New requirements resulting from construction environmental certification programs and performance standards

Abstract

The concern with environmental issues and the performance of buildings is a global trend. In Brazil, the adoption of environ- mental certification has been growing, and since July 2013, the national standard NBR 15.575 is in force, under the general heading of residential buildings. Both, environmental and performance issues have challenged the industry as a whole, including designers, constructors and suppliers, in view of the complexity of the issues surrounding the concept of performance. This paper discusses new requirements resulting from the adoption of environmental criteria and from the concept of performance, based on results of research that investigated, respectively, the design and production processes of a certificated commercial building and the implementation of the Spanish (CTE) and Brazilian (NBR 15.575/2013) performance standards by construction firms.