In 2007, Mayor Thomas Menino and the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) implemented an amendment to the Boston Zoning Code Article 37 (Green Buildings) requiring new construction approved under Article 80B (Development Review and Approval: Large Project Review) be designed and built to meet the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (USGBC LEED) certification. This amendment is intended to promote green building practices in the city and reduce the environmental impacts of buildings larger than 50,000 square feet. Article 37 does not require that the buildings actually achieve LEED certification, but they need to be LEED certifiable as determined by an interagency review committee and with the endorsement of a LEED Accredited Professional. This study examines how environmental goals have been translated into policy and how this policy has affected building practice in the City of Boston. The Green Buildings amendment was enacted to help curb greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the energy consumption of the building stock and is expected to help achieve the City’s goal of reducing carbon emissions by 25% by the year 2020 and 80% by the year 2050. This is not possible without a shift in the current building and construction paradigm. Through interviews with building professionals we assess whether this building code amendment has resulted in any necessary changes in practice and whether or not those working under the standard of LEED certifiability believe it to be an effective policy.

Byggentreprenörer med projekterings- och utförandeansvar utgör en viktig roll när det gäller att främja hållbar utveckling inom byggbranschen. Genom att integrera hållbarhetsaspekter i sina arbetsprocesser och sitt beslutsfattande kan de bidra till att minska miljöpåverkan samt effektivisera projekt- och produktionsplanering. Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) har gjort det möjligt för byggentreprenörer att använda modellering och visualisering av slutprodukter för att göra projekt- och produktionsplanering mer effektiv. Litteraturen visar på att VDC kan användas för ekonomisk lönsamhet men kvar återfinns frågeställningen om VDC kan användas för att främja hållbar utveckling.  Denna studie grundar sig i en intervjubaserad kvalitativ studie och undersöker hur VDC används bland svenska byggföretag med projekterings- och utförandeansvar för att främja hållbar utveckling. Detta genom att undersöka hur byggentreprenörernas användning av VDC påverkar social-, ekonomisk- och miljömässig hållbarhet. Studien tar även upp hur VDC används för att uppnå miljö- och hållbarhetskrav, samt för att byggnader ska kunna miljöcertifieras. Arbetet utgörs av en litteraturstudie och en intervjustudie som innefattar uppfattningar från svenska byggentreprenörer som arbetar med totalentreprenader. För att samla in data genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med respondenter från byggentreprenadföretag i Sverige. En tematisk analys genomfördes sedan utifrån befintlig forskning och teorier. Resultaten tyder på att implementeringen av VDC bidrar till främjandet av hållbar utveckling hos byggentreprenörer. Genom att involvera flera aktörer i byggprojekt främjar VDC kommunikation, samarbete och en inkluderande arbetsmiljö. Det erbjuder också snabbare och mer effektiva lösningar jämfört med traditionella planeringsmetoder, vilket leder till kostnadsbesparingar och förbättrade projektresultat. Dessutom kan VDC användas för att optimera design och planering av byggnader, resurshantering och underlätta miljöcertifieringsprocessen. Resultaten visar att trots de fördelar som VDC erbjuder för hållbar utveckling, utnyttjas inte dess fulla potential inom den svenska byggbranschen. Utmaningar såsom kompetensbrist och interoperabilitetsproblem fortsätter att hindra en framgångsrik användning av VDC. / Construction contractors with design and building responsibilities play an important role in promoting sustainable development in the construction industry. By integrating sustainability considerations into their work processes and decision-making, they can help reduce environmental impact and streamline project and production planning. Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) has enabled design-build contractors to use modelling and visualization of final products to make project and production planning more efficient. The literature shows that VDC can be used for economic profitability, but the question remains whether VDC can be used to promote sustainable development.  This study is based on an interview-based qualitative study and examines how VDC is used among Swedish construction companies with design and building responsibilities to promote sustainable development. This is done by examining how the use of VDC by construction contractors affects social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The study also addresses how VDC is used to achieve environmental and sustainability requirements, and for buildings to be environmentally certified. The work consists of a literature study and an interview study that includes perceptions from Swedish design-build contractors. To collect data, semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents from construction companies in Sweden. A thematic analysis was then conducted based on existing research and theories. The results indicate that the implementation of VDC contributes to the promotion of sustainable development among construction contractors. By involving multiple stakeholders in construction projects, VDC promotes communication, collaboration, and an inclusive work environment. It also offers faster, and more efficient solutions compared to traditional planning methods, leading to cost savings and improved project performance. Furthermore, VDC can be used to optimize building design and planning, resource management and facilitate the environmental certification process. The results show that despite the benefits that VDC offers for sustainable development, its full potential is not being utilized in the Swedish construction industry. Challenges such as skills shortages and interoperability issues continue to hinder the successful use of VDC.

