Este trabalho analisa, por meio de método experimental, a viabilidade de apropriar a produção de painel alveolar de concreto armado para aplicação em habitações de interesse social. Compara os processos industriais praticados para a produção deste elemento com alternativas inovadoras proporcionadas pela incorporação de fôrma interna, ou núcleo alveolar, que permite apropriar a tecnologia para aplicação em diferentes escalas conforme as características de cada empreendimento. Avalia a execução, a conectividade e o desempenho mecânico em relação à resistência à compressão do painel alveolar. Contribui com contexto de construção sustentável e o aproveitamento de resíduos industriais e conclui que o núcleo alveolar incorporado configura inovação tecnicamente viável no processo de produção do painel alveolar que pode ser utilizado em sistemas de fechamento e superestruturas (paredes portantes e lajes) em habitações. / This work analyzes the viability of appropriate the hollow core slab production for social housing construction, by means of an experimental method procedure. It compares the industrial process with innovated alternatives proportionate by internal hollow nuclear mould incorporate which provides technology appropriation for several production scales according to construction portage. Evaluate the execution, connectivity (with hydraulic and electric systems) and compressive strength of hollow core slabs. The researchs contributions is relate with the context of sustainable construction and the use of industrial waste as construction raw materials and it concludes that internal hollow nuclear mould incorporate is technically viable in hollow core slabs production´s process and this precast element could be applied in wall´s and slabs for housing construction.

As coberturas verdes fazem parte da arquitetura vernacular há séculos como solução para regulação térmica das edificações, retardando a transferência de calor para o ambiente interno e, no inverno, retardando as perdas de calor dos ambientes internos para o exterior da edificação (International Green Roof Association - IGRA). Em se adotando cobertura verde em edificações supõe-se haver economia no consumo de energia para se obter condições de conforto térmico nos ambientes. Baseado nessa suposição foi realizada uma pesquisa experimental onde, por meio de um estudo comparativo entre dois tipos de cobertura: a verde e a de telhas cerâmicas comprovou-se o potencial de economia de energia. A análise do comportamento térmico das coberturas verdes foi realizada por meio de coleta de dados de variáveis ambientais, durante um período de 10 meses, de um protótipo instrumentado, construído no Departamento de Engenharia de Construção Civil da Escola Politécnica da USP, São Paulo. Os dados levantados foram comparados com os dados de um segundo protótipo de mesmas dimensões e igualmente instrumentado, com cobertura cerâmica, sob as mesmas condições ambientais. A comparação dos resultados e análises em dias e episódios representativos de cada estação comprovaram a eficiência das coberturas verdes para retardar o ganho térmico da edificação. Espera-se que os resultados sejam incentivadores à larga aplicação dos telhados egetados, o que trará diversas vantagens para população. / Green roofing is been a part of the vernacular architecture for centuries as solution for constructions thermal regulation. It is known that they delay the heat transfer from the outside to the inside of the building, and during winter, they delay the heating loss from the inside to the outside of the building (International Green Roof Association - IGRA). By adopting green roofs in buildings, one assumes that there is economy in energy consumption to obtain conditions of thermal comfort in inner environments. Based on this assumption, an experimental research was accomplished where, through a comparative study between two types of roofing systems: green and ceramics, it was determined this energy saving potential of green roofs. The analysis of the green roofing thermal behavior was realized through data collection of environmental variables, during the period of ten months, from an instrumented prototype constructed at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo. The collected data was compared to those of a second prototype with the same dimensions and equally instrumented, with ceramics roofing, under the same environmental conditions. The data comparison and analysis of specific days in each season, proved the green roof efficiency on retarding the building thermal gain. One expects that the results will encourage the application of green roofs, which will bring several advantages to the population.

