Industrialised, Integrated, Intelligent sustainable Construction - I3con

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK 2
• Construction materials relates to the selection and use of materials. Sub-indicators were the use of
low embodied energy materials, re-use and recycling of materials, and use of components with
low volatile organic content.
• Construction methods relate to innovative methods and techniques and include internal thermal
mass, pre-fabrication and alternative building techniques.
• Financial procurement was deemed an indicator not to be ranked but rather a statement of how the
dwellings are financially delivered.
• Affordable housing in terms of both purchase cost and rental cost as defined by the Department
for Families and Communities (SA government).
• Dwelling size. Increasing floor areas can unnecessarily reduce affordability and environmental
sustainability whereas minimum floor areas are required for health and well-being. Floor area
requirements can be specified according to the number of occupants.
• Appropriate density was deemed an indicator not to be ranked. Rather, it reflects the suitability of
the dwellings to low, medium and high density developments.
• Adaptability is used to describe a structure that has been constructed to allow modification at
minimum cost, to suit the changing needs of the people in the house.
• Social acceptability is defined as the acceptability of a development to the surrounding
community.
• Desirability of a dwelling refers to how it exceeds the consumers’ expectations. The desirability
of a dwelling is typically reflected in its market value and interest from buyers and renters.
• Suitability is an overall ranking or score based on the sum of the performance indicators.
As the project unfolds these performance indicators will be refined by further consideration of other
research and by consultation with key informants. The key informants will include state and local
government experts, builders and developers, architects, community housing representatives and
affordable housing residents. Consultations will enable contemporary metrics and benchmarks to be
developed for each performance indicator and sub-indicator. An example of this is ‘Social
acceptability’ which might be measured by a quantification of formal actions (e.g. submissions to a
development assessment panel) or informal behaviour (community perception and local responses).
The initial conclusions from the research carried out so far show that the indicators for environmental
sustainability are quite well developed with substantial knowledge available on measurement and
benchmarking of performance. However, it is likely that the benchmarks will need to be raised with
time as higher levels of performance become desirable. Whereas the measurement of social
sustainability is subject to some interpretation and contemporary indicators will require further
development. A comprehensive range of indicators and benchmarks will enable the identification of
housing models which can provide affordable and sustainable outcomes across the full range of
requirements.
An integrated approach to affordable and sustainable housing
Learnings from the research suggest how environmental sustainability, housing affordability and
social sustainability might converge in conceptual and practical terms to provide meritorious housing.
The model in Figure 1 is an illustration of a combined system comprising core sustainability
objectives and core objectives of affordable housing. The overlapping areas suggest the thrust of the
convergence.
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