High Performance Building Design Process Model

Abstract

High Performance "sustainable" or "green" buildings are emerging as an important market in the United States and around the world. The increased demand for high performance buildings has simultaneously created an opportunity to rethink the design process. To optimize the design process for high performance buildings, a project management environment that unites architects, engineers, and builders must be created and key design processes and competencies of design teams must be defined. This paper presents the initial results of an effort to model the process and discipline requirements for the design of high performance buildings. The Building Design Process Model for High Performance Buildings (BDPMHP) and the accompanying Cross-Functional Design Process Map for High Performance Buildings (CFDPMHP) are presented as mechanisms to assist in the transformation of traditional design processes. Background and design development models of the BDPMHP and CFDPMHP are presented and testing of the BDPMHP through case study analysis and virtual design team simulations is described. Emerging patterns and key processes on successful high-performance building projects are identified. This research benefits facility owners by identifying key attributes of a high performance design process that decrease design process waste and reduce the first-cost of high performance projects.