INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABLE

PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATION/\L COUNCIL HAN0120 11 -

INNOVATION /\ND SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Innovation and Sustainable

Construction
in developing countries
Edited by
Ben Obinero U wakweh

..••••
~
•••••• •

CONSTRUCTION PUBLISHING HOUSE/ HANOV 2011

ORGA. !SED BY

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 Innovation and sustainable construction in developing countries, Ben {edt). Construction Publishing House

Table of contents

Poreword IX
Introduction XI

Session I. Innovation. in construction

Innovative technologies for sustainable buildings in 2030 15

Marco lmperadori, Gabriele Masera, Arch. Giuliana Iannaccone
Integrated housing supply chain model from a human capital perspective 21
Kerry London And Jessica Siva
Affordable sustainable housing in developing countries: a literature review 29
J. Bruen, K. Hadjri
An appraisal of corrugated iron sheet as an alternative construction materials in the 35
coastal area of ondo state, Nigeria
Odekunle Folasade
Evaluating the factors that influence innovation adoption in the Ghanaian building 41
industry
Naa Adjeley Ashiboe-Mensah, Frank Fugar And Fred Akujfo
Environmental clay concrete : an innovative material 49
Tam Ba Truong, Lionel Ronsoux, Mariette Moevus, Yves Jorand, Sandrine Mcui-
milien, l.Ltetitia Fontaine, Romain Anger, LaurentAmaud, Christian Olagnon

Session 2. Innovative project delivery system construction

Construction risks generated by employers from the perspective of contractors- the 57
case of South African contractors
P D Rwelamila And Werner Jerling
Project procurement Innovation through project finance for municipal service delivery 65
in SouU1 Africa the case of ELM
P D Rwelamila And Frank Sn.ijder

v
 -
Using Tete-engineering as a tool to assist in reverse engineering of the lnka road 73
Edward J. Jaselskis, Clifford Schexnayder, Christine Fiori, Timothy C. Becker, And
Kathleen Short
Designing and Constructing a Bridge in a Rural Area of Nicaragua 79
Amarjit Singh, Jacob Tyler, and Gabriel El-Swa(fy
Facilitating integrated project delivery 85
Prof Barry Jones And r(Lsce. Fciob.

Implementing design build project delivery system in indonesia road infrastructure 93

projects
Anak Parami Dewi, Eric Too And Bamhang Trigunarsyah

Session 3. Sustainable construction practices, cost effectiveness and in-

dustry development
Rework Due to Human Error in South African Construction 103
F.A. Emuze And J.J Smallwood
Construction industry development: A South African perspective 109
F. A. Emuze And J.J Smallwood
Sustainable construction in rural housing architecture of the Red River delta to 115
·achieve economic and cultural effectiveness
Dr. Architect 7hi Dinh Nguyen
Development of sustainable construction products at the Univers ity of Liverpool 121
M. N. Soutsos, M. C. Fulton
Building material based on earth and plant particles 127
Laurent Arnaud, Cecile Barras
The demonstration project as a tool for introduction of sustainable low cost housing 133
- some experiences from Ethiopia
Bengt Hjort, Ph.D, Teferi Sendabo, Ph.D
Ultra high performance concrete incorporating rice husk ash for sustainable devel- 139
opment in construction in Vietnam
.Tuan Van Nguyen, Ye Guang, Hanh Huu Pham, Dai Danh Bui
Earth construction between tradition and modemity: Case studies from Algeria 145
B. Baiche, M. Osmani, K. Hadjri
Apetau: High energy efficient shell-system for emergency nursery in post disaster 151
reconstruction - L'Aquila, Italy
lmperadori, Marco Dou.st, Narghes
Toughness of flax fiber reinforced cement composites 155
Tung L.H., Khadraoui F., Boutouil M., Gomina M.

