Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

Environmental assessment of construction trends in Mexico: towards sustainable building?

Guerra Santin, Olivia 2009. Environmental assessment of construction trends in Mexico: towards sustainable building? Structural Survey 27 (5) , pp. 361-371. 10.1108/02630800911002620

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the environmental performance of construction trends in houses in central Mexico by assessing the type and quantity of material used in construction elements. Design/methodology/approach – Three reference Mexican houses are used for the analysis: a traditional house, a house with mostly masonry elements, and a house with mostly concrete elements. The reference houses indicate the construction trend followed in central Mexico. Quantitative analysis of the types and weights of various materials used to construct the houses is undertaken. The environmental performance is measured according to their sustainability potential. The indicators used are based on the Three Step Strategy, which sets the steps needed to achieve sustainable construction: use fewer materials, use renewable materials and be efficient with the remaining need. Findings – The analysis shows that there is a trend to use faster and cheaper construction processes, which are often concrete and prefabricated elements, especially for dwellings built in series. Although this has the positive impact of decreasing the stress on housing demand, it might have negative impacts on the environment because more energy-intensive and artificial materials are used. In addition, the low homogeneity of these materials decreases the potential of construction elements to be reused or recycled. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this study aim at providing more information to practitioners on the sustainability of material choices during the design process. Thus practitioners will be better informed to design more environmentally sustainable buildings. The results are based on analysis of data from Central Mexico but may have relevance to other parts of the world. Originality/value – The study provides quantitatively derived evidence to support sustainable design decisions.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Architecture
Subjects: T Technology > TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
T Technology > TH Building construction
Publisher: Emerald
ISSN: 0263-080X
Last Modified: 26 Jun 2017 01:51
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/9905

Citation Data

Cited 2 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item