Function matters : development of a value engineering building-function-assessment framework from stakeholders' perspectives using hybrid analytical methods

Assessment of building performance has long been studied. Building is constructed to accommodate people and to meet their diverse needs with various building functions. It is important to identify building functions concerned by building stakeholders who are involved in building project lifecycle. Built on Value engineering (VE) methodology, this study applied hybrid methods for developing a framework for assessing building functions. After extensive review of VE projects, building assessment literature and rating guideline, a theoretical framework was proposed that classifies building functions into four VE groups. Over 300 valid empirical data were collected from major building stakeholders, including developers, consultancy, contractors, etc. The data were subjected to statistical analyses including both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis for identifying key building functions and their measurements. Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach was applied to examine the relative importance of the building functions based on scored measurement items. The findings suggested that: 1) 16 key building functions were extracted and classified (e.g., save resources, ease maintenance, improve durability and ensure reliability were classified in ensure dependability group); 2) building stakeholders’ view on the importance of building functions was determined, with ensure reliability (w4: 0.139) and improve durability (w3: 0.125) being regarded as most important while support interaction (w12: 0.006) and enhance appearance (w14: 0.009) as least important functions. Development of the VE building–function–assessment framework contributed to enhance building assessment literature. Using hybrid methods in current study also suggest a novel way for multiple-criteria evaluation study.