Human factors for a successful Integrated Design Process in Zero Energy Buildings: leadership, trust, and goal orientation. A case study in Singapore

ABSTRACT

The Integrated Design Process is one of the most recommended methods to deliver Zero-Energy Buildings as it brings together all the stakeholders in the early moments of design, allowing performance optimisation and synergies among the different approaches and expertise. The practice of this design process is complex and difficult because it aims to integrate evolving decisions by all parties. It has been widely studied from the perspective of the process itself and its efficacy. However, the human side or how to manage the collaboration of the different stakeholders in the design development for a Zero Energy Building is unknown. To address this research gap this study is focused on the synergies among the consultants and the purpose behind this kind of building. Through the analysis of the design process and eight interviews with the main stakeholders of a Zero Energy Building at the National University of Singapore, three human factors are identified as critical for the success of an Integrated Design Process: client leadership, acting as the engine of the project; trust among the team, acting as the glue during the process, and focus on the goals that sustains the effort and allows the continuity in time. Although the results are limited to a case study, they can serve as a guide for clients and consultants to implement optimised Integrated Design Processes for future Zero Energy Buildings.

KEYWORDS:

• Zero energy building
• integrated design process
• design management
• personal interrelationships
• academy industry collaboration

Acknowledgment

The research team would like to thank Mr. Giovanni Cossu for his help in organising the meetings with the experts and the visits to the building, and to the participating experts for their contributions and time given during the interviews, as well as for their continuous support and correspondence. Part of the study was conducted during a research stay of Silvia Pérez-Bou at the SDE of NUS.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval.

Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University, with reference number 2023.219.

Notes

1 Nearby, in the context of this act and its recast proposed in 2021 (European Commission, 2021), must be defined by each member state.

2 A green building is expected to meet a variety of energy and environmental requirements including, but not limited to Indoor Environmental Quality, superior air quality and daylight levels, water efficiency, and utilising renewable and non-polluting materials (Ikudayisi et al., 2022; Kibert, 2016).