1. Construction Session 2: Sustainable Construction Design Fundamentals
Activity 3.1 Design challenges and solutions (40 minutes)
Slides #1 – 2, Learning Objectives. Show the slides to introduce the topic of the session and to review the learning objectives and
During the following presentation, encourage participants to ask questions and offer comments throughout. This should be an open discussion, not a lecture.

2. In this session we will discuss…
Key challenges of sustainable construction
The concept of the “Green Baton”
The importance and value of several fundamental sustainable construction design concepts
How to use these fundamental design concepts to analyze and recommend solutions to several sustainable construction case study challenges
Activity 3.1 Design challenges and solutions (40 minutes)
Slides #1 – 2, Learning Objectives. Show the slides to introduce the topic of the session and to review the learning objectives and
During the following presentation, encourage participants to ask questions and offer comments throughout. This should be an open discussion, not a lecture.
Mod 6 Ses 2

3. Key Challenges
Lack of understanding of ecological impact of construction activities
Lack of early rapid environmental assessment
Use of hazardous materials
Special interests who don’t prioritize sustainable construction
Disregard for the local population
Poor planning by project managers
Others?
Slide #8, Key Challenges.
Use this slide to brainstorm a list of SC challenges that confront post-disaster reconstruction efforts.
Divide the participants into 5 groups. Assign one of the 5 pillar to each group and ask them to discuss the challenges in SC pertaining to the assigned pillar and write one challenge per card. Ask them to identify at least 2 challenges.
Post these cards on the wall or on a flip chart, making an effort to categorize them (e.g., similar to the “pillars”: “technical challenges”, “economic/resource challenges”, “institutional challenges,” “social challenges”, “environmental challenges” etc.).
After about ten minutes – or once the participants have finished generating cards – have a participant review the challenges presented by his/her colleagues. Leave these challenges in view; you will use them again in the following session.
How is sustainable construction impacted by these challenges?
(write 1 challenge per card)
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4. The “Green Baton” Concept
More
Sustainable
Briefing
Design
Detail
Prod’n
Info
Tender
Action
Site
Options
Handover
And O + M
Client
Design Team
Contractor
Affected
Population
‘The Green Baton may be dropped at key points in the process…Once dropped, it is difficult to pick up again and regain lost ground.’ Howard Liddell
Less
Slide #9, The “Green Baton” concept. Present the concept. Stress that one of the greatest challenges in SC is ensuring that all stakeholders, throughout the life cycle of the project, bring the same environmental or “green” focus to their portion of the project. Note that it is not sufficient to expect contractors simply to “hand off” the “Green Baton” at the end of a portion of the project and hope that subsequent actors bring the same degree of awareness to their project activities. It is critical for SC project managers to plan for and oversee each “hand off” of the Green Baton – from initiation of the project concept on to project implementation and completion. This requires project managers to draft project documents (e.g., contracts, Terms of Reference) such that environmental responsibilities are clarified for all project stakeholders – clients, design team members and contractors alike.
If the same participants have completed module 4 and 5, remind them about the stakeholders involved in site planning and development, material and supply chain and also the players in the construction activities. Ask them to think about the roles of different stakeholders and responsibility towards hading off the green baton to other stakeholders.
Move to the next slide
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5. Picking Up the Baton
What experience do you have for the baton being dropped? When & How?
What might be the reasons at different stages of construction that some stakeholders may drop the green baton?
How can we pick up the baton? Or not let it fall? What actions are needed at different stages taken by different stakeholders?
Slides #10, Picking up the baton. Brainstorm
Do you have experience of having the baton being dropped?
How can we pick up the baton? In other words, ask them if they have tried to institute green design and construction processes only to have a contractor or other project stakeholder foil their efforts, or “drop the baton,” and how did they or could they have recovered.
What might be the reasons at different stages of construction that some stakeholders may drop the green baton? What actions are needed at different stages taken by different stakeholders?
Mod 6 Ses 2

