Thesis (M.S.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page; viewed on Nov. 10, 2009. "October 2009." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree [of] Master of Science in Architecture." "Presented to the faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo." Major professor: Margot McDonald, Ph.D. Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-142).

Currently there is a growing pressure on energy efficiency for new buildings in the UK and worldwide. This has arisen partly due to the increasing awareness of the public for sustainable building construction. In addition, there is pressure on building materials manufacturers, due to new government regulations and legislations that are targeting energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions in new buildings. This research work reports on unfired clay building materials (unfired clay bricks) technology for sustainable building construction. The technology aims at the reduction of the high energy input, especially that arising from firing clay bricks in kilns. The research has investigated the use of lime or Portland cement as an activator to an industrial by-product (Ground Granulated Blastfurnace Slag-GGBS) to stabilise Lower Oxford Clay (LOC). Portland cement was used in the formulation of the unfired clay brick tests specimens predominantly as a control. The development of an unfired clay brick in this current work is considered by the researcher as a significant scientific breakthrough for the building industry. Another breakthrough is the fact that only about 1.5% lime was used for GGBS activation. This is a very low level of usage of lime that is not comparable to, or sufficient for, most road construction applications, where far less strength values are needed and where 3-8% lime is required for effective soil stabilisation. Hence, the final pricing of the unfired clay brick is expected to be relatively low. Industrial scale brick specimens were produced during two separate industrial trials. The first trial was at Hanson Brick Company Ltd, Bedfordshire, UK, while the second was carried out at PD Edenhall Ltd, Bridgend, South Wales, UK. The results clearly demonstrate that all key parameters such as compressive strength, thermal properties and durability were within the acceptable engineering standards for clay masonry units. From the environmental and sustainability analysis results, the unfired clay material has shown energy-efficiency and suggests a formidable economical alternative to the firing of clay building components. This study is one of the earliest attempts to compare fired and unfired clay technology, and also to combine energy use and CO2 emission for unfired clay bricks relative to those bricks used in mainstream construction. This is an attempt to come up with one parameter rating. The overall results suggest that the spinoff from this technology is an invaluable resource for civil engineers and other built environment professionals who need quick access to up-to-date and accurate information about the qualities of various building and construction materials.

Although much research has been conducted on the greening of universities in the international context, not many studies focus on this topic in the South African context. A literature overview also identified that there are insufficient guidelines for green buildings at South African universities. Even though the Green Star rating tool is implemented in South Africa, no set of guidelines for green buildings exits at South African universities. The development of guidelines for green buildings at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan is a challenge which needs to be investigated. From the literature overview, it was possible to develop a framework containing seventeen green building aspects which could assist in developing green building guidelines. For this study, a two stage process was used to obtain information to evaluate green building guidelines critically at South African universities. Green building guidelines, as available at South African universities, were firstly explored by conducting a content analysis of all South African university websites. The information available on South African university websites regarding green buildings was scant and only two universities, namely the University of Cape Town and the University of Pretoria, reported that they had a green building. Stage two in the research process involved the empirical investigation of guidelines for green buildings at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The results of the descriptive statistics showed that most building guidelines were perceived as important, but difficult to implement. The building guideline that was ranked the most important was the design of buildings that required low levels of maintenance or were maintenance free. The building guideline that was ranked the easiest to implement was to save energy in general. Considering the 17 suggested aspects and the five groups identified, a proposed set of green building guidelines was developed. The data gathered in this study is important as it could be utilised by the university to develop and implement the proposed green building guidelines.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science (Building) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / This study set out to establish the extent to which South African contractors are seen as capable of engaging and contributing towards the designs of green buildings. The study further examines how the traditional procurement path, which is dominant in delivery of construction projects, affects a contractor’s contribution towards green buildings. The problem that exists is the exclusion of contractors at the design stage of a project through the use of the traditional procurement path. This exclusion potentially leads to clients not getting the full benefits of green practices in the delivery of their projects. The research adopted a positivist methodology collecting quantitative data using a questionnaire surveying construction professionals that are registered with the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).The construction professionals that were surveyed include construction managers, project managers, architects, quantity surveyors and engineers who have direct experience and knowledge of green buildings Findings from the research reveals that there is a perception that the lack of awareness of green buildings in South Africa leads to certain clients, most notably government and parastatals, to invest less in green buildings. The use of the traditional procurement path is perceived to be inappropriate in the delivery of green buildings. This is due to the fact that the traditional procurement path excludes involvement by contractors at the early stages of the project therefore they do not contribute to the design of green buildings. The clients are therefore advised to plan and strategise procurement plans so that contractors can be involved early during the design stages, so that they can provide input so as to improve the buildability of projects and prepare proper health and safety plans. / MT2017

