Green Buildings Case Study Analysis Using AHP and MAUT in Sustainability and Costs

As the importance of sustainable design continues to grow, it becomes increasingly vital to develop methodologies capable of aiding designers in assessing if a project is sustainable and cost-effective while still in successful parallel with the owner’s goals. This paper proposes a model to optimize the selection of a design alternative given a project’s conflicting objectives: net-zero, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and cost. The proposed model combines both the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and multiple attribute utility theory (MAUT) in such a manner that a decision maker can specify a project’s objectives and use weights to prioritize certain goals. This paper presents a case study analysis using two building projects as an implementation platform for the model’s methodology. Using inputs from two case study projects, the model is used to determine the best alternative given the three main conflicting objectives. The paper concludes with a discussion on the validity of the model and its contribution to the practice of sustainable building design.