A Theoretical Framework for Early Stage Energy Efficient Buildings Design Process in KSA

The key challenges are the rising demand of energy depletion particularly in housing and misusing the efficient use of limited natural energy resources. Hence, the adoption of sustainable building practices can be considered as the one step towards the sustainable development in the KSA in terms of energy sustainability. The lack of attention paid to the sustainability issues during the conceptual and design stage of the buildings has caused increased consumption of materials and energy during the construction and operational phases of many building projects in KSA. This paper presents a theoretical framework for a design process that may be used at the conceptual and detailed design stages of building projects. The framework will be based on the outcomes from a comprehensive literature review and the design experiments with energy performance measuring tools such as SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) and GSAS (Gulf Sustainability Assessment System) used to implement the sustainable design principles in a case study. A design process at an early stage of residential buildings will be evaluated by comparing the COBIM (Common BIM requirement) energy analysis with current practices in KSA using process mapping techniques. This paper is part of an ongoing research which aims to contribute to the sustainability improvements in term of efficient energy use in the residential buildings and aid to accelerate the understanding and implementation of sustainable design and construction in the KSA.