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

As more owners seek to develop sustainable buildings, the construction industry is adapting to new requirements in order to meet owner's concerns. Material selection has been identified as an area where designers and contractors can have a significant impact on the sustainable performance of a building. Objective factors such as design considerations and cost constraints can play a role in the selection of materials. However, there may be subjective factors that could also impact the selection of materials. Building upon the potential impact of sustainability perceptions in an optimization model that can be used to help decision makers to select materials, this study defines and tests an instrument to identify and measure such perceptions. The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a conceptual instrument that measures the user-based assessment of product sustainability and validates decision-maker's perceptions in order to evaluate the contribution of subjective characteristics in materials selection. A survey of design and construction students and practitioners is carried out to capture the subjective factors included in the instrument. A Factor Analysis approach is used to refine and validate the measurement instrument and predict decision-makers' sustainability appraisal due to the factors considered.

The objective of this thesis is to identify how to take advantage of opportunities – in the construction sector in specific – to contribute to sustainable development at an early stage of intervention in disaster-affected areas. To this aim, the thesis develops a "framework for sustainability", distilling the literature on sustainable, disaster recovery into a succinct set of criteria for the planning and/or evaluation of recovery programmes. What is unique about this framework is its intended suitability to the field of construction in particular. The framework is tested in the thesis against two "case study projects" in construction in disaster areas. Data on these two projects, which took place in the Marmara Region of Turkey, was collected over a period of fieldwork. The findings, arranged in the chronological order of each project's planning/design, implementation, and maintenance, are presented in the latter part of the thesis. This is followed by an analysis chapter, which uses the proposed framework to evaluate the experiences of the two projects. The thesis concludes that sustainable recovery may indeed be supported from an early stage of construction initiatives, by concentrating not only on constructed products, but more importantly, on the construction process itself.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis I examine the natural building movement in South Africa in an attempt to determine the systemic influences that appear to confine it to a small market operating at the very edge of the mainstream building sector. I make use of the conceptual framework of the multi-level perspective to explore the interrelationships between natural building as a technological niche and the mainstream building sector as the dominant regime. I extend the concept of a technological niche by appending the term 'latent' to form the term 'latent technological niche', to describe a technology with sustainability credentials that fails to break into the mainstream market, despite achieving technological maturity and constant though minimal market share. The research objectives of this thesis are to: identify pathways for the natural building niche to move beyond its latent state; to determine how the translations of natural building practices to the building sector might occur; and how this might transform the building sector regime. I explore how action research involving knowledge sharing between multi-stakeholder, niche and regime actors might stimulate debate and subsequent action to overcome entry barriers; and serve as a catalyst to advance a latent technological niche beyond its confined market. I present an action research method, a 'latent technological mediation', of facilitated 1st and 2nd order social learning. This is used as a mechanism of tapping into the immediate knowledge of actors in the socio-technical regime. The purpose being to identify the external forces and internal processes of a latent technological niche. The status of a latent technological niche is assessed by comparing these processes in the context of external forces against seven processes, presented in this thesis. These seven processes are considered crucial for a technology to break into the mainstream market and are adapted from the internal processes of success, described in the literature on strategic niche management and the characteristics of a successful 'bounded socio-technical experiment' (BSTE) described in the conceptual work on BSTE's. The potential for natural building systems to enter the mainstream building sector, particularly in South Africa, is used as a case study to apply the latent technological mediation method. The findings of this research suggest that the mainstream building sector is undergoing a transition following the path of socio-techical transformation. The uncertainty introduced by the parallel system of informal settlement, which may drive transition along the more dramatic technological substitution or de-alignment and re-alignment transition pathways is briefly explored. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis ondersoek ek die natuurlike gebou beweging in Suid-Afrika in 'n poging om die sistemiese invloede te bepaal, wat neig om dit te beperk tot 'n klein mark teen die rand van die hoofstroom gebou sektor. Ek maak gebruik van die konseptuele raamwerk van die multi-vlak perspektief om die onderlinge verband tussen natuurlike geboue, as 'n tegnologiese nis, en die hoofstroom gebou sektor, as die dominante regime, te verken. Ek brei die konsep van 'n tegnologiese nis uit, deur die aanbring van die word 'latente' om die term 'latente tegnologiese nis' te vorm. 