6. Design Challenges & Solutions Choice of Materials
“ The choice of materials can impact the host community, the environment and future maintenance needs...”
How?
Slide #3, Design challenges & solutions: choice of materials. Show the slide and ask the participants how the “choice of materials” can pose environmental challenges for the SC project design as well as for the host community. (If the participants have already had Module 5 on Green Guide to Materials and the Supply Chain, this should be a quick 2-3 minute review; if not, spend a bit more time.) Take two or three responses, such as:
Material extraction: extraction of the material (ore, wood, sand, etc.) can negatively impact the environment and cause pollution of ground water.
Material reuse and recycling: use of materials obtained from previous projects and/or the potential for materials used in the project to be reused.
Disposal: the eventual disposal of the material (after the life cycle and eventual destruction of the building is complete) and its impact on the environment, which can also lead to pollution.
Then quickly move to the next slide.
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7. Impacts of Material Choices
Extraction, mining, harvesting
Processing and production
Transportation & distribution
Packaging
Building
Disposal
Environmental impact?
Environmental impact?
Environmental impact?
Slide #4, Impacts of materials choices. Use this slide to explain/review the materials life cycle concept and the critical need for the SC project manager to weigh the potential environmental impact at each stage of the cycle. Ask participants to provide examples of potential environmental impact at each of the stages. These could include, for example:
Extraction, mining, harvesting- Leaching of dangerous substances from mines into watersheds. Deforestation and resulting erosion, mudslides, and flooding
Processing and production- Air and water pollution from production processes
Transportation & distribution- Air pollution from transportation / burning of fossil fuels
Packaging- Use of non-degradable packaging resulting in excess waste buildup
Building- Impact on the immediate surroundings of the construction: air and water contamination from unprotected site activities, waste buildup
Disposal- Leaching into soils of hazardous materials, destruction of habitats
Environmental impact?
Environmental impact?
Environmental impact?
The project manager must weigh the potential impacts at each stage
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8. Design Challenges & Solutions Use of Existing Materials
In the workshop Materials and the Supply Chain we discussed the 3-Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
With this workshop, on the topic of construction, we go deeper and discuss
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Refuse (to build)
Repair
Recover (energy)
Slide #5, Design challenges & solutions: use of existing materials. Use the slide to focus on possible solutions to the challenges posed by choice of materials. Review the various design options, stressing that project managers should consider all options to reduce negative impacts. (Refer to the module’s content paper for definitions of each solution.) Note the caption to the photo: A man swims in a highly polluted part of the River Buriganga in search of materials for building, such as wood. From Bangladesh. (Another slide will be added here in the future of an example of use of recycled building material.)
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9. Berge’s Cycle of Materials
Metals,
chemicals,
cement, fired
Clay , fibre,
sawn timber,
etc.
Primary
refining
process
Secondary
refining
process
Structural
materials,
climatic materials,
surface
materials
Ore,
stone, clay,
Oil, timber,
plants, etc.
Recycle
Reuse
Building
process
Slide #6, Berge’s cycle of materials. Review Berge’s Cycle of Materials (the slide makes use of custom animation so review it carefully beforehand as a slideshow); show the green boxes and stress reuse and recycling are, in many construction design plans, clear options for reducing the waste stream that is produced by the project.
Mining,
Drilling,
harvesting
Building
Ore
Oil
Timber
The
Earth
Dumping
Waste
Use
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10. Design Challenges & Solutions Sourcing & Procurement
Support legal and sustainable practices
Minimize packaging in procurement of materials
Purchase materials locally when practical
Do no harm concept: environmental and economic impact
Slide #7, Design challenges & solutions: sourcing & procurement. Use the slide to indicate the importance project managers must place on sourcing and procurement of building materials. Stress the Do no harm concept, noting that it is not enough to ensure that the building itself is environmentally neutral; rather the project manager must take time and effort needed to ensure that the sources of the materials obtained for the project as well as the way that they are procured do not cause unacceptable harm to the environment.
Slide #8, Challenge vs. solution. This slide illustrates illegal wood on the left and certified legal wood on the right.
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11. Wood certified as harvested responsibly
Challenge vs Solution
Slide #8, Challenge vs. solution. This slide illustrates illegal wood on the left and certified legal wood on the right.
Illegally cut lumber in Brazil
Wood certified as harvested responsibly
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12. Design Challenges & Solutions Energy & Climate Concerns
Solar orientation
Energy efficiency, insulation, ventilation, etc.
Climate type: hot/dry, hot/humid, or cold
Slide #9, Design challenges & solutions: energy & climate concerns. Use the slide to generate discussion about the importance and value of energy and climate concerns in the SC project. The orientation of the building with regard to the sun, the energy efficiency of the structure, the amount of insulation and proper ventilation, and the type of climate in which the project is carried out will all have profound impacts on the use of energy throughout the life of the building. Ask participants if they have experience with energy or climate design challenges and how they dealt with them. Note that the SC project manager must ensure that these factors are included in the initial design stage: it may not be possible to change the solar orientation of the structure after construction has begun. (Replace the photo with a better image illustrating the challenge and add another slide in the future of an example of use of an appropriate solution.)
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13. Design Challenges & Solutions Water & Wastewater
Slide #10, Design challenges & solutions: water & wastewater. Use the slide to generate discussion about the importance and value of planning for the impacts of water and wastewater both during and after construction. Ask participants if they have experience with water or wastewater design challenges and how they dealt with them. Note that the SC project manager must meet with the appropriate technical experts during the design stage to ensure that such potential challenges are considered.
Recycling of grey water
Septic tanks
Treatment wetlands
Challenge
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Photo credit: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN

14. One Solution: Treatment Wetland
Slide #11, One solution, constructed wetland. This slide illustrates one way to improve site drainage problems.
Janakaraj Murali - Constructed Wetlands in Phang Nga, Thailand
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15. Design Challenges & Solutions Getting local community acceptance
Community participation
Knowledge sharing
Analysis of existing, traditional practices
Slide #12, Design challenges & solutions: getting local community acceptance. Use the slide to generate discussion about the importance and value of working with the local community before, during and after the construction to ensure their knowledge and experience are factored into design plans. Stress that this may be the most important consideration of all with regard to design issues. If the community is not on-board, it is unlikely that the project will meet its construction and/or maintenance goals. There have also been many cases where humanitarian assistance agencies did not adequately consult local populations and then built houses that the people rejected – never occupied. This represents a large waste of resources.
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Photo by David Gazashvili, CARE Int’l

16. Design Challenges & Solutions Existing, traditional practices
Traditional construction techniques Use local skills & materials; can be implemented faster, to higher standard
Space use norms defined by culture & function; can dictate use of building: fully used, partially used, sold, or abandoned
External space use norms should be considered (e.g. outdoor cooking in hot dry climates
Religious, other beliefs can affect construction (e.g. direction a building and/or its entrances must face)
Slide #13, Design challenges & solutions: existing, traditional practices: Stress that an understanding of traditional practices is essential: those practices may be the solution to the many of the construction challenges or they may also constitute challenges themselves. (Traditional building practices which, for example, rely on grass or wood extraction, may pose additional challenges in settings where flooding has become more frequent and more destructive.) Ask participants if they have experience working with communities on construction projects and how they obtained (or why they did not obtain!) good participation by those communities. Ask those participants: What advice do they have for the workshop with regards to working out the SC project details with communities?
A related challenge is how international organizations can overcome the reluctance to abandon “bad” environmental practices in favor of new ideas with which they are unfamiliar and tend to reject because of this unfamiliarity.
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17. Design Failure vs. Success
Slide #14, Design failure vs. Success. The photo on the left is of a market built in the wrong place because the local population had not been consulted and abandoned. The photo on the right is a new school constructed after the tsunami with community involvement.
This proposed shelter is said to be earth-friendly, non-toxic and can be assembled easily and quickly in disaster area. BUT, it doesn’t meet basic human needs.
School built in Maldives after tsunami
content/uploads/2008/02/42cdb3panel3_1.jpg
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18. Case Study: Kenya Floods
Photo credit: Richard Lough/IRIN
Key challenges confronting:
the affected?
the Government?
the international community?
Current priorities?
Solutions to minimize environmental impact and to provide for positive and sustainable reconstruction outcomes for the affected population ?
Activity 3.2 Case studies: minimizing negative environmental impact (60 minutes)
Slides #15 – 18, Case studies. Use the slides to introduce briefly the four case studies that will be analyzed during the activity. Form four small groups (you can either form the groups yourself or have the participants self-select the case they would like to work on) and distribute the case study handouts accordingly. Give the participants 20 minutes to discuss and respond to the questions. The assignment is the same for each case, that is:
As a group, discuss the case and answer:
What solutions might you propose now that minimize impact on the environment and provide for positive and sustainable reconstruction outcomes for the affected population?
What are the key challenges confronting the affected? The Government? The international community? What are your priorities now?
Be sure to tell the groups to write their responses to the questions on flip charts (15 minutes into the activity, remind them that someone in the group should be writing their responses.)
At the twenty-minute mark decide if they need more time; if so, give them another 10 minutes, but no more. You will need the time for debriefing the exercise.
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19. Case Study: Pakistan Earthquake
Key challenges confronting:
the affected?
the Government?
the international community?
Current priorities?
Solutions to minimize environmental impact and to provide for positive and sustainable reconstruction outcomes for the affected population ?
Activity 3.2 Case studies: minimizing negative environmental impact (60 minutes)
Slides #15 – 18, Case studies. Use the slides to introduce briefly the four case studies that will be analyzed during the activity. Form four small groups (you can either form the groups yourself or have the participants self-select the case they would like to work on) and distribute the case study handouts accordingly. Give the participants 20 minutes to discuss and respond to the questions. The assignment is the same for each case, that is:
As a group, discuss the case and answer:
What solutions might you propose now that minimize impact on the environment and provide for positive and sustainable reconstruction outcomes for the affected population?
What are the key challenges confronting the affected? The Government? The international community? What are your priorities now?
Be sure to tell the groups to write their responses to the questions on flip charts (15 minutes into the activity, remind them that someone in the group should be writing their responses.)
At the twenty-minute mark decide if they need more time; if so, give them another 10 minutes, but no more. You will need the time for debriefing the exercise.
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Photo credit: Edward Parsons/IRIN

