Resilience and Sustainability of Alternative Construction Materials in Saudi Arabia

Introduction

There has been increased awareness of the environmental impacts of building and construction materials in recent decades (Friar & Vittori, 2017; Melia, Ruggieri, Sabbadini, & Dotelli, 2014; Zhong & Wu, 2015). It has been reported that buildings are vulnerable as well as contribute to climate change through their carbon dioxide emissions (Al-Shihri, 2016). Although data for Saudi Arabia are not readily available, in the USA, it has been reported that as high as 40% of the emissions in 2016 were attributed to buildings (MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, 2016). Meanwhile, billions of investment are lost to the increasing intensity of natural elements such as hurricanes, tornados, and sandstorms (Al-Bassam, Zaidi, & Hussein, 2014; Mechler & Bouwer, 2015). Consequently, the building sector must embrace strategies that reduce emissions as well as reduce their vulnerability to environmental hazards (Park, Yoon, & Kim, 2017).

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Therefore, the concepts of sustainability and resilience have increasingly been applied to the building sector to describe processes from the building plans to the laying of its foundation, right down to completion, occupation, and demolition, buildings (Akadiri, Chinyio, & Olomolaiye, 2012; Hill & Bowen (1997). Sustainability in the building and construction sector refers to concepts that incorporate ecological, financial, and social aspects in the design and implementation of building projects, (Eichholtz, Kok, & Quigley, 2016). The development of environmentally friendly and less energy intensive buildings is centred on the growing social, financial, and ecological concerns (Al Mallakh & el Mallakh, 2015; Elliott, 2012). The main purpose of sustainable building materials is to improve the quality of life for the people and empower them to live in environmentally, economically, and socially healthy conditions (Aldossary, Rezgui, & Kwan, 2015; Lundvall et al., 2002). Sustainability helps building and construction developers to utilise the best practices that reduce the impact of construction projects on the environment (Alaidroos & Krarti, 2015). Sustainability is concerned with issues such as building materials/ components and energy-related issues (Al-Gahtani, Alsulaihi, El-Hawary, & Marzouk, 2016). The emphasis on building materials is logical in the sense that they are the units that make up the building. Thus, any sustainability effort must begin with the characteristics of raw materials to be used in a construction project (Lundvall et al., 2002).

Sustainable construction is related to the development of structures that are in harmony with the natural environment leading to less environmental degradation, minimal resource consumption, and increased social utility (Hunt et al., 2012). Rather than an end in itself, sustainable construction is concerned with the entire life-cycle process of the building. The lifecycle process encompasses all the activities from design/planning, the construction phase, finishes and fittings, occupation of the structure, and eventual deconstruction of the building and recycling/reuse/disposal of the materials (Hill & Bowen, 1997). The characteristics of the materials used play an important role in the extent of carbon emission into the environment by complete buildings. At the end of life of the building, it has to be demolished to create space for new buildings or another use. The materials of the deconstructed buildings should not hurt the environment by increasing the carbon footprint (Park, Yoon, & Kim, 2017).

Resilience prefers to the ability of the completed construction structures to resist extrinsic disturbances and the ability to recover from the effects of such disturbances (Fisher, Harre-Young, & Bosher, 2012; Gunderson, 2001; Holling, 1973). It refers to the ability of the building to recover desirable functionality following extreme natural events (Bunz, Henze & Tiller, 2006). This is particularly important for a country such as Saudi Arabia where there are a lot of sandstorms in many parts of the country. Bocchini et al., (2013) argued that resilience is not structural problem alone. For instance, the recovery process and restoration of the building structure after an occurrence of an extreme natural event is influenced significantly by the political and socio-economic conditions of the community (Bocchini, Frangopol, Ummenhofer, & Zinke, 2013).

Therefore, resilience needs more than just structure withstanding the natural elements but rather also relies on the ability of the residents to execute a prompt, effective, and efficient recovery to their buildings (Alshehri, Rezgui & Li, 2013). Thus, structural resilience and the ability of the community are interdependent (Bunz, Henze & Tiller, 2006). This is particularly true as the resilience of a building against the extreme shock events is exclusively dependent on its structural traits. However, the aspect of recovery from the disaster is influenced by the community's political, socio-economic, and technological factors (Berardi, 2012).

