Demand-Oriented Design Strategies for Low Environmental Impact Housing in the Tropics

Heng Zhang, Wann-Ming Wey and Syuan-Jhang Chen
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Heng Zhang: Department of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Wann-Ming Wey: Department of Real Estate & Built Environment, College of Public Affairs, National Taipei University, Taipei 104, Taiwan
Syuan-Jhang Chen: Department of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: This study aims to propose design strategies for low environmental impact (low-EI) housing in the tropics while incorporating user needs to increase its acceptance in the market. The Fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) is adopted initially to draw the user needs for contemporary housing, after which the crucial design factors are identified. The analytic network process (ANP) and house of quality (HOQ) are further utilized to incorporate weightings of user needs into crucial design factors to establish appropriate design strategies. The results show “utility” (0.177), “durability” (0.169), and “comfort” (0.168) are the three greatest user needs for housing. After incorporating the weightings of user needs into design factors, building layout (0.334) and materials (0.302) turned out to be the most important considerations during the planning phase of the design procedure. Correspondingly, during the detailed design phase in the procedure, the most important factors are “low-EI material” (0.195), “orientation” (0.176), “building relationship” (0.158), and “energy-saving material” (0.107). The findings stress the significance of architectural programming and passive design for wider acceptance of low-EI housing in the tropics.

Keywords: low environmental impact housing; demand-oriented design strategy; architectural programming; user need; design factor; passive design; tropical area; Fuzzy Delphi method (FDM); analytic network process (ANP); house of quality (HOQ) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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