Design and Planning Process for Enrgy Efficient Buildings - Client's Perspective

The complexity of planning requirements and aims for energy-efficient buildings has significantly risen, however the buildings are mostly planned with traditional planning methods based on sequential planning model. The main hypothesis states that successful energy-efficient and even -producing buildings can be realized only through more integrated, interdisciplinary and life-cycle oriented design and planning processes. The main research question this paper focuses on is the role of the client within the integral planning process for energy-efficient buildings, and evaluation of the tools for support of investor's decision making process, such as building certificates, life-cycle costs and analysis. This paper presents the first results of the research of planning processes for energy-efficient buildings from invesotr’s perspective, which is a part of an interdisciplinary research project “Co_Be”: Cost Benefits of Integrated Planning at Vienna University of Technology in cooperation with several partners from planning practice. As final result of the project, a 3-module Integrated Planning Guidelines for planers, investors and policy makers will be developed, where as this paper serves as a fundament for Guidelines for Investors.