Polyvinyl Chloride, commonly known as PVC is a common and effective construction material. PVC is also one of the most common types of plastic. In 2008, global production and consumption of PVC was approximately 34.5 million tons. The construction industry is responsible for about 70% of the world's consumption of PVC. The largest construction use of PVC is for pipe and conduit. Modern construction, especially structures built for data services depend heavily upon PVC conduit for underground pathways to distribute electricity and data. PVC is also at the center of a fierce effort by environmental groups who would like to see it eliminated completely. If environmentalists are successful in their efforts to eliminate PVC; builders will be left without a material that is crucial for many applications. Seven alternative conduit materials have been identified as potential replacements for PVC electrical conduit. PVC electrical conduit is commonly used in commercial, industrial, and civil construction. This thesis undertook to study the four major electrical contractors in the state of Utah which employ more than one hundred electricians. Because major electrical contractors use large quantities of PVC conduit, electricians working for these contractors were surveyed to determine their preferences of alternative materials. A questionnaire was distributed and received 112 responses, which represent 6.5% of the total population. This study found that PVC was the most used, most preferred, easiest to install and was perceived as the least expensive conduit material. Polypropylene and High Density Polyethylene were rated next highest, but were also the least commonly used of the alternative materials. The other materials, which include: Nylon, Fiberglass, Fiberglass Reinforced Epoxy, Polyurethane Coated Steel, and Galvanized Steel were also examined. Many of the respondents expressed displeasure by the effort to eliminate PVC and the vast majority felt that green certification for construction did not justify elimination. These responses indicate that more needs to be done to introduce alternative conduit materials to users of PVC and educate them about the value of the alternatives. This study represents an important step in evaluating the value of PVC conduit and its alternatives.

No description available.

