Developing Theoretical Sustainable Building Material Selection Framework for Ethiopia

Abstract

The construction industry regarded as one of the pivotal aspects of achieving the objectives of sustainable development in communities. In this regard, the choice of building materials is one of the challenges in order to improve program performance with respect to sustainable development, and the use of sustainable materials is an effective step towards achieving sustainable construction. Selection of sustainable building materials represents an important strategy in the design and construction of buildings in Ethiopia. One of the principal challenges is the process of prioritizing and aggregating relevant criteria into a selection framework. Therefore, the purpose of this framework in building projects is to look at the complexity of the interactions between sustainability building materials and architects and to set up a knowledge-based decision support system. After conducting a thorough literature review, case study (BREEAM, LEED, CASBEE, LBC, and G-SEED), questionnaire, and discussion with selected experts, 27 sustainable building material selection criteria items identified based on the sustainable triple bottom line. A survey of Ethiopian architectural firms was conducted to capture their awareness of sustainable building materials. A total of 199 registered offices, based on Ethiopia's construction ministry in 2021. From among these, 51 offices chosen, as a sample size randomly. One of the study's limitations is that it excludes other stakeholders, such as the client, who may have an influence on material selection. Another drawback is that since elements are used to organize materials and components, Ratings are thus based solely on product performance within each constituent group. On the other hand, this study excluded several items. For example, "products" such as lighting, water fixtures, HVAC, and electrical fixtures are not included.