VI
The Urban Quarry: developments in the use of construction and demolition waste in 161
the UK
M. N. Soutsos, M. C. Fulton
Labor productivity improvement in the Gaza Strip 167
1\dnan Enshassi And Ziad Abu Mustafa
High strength cncrete using fly ash for structures in Vietnamese marine environment 173
for sustainability
H. H. Pham, K. T. Tong, T. T. Le
Underground public services space- near future of urban development in Vietnam 179
Ma. Architect. 1-Iai Tuan Nguyen
Politics and infrastructural facilities in developing countries: the role of the civil en- J85
gineer in Nigeria
Onyebuchi Mogboa, Ibrahim Yitmenb, Tanju Gultekinc
Potential risks to international joint ventures in developing economies: the Ghanaian 191
construction industry experience
Ahiaga-Dagbui, F.D.K. Fugar, J. W. Mccarter, E. Adinyira
Assessment and implications of thinking patterns of construction management students 197
Gazan Bozai, Erich Connell &Kamalesh Panthi
Development if sustainable building materials at national university of civil engi- 20 I
neering of Vietnam
Thanh T. Le, Hanh H. Pham, Dai D. Bui, Kien T Tong & Tuan V. Nguyen
A comparati-ve view of UK and Vietnamese civil engineering students on sustain- 207
able construction
T. T. Le, C./. Goodier, /-/.1-/. Pham, M.N. Soutsos, K. T. Tong

Session 4. Construction workforce, safety, productivity and quality

A simple performance evaluation measure based on the story of David and Goliath 215
S. 0. Ogunlana,· 0. A. Awodele And M. Dada
A case study on a managerial ski ll s development project for small contractors in the 221
eastern cape province in South Africa
Mr. Sihle Dlungwana
Critical analysis of the application of a homes' quality certification system in a de- 227
veloping country
Valeria Ramfrez And Alfredo Serpell
Collapse of a historic adobe wall 233
Lisa llolliday
lliophilic design of the workspace: how living buildings and landscapes enhance 237
environmental health and productivity
Rita Ngozi Obiozo & Nnezi Uduma-Olugu And I. D. Dimoriaku

VII
 Skill certification amongst informal construction craftsmen in Kenya 243
Njeri Waclzira

Session 5. Project management and quality construction

An investigation into obstacles that cause inaccurate cost estimates in building con- 251
tracts in Palestine
Adnan Enshassi 1 And Ibrahim Madi
Differences in project govemance in constmction in developed and developing countries 259
Lizarralde, Gonzalo, Bourgault, Mario, St-Pierre, Carl, De Blois Michel
Developing a lean planning model (LPM) of material management during constmc- 267
tion phase for construction projects
Thanh Long Ngo, H. Ping T~erng, Samuel Yen-Liang Yin
Investigating infrastructure procurement in Pakistan 273
M.A. Noor, Dr. M.M.A. Khalfan, Dr. T Maqsood
Common risks of investment construction projects in Vietnam from the evaluation of 281
the project management consultants
·Dr. Anh Xuan Pham
Using the international safety standard in improving construction safety in Thailand 287
T. Chinda, C. Suwannakam. P. Hemyakom, And T. Soomornsiriboonya
Causal loop diagrams of construction safety 293
T Chinda, N. lllliprasert, T. Tiatrakul And V. Kesaragul
Construction waste management planning in Malaysia 299
Christopher Preece, Mohamad Syazli Fathi, Anis Adila Bt Abdullah
Towards a framework for developing knowledge management tool for project based 307
organization
S.F. Mohamed, Z.M. Yusof, M.S. Misnan And C.J.Anumba

VIII
 Innovation and sustainable construction in developing coun tries, Ben (edt). Construction Publishing House

Foreword

The Developing countries are characterized by their increasmgly young population. As a result there is
a need to support their population and economy. The case of trade between countries and bilateral
ag ree me nts. major man ufacturers in the developed eco nomies arc relocating their manufacturing facilities
to developing countries because of low wages and favorable business terms. Therefore, globalization has
further extended their construction project