Den globala uppvärmningen är ett av vår tids största problem och det krävs mycket arbete inom olika områden för att nå de uppsatta klimatmålen. Byggbranschen är ett område som är av stor vikt att arbeta med för att nå målen då en stor del av den globala energianvändningen har med byggnader att göra. Samtidigt sätter de stora flyktingströmmarna under senare tid Sverige på prov och det krävs ny innovation för att lösa frågor om bostadsbrist och integration. I nuläget är det oftast en uppfattning hos byggbolagen att det innebär en högre kostnad att bygga hållbart och att denna kostnad inte alltid återbetalar sig, åtminstone inte på kort sikt. Incitament för att bygga hållbart behöver identifieras och lyftas fram för att öka intresset hos byggföretagen att sträva efter detta. Det är inte säkert att det är byggföretaget som får ta del av investeringen när projektet är slutfört, utan det blir en annan aktör, exempelvis de boende som flyttar in i huset och får lägre energikostnader. Syftet med arbetet är att analysera vilka incitament, svårigheter och möjligheter som finns med att bygga och förvalta hållbara fastigheter. Uppsatsen består av en teoretisk referensram, litteraturöversikt, empiri i form av en intervjustudie samt analys och slutsatser. Halvstrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med miljö- och hållbarhetschefer och andra personer med liknande roller hos fastighetsbolag, bostadsbolag, bostadsutvecklare och byggföretag i Sverige. Sju personer har intervjuats baserat på frågeställningarna kring vilka incitament, svårigheter och möjligheter som finns med att bygga och förvalta hållbara fastigheter. Resultatet visar att miljöcertifiering upplevs vara ett krav för att kunna vara verksam på marknaden. Certifiering kring social hållbarhet saknas och är något som efterfrågas då flera respondenter upplever social hållbarhet som framtiden medan ekologisk hållbarhet mer eller mindre är ett krav. Kunskapsbrist upplevs vara det största hindret mot att bygga och förvalta hållbart. Ändrade avskrivningsregler är också en viktig faktor för att öka incitamenten för att bygga hållbart. Möjligheterna att utvecklas inom området är många och handlar bland annat om användandet av ny teknik. / Global warming is one of the greater problems of our time and it requires effort in various fields to achieve the set climate targets. The construction industry is of great importance to improve to achieve the objectives, since a large part of the global energy consumption has to do with buildings. For the meantime, recent large refugee movements in Sweden puts the country to test and new innovation to solve the issues of housing shortage and integration is required. Construction companies relate high cost to sustainable construction and that this cost does not pay off, especially in the short term. Incentives for building sustainable must be identified and highlighted to increase interest in sustainable building. It is uncertain if the construction company will profit from investment since it is the residents who will attain lower energy costs. The aim is to analyze the incentives, difficulties and opportunities that exist to build and manage sustainable real estate. The thesis consists of a theoretical framework, literature overview, empirical evidence in the form of an interview study, analysis and conclusions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with environmental and sustainability managers and other persons with similar roles in real estate companies, housing companies, housing developers and construction companies in Sweden. Seven persons were interviewed based on questions about which incentives, difficulties and opportunities that exist to build and manage sustainable real estate. The result shows that environmental certification is perceived to be a requirement in order to stay on the market. Certification of social sustainability is lacking and is something that is desirable as several respondents perceive social sustainability as the future while ecological sustainability is a requirement.

The work was conducted in the spring of 2016 on behalf of the ÅF Industry in Umeå. This project aimed to provide proposals on energy-saving measures for house 2 at Umestans Business Park based on the total specific purchased energy for 2015. Also for the 3rd floor in the same house suggestions on energy-saving measures were given. This was done with regard to the expected electricity use during 2016. Finally, an investigation on the possibility to classify the floors using of business-electricity was done.Initially was a literature study of today's classification system for buildings done. The focus was to see whether there is a possibility or not to classify leased office space. Both Swedish and international classification systems have been evaluated during the project.All the systems in the building were investigated and the total specific energy could be mapped. All the systems in the building were investigated and the total specific energy could be mapped. Based on the results of the operational-electricity that were emerged during the mapping of house 2, and based on the values of the electricity meter 83353 the business-electricity for floor 3 could be determined. Also for this area a mapping was made to see which areas the business-electricity went to.The results of the mapping of the building showed that the average energy consumption for the total specific purchased energy was 141,1 kWh/m2 per year. Of these districts heating stands for 63%. Of the total share of district heating 81% went to the radiators, this suggests that the building has large transmission losses. The inventory shows that the building's has a low use of electricity. This indicates that the technical systems were well installed with well-adapted operating times. The energy-saving measures that were found to reduce the building's losses were in the areas of windows, ventilation and solar shading. Energy-saving measures for the energy supplied were found in pumps, cooling and lighting.The result of floor 3 shows that the average use of business-electricity is at 36,36 kWh / m2 per year. Of these, 50% goes to lighting.From the results floor 3 could be classified to a Class B using the report "Energy performance of buildings - Energy Classification". To achieve a better classification requires change in the lightning on floor 3 as well as an analysis of any thinkable behavior change among the employees. / Examensarbetet utfördes under våren 2016 på uppdrag av ÅF Industry i Umeå. Detta projekt syftade till att ge förslag på energibesparande åtgärder för hus 2 vid Umestans företagspark baserat på den totalt specifikt köpta energin för år 2015. Även för våningsplan 3 i samma hus gavs förslag på energibesparande åtgärder. Detta skedde med avseende på den verksamhetsel som beräknas användas under år 2016. Slutligen utreddes möjligheten till att klassa våningsplanets användning av verksamhetsel.Inledningsvis utfördes en litteraturstudie på dagens klassningssystem för byggnader där fokus låg på att se till huruvida det finns en möjlighet att klassa hyrda kontorslokaler. Både Svenska och internationella klassningssystem har utvärderats under projektet.Sedan inventerades byggnadens samtliga system och den total specifik köpta energin kunde kartläggas. Utifrån de resultat för verksamhetsel som framkom under kartläggningen av hus 2 samt utifrån värden på elmätare 83353 kunde verksamhetselen för våningsplan 3 fastställas. Även för detta område gjordes en kartläggning för att se till vilka områden våningsplanets verksamhetsel gick.Resultatet för kartläggningen av byggnaden visade att den genomsnittliga energianvändningen för den totalt specifikt köpta energin var 141,1 kWh/m2,år. Av dessa utgjordes 63 % fjärrvärme. Av den totala andelen fjärrvärmen gick 81 % till radiatorerna, detta tyder på att byggnaden har stora transmissionsförluster. Den inventerade byggnadens låga användning av el visade på väl installerade tekniska system med väl anpassade drifttider. De energibesparande åtgärder som återfanns för att minska byggnadens förluster låg i områdena fönster, ventilation och solavskärmning. För den tillförda energin var det områdena pumpar, kyla och belysning som energibesparande åtgärder återfanns.Resultatet för våningsplan 3 visar att den genomsnittliga användningen av verksamhetsel ligger på 36,36 kWh/m2, år. Av dessa går 50 % till våningsplanets belysning.Ur resultatet kunde våningsplan 3 klassas till en klass B med hjälp av rapporten ”Byggnaders energiprestanda – Energiklassning”. För att nå en bättre klassning krävs åtgärder för våningsplanets belysning samt en analys av eventuella beteendeförändringar hos de anställda. / <p>roek0001</p>

