Metrics and evaluation
of sustainability
SFI researchers have developed the nation's first systems-based
assessment tool for projects at a whole facility scale (site + buildings
+ occupants). This tool provides data collection protocols and documents
the impacts of construction, operations, maintenance, and deconstruction
actions on project stakeholders, resource bases, and natural ecosystems.
Economic and cost
models of built facilities
Working with national experts on parametric estimating and cost
modeling, SFI researchers are developing project cost methodologies
that incorporate innovative building materials and systems, and
that take into account new ways of constructing built facilities.
Through case studies and the development of hybrid qualitative-quantitative
models, SFI researchers are finding new ways to account for project
costs and benefits that are not usually recognized, such as increased
productivity, reduced impacts on the natural environment, and improvement
in occupants' quality of life. SFI has also pioneered new, artificial
intelligence-based methods for identifying project cost and schedule
drivers that should be managed in order to reduce project risks
during implementation.
Sustainability decision
support and prioritization tools
By combining its research in sustainability measurement with cost
models for built facilities, SFI researchers have developed a new
methodology for identifying improvement opportunities in built facilities,
exploring the economic and sustainability implications of those
opportunities through scenario building, and prioritizing opportunities
according to economic feasibility and sustainability "bang
for buck" analysis.
Models of decision
making, sustainability implementation, and organizational change
In conjunction with research on decision support, SFI researchers
are exploring the implications of implementing sustainability from
an organizational standpoint. Research in this area includes developing
assessment tools to predict organizational readiness and receptivity
to the concept of sustainability, problem framing strategies and
tools that increase the likelihood of finding sustainable solutions,
project rating tools that generate a "Sustainability Likelihood
of Success" index in terms of technological and organizational
parameters, and inventories of sustainability implementation barriers
along with strategies used by leaders in industry to overcome them.
SFI is a nationally recognized leader in implementation issues for
sustainability programs in organizations.
Sustainability knowledge
base
As part of its knowledge services, SFI researchers are actively
analyzing the growing international knowledge base on sustainable
design and construction and developing research agendas to target
areas of opportunities. SFI's efforts in this area include gap and
redundancy analysis of heuristic knowledge on built environment
sustainability and development of performance-based specifications
for as yet undeveloped technology that is necessary to meet specific
sustainability needs for built facilities. SFI has also developed
a web-based Sustainability Knowledge Base targeted at Federal building
stakeholders to facilitate sharing of lessons learned and best practices
among practitioners.
Sustainable facility
strategies and technologies for disaster response, affordable housing,
and military installations
With its focus on management tools for effective implementation
of sustainability in facility-related practices, SFI has many opportunities
to identify needs for new technologies and to work with researchers
around the world to develop and test those technologies. Focusing
on the needs of disaster-stricken communities, SFI researchers have
contributed to the development of modular, rapid-response housing
technologies that can be adapted on site by disaster victims and
built into infrastructure as the community recovers. These technologies
can also serve as a basis for low-cost housing in developing countries
and the United States, where the focus is on developing customization
technologies that can be used in a variety of contexts by unskilled
workers. SFI's efforts in technology development for military installations
have focused on identifying environmental, safety, and occupational
health applications for military-developed technologies, including
analysis methods for identifying least-cost ways to adapt these
technologies for new uses.
Human Interaction
with Sustainable Technologies
A key to successful diffusion of sustainability throughout the A/E/C
industry is understanding how building stakeholders interact with
sustainable technologies to affect their ongoing performance and
sustainability in the long term. In this program, SFI researchers
are working with facility stakeholders throughout the United States
to better understand what makes a sustainable technology successful
in the long term, and to develop design and evaluation criteria
for building products and technologies that increase their long
term effectiveness. This program captures and diffuses lessons learned
across building projects to future users of sustainable building
technologies to increase the likelihood of success of their technology
implementation.
Sustainable and Secure
Building Research Program
This program combines research with subsequent training and outreach
for new strategies and technologies that synergize sustainable building
best practices with anti-terrorism/force protection best practices.
This program includes research on optimal building sensoring technologies
to permit rapid post-event condition assessment and response planning.
