ABSTRACT

The growing impact of the built environment on the natural environment, human health, and its economic importance has emphasized the importance of green building design. It is widely recognized that the most significant benefits can be obtained if the green design initiatives can be implemented at the earliest stages of the design processes. This requires designers to consider embodied impacts (embodied energy and emission) among other criteria in selecting building systems and materials during the early design phase of a building. However, this endeavor is not a simple task, as the absence of appropriate tools to facilitate such considerations becomes apparent. The aim of this research is to develop an innovative system, which can support designers in selecting the structure and envelope systems of a building considering the embodied impacts and costs during the early design stage. A graphical user interface empowers designers to scrutinize diverse building structures and exterior envelope assemblies and compare their embodied energy, embodied carbon emissions, and costs, thereby making an informed decision about the most desirable systems. To validate its utility, a case study is used to illustrate the application of the system and demonstrate the feasibility of its use in selecting structure and envelope systems for educational buildings.