This five-paper thesis explores office workers perceptions of green roofs and how this influences their health/well-being in Toronto and Chicago. Paper 1 examines the underlying paradigms and world-views of major research programs that look at the human relationship to nature and health/well-being, showing that despite some convergence between their methods and integration of different paradigms, continued differences and lack of clarity on the normative assumptions underlying each approach leads to confusion in the specification of ‘nature’ in health/well-being and place research. Paper 2 is a comparative analysis of the implementation of green roof policies in Toronto and Chicago. Paper 2 demonstrates the importance of ‘selling’ green roofs by linking them to larger environmental programs and of the municipal power structure that influences how and if environmental programs are implemented. Paper 3 examines the awareness, attitudes, and feelings towards green roofs by office workers with access to them (visual or physical) from their workplace in Toronto and Chicago. Using a phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews (n=55), Paper 3 shows that the hinterland, expectations of different kinds of ‘nature’ and aesthetics in the city, and access all influence perceptions of green roofs and sense of place. Paper 4 explores office workers awareness of and attitudes towards green roofs and the possible influence on their well-being in Toronto and Chicago from a large survey (n = 903). Participants showed a high literacy on the environmental benefits of green roofs. Chi-square analysis showed mixed results for health, but a significant association between visual access to a green roof and improved concentration. Paper 5 tests whether the relationship found in Paper 4, improved concentration with visual access, was still significant when other confounding variables were added to the model. Using a logistic regression on the same survey population (subset n =505), results found that concentration was no longer significant but that there was a trend towards improved concentration.

This five-paper thesis explores office workers perceptions of green roofs and how this influences their health/well-being in Toronto and Chicago. Paper 1 examines the underlying paradigms and world-views of major research programs that look at the human relationship to nature and health/well-being, showing that despite some convergence between their methods and integration of different paradigms, continued differences and lack of clarity on the normative assumptions underlying each approach leads to confusion in the specification of ‘nature’ in health/well-being and place research. Paper 2 is a comparative analysis of the implementation of green roof policies in Toronto and Chicago. Paper 2 demonstrates the importance of ‘selling’ green roofs by linking them to larger environmental programs and of the municipal power structure that influences how and if environmental programs are implemented. Paper 3 examines the awareness, attitudes, and feelings towards green roofs by office workers with access to them (visual or physical) from their workplace in Toronto and Chicago. Using a phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews (n=55), Paper 3 shows that the hinterland, expectations of different kinds of ‘nature’ and aesthetics in the city, and access all influence perceptions of green roofs and sense of place. Paper 4 explores office workers awareness of and attitudes towards green roofs and the possible influence on their well-being in Toronto and Chicago from a large survey (n = 903). Participants showed a high literacy on the environmental benefits of green roofs. Chi-square analysis showed mixed results for health, but a significant association between visual access to a green roof and improved concentration. Paper 5 tests whether the relationship found in Paper 4, improved concentration with visual access, was still significant when other confounding variables were added to the model. Using a logistic regression on the same survey population (subset n =505), results found that concentration was no longer significant but that there was a trend towards improved concentration.