Atualmente, as legislações ambientais e os consumidores estão cada vez mais exigentes e restritivos em relação ao adequado tratamento dado aos resíduos industriais. Neste contexto, a logística reversa tem por objetivo gerenciar os fluxos reversos, fazendo com que bens e produtos com pouco uso após a venda, com ciclo de vida útil ampliado ou após extinta a sua vida útil, retornem ao ciclo produtivo, readquirindo valor em outros mercados. Baseado em uma revisão bibliográfica, um estudo exploratório e um trabalho de campo, composto por entrevistas, analisa-se as possibilidades de aplicação do conceito de logística reversa na cadeia produtiva da Construção Civil, particularmente em relação aos fluxos de Resíduos de Construção e Demolição - RCD, como forma de contribuir para a sustentabilidade do ambiente construído. Expõe-se de forma ampla, os fatores intervenientes no processo de implantação dos sistemas logísticos reversos para RCD e os condicionantes e benefícios decorrentes desta aplicação, considerando os aspectos técnicos, econômicos e ambientas do reaproveitamento de RCD. A partir do estudo das práticas atuais de gerenciamento de RCD em empresas construtoras e de algumas experiências estrangeiras, conclui-se sobre as necessidades de avanço das práticas e legislações brasileiras relacionadas ao gerenciamento de RCD, e sobre o papel dos fornecedores no estabelecimento e consolidação de sistemas logísticos reversos - SLR. A aplicação do conceito é realizada na cadeia produtiva de Chapas de Gesso Acartonado - CGA, para a qual é proposto um sistema logístico reverso - SLR-CGA, englobando-se a caracterização dos agentes, as tecnologias de aproveitamento para resíduos de CGA e os mercados disponíveis para a sua reinserção, dentre outros pontos. São realizadas simulações de viabilidade econômica de possíveis cadeias reversas de CGA. A partir das alternativas viáveis, conclui-se sobre o efeito da implantação destas sobre a cadeia produtiva de CGA. Conclui-se que a implantação de um sistema logístico reverso consiste em uma ferramenta organizacional que pode ajudar companhias a resolver impactos econômicos e ambientais e criar novos negócios na cadeia produtiva da Construção Civil. / Currently, environmental legislation and pressure of consumer awareness are getting more stringent and restrictive in relation of the proper treatment gave to the industrial wastes. In this context, reverse logistics systems aims to manage the reverse flow, making with that facilities and products with little use after sales, useful life cycle extended or extinct, return to the productive cycle, to regain value still incorporated in them. Based on a bibliographical research and a survey, the possibilities of application of reverse logistics concept in Civil Construction productive chain is analyzed with focus on construction and demolition wastes (CDW).This analyze contribute for the sustainability in Civil Construction. The intervenient factors in the reverse logistics systems implementation is discussed, such as the benefits from the application, taking into account technical, economical e environmental aspects of recycling. The analyze of current CWD management system, mainly in building sites, avoids to conclude about Brazilian necessities and the important role that producers can have in this systems. The application of the concept is done in the drywall gypsum board supply chain. For this chain, a reverse logistics syste for gypsum board wastes (GBW) is proposed approaching the stakeholders, technologies of GBW and markets for recycled product, among another aspects. Economic liability simulations of possible GBW reverse chains are conduced and for that liable, the impact of its implementation is discussed. The implementation of reverse logistics systems is considered like an organizational tool that can help the companies to solve environmental and costs impacts on production and problems surroundings this issues.

Although rice straw and other grains have been used in building since pre-history, in the past two decades, there has been a move to utilize this rapidly renewable, locally available, agricultural byproduct as part of the sustainable construction movement. Up to this point, this has been done by simply stacking up the full straw bales. Stak Block, invented by Oryzatech, Inc., is a modular, interlocking block made of a composite of rice straw and binding agent that serves as an evolution in straw construction. This study investigates the feasibility of using these Stak Blocks as a structural system. The report was divided into four main parts: material testing, development of effective construction detailing, full-scale physical shear wall testing, and a comparison with wood framed shear walls. The first section investigated the feasibility of using the Stak Blocks in a load-bearing wall application. Constitutive properties of the composite straw material such as yield strength and elastic stiffness were determined and then compared to conventional straw bale. Next, the decision was made to prestress the walls to create a more effective structural system. Various construction detailing iterations were evaluated upon the full-scale shear wall testing using a pseudo-static cyclic loading protocol. Finally, the available ductility of the prestressed Stak Block walls in a lateral force resisting application is quantified along with an approximation of potential design shear forces. It was determined that the Stak Block material performed satisfactorily in gravity and lateral force resisting applications, in some respects better than conventional wood-framed construction, and has great potential as a seismically-resistant building material.