20. Case Study: Sri Lanka Tsunami
Photo credit: WFP/Jordan Dey
Key challenges confronting:
the affected?
the Government?
the international community?
Current priorities?
Solutions to minimize environmental impact and to provide for positive and sustainable reconstruction outcomes for the affected population ?
Activity 3.2 Case studies: minimizing negative environmental impact (60 minutes)
Slides #15 – 18, Case studies. Use the slides to introduce briefly the four case studies that will be analyzed during the activity. Form four small groups (you can either form the groups yourself or have the participants self-select the case they would like to work on) and distribute the case study handouts accordingly. Give the participants 20 minutes to discuss and respond to the questions. The assignment is the same for each case, that is:
As a group, discuss the case and answer:
What solutions might you propose now that minimize impact on the environment and provide for positive and sustainable reconstruction outcomes for the affected population?
What are the key challenges confronting the affected? The Government? The international community? What are your priorities now?
Be sure to tell the groups to write their responses to the questions on flip charts (15 minutes into the activity, remind them that someone in the group should be writing their responses.)
At the twenty-minute mark decide if they need more time; if so, give them another 10 minutes, but no more. You will need the time for debriefing the exercise.
Mod 6 Ses 2

21. Case Study: Peru Earthquake
Photo credit: USGS
Key challenges confronting:
the affected?
the Government?
the international community?
Current priorities?
Solutions to minimize environmental impact and to provide for positive and sustainable reconstruction outcomes for the affected population ?
Activity 3.2 Case studies: minimizing negative environmental impact (60 minutes)
Slides #15 – 18, Case studies. Use the slides to introduce briefly the four case studies that will be analyzed during the activity. Form four small groups (you can either form the groups yourself or have the participants self-select the case they would like to work on) and distribute the case study handouts accordingly. Give the participants 20 minutes to discuss and respond to the questions. The assignment is the same for each case, that is:
As a group, discuss the case and answer:
What solutions might you propose now that minimize impact on the environment and provide for positive and sustainable reconstruction outcomes for the affected population?
What are the key challenges confronting the affected? The Government? The international community? What are your priorities now?
Be sure to tell the groups to write their responses to the questions on flip charts (15 minutes into the activity, remind them that someone in the group should be writing their responses.)
At the twenty-minute mark decide if they need more time; if so, give them another 10 minutes, but no more. You will need the time for debriefing the exercise.
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22. Case Study Reports Key challenges confronting: the affected?
the Government?
the international community?
Current priorities?
Solutions to minimize environmental impact and to provide for long-term sustainable reconstruction?
Slide #19, Case study reports. Following the minutes of case study work, show the slide and announce that the debriefing will now begin. Use the rest of the session to debrief the case study results. Proceed as follows:
Have all of the participants stand up and approach the first flip chart. Ask the group reporter first to give a very concise summary of the case (1-2 minutes) and then present the group’s findings (e.g., challenges, solutions and proposals).
After the presentation, take questions and comments from the plenary group.
Repeat this process with the three other case study groups. If there is time left in this 90-minute session, ask the participants to return to their seats and take any remaining questions or comments.
Possible focus points for group reports include the following (be sure to raise these points if the group presenters do not):
Understanding and value of traditional techniques used by communities to construct houses
Gaining access to most affected
Use and reuse of materials from destroyed homes
Impact on the immediate environment and local natural resources of reconstructions proposals, particularly of wood and grass that may be in short supply
Impact on the wider environment of proposals to bring materials from abroad
Energy requirements and considerations (e.g., solar orientation, approach of winter, wood burning)
Reconstruction in vulnerable zones (e.g., mountainsides, coastal areas)
Laws and policies that appear to raise disaster risks to already vulnerable populations and habitats
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23. More about Construction after Lunch
Slide #20, Lunch. Inform participants where they will be eating lunch and announce the time that they should be back in their seats ready to begin the next session.
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