Abstract
Considering the serious challenges our planet is facing, the building environment and construction sector must minimize their high negative impacts and maximize their contribution to sustainability. Many alternatives could promote this change, but to effectively optimize our architecture, we must take the step of quantifying and qualifying the sustainability of our constructions by choosing the best assessment alternative in each case. Many assessment methodologies and tools exist and there have been numerous reviews of them. The main objective and novelty of this review is to present an updated critical overview of all the sustainability evaluation alternatives developed in research studies in the fields of architectural design, construction, refurbishment and restoration. To achieve this, the analysis follows a specific methodology based on recent similar reviews. The result is a database with 1242 eligible documents analyzed in this review and attached as supplementary material available for future studies. As a main conclusion, rating tools and life cycle methods were found to be the most commonly applied methodologies, while the most recent tendencies use combined methods and probabilistic scenarios. This review could be useful to move towards a more sustainable building environment.
Highlights
In response to the serious current environmental problems at a global level [1], the building environment and its sector could contribute to mitigating their own high negative impacts [2] and move towards a less polluting model [3]
There are numerous sustainable architectural designs that result from using building information modeling (BIM; Appendix A presents a complete list of abbreviations in Table A1) [11], incorporating intelligent façade layers [12], passive energy solutions [13], nearly zero-energy buildings [14], the use of recycled construction materials [15] and vertical farming [16], among others
The topic is divided into four subtopics: (St1) sustainability assessment (SA) in design; (St2) SA in construction; (St3) SA in refurbishment; and (St4) SA in restoration
Summary
In response to the serious current environmental problems at a global level [1], the building environment and its sector could contribute to mitigating their own high negative impacts [2] and move towards a less polluting model [3]. Architecture design and construction have a long history that contains numerous examples of low environmental impact buildings, from vernacular architecture [4]. To more recent examples such as Gaudi’s waste-based architecture [5]. These past eco-friendly solutions have been both cost-effective and socially respectful. They would be sustainable according to the current holistic definition of sustainability, provided by the Brundtland Commission report [6] and following studies [7] that have included economic, social and environmental areas. There are numerous sustainable architectural designs that result from using building information modeling (BIM; Appendix A presents a complete list of abbreviations in Table A1) [11], incorporating intelligent façade layers [12], passive energy solutions [13], nearly zero-energy buildings [14], the use of recycled construction materials [15] and vertical farming [16], among others
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