Water is the most used substance in the world, followed by concrete. Water scarcity is nowadays more common due to concentrated population growth and climate change. Concrete demand is ~15 billion m3 per year fulfilling the need for more and better housing and infrastructure for a growing and wealthier population. Since no other material could fulfil this demand, concrete needs to be produced in a sustainable way, minimizing environmental loads such as water consumption. The water footprint is a tool that measures water use over a products\' life cycle and estimates its potential environmental impacts. Despite the growing concern on water, the existing water footprint methodologies are too complex and require large amounts of data. This study develops a streamlined water footprint methodology for concrete production, simple enough to be useful to the industry and robust enough to be environmentally meaningful. An extensive study on existing water footprint methodologies have been conducted. Then a streamlined methodology was proposed focused on the water flows that are more relevant in concrete production including water quantity and quality letting to meaningful results with less data. Typical water inventory includes the batch water (150-200 H kg/m3), dust control (500-1500 H kg/day), truck washing (13-500 H kg/m3), cement production (0.185-1.333 H kg/kg) and aggregates production (0.116-2.0 H kg/kg). Regarding water quality, the most critical flows - Zinc, Lead, Nitrate, Nitrogen oxides and Sulfur dioxide- were identified based on the contribution of these flows to the potential environmental impacts, the control or influence that the concrete producer has on the activities were these flows appear and the feasibility to measure these flows on site. Concrete water footprint varies due to mix design, technological routes, location and choice of impact assessment method. The results are of interest to the research community as well as to the stakeholders of the cement and concrete industries and a contribution to sustainable construction since study of water footprint is fundamental to improve water efficiency. / A água é a substância mais utilizada no mundo, seguida pelo concreto. A escassez de água é hoje em dia mais comum devido ao crescimento populacional concentrado e às mudanças climáticas. A demanda de concreto é ~15 billion m3 por ano que atende a demanda de mais e melhor moradia e infraestrutura para uma população crescente e mais prospera. Uma vez que nenhum outro material pode satisfazer essa demanda, o concreto precisa ser produzido de forma sustentável, minimizando as cargas ambientais, como o consumo de água. A pegada hídrica é uma ferramenta que mede o uso da água ao longo do ciclo de vida de um produto e estima seus potenciais impactos ambientais. Apesar da crescente preocupação com a água, as metodologias existentes de pegada hídrica são muito complexas e exigem grandes quantidades de dados. Este estudo desenvolve uma metodologia optimizada de pegada hídrica para produção de concreto, simples o suficiente para ser útil para a indústria e robusta o suficiente para ser ambientalmente significativa. Um estudo extensivo em metodologias existentes da pegada da água foi conduzido. Em seguida, uma metodologia optimizada foi proposta focada nos fluxos de água que são mais relevantes na produção de concreto, incluindo quantidade e qualidade, permitindo resultados significativos com menos dados. O inventário de água típica inclui a água de mistura (150-200 H kg/m3), controle de poeira (500-1500 H kg/dia), lavagem de caminhões (13-500 H kg/m3), produção de cimento (0.185-1.333 H kg/kg ) e produção de agregados (0.116-2,0 H kg/kg). Em relação à qualidade da água, os fluxos mais críticos -Zinco, Chumbo, Nitrato, Óxidos de nitrogênio e Dióxido de enxofre-foram identificados com base na contribuição destes fluxos para os potenciais impactos ambientais, o controle ou a influência que o produtor de concreto tem sobre as atividades onde esses fluxos aparecem e a viabilidade para medir esses fluxos no local. A pegada de água de concreto varia devido à formulação, rotas tecnológicas, localização e escolha do método de avaliação de impacto. Os resultados são de interesse para a comunidade de pesquisa, bem como para as partes interessadas das indústrias de cimento e concreto e uma contribuição para a construção sustentável, uma vez que o estudo da pegada hídrica é fundamental para melhorar a eficiência da água.

