Green Office Buildings in Tanzania: Performance Assessment, Awareness and Pathways for Uptake

Abstract

Given the current alarming situation of climate change and its resultant adverse environmental impacts, several responsive measures have been taken globally and in Africa to mitigate such impacts. In the building sector, for instance, green buildings have been advocated to mitigate unsustainable energy performance, among others. This thesis is an attempt to assess the performance and awareness of Green Building Practices (GBP) regarding occupant satisfaction level, energy use, extent of uptake, and Green Building (GB) delivery process. The study was conducted in Dar es Salaam Tanzania and employed both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The data collection methods were Post-occupancy Evaluation (PoE), survey, and interviews. The results pointed out that most occupants were satisfied with both green and non-green buildings. Moreover, traditional office buildings that contained the most climate-responsive design elements consumed the least energy, followed by Green Office Buildings, while modern office buildings with minimal and maximal glass façade had the highest energy consumption. Furthermore, the occupants of green buildings were more satisfied with lighting control. Nonetheless, improving lighting control alone was not a robust factor attributed to the occupants’ satisfaction with green buildings. The study established that a significant majority of the stakeholders in the construction sector are inadequately informed of GBP and existing GB rating systems. The study also disclosed that the successful delivery of Green Buildings calls for systematic design and construction processes. The study concluded that traditional buildings perform relatively better in terms of energy saving, the occupant satisfaction and design. It is recommended that the promotion of green building should go hand in hand with the promotion of climate-sensitive designs that are more technically and economically pragmatic in the context of Dar es Salaam and other developing countries. More efforts should be directed towards increase of GB uptake through education, regulations, practice, and training.