Adapting aspects of GBTool 2005 - searching for suitability in Taiwan

One of the main areas of activity in the concept of Sustainable Building (SB) is the development of methods and tools used to assess the environmental performance of buildings. GBTool is the software implementation of the Green Building Challenge (GBC) assessment method, which has been under development since 1996 by International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment (iiSBE) and participating teams from more than 20 countries. The method also places emphasis on the ability of local users to adjust the system to suit regional technical and cultural issues. This study seeks to explore regional customization of GBTool2005. That is, we will utilize the AHP method to investigate the priority of the so-called "Issues" and "Categories" of the GBTool2005, by compiling and completing an experts' questionnaire. This questionnaire is aimed at proposing a separate set of feasible weightings for Issues and Categories of GBTool2005 by the AHP method, and to present the "critical" assessment factor for Taiwan. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.