Darbo aktualumas. Pastato reikšmė žmogaus gyvenime labai svarbi, nes jis negali išgyventi neturėdamas stogo virš galvos. Didžiąją laiko dalį žmogus praleidžia uždaroje patalpoje – namuose bei darbo vietoje. Nuo pastato kokybės priklauso žmogaus sveikata, savijauta bei darbingumas. Darbo tikslas – nustatyti subalansuotos statybos pastato ekologinę vertę taikant verbalinės analizės principus. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Atlikti subalansuotos statybos ekologiniu aspektu teorinę analizę. 2. Išanalizuoti subalansuotos statybos ekologiniu aspektu vertinimo metodiką. 3. Pritaikyti verbalinės sprendimų analizės pagrindinius principus vertinant subalansuotą statybą ekologiniu aspektu. 4. Sukurti subalansuotos statybos ekologiniu aspektu vertinimo kriterijų klasifikaciją ir pasinaudoti ja. Nustatyti turimų subalansuotos statybos ekologiniu aspektu lygius pagal verbalinės sprendimo analizės metodą CLARA (realių alternatyvų klasifikacija). 5. Nustatyti pastato ekologinę vertę pagal verbalinės sprendimų analizės metodą CLARA. Tyrimo metodas. Šiame darbe taikyti du metodai. Rašant teorinę dalį, buvo susisteminta mokslinė literatūra, atlikta įvairių autorių mokslo darbų, kuriuose nagrinėjama subalansuota statyba bei jos vertinimas, ir kitos susijusios literatūros, analizė. Atliekant pastato ekologinį vertinimą buvo panaudotas verbalinės sprendimo analizės metodas CLARA. Išvados. Išanalizavus mokslinę literatūrą buvo sudaryti verbalinės sprendimo analizės kriterijai, įvesti į programą CLARĄ ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Relevance of the paper. Building is very important for man life, because he could not live without roof over head. The biggest part of the life man spends in close area – in the house and office. Man health, feeling and efficiency belong on quality of the building. The objective of the paper – to evaluate building of sustainable construction with emphasis of ecology. The goals of the paper: 1. to carry out the theoretical problem analysis of the sustainable construction; 2. to analyze the methodology of sustainable construction evaluation; 3. to use verbal decision analysis main features to evaluate sustainable construction with emphasis on ecology; 4. to create features to evaluate sustainable construction with emphasis on ecology. To use verbal decision analysis methodology CLARA to evaluate sustainable construction with emphasis on ecology. 5. to evaluate building ecology value on verbal decision analysis methodology CLARA. Conclusion. Created verbal decision analysis methodology CLARA can be used in practice. Structure: introduction, 4 sections, conclusions and suggestions, references. Thesis consist of: 67 p. text without appendixes, 15 pictures, 4 tables, 70 bibliographical entries.

Statybai, kaip vienai iš žmogaus ūkinės veiklos šakų, sparčiai keičiančiai gyvenamąją aplinką kiekybiniu ir kokybiniu požiūriais, skiriamas išskirtinis dėmesys. Statyba šiame darbe vertinama atsižvelgiant į darnumo principus. Norint sėkmingai integruotis į Europos Sąjungą, reikalingi infrastruktūros planavimo ir plėtros pokyčiai, būtina gerinti gyvenimo ir aplinkos kokybę. Šalies politika, taip pat ir darnios statybos klausimais, turi būti adekvati Europos valstybėms. Pastaraisiais metais darniai statybai, tame tarpe ir presuotų šiaudų panaudojimui, skiriamas didelis dėmesys ne tik populiarioje literatūroje: laikraščiuose, žurnaluose, bet ir mokslinėje literatūroje. Rašomi ne tik straipsniai, bet ir knygos. Atsinaujinančių statybinių medžiagų panaudojimo klausimais atliekami užsakomieji moksliniai tyrimai, ruošiamos disertacijos. Atsižvelgiant į tai galima teigti, kad ir Lietuvoje bus suformuota valstybinė darnaus vystymosi kriterijais paremta statybos politika. Tačiau kol kas, siekiant darnumo statybos pramonės srityje, tenka vadovautis bendrais aplinkosauginiais ir darnaus vystymosi idėjas deklaruojančiais politiniais ir teisiniais dokumentais. Lietuvoje darnios statybos plėtros galimybės nėra vertintos. Magistro darbą sudaro penki skyriai, išvados ir pasiūlymai bei naudotų literatūros šaltinių sąrašas. Pirmajame skyriuje nagrinėjama darnaus vystymosi samprata ir raida. Antrajame – statybos sektoriaus poveikis aplinkai. Trečiajame ir ketvirtajame skyriuose nagrinėjama darni... