Description
The design of environmentally friendly buildings relies on the work of interdisciplinary teams. Teams address issues related to carbon footprint, energy and water consumption, emission of construction materials, and how all these items interact with each other. In these teams, professionals from different disciplines have to look at problems in a holistic way, rather than trying to address them individually for the sole purpose of their discipline. They need to communicate and collaborate more often and make decisions, which are not solely based on first cost considerations. Considering this context, the study is grounded on the notion that Target Value Design (TVD) and other collaborative practices can lead to more realistic design solutions and help dispel the myth that environmentally conscious (sustainable) buildings are more costly than traditional ones. The study did not quantify costs associated with design and construction of sustainable buildings, rather it used an analytical process which compared and contrasted the literature review and interviews to investigate the use of TVD-inspired practices in the construction industry in Southern California and propose guidelines to support the adoption of TVD practices in the design of green buildings. Initially, the literature was reviewed to identify relevant topics related to: design and construction of sustainable buildings, Lean practices applied to construction to increase value and reduce waste in construction-related processed, and existing TVD processes and practices to support the design of sustainable buildings. Based on the literature review, a comparison of traditional design approaches versus collaborative ones to design sustainable buildings is presented. The analysis addresses shortcomings associated with the traditional design practice and proposes strategies such as promoting transparent communication, setting clear vision and goals, involving building users, and early planning to promote a collaborative environment to deliver sustainable buildings. Additionally, guidelines are proposed to encourage the implementation of collaborative practices to deliver sustainable buildings based on TVD processes, which take advantage of synergies among different disciplines.
