An Ontology to Support the Move towards Sustainable Construction in Saudi Arabia

Over the past two decades, the construction industry has experienced a lot of positive changes in Saudi Arabia. Governments and lawmakers have come up with various regulations that govern the construction industry, such as the Saudi Building Code. These regulations have been effective in creating legal boundaries and rules for contractors and developers to abide by. However, critics and environmentalists suggest that contractors still have undertaken various activities that are of great harm to the environment. For example, wasted materials left in the surrounding area of construction job sites are a great cause of environmental pollution. Such pressure has led to the pursuit of a new trend in the construction industry known as sustainable construction. Sustainable construction entails the use of processes and materials that have little or no negative impact on the environment, and the construction of tall and complex structures that are important to accommodate the ever-growing population. In spite of the universal agreed guidelines for sustainable construction, detailed implementation methods depend on local contexts. This paper presents an initial effort in creating an ontology that describes the potential sustainable construction strategies in Saudi Arabia, to create a guidance for improving the energy efficiency of buildings in Saudi Arabia. The ontology is expected to (1) help create construction job sites that are not only environmental friendly, but also better serve the interests of all stakeholders; and (2) help reduce energy usage in buildings.