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The special attention is given for the construction as one of the branches of human economic activities, rapidly modifying the living environment in quantitative and qualitative approaches. In this work construction is evaluated by taking into consideration principles of sustainability. In order to successfully integrate into the European Union changes of infrastructure planning and development are required, it is necessary to improve the quality of life and environment. Country policy, as well as sustainable construction issues, must be adequate to the European countries. In recent years the great attention is paid for the sustainable construction including the use of compressed straw not only in the popular literature: newspapers, magazines, but also in the scientific literature. Not only articles are written, but books as well. Scientific researches are performed in the issues of renewable construction material use as well as the dissertations are prepared. Taking this into consideration it can be stated that Lithuania will establish a state construction policy based on sustainable development criteria. However, at the moment in an attempt of sustainability in the sphere of construction industry, we have to follow general environmental, political and legal documents declaring the ideas of sustainable development. In Lithuania the possibilities of sustainable construction expansion have not been evaluated. Master thesis consists of five chapters, conclusions and... [to full text]

L’introduction du développement durable apporte de nouvelles préoccupations environnementales au niveau de la construction et de la rénovation résidentielles, une industrie qui représente un marché économique important au Canada. En plus d’engendrer plusieurs impacts sur l’environnement, la conception actuelle ne permet pas d’accommoder le changement initié par l’évolution des pratiques, les avancées technologiques, mais également par l’évolution des patrons de vie des occupants. Dans un premier temps, la revue de littérature dresse le portrait de l’industrie de la construction, rénovation et démolition (CRD) au Canada, ainsi que le profil de gestion des débris de CRD. Ensuite, une analyse documentaire traite de différents outils de conception développés pour améliorer la performance du secteur : 3RV-E, écoconception, écoconstruction et LEED®. De plus, la recension des écrits permet également de cerner les concepts d’adaptabilité et de flexibilité au niveau du bâtiment et dans les approches et mouvements émergents en architecture. Cette démarche nous amène à établir l’hypothèse que l’intégration des critères d’adaptabilité et de flexibilité au niveau du logement aurait pour effet d’améliorer l’adéquation entre les besoins évolutifs des occupants et les nouvelles considérations environnementales. Au niveau méthodologique, l’analyse du cycle de vie simplifiée par l’Eco-indicator99 encadre l’analyse environnementale de l’ossature de trois types de construction de cloison. De cette évaluation, on conclut que c’est la construction traditionnelle à ossature de bois qui produit le moins d’impacts. Dans l’ordre suivant la proposition de construction de cloison à ossature d’aluminium, plus adaptable et flexible, et finalement la construction à ossature d’acier qui est le système le plus dommageable. Par contre, en intégrant le facteur temporel, cette analyse démontre que l’intégration de l’adaptabilité et de la flexibilité procure plusieurs cycles de vie et de rénovation au produit et à ses composantes. Finalement, ces concepts offrent également le potentiel de diminuer les impacts générés par la construction et la rénovation, un constat qui mériterait d’être abordé dans une approche plus systémique. / The introduction of sustainable development brings new environmental concerns on an important Canadian market industry: construction and residential renovation. Not only does the current concept have a considerable impact on the environment, it also can’t follow up with the development of practices, technologies and occupants’ lifestyle. First, a literature review draws a picture of the construction, renovation and demolition industry (CRD) in Canada and it outlines the CRD rubbles management profile. Then a documentary analysis drafts different concept tools that were developed to improve the industry’s performance. They are 3RV-E, ecodesign, sustainable construction and LEED®. The papers review also explores the adaptability and flexibility concepts on the construction sector and on the emerging architectural trend. This approach brings us to the hypothesis that the integration of the adaptability and flexibility criteria to the housing sector will improve the adequacy between the progressive needs of the occupants and the new environmental issues. On a methodological perspective, the simplified lifecycle analysis performed with the Eco-indicator99 overviews the environmental analysis of three types of partition construction. The outcome of this evaluation is that the one with the less environmental impact is the traditional construction with a wooden framework, followed by the construction with an aluminum framework which is adaptable and flexible, and in third place, the construction with a steel framework which is the most harmful to the environment. On the other hand, adding the time factor to this analysis demonstrates that the integration of the adaptability and flexibility criteria brings a number of renovation and life cycles to the product and its components. In the end, these concepts present us with a potential of reducing the impacts of construction and renovation on the environment and that’s an assessment that would need to be approached systematically.

