A Framework for Sustainable Material Selection in Urban Building Design

Thesis Abstract

The rapid urbanization across global cities has accentuated the need for sustainable building practices, particularly in the selection of building materials that minimize environmental impact while optimizing economic and social benefits. Despite growing awareness of sustainable construction, practitioners face challenges in systematically integrating sustainability criteria into material selection processes, often resulting in inconsistent application and suboptimal environmental outcomes. This study aims to develop a comprehensive framework to guide urban building designers and policymakers in selecting sustainable materials, aligned with environmental, economic, and social sustainability principles. The primary objectives are to identify and prioritize the key sustainability attributes of building materials; examine the current decision-making models employed in urban building design; develop an integrative framework incorporating multi-criteria decision analysis; and validate this framework through empirical application. To achieve these, the research adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The qualitative phase involves thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with fifty building professionals—including architects, engineers, and material suppliers—conducted to explore their criteria and decision processes. The quantitative phase utilizes a survey distributed to 300 urban building professionals, employing a structured questionnaire based on findings from the qualitative study, to statistically assess the relative importance of identified sustainability attributes. Data collected are analyzed through a combination of thematic analysis, utilizing NVivo software for qualitative data, and statistical techniques including exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS and AMOS software. The factor analysis will identify core sustainability dimensions, while regression models will determine the predictors of sustainable material choice. Additionally, the framework integrates multi-criteria decision analysis methods such as Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to facilitate optimal material selection. Expected findings include the identification of key sustainability criteria—such as lifecycle environmental impact, cost-effectiveness, durability, local availability, and recyclability—that significantly influence material selection. The research anticipates revealing gaps in existing decision models, which typically lack comprehensive integration of environmental, social, and economic factors. The developed framework is expected to enhance decision-making by providing a structured, evidence-based tool supported by empirical data, which can be tailored to various urban contexts. This study contributes new knowledge by systematically integrating sustainability attributes into a versatile decision-making framework, thereby advancing theoretical understanding of sustainable material selection processes. It extends existing models through the incorporation of stakeholder perspectives, empirical validation, and multi-criteria analytical techniques. The framework presents a practical tool for practitioners, enabling more informed, transparent, and sustainable material choices in urban construction. The main conclusion underscores that adopting a holistic, data-driven framework significantly improves the sustainability outcomes of urban building designs. It is recommended that urban policymakers incorporate this framework into building codes and sustainability policies, and that future research explore its application across different climatic and socio-economic urban settings. Additionally, the study suggests the development of digital decision support systems based on this framework to facilitate real-time, sustainable material selection in ongoing urban development projects.