Implementing Sustainability Criteria for Selecting a Roof Assembly Typology in Medium Span Buildings

• Main Authors: Julian Canto-Perello, Maria P. Martinez-Garcia, Jorge Curiel-Esparza, Manuel Martin-Utrillas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2015-05-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: roof assembly; triple bottom line; multicriteria decision making
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/6/6854

Technological advances have allowed the development of new roof assembly typologies with higher efficiency and less waste. However, in the construction sector the focus is generally on reducing cost and not in sustainable development factors. Short-sighted building planning based only on economic criteria should be avoided improving decision support systems. In addition, the selection of an appropriate roof assembly in a building’s design stage is a complex problem due to the existence of different tangible and intangible factors and the multiple alternatives available. The roof typologies under study involve prefabricated concrete, steel and laminated wood structures. This research work applies a multi-criteria hybrid model combining the Analytical Hierarchy Process with the Delphi method and the VIKOR technique for implementing sustainability criteria in the selection of a roof assembly in medium span buildings. The proposed decision support system enables the use of the triple bottom line that considers economic, social and environmental criteria. Under the criteria analyzed, the compromise solution found is the self-supporting curved system.