ABSTRACT
Sustainable construction is recognised as a necessary response to meeting economic, social and environmental needs, which requires systematic care to deliver. A sustainable project is the outcome of a well-managed process that delivers higher than regulatory standards across a range of considerations, with genuine client benefits. Cost remains the primary aspect of discussion on sustainable building. A project team may have practical experience of sustainable construction or only a vague notion of what it entails. ‘The process of procuring sustainable buildings puts an onus on all involved to go beyond practices that have been standardised over the last few decades and to challenge processes that people have become comfortable with.’ Sustainable construction also requires consideration of what will happen to a built asset at the end of its useful life and it is important to give consideration to the relative merits of: future proofing to extend useful lifeflexibility to enable changedesign for maintenanceultimate deconstruction and disposal.
