الفهرس 
RESEARCH OUTLINEOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The assessment and evaluation of environmental impact caused by the construction industry have become one of the major issues addressed by recent studies. It is now essential for designers and architects to consider the environmental point of view in their studies. Hence, several approaches are offered to quantify and measure the negative effects of different products on the environment. A wide range of environmental sustainability analysis tools is offered by various disciplines. The construction industry is a complex process involving many parties. It requires careful coordination between such parties to yield the aimed results. Accordingly, achieving sustainability goals in architecture must integrate several aspects associated with buildings. This research aims at assessing eco-conscious architecture by integrating sustainability analysis into the design process. The research follows a framework that firstly discusses environmental sustainability and reviews various tools associated with its assessment. It distinguishes criteria for assigning environmental sustainability tools. It then focuses on Life cycle assessment as a core part of this dissertation. The research provides basic ground for understanding LCA methodology. It examines the traditional workflow of LCA and relates each stage with the needed parts in terms of the construction sections. This is followed by a section that represents recent studies and research related to LCA in the building sector. A review of existent LCA databases containing data for building materials has been performed. A list of features and criteria for their evaluation is developed and subsequently applied in order to compare the various databases. Their methodology, documentation, data quality and comprehensiveness are thereby analysed. Despite the existence of a considerable number of databases, only a few contain data on construction materials. The second section of the research addresses the traditional process of architectural design. To integrate sustainability analysis into the design process, it is believed that a clear identification of the traditional process must be provided. Various stages of the design process are explained with the broad aim of understanding how to integrate LCA with appropriate stages and compatible outcomes. Following these two sections of literature on both LCA and the typical design workflow, a proposed methodology is provided. The methodology compromises a progressive roadmap stating design intentions and reaching detailed drawings and bills of quantities. It also guides needed software in each of the illustrated steps. This guide is based on careful examination of previous work. The proposed methodology argues that integrating LCA in the early stages of the design process is most effective for the best control of input parameters and the lowest possible costs due to changes. Last but not least, the study applies the developed framework to an existing case study in Alexandria city. The results reveal critical problems in the existing design. It is found that initial changes in geometry and orientations could have reduced the negative effect of the tested buildings on the environment. This confirms that paying attention to environmental analysis from the beginning of the design would result in more sustainable buildings and would also reduce the needed costs.