Sustainability assessment method for healthcare buildings

Abstract

The health sector has a strong influence on the economy of nations and their policies and is based in a group of buildings where the quality of the indoor and outdoor environment is quite important. The impacts of these buildings are relevant compared to other buildings because they are directly related to human health. The healthcare providers are not serving patients but serving people. It is their role to design and deliver services to meet the needs of people at the most difficult times in their lives. Regarding materials and reversible building design, it is fundamental to consider the technical, economic, financial and environmental issues in the criteria of a Building Sustainability Assessment (BSA) method. The sustainability categories and indicators should address, among others, durability, eco-efficient materials, furniture layout and flexibility and occupant’s comfort. When speaking about healthcare buildings, it is also necessary to consider safety and adaptability. In this context, the aim of this paper is to discuss the context of sustainability assessment methods in the field of healthcare buildings and to present a proposal for the incorporation of Materials criteria in a new Healthcare Buildings Sustainability Assessment (HBSA) method. The used research method is innovative since in the development of the list of sustainability criteria it considers the opinion of main healthcare buildings’ stakeholders, the existing healthcare assessment methods and the ISO and CEN standardisation works in the field of sustainability assessment of construction works. As result, the proposed method is composed of twenty-two sustainability categories that cover the different dimensions of the sustainability concept and it is aimed to support decision making during the design of a new or retrofitted healthcare building in urban areas.