The characteristics of resilience include robustness, rapidity, redundancy, and resourcefulness (Berardi, 2012). A robust building is expected to resist extremities and continue to deliver service after the event has passed. Robustness is measured by the level of structural integrity after the disastrous event has occurred (Park, Yoon, & Kim, 2017). Redundancy refers to the extent of sustainability of the elements and components of the affected structures (Shah et al., 2014). Rapidity refers to the speed at which building is recovered from the natural disaster or event in order to restore its functionality as initially intended (Berardi, 2012). On the other hand, resourcefulness involves the mobilisation of the required resources in order to restore the structure following the external shock to its original functionality (Bruneau et al. 2003). Robustness and rapidity are the major characteristics of resilience whereas resourcefulness and redundancy refer to the processes that enhance the achievement of resilience is building projects (Bruneau et al., 2003). A more resilient structure is more durable than a less resilient one. Besides, a more resilient structure is more environment-friendly because the deleterious effects of demolition on the environment are minimised for intact buildings (Wu & Low, 2010). Therefore, selection of structural materials that meet sustainability and resilience standards is critical for the development of sustainable buildings (Fiksel, 2003).

The report into seven sections as follows; the first section is the introduction which also covers the aims and objectives of the model. The second section outlines the methodology used in the development of the sustainability and resilience framework for the Saudi Arabian construction industry. Third section discusses the significance of the new model while section four outlines the limitations of the framework. The key indicators of the framework are covered in section five. Section six discusses the operation of the model. Finally, the report ends with the conclusion about the new sustainability and resilience framework.

Aim

This research aims 'to develop a framework for assessing both resilience and sustainability of structural materials in constructing residential buildings in Saudi Arabia'.

Objectives

In order to achieve the above aim, the study meets the following objectives:

To create a framework for sustainability and resilience for application in Saudi Arabia;

To conduct interviews with construction professionals to review the framework;

To adapt the framework based on the feedback from the interviews;

To conduct a case study using the revised framework for adoption and implementation in Saudi Arabia.

Methodology

To achieve the above aim and objectives, the following methodology was used to:

A literature review was conducted to explore the available conceptual frameworks for determining the sustainability and resilience of building materials. Emphasis was placed upon the Saudi Arabia construction industry to understand the market needs and the tools and frameworks currently being used. A new framework was created based on the need for sustainability and resilience of building materials in Saudi Arabia. The framework includes eight components including extraction, processing, transportation, construction, operation and maintenance, renovation and demolition, assessment, and resilience.

Further insights will be obtained from professional engineers and construction management workers into the current indicators used for the integration of resilience and sustainability frameworks in the construction of residential homes in Saudi Arabia with respect to local environmental, economic and climatic conditions.

The feedback from the interviews will lead to the refinement of the new framework for the assessment of the sustainability and resilience of building materials.

The new framework will be tested by in Saudi Arabia and critically evaluated alongside the tools used in the UK and USA. The target subjects for trial include private companies and government projects that will be expected to test the framework and adopt its application or improve it for workability. The tried, tested, and trusted framework that incorporates the sustainability and resilience strategies for building materials will be proposed for the government of Saudi Arabia to be applied statutorily in the local construction industry.

The Significance of the Framework

The debate about climate change has intensified over the past few decades (Moser, 2016). It is argued that carbon emission is the main contributing factor to global warming (Karmellos, Kopidou, & Diakoulaki, 2016; Rogelj et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2017). Saudi Arabia is major oil producing country and a member of OPEC. As is expected, the carbon footprint from oil mining activities as well as fuel consumption in these countries is higher than non-oil producing countries. Already, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the air from fuel sources is very high in Saudi Arabia (Alshehry & Belloumi, 2015). Therefore, efforts that could reduce the emission of further carbon into the environment should be encouraged (Derissen, Quaas, & Baumgartner, 2011; DesJardins, 2016). The building and construction sector is one of the main contributors to the greenhouse effect. For example, Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a byproduct in the processing of cement and is also emitted during cement production by fossil fuel, accounting for about 3.4% of global CO2 emissions (Hanle, 2004). Further CO2 is emitted during transportation to the various building sites. By...