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Design+ Importance of material selection

materials and air conditioning. Aside from being highly regarding building materials – particularly finishing
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energy-consuming, buildings also have a close relationship materials – could therefore be made clear. This will assist
with environmental pollution and directly affect the health the designers and contractors in choosing materials in a
and comfort of users. 10,11 All of these issues have led the more logical manner. Moreover, citizens directly decide
sector to become one of the important application areas of themselves on the building materials they will use when
sustainability, requiring the sector stakeholders to control building their own houses, buying incomplete houses,
and correct the environmental harm due to their activities. and completing them themselves, or making large-scale
renovations in their homes.
To reduce environmental impacts in sustainable
building construction, the correct selection of building In this regard, the current study provides data for
materials is important. Research shows that the choice material manufacturers and sellers. The views of citizens
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of building materials is one of the important factors that on the relationship between building materials and
can affect the sustainability of a building project. 13-15 sustainability constitute another important piece of
For example, the selection of appropriate construction result in the study. The study’s findings will thereby guide
materials can reduce CO emissions by up to 30%. sustainability initiatives. For this purpose, the importance
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Conversely, choosing inappropriate materials leads to of 11 material selection criteria and seven material
ineffective sustainability in construction and negatively sustainability criteria, which were determined based on
affects the economic, environmental, and social aspects the literature, were investigated through a questionnaire
of buildings. 17-19 Consequently, cautious selection of study. The most important material selection criterion
sustainable materials has been identified as the easiest way in the study was found to be durability, as it provides
for designers to start incorporating sustainable principles very beneficial for reducing costs associated with
into building projects. However, while building material demolition, early repair, or maintenance, and minimizing
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selection is a challenging and complex process, the selection maintenance, waste, and environmental pollution, thereby
of sustainable materials makes it even more difficult. contributing to sustainability. The participants identified
According to Kibert, one of the most challenging aspects material availability as the second most important factor,
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of a construction project is choosing sustainable materials. probably because it is important for ensuring the schedule-
compliant progression of the work and avoiding additional
In the literature, there are many studies on material
selection in general and sustainable material selection in costs. The participants in the study attributed relatively
high importance to sustainability. The study revealed that
particular, conducted with sector professionals such as a durable and esthetic finishing material is more valuable
designers, architects, engineers, and contractors. 10,13-19 For to users than a trendy material. The study revealed that,
example, Nassar et al.’s study addressed the issue in its contrary to popular belief, the participants can bear
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purely technical dimension and developed software that significant additional costs for sustainable materials.
included 16 different performance criteria for material With the revelation of non-professionals’ perspectives on
selection. In the study of Treloar et al., material selection material selection and sustainability, this study provides
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was examined in terms of both embodied energy and novel and important insights into the existing literature.
operational energy requirements. Alibaba and Özdeniz
developed a selection system for architects based on 2. Materials and methods
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the performance requirements of building elements.
Wang et al. used the life cycle analysis methodology This study was conducted in accordance with the method
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to evaluate design alternatives and evaluated life cycle presented in Figure 1, by determining the material
environmental impacts in terms of extended cumulative selection and sustainability criteria through a literature
exergy consumption. Al Jaber et al. emphasized that the review, conducting the survey, performing appropriate
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perception that virgin materials are cheaper in the short analyses, determining the importance of the criteria, and
term affects material selection decisions, which leads to discussing the results.
the constant depletion of natural resources. Gonzalez A survey consisting of two main sections was applied
and Navarro found that by carefully selecting materials within the scope of the study. In the first section,
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with low environmental impact, CO emissions during participants were asked to rate their perspectives toward the
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the construction phase could be reduced by up to 30%. importance of 11 different material selection criteria, which
In contrast to previous research in the field, this study were determined based on the literature and presented in
attempted to uncover the viewpoints of consumers about Table 1, assuming that they were building their own houses.
sustainability and material choices. The expectations of Participants made their preferences according to a 5-point
the public, who are mostly buyers of completed houses, Likert scale ranging from unimportant to absolutely very

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2025) 3 doi: 10.36922/dp.4491