Efficiency of a construction - Contribution to sustainable development

P aul Valéry wrote: "The time of a finite world has begun."

The beginning of the 21st century will undoubtedly mark a major shift in the construction industry. Indeed, the status of the built object is changing, from that of a purely physical object to that of a contributor to a service. This shift is highly significant, as it reflects a different attitude towards the built environment on the part of non-professionals. It is no longer an expense, corresponding to a major financial commitment, but a potential. An office building is less an expense than an instrument of productivity for teams at work, who will find it an incentive to work more efficiently, given the comfort it offers.

In parallel with sustainable development, which is becoming increasingly important as the building industry evolves, we are not witnessing a profound change in its definition, but rather the arrival of another perspective that will ultimately lead to major changes in the product resulting from the act of building. Indeed, a vision based on service rather than physical object introduces two dimensions that were previously little considered:

• provide a service ;

• mobilize the most appropriate technological solutions.

So technology is no longer an end, but a means to an end. Moreover, a service is understood at a given moment, and can be modified over time. This temporal dimension introduces, ipso facto, the notion of obsolescence, whereas buildings have always been considered as perennial objects that counted more for their heritage value than for their use value.

This change of direction is enshrined in a paragraph of the SD 21000 booklet, which is aimed at any manager of an economic entity wishing to act in accordance with the principles of sustainable development:

"...The management of facilities and sites for construction (building sites...) and operation (workshops, factories, offices...) is an important part of a company's local presence. The lifespan of buildings and infrastructures generally exceeds that of most of the technologies and processes used within the company. The management of design/build, operation and end-of-life (site clean-up, shutdown, dismantling) is therefore an integral part of the sustainable development policy of the responsible company..."

The very notion of service introduces the need for measurement. By this we mean the ability to assess the service rendered, and to measure its availability, efficiency and ease of use.

All these performances are characterizations of the end-user's expectations, and they "hollow out" the built object. They will...