This thesis is based on two observations. First, that conventional buildings cause two major losses that involve non-human nature – the loss of native biodiversity and the loss of non-human nature experience for the buildings’ human inhabitants – and that these losses both contribute to a perceived separation between humans and the rest of nature. Second, that there appears to be a growing interest in connecting buildings with nature but there is little agreement on what it actually means to ‘design with nature’. As such, the purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to describe the meaning of ‘designing with nature’ in current architectural practice and provide a working definition of nature-based design, and (2) to explore how this can be interpreted to encourage human connectedness with non-human nature, while addressing the two major losses mentioned above. It is thus an attempt to reframe the role of building as one that provides for all inhabitants of a site, both human and non. A framework was developed that captures and summarizes the dominant ways in which design draws on nature. The framework emphasizes the importance of using ecosystems not only as models, but foremost as context. The core concepts of the framework can thus be discussed from the perspective of buildings that act like an ecosystem and that interact with their ecosystem, and are described as: ecological sense of place, regenerative ability, ecosystem health, mutually beneficial relationships, context, appropriate management, functions, ecosystem principles, values, patterns, conditions, and adaptations. Although the concepts presented in the framework are themselves not new, the way in which they are organized does contribute a new perspective on the field of nature-based design. In addition to providing a graphic model that summarizes the essence of an evolving field, the research highlights the role of scale and place in linking building design, native biodiversity, nature experience and connectedness with nature. It thus acts as a backdrop on which to bring a discussion of ecological citizenship into the architectural dialogue.

In urbanized areas, building and transportation systems generally comprise the majority of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption. Realization of global environmental sustainability depends upon efficiency improvements of building and transportation systems in the built environment. The selection of efficient buildings and locations can help to improve the efficient utilization of transportation and building systems. Green building design and rating frameworks provide some guidance and incentive for the development of more efficient building and transportation systems. However, current frameworks are based primarily on prescriptive, component standards, rather than performance-based, whole-building evaluations. This research develops a commercial building/site evaluation framework for the minimization of GHG emissions and energy consumption of transportation and building systems through building/site selection. The framework examines, under uncertainty, multiple dimensions of building/site operation efficiencies: transportation access to/from a building site; heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and domestic hot water; interior and exterior lighting; occupant conveyances; and energy supply. With respect to transportation systems, the framework leverages regional travel demand model data to estimate the activity associated with home-based work and non-home-based work trips. A Monte Carlo simulation approach is used to quantify the dispersion in the estimated trip distances, travel times, and mode choice. The travel activity estimates are linked with a variety of existing calculation resources for quantifying energy consumption and GHG emissions. With respect to building systems, the framework utilizes a building energy simulation approach to estimate energy consumption and GHG emissions. The building system calculation procedures include a sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo analysis to account for the impacts of input parameter uncertainty on estimated building performance. The framework incorporates a life cycle approach to performance evaluation, thereby incorporating functional units of building/site performance (e.g energy use intensity). The evaluation framework is applied to four case studies of commercial office development in the Atlanta, GA metropolitan region that represent a potential range of building/site alternatives for a 100-employee firm in an urbanized area. The research results indicate that whole-building energy and GHG emissions are sensitive to building/site location, and that site-related transportation is the major determinant of performance. The framework and findings may be used to support the development of quantitative performance evaluations for building/site selection in green building rating systems and other efficiency incentive programs designed to encourage more efficient utilization and development of the built environment.