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Design+ Importance of material selection

One of the obstacles to sustainable building construction additional costs for sustainability. Accordingly, designers
is its cost. Sustainable materials are generally known to and contractors should make more efforts in the aspect
66
increase initial construction costs but reduce costs over of sustainability and make this theme central to their
the building lifecycle. Participants indicated how much marketing strategies.
12
additional cost they would bear for more sustainable The revelation of the primary expectations of citizens of
materials. The percentage of respondents who said they
would not bear any extra cost was approximately equal building materials and their perspectives on sustainability
criteria offer refreshing insights that have huge implications
to of respondents who said they would bear an extra cost for future research and works. Different stakeholders of
measuring between 15% and 25%. On the other hand, more
than half of the participants stated that they could bear an the construction sector, such as designers, contractors, and
extra cost between 5% and 15%. This finding indicates that material producers, can leverage the findings of this study
cost being an obstacle to sustainable buildings does not hold in their designs, construction, and marketing strategies.
true; on the contrary, the usage of sustainable materials can Acknowledgments
be integrated as part of the marketing strategy, even if the
incurred cost is raised. None.
5. Limitations and future directions Funding

This study was carried out in a single city, by surveying None.
respondents in a limited sample. Five different
demographic characteristics – gender, age, occupation, Conflict of interest
education level, and work experience – were the basis for The author declares no conflict of interest.
inferential analysis. New studies can be conducted with
more participants from different cities and neighborhoods Author contributions
and with varying income levels. In addition, it is possible This is a single-authored article.
to conduct studies based on multicriteria decision analysis
methods in the future to determine the importance weights Ethics approval and consent to participate
of the criteria.
The article complies with national and international
6. Conclusion research and publication ethics. Ethics Committee approval
In addition to being safe, cost-effective, esthetically was obtained with the decision numbered 04/17 taken at
pleasing, durable, and functional, a building must also the meeting of Ankara University Ethics Committee dated
be sustainable, a trait that has been gaining traction and 05/07/2024.
importance nowadays. To fulfill all these expectations, Consent for publication
besides applying correct design and workmanship,
adopting appropriately chosen materials is extremely Human subjects participating in the survey were informed
important. that any data related to their personal information would
not be included in the study and that the results would be
Despite the extensive investigations on material
selection, these studies generally address the subject analyzed anonymously. Their verbal consent was obtained.
technically, mainly from the perspective of technical Availability of data
personnel such as architects and engineers. However,
understanding the perspectives of citizens, who are often Data are available from the corresponding author upon
the customers of finished buildings and sometimes of reasonable request.
building materials, is also critical. This allows for better References
meeting customers’ needs and for executing proper
marketing strategies. 1. Mehmood Z, Haneef I, Udrea F. Material selection for
micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) using Ashby’s
Contrary to popular belief, this study revealed that
durability, material availability, and skilled labor availability approach. Mater Des. 2018;157:412-430.
are important criteria, instead of popularity and initial doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2018.07.058
cost of the material. Again, it is important to restate that 2. Ashby MF. Engineering materials and their properties. In:
sustainability is highly regarded by most people, evident Ashby MF, editor. Materials Selection in Mechanical Design.
by a significant portion of people who are willing to bear 4 ed. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann; 2011. p. 31-56.
th

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2025) 12 doi: 10.36922/dp.4491