Dialectics of sustainable building: Evidence from empirical studies 1987-2013

The dialectical approach has been established in the management fields to help address the interdependence of the elements of a system. There is a paradigm shift of regarding sustainable building (SB) as complex socio-technical systems embedded with multifaceted trade-offs. However, despite the worldwide promotion of SBs, no research has explicitly examined their dialectics. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the complex interdependence of the SB systems by framing the dialectics in the concept, methodology and value dimensions. The paper examines the evidence from 243 empirical studies of SB which were published in 17 established journals during the period 1987-2013. The results suggest that the dialectics of SB exist in all the three dimensions, and are multifaceted and interwoven with each other. The environmental aspect of sustainability was most reported, with a focus on the energy and carbon parameters. However, there is a knowledge gap in examining the multiple aspects of SB along with the building lifecycle through the lens of integrative stakeholders. The dimensions of the dialectics, coupled with the patterns of previous research on SB, form a theoretical framework that should guide the future research of exploring the complex interdependence of SB.