Return to search

A Decision-Making Framework for Vegetated Roofing System Selection

Design frequently involves a series of trade-offs to obtain the "optimal" solution to a design problem. Green roofs have many different characteristics based on a variety of variables. Designers typically weigh the impacts of these characteristics in an implicit process based on intuition or past experience. But since vegetated roofing is a relatively complex and comparatively new technology to many practitioners, a rational, explicit method to help organize and rank the trade-offs made during the design process is useful.

This research comprises the creation of a framework diagramming the decision process involved in the selection of vegetated roofing systems. Through a series of expert interviews and case studies, the available knowledge is captured and organized to determine the critical parameters affecting design decisions. A set of six case study projects in North America is analyzed and six critically important evaluative categories are identified: storm water management, energy consumption, acoustics, structure, compliance with regulatory guidelines and governmental incentives, and cost. These six factors are key decision-making parameters in the selection of vegetated roofing systems and they form the basis of this study. They are addressed in the context of a decision support system for green roof designers. A summation of the total importance of the advantages represented by each alternative is used to determine the most feasible green roof system for a particular project. The decision-making framework developed in this dissertation will ultimately be adaptable to digital processing and a computer-based design assistance tool. / Ph. D.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/29482
Date26 November 2007
CreatorsGrant, Elizabeth J.
ContributorsArchitecture, Jones, James R., Schubert, Robert P., Wakefield, Ronald R., Thompson, Theresa M.
PublisherVirginia Tech
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDissertation
Formatapplication/pdf, application/pdf
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Relation01DISSERTATION.pdf, 02APPENDIX.pdf

Page generated in 0.0023 seconds