Using recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as a replacement for natural aggregate in new concrete is a promising way to increase the overall sustainability of new concrete. This has been hindered, however, by a general perception that RCA is a sub-standard material due to the lack of technical guidance, specifically related to long-term durability, on incorporating RCA into new concrete. The goal of this research project was to determine whether current testing methods could be used to assess the potential alkali-silica reactivity of concrete incorporating RCA. The test methods investigated were ASTM C1260 and ASTM C1567 for assessing natural aggregate susceptibility to alkali-silica reactivity (ASR), and the ability of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to mitigate ASR, respectively. Seven different RCA sources were investigated. It was determined that ASTM C1260 was effective in detecting reactivity but expansion varied based on RCA processing. Depending on the aggregate type and the extent of processing, up to a 100% increase in expansion was observed. Replicate testing was performed at four university laboratories to evaluate repeatability and consistency of results. The authors recommend modification to the mixing and aggregate preparation procedures, when testing the reactivity of RCA using ASTM C 1260. This study also investigated the efficacy of replacing portland cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), known to mitigate alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in concrete with virgin aggregates, to control ASR in concrete incorporating reactive RCA. The SCMs investigated as part of this study included: fly ash (class F), silica fume, and metakaolin. The results of modified alkali-silica reactivity tests, ASTM C1260 and ASTM C1567 (AMBT), are presented for two different recycled concrete aggregates when using 100% portland cement, binary blends of portland cement and fly ash, and ternary blends of portland cement, fly ash and metakaolin or silica fume. The results indicate that SCMs can effectively mitigate ASR in concrete made with RCA. A 40% replacement of portland cement with class F fly ash was able to reduce expansions to below 0.10% in the AMBT for concrete containing 100% of a highly reactive recycled concrete aggregate. A ternary blend, however, of portland cement with a class F fly ash and metakaolin was most effective for both RCAs tested in this study. Higher levels of mitigation may be required for some RCAs, compared to the level required to mitigate ASR in concrete made with their original natural aggregates, depending on the age and composition of the RCA. / Graduation date: 2012

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to determine the application of green building practices in Stellenbosch. In order to achieve this aim certain objectives had to be met. The first objective was to retrieve national and international literature on green building initiatives. Six main sections were discussed in the literature namely, climate change and the environment, the built environment, the concept of sustainability in cities and buildings, green building designs and practices, green buildings, green building councils and the different green rating systems, with a specific focus on the Green Star SA rating tool. The second objective was to discuss three case scenarios in Stellenbosch that practice green initiatives. The case scenarios selected are Distell Group Limited, Spier wine estate and the new Remgro head office Millenia park. Buildings in Stellenbosch selected by means of probability sampling. A total of 35% of all commercially zoned buildings in the Stellenbosch core were selected to participate in the sample. The land zoning maps from the Stellenbosch municipality was obtained and relevant buildings were sampled. Nine of the sampled buildings were heritage buildings (older than sixty years) and seventeen were buildings from the modernist era (younger than sixty years). Nine architect companies in Stellenbosch were also sampled. The respondents were determined by means of haphazard sampling. The third objective was to design two questionnaires, one for building owners and another for architects. The first questionnaire developed for building owners was divided into two sections. The first section determined what green practices owners are incorporating into their office buildings. These green practices developed in the questionnaire focused on the use of natural light in the buildings, LED lights, indoor ventilation, recycling methods, water saving methods, energy saving methods and whether management plans exist to monitor and evaluate the buildings energy usage. The second section focused on