Low carbon building performance in the construction industry: a multi-method approach of project management operations and building energy use applied in a UK public office building

The “performance gap” in the United Kingdom construction industry is a persistent problem as new building development projects underperform more often than not. The “performance gap” is partially attributed to the number of stages involved in building project development and the coordination difficulties of partners with different incentives. The project outcome is important for energy consumption, carbon emissions and occupant well-being. Thus, it is important to study the project management process in terms of the standard time, cost and quality parameters, but also in terms of project partner incentives and coordination, and the subsequent energy performance and resultant indoor environmental conditions. A system dynamics model of project management processes is developed to explore the implications of partner coordination for building quality. The system dynamics model is coupled to a building performance simulation model to explore building energy consumption and Indoor Environmental Quality, and apply this on a recent building project case study. Results show that greater project partner alignment can reduce annual energy consumption up to 12% and CO₂ emissions up to 37%, with greater emphasis in the design stage of the project subject to resource availability. The trade-offs involved on value appropriation are considered and discussion of results points to possible ways for improvement.