to degrade the resources and services provided by natural capital, with implications for future consumption. Considering such equilibriums demonstrates that the debate over sustainability should consider inherent tensions, which alter the equilibriums, a notion argued by Davidson (2005a). Indeed Davidson (2005a) argued that sustainability should not be thought of as an end goal but as a dynamic process. Winston and Eastaway (2007) suggest that housing is one of the more neglected aspects of sustainability despite its potential to make a positive contribution. They go on to suggest that the environmental impacts of housing depend on: • Land and associated impact on wildlife, landscape and amenity • Access to public transport • Previous land uses • Density and associated access to services • Construction materials as some hardwoods are unsustainably sourced from tropical forests 48 • CFC’s which are embodied in some air conditioning, refrigeration and insulation • Energy consumption • Water consumption
HANDBOOK 2 SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION • Waste generation In this sense a society with strong environmental ethos will impose more stringent environmental benchmarks and standards on housing development than a more conservative society that believes economic growth can not be limited by ecological limits. The role of building regulation Regulation of the construction industry is a mechanism that might deliver sustainable housing outcomes where market mechanisms are inadequate to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. Regulations and building codes relate to the unique characteristics of the building sector in terms of its product, production processes and the way the product is used (OECD n.d.). Further, as argued by Chiu (2004 p.71), while regulation and codes typically reflect social and cultural norms of a society, “they require efforts and commitments from the governments to formulate and enforce them”. Building regulation has a long history and there is evidence of it in ancient Babylon, ancient Rome, medieval and industrial Europe (Zillante 2007). Such regulation responded to issues of basic quality and workmanship prior to the industrial age, and to sanitation and public health concerns in the latter. More recently, building regulation has considered issues of environmental sustainability as well as life safety and property protection. The commitment to attaining sustainable development as per the Brundtland definition has been worked into more practical frameworks to facilitate tangible outcomes. For example, the CIB Agenda 21 on Sustainable Construction sought to be a “global intermediary between those general agendas in existence, i.e. the Brundtland Report and the Habitat Agenda, and the required national/regional Agendas for the built environment and the construction sector” (CIB n.d.). The CIB agenda is a conceptual framework that establishes clear links between the global sustainability discourse and the construction sector and it is envisaged that this will assist in defining detailed measures in various local contexts. In the case of Australia, the Building Code of Australia (BCA) contains a set of technical rules for the design and construction of buildings, which are given legal effect by building regulatory legislation in the State and Territory governments. The system of a national code has created consistency in building regulation, whilst allowing for variations in climate, geological and geographical conditions. The goal of the BCA is to “enable the achievement of nationally consistent, minimum necessary standards of relevant, health, safety (including structural safety and safety from fire), amenity and sustainability objectives efficiently” (ABCB 2009) The technical provisions related to the design and construction of buildings and structure consider matters including structure, fire resistance, access and egress, services and equipment, and energy efficiency as well as certain aspects of health and amenity. The BCA is performance based which facilitates cost savings in building construction by allowing innovative or alternative materials, forms of constructions or designs and allowing site-specific designs which ensure that the “intent of the BCA is met while still allowing acceptable existing building practices” (ABCB 2009). The BCA is limited to technical components of the design and construction of buildings, and other aspects of construction, such as administrative provisions, procurement, planning, occupational health and safety, consumer protection are outside its scope. Some issues, such as durability, adaptability, have a non-mandatory route and instead of being addressed in the building code, are addressed in ABCB guidelines. Some issues are not at all addressed by the building code (e.g. waste management issues, design for disassembly, re-use of materials). Changes to the building code are often requested by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). Energy efficiency measures for housing were first introduced to the code in 2003. More recently, COAG has requested that the energy efficiency requirements be amended in the 2010 edition of the BCA to require all residences meet a 6 star rating “subject to continued effectiveness”. 49
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