THE EFFECT OF THE CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY DURING THE EXECUTION PHASE OF LARGE-SCALE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN ABU DHABI.

In most developed and developing countries, sustainability is an extremely important goal to reach. Construction and infrastructure sectors, in many of these countries, have been investigating various key factors regarding sustainability and improving existing practices in the industry to reach the objectives of sustainable cities and communities. The construction industry is highly resource-intensive and various aspects of its overall practice adversely impact the environment. The main objective of this study was to explore and understand the effect of three popular construction systems i.e., traditional Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC), Precast Concrete (PC), and Light Gauge Steel (LGS) on the environmental quality during the execution phase of the construction projects. This research study chose a case study research metiiod and selected three large-scale housing development projects being executed in Al Ain city of Abu Dhabi Emirate as the case study projects. The semi-structured interviews with Project Managers of these case study projects revealed several sustainability-related aspects associated with the construction systems under study and also identified harmful activities during the construction execution phase. Key factors were identified through the content analysis to discuss and compare these three construction methods based on the feedback gathered through the interviews. This research study concludes that the LGS system requires less time and equipment to complete, produces less noise and dust pollution, and possesses the highest potential for sustainability among the three construction systems.