Decision-making in the Pre-design Stage of Sustainable Building Renovation Projects

There is a great potential in renovating our existing building stock, in terms of improving environmental, economic and social qualities. Meeting the increasing performance requirements for sustainable construction entails an
increasing level of complexity in the design process of both new buildings and renovation projects. Decision support tools are one solution that can help the building owner manage this complexity. This study investigates the current
decision-making processes among Danish professional building owners, in order to propose a conceptual framework for future decision support tools for sustainable renovation. Design Science Research Methodology has been used as the main methodological framework. Current practices for setting goals for sustainability, determining the current state of the buildings and prioritizing which buildings to renovate within a building portfolio, have been
explored through semi-structured interviews with five professional building owners. The study showed that there is a need for tools to support the professional building owner in setting goals for sustainability at an early stage. Tools to support the registration of existing buildings and prioritization among buildings to renovate were not seen as a direct need among this specific user group. This work proposes a conceptual framework for future decision support
tools based on the findings, focusing on setting goals for sustainability within renovation projects, either within a sustainability assessment scheme (e.g. DGNB-DK), or project specific sustainability criteria. The results presented
in this paper are a part of an ongoing research project focusing on developing a new decision support tool for sustainable renovation.