Abstract
Due to the strong environmental impact of the construction industry, there is great worldwide need for sustainable construction. The construction industry is the human activity that consumes the most natural resources, therefore systems have been developed to certify the level of sustainability and environmental impact of buildings. In Mexico no methodologies have been developed to assess the sustainability level of housing, and there is a widely acknowledged need to implement foreign models designed for another countries and other contexts, not feasible to apply due to the differences in building systems. The aim of this research project is to produce an assessment model for sustainability in social housing, shaped through the characteristics and main building systems of the local context. The most famous sustainability certifications worldwide were analyzed (BREEM, CASBEE, LEED AND VERDE) in the phases they evaluate of building life cycle, the result is the design of an assessment model for social housing; the methodology was applied in a local case study project and it was recognized as main result the need to strengthen the sustainable construction due to the poor fulfillment of criteria, that was 52% of the total value of the assessment.
Keywords:
Model; Sustainability; Housing; Building lifecycle
