Sustainability of current and new developments has become a major
issue facing policymakers, developers, city and urban planners, and designers
worldwide. Each new construction project entails, among others, the use of natural
materials and the consumption of energy, which have a tremendous impact on
the built environment over decades, and their environmental consequences only
become fully apparent to future generations. The impact of construction projects
on environment is especially signifi cant in developing countries. The deterioration
of building systems – including building materials – attributes to the economic,
cultural and environmental problem, which is related to and affects the sustainable
development of any society. In addition, developing countries have suffered for a
long time from overlooking or underestimating the basic requirements that must
be considered for designing sustainable developments. This article attempts to
propose a practical solution for designing sustainable developments by focusing
on the building as the primary unit. First , this article presents the requirements
for designing a sustainable building, as well as the current process for selecting
sustainable building systems and materials. Second , this article describes the
Value Engineering program, including the different phases of the job plan. Finally,
this article proposes a method for improving building sustainability. The proposed
method utilizes the job plan of the Value Engineering program – together with
a database that contains up-to-date information on construction systems and
materials – as a gear for studying and analyzing the sustainability requirements

• Design of sustainable buildings through Value Engineering