Meeting building codes is not enough

Jyoti Sharma said that contractors should be motivated by more than a desire to simply avoid breaking the law

A green building expert has said that contractors and architects should design and construct buildings that go beyond the requirements of local building codes.

Speaking at the Construction Week Building Sustainability into the Middle East conference in Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Education Council senior architect Jyoti Sharma said construction stakeholders should be motivated by more than meeting the lowest possible requirements.

“Building codes are the bare minimum that you have to meet simply to avoid breaking the law. If you want to build truly sustainable buildings, you need to build to a higher standard than the code,” she said.

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She also added that developers should avoid seeing LEED or Estidama as the only target to aim for when constructing a building.

“A rating tool isn’t a goal, it’s a practise of discipline,” she said. “It’s not about getting pearls; it’s about trying to reduce energy and water requirements.”

On Sunday, Construction Week reported many people were looking to learning how to meet the bare minimum to have their buildings approved by Abu Dhabi Municipality.

“It’s a race to the bottom I’m afraid. Many people are here to learn what the lowest required minimum standards will be after the green building codes are introduced in January. There is a lack of initiative in the market right now to push for sustainable construction and this is where the real change needs to come," said Energy Management Services environment and sustainable energy manager Samuel Keehn.
 

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