PAPER TITLE :GREEN BUILDING PROJECTS IN NIGERIA: THE FEATURES AND LESSONS FOR FUTURE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

JOURNAL Of SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY | VOLUME 12 NUMBER 1 2023

Paper Details

  • Author(s) : Ikudayisi, A.E. and Adedeji, Y.M.D.
  • Abstract:

With the increased awareness of global warming, climate change, and associated threats, the need for construction and built environment stakeholders to deploy holistic strategies for climate change mitigation towards achieving a sustainable built environment has grown. While there has been an increasing uptake of green building (GB) in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry in developed countries, there is still scanty empirical evidence on GB project practices in developing economies. The study explores the features of GB projects in Nigeria through a case study approach. Two categories of GBs namely certified and non-certified GBs were identified among the 15 projects evaluated. The analysis revealed that certified GBs tend to be more substantial in size and cost compared to the non-certified GBs. Private organizations emerged as the principal financiers for both types of projects. Notably, both categories of buildings exhibited a range of passive and active green features which mostly are natural day lighting systems, optimizing building orientation, energy efficient lighting, and water-efficient appliances. The least applied green features are roof vegetation and green roof, wall vegetation and green walls, smart windows, photovoltaic building elements, and wind turbine systems. The study emphasizes the need for increased awareness, local investment, knowledge development, collaboration between local and international investors and experts, and the pursuit of high sustainability performance which plays pivotal roles in conception and execution GB projects.

Keywords: Building projects, green features, green building, LEED-certified, sustainable construction