Effects of pandemics on sustainable buildings and development of a sustainability assessment tool based on COVID-19 experience

Faculty-development competitive research grants program for 2021-2022 (Covid-19 project)

The ongoing Coronavirus crisis has magnified the increasing interest for resilient and adaptable buildings that can efficiently sustain lives during times of crisis. Given this opportunity, the construction industry (in particular, urban planners and building designers) will aspire to focus on sustainable, technologically advanced, and resilient buildings. It is the economically, environmentally, and socially responsible thing to do for our future cities. The present research suggests developing cultural and urban-specific building characteristics and sustainability functions for times when millions of people are isolated and have to work from home as in the current COVID-19 pandemic). It will create a Think Tank for ideas by inviting architectural and design professionals about the future of residential buildings. All possible stakeholders including civil engineers, urbanists, designers, architects, health service providers, university students, artists, civil activists, and associates will be asked to engage and present their ideas on how to adapt residential building sustainability factors and indicators to future pandemic conditions. Thus, it will provide a broader range of community involvement in building sector stakeholders and anticipate a significant impact in the construction sector. By using the knowledge developed in the Think Tank, we will then look for better solutions to (1) maintain the sustainability performance of buildings under pandemic measures, (2) develop a novel building sustainability assessment (rating) tool which adequately addresses a building's sustainability performance under social isolation times, and (3) ensure these changes support and enhance residents' well-being during the events. The proposed project is multidisciplinary aiming for the development of building sustainability features and assessment tool for Kazakhstan, which has a vibrant and diverse culture influenced by many ethnic groups. It will be integrated with currently ongoing research on sustainability in the Environment & Resource Efficiency Cluster (EREC) in Nazarbayev University (NU) via the involvement of the multidisciplinary researchers.