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Revisiting the role of professionals in designing buildings with low embodied and operational energy

G.A. Tennakoon (Department of Building Economics, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka)
Anuradha Waidyasekara (Department of Building Economics, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka)
B.J. Ekanayake (Department of Building Economics, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka)

Built Environment Project and Asset Management

ISSN: 2044-124X

Article publication date: 17 September 2019

Issue publication date: 5 February 2020

239

Abstract

Purpose

Many studies have focused on embodied energy (EE) and operational energy (OE), but a shortage of studies on decision making, which involves several decision makers whose decisions can affect the energy performance of buildings, is evident. From the stages of the project life cycle, the design stage is identified as the ideal stage for integrating energy efficiency into buildings. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to revisit the role of professionals in designing energy-conscious buildings with low EE and OE.

Design/methodology/approach

This study administered a qualitative approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews only with 12 experts, due to the lack of expertise in the subject matter. The data were analyzed using manual content analysis.

Findings

The outcomes revealed the necessity to revisit the role of construction professionals in terms of adopting energy-efficient building design concepts from the project outset. The roles of the key professional groups (i.e. architects, structural engineers, services engineers and quantity surveyors) were identified through this research. Common issues in designing energy-efficient buildings and the means of addressing such problems were outlined.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the knowledge by revisiting the roles of construction professionals and proposing how they could leverage their strengths to play the important role and contribute collectively to design buildings with both low OE and EE.

Keywords

Citation

Tennakoon, G.A., Waidyasekara, A. and Ekanayake, B.J. (2020), "Revisiting the role of professionals in designing buildings with low embodied and operational energy", Built Environment Project and Asset Management, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 110-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-01-2019-0009

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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