LEED–PDRI Framework for Pre-project Planning of Sustainable Building Projects

Abstract

Green buildings help in sustainability, in terms of achieving energy efficiency and minimizing the utilization of natural resources. Additional benefits include long-term sustainable building management and maintenance. There is, therefore, compelling motivation for the building of sustainable projects. This inspiration has led to the development of the leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) rating systems and projects by the United States Green Building Council and the Canadian Green Building Council. Proper building project management (BPM) of such projects is warranted. Pre-project planning is a crucial part of BPM that ensures delivery and performance of construction projects. Pre-project planning is defined as the process that encompasses all the tasks between project initiation and detailed design. There is a positive relationship between comprehensive pre-project planning and enhanced project performance. Given the motivation for environmentally sustainable projects and proper management of constructing such projects, diligent pre-project planning for such projects is required. This paper investigates the use of the LEED rating system in pre-project planning of sustainable construction projects by developing a matrix that combines the LEED and the Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI) developed by the Construction Industry Institute. The conceptual matrix and its application to a case study demonstrates that the value of linking pre-project planning with LEED to improve the decision making process during planning and designing of building projects to improve sustainability.

New Eco-City: Incorporating Sustainability into the Concept Master Plan

“…the IDEF0 process model by the Construction Industry Institute CII) have been developed to assist project managers in identifying activities during pre-project planning of construction projects. Yet, they do not consider sustainability objectives or megaprojects such as new cities (Weerasinghe et al 2007). …”

Motivating Project Owners to Increase Their Commitment towards Improving the Delivery Performance of Green Building Projects

“…According to Gultekin, MollaogluKorkmaz, Riley, and Leicht (2013), sustainability rating systems address critical guidelines to enable high performance buildings. Based on a single case study of a LEED-certified building project in the USA, the study of Weerasinghe, et al (2007) demonstrated that the implementation of sustainability rating systems increases project clarity and owner involvement. In addition, a sustainability rating system helps in maintaining quality assurance, facilitates quality management, enhances early decision making and improves visibility of project requirements (Weerasinghe, et al, 2007).…”

“…Based on a single case study of a LEED-certified building project in the USA, the study of Weerasinghe, et al (2007) demonstrated that the implementation of sustainability rating systems increases project clarity and owner involvement. In addition, a sustainability rating system helps in maintaining quality assurance, facilitates quality management, enhances early decision making and improves visibility of project requirements (Weerasinghe, et al, 2007). However, giving the lack of breadth of case studies, an industry-wide verification from the views of professionals and experts may be necessary to affirm the contributions of sustainability rating systems to ensuring successful delivery of green building projects.…”

“…For instance, pre-project planning for the delivery of green building projects (Kang, et al, 2013) leads to high sustainability outcomes (Weerasinghe, et al, 2007). Rekola, et al (2012) also explored and found that design management that is based on social interaction, influencing and leadership of the lead designer contributes to the successful project delivery of green building projects.…”

“…Nevertheless, the delivery of green building projects is very complex, especially when compared with the conventional building projects (Olanipekun, 2015;Weerasinghe, Soundararajan, & Ruwanpura, 2007). Additional project delivery requirements, such as energy modelling, more design iterations, advanced simulation and analysis, higher construction standards and additional site precautions are needed for delivering green building projects (Rekola, Mäkeläinen, & Häkkinen, 2012).…”