the perception of the building owners. The respondents had to rate the importance of the above mentioned green initiatives on a scale of one 1 (being not at all) to 5 (being very important). The fourth objective was to develop a questionnaire for architects. The questionnaire determined whether green designs are incorporated by architects and if there is a greater demand for green designs by clients. The findings of the study revealed that respondents find natural light and air quality to be the most important aspects in an office. Recycling is applied by 93% of respondents. Less than 10% of respondents have installed solar panels, HAVC systems, rain water harvesting or other water management systems. Architects find that there has been an increase in the demand for green designs, but that there is a lack of knowledge of green initiatives by building practitioners. The main recommendations of the study are that the concept of green development be broadened into other spheres apart from planners. Education and training of green building must be available to all building owners and practitioners. Sustainable materials should be more accessible to building practitioners and these materials should be made available locally. Finally more buildings should be refurbished or renovated rather than be demolished to prevent waste and secure open spaces. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie was om die toepassing van groen initiatiewe in Stellenbosch te bepaal. Ten einde hierdie doel te bereik moes daar aan sekere doelwitte voldoen word. Die eerste doelwit was om nasionale en internasionale literatuur oor groen inisiatiewe te verkry. Ses hoof afdelings is bespreek in die literatuur, naamlik verandering van die klimaat en die omgewing, die Beboude-omgewing, die konsep van volhoubaarheid in stede en geboue, groen gebou ontwerp en praktyke, die rade vir omgewings vriendelike geboue en groen evalueering stelsels. Die tweede doelwit was om drie gevalle studies is Stellenbosch te bespreek wat groen inisiatiewe beoefen. Die gevalle studies wat bespreek word is Distell Eiendoms Beperk, Spier landgoedere en Remgro se nuwe hoof gebou Millenia Park. Waarskynlikheids steekproewe is gebruik om die geboue te identifiseer vir die veld werk, ʼn totaal van 35% van al die kommersiëele gesoneerde geboue in die Stellenbosch-kern is geselekteer om deel te neem in die steekproef. Die landsoneringskaarte van die Stellenbosch-munisipaliteit is verkry en betrokke geboue was geselekteer. Nege van die geselekteerde geboue was historiese geboue (ouer as sestig jaar) en sewentien was geboue van die modernistiese era (jonger as sestig jaar). Nege argiteks maatskappye in Stellenbosch is ook geselekteer vir die studie. Die respondente is deur middel van’n lukrake steekproef bepaal. Die derde doelwit was om twee vraelyste te ontwerp, een vir die eienaars van die geboue en die ander vir argitekte. Die eerste vraelys wat ontwikkel is vir die gebou-eienaars is verdeel in twee afdelings. Die eerste afdeling bepaal watter groen praktyke eienaars implimenteer in hul kantoor geboue. Die groen praktyke in die vraelys fokus op die gebruik van natuurlike lig in die geboue, LED ligte, binnenshuis ventilasie, herwinning, water besparing metodes, energie besparing metodes en bestuur planne wat opgetrek is om die energie verbruik van geboue te monitor en te evalueer. Die tweede afdeling van die vraelys fokus op die persepsie van die gebou-eienaars. Die respondente het die belangrikheid van die bogenoemde groen inisiatiewe gradeer op 'n skaal van een 1 (glad nie) tot 5 (baie belangrik). Die vierde doelwit was om 'n vraelys te ontwikkel vir argitekte. Die vraelys bepaal of groen ontwerp op geneem is deur argitekte en indien daar 'n groter aanvraag na groen ontwerpe deur kliënte is. Die bevindings van die studie het getoon dat die respondente natuurlike lig en die gehalte van binnenshuis lug as die belangrikste aspekte in di kantoor ag. Herwinning is deur 93% van respondente toegepas. Minder as 10% van die respondente het sonpanele, HAVC stelsels, reën wateropvangsisteme of ander watersparingssisteme geinstaleer. Argitekte vind dat daar 'n toename in die vraag na groen ontwerpe is, maar dat daar 'n gebrek aan kennis oor groeninisiatiewe is deur prakisynes . Die aanbevelings van die studie is dat die konsep van groen ontwikkeling versprei moet word na ander sfere behalwe beplanners. Inligting en opleiding oor omgewingsvriendelike geboue moet beskikbaar wees aan alle gebou-eienaars en praktisynes. Volhoubare materiale moet meer toeganklik wees vir bou praktisynes en hierdie materiale moet ook plaaslik beskikbaar gestel word. Laastens moet meer geboue opgeknap word eerder as om gesloop te word, om afval te voorkom en oop ruimtes te behou.