'n Latente tegnologie nis het volhoubaarheid potensiaal maar slaag nie daarin om in die hoofstroom mark in te breek nie, ten spyte van die bereiking van tegnologiese volwassenheid en 'n konstante maar minimale mark aandeel. Die navorsing doelwitte van hierdie tesis is om: roetes te identifiseer waarlangs die natuurlike gebou nis buite sy latente toestand kan beweeg; om te bepaal hoe die 'vertalings' van natuurlike gebou praktyke aan die gebou sektor kan voorkom; en hoe dit die gebou sektor regime kan verander. Ek bestudeer hoe aksie navorsing waarby kennis tussen verskeie belanghebbendes, nis en regime betrokkenes gedeel is, kan debatteer en die daaropvolgende aksie stimuleer inskrywing hindernisse te oorkom; en dien as 'n katalisator om 'n latente tegnologiese nis te bevorder buite sy beperkte mark. Ek bied 'n aksie-navorsing metode, 'n 'latente tegnologiese bemiddeling' van gefasiliteerde 1st en 2de order sosiale leerervaring aan. Dit dien as 'n meganisme van deling in die onmiddellike kennis van die spelers in die sosio-tegniese regime. Die doel is om die eksterne kragte en interne prosesse van 'n latente tegnologiese nis te identifiseer. Die status van 'n latente tegnologiese nis is beoordeel deur hierdie prosesse te vergelyk in die konteks van eksterne kragte teen sewe prosesse, wat in hierdie tesis aangebied is. Hierdie sewe prosesse word beskou as noodsaaklik vir 'n tegnologie om in die hoofstroom mark in te breek en is aangepas uit die interne prosesse van sukses, soos beskryf in die literatuur oor strategiese nis bestuur en die eienskappe van 'n suksesvolle 'begrensde sosio-tegniese eksperiment' (BSTE) beskryf in die konseptuele literatuur oor BSTE. Die potensiaal vir natuurlike gebou stelsels om die hoofstroom gebou sektor te betree, veral in Suid-Afrika, word gebruik as 'n gevallestudie om die latente tegnologiese bemiddeling metode toe te pas. Die bevindinge van die navorsing dui daarop dat die hoofstroom gebou sektor 'n verandering ondergaan op die pad van n sosio-tegniese transformasie. Die onsekerheid veroorsaak deur die parallelle informele nedersetting, wat 'n meer dramatiese tegnologiese substitusie, of ontsporing en herbelyning kan veroorsaak, word kortliks ondersoek.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / This study determined the status, in 2012, of the implementation of Sustainable solutions (SS) to commercial buildings in the City of Johannesburg. The term “going green” was seen as an alternative approach to business, but demonstrated necessity in the property industry. As greenhouse gas emissions drive the rising average global temperature at an alarming rate, the business environment cannot only be aware of the impact that business industries have on the livelihood of the growing population, but need to act promptly to ensure sustainability. Environmental sustainability is an important topic in decision making for businesses in South Africa and this study grouped renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) to create sustainable solutions as the main concept of environmental sustainability. Renewable energy refers to finding an energy source like the sun or wind, but the main focus is on the purpose of sustainability of the energy resource and the supply. Eskom obtains 97% of their electricity for South Africa from coal power plants, but the reality is that coal is a limited resource that will not be available indefinitely unlike renewable energy. Energy efficiency on the other hand focuses on reducing the energy requirements of commercial buildings. As this concept received sufficient attention in South Africa, the present study was conducted to obtain further information to drive energy efficient practices. With energy efficiency, making basic adjustments in the design of new buildings to use less electricity can greatly contribute to their longevity and reduce the overall running costs that in turn enhance the sustainability for organisations that own or manage properties. By gathering the principals for renewable energy from natural resources and implementing energy efficient practices, the concept of sustainable solutions was conceived. The implementation of sustainable solutions also increases the value of properties, fosters economic enhancement, fosters socioeconomic improvement and most importantly improves the environment by reducing carbon emissions.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research assignment was done to determine the status and awareness of green building solutions in Gaborone, Botswana for the year 2014. In a third world country like Botswana, design and development of ‘green building’ is low on the agenda. As with many other third world countries, other basic needs and services are missing and many people believe that all of those should be sorted out before items such as green building solutions can be looked at. Interviews were conducted with executives of companies in the property development industry or companies that make use of commercial office space. Through these executives, access was gained to the employees who were requested to complete an online survey. The focus of the interviews and surveys was to gain information of the companies’ awareness of and involvement in green building solutions, their view on the willingness to pay for such solutions and on its implementation in the future. In the findings, it became clear that cost is the most important aspect, especially when renting, while when investing, most participants were willing to contribute towards green building solutions with the understanding that this would contribute to lower running costs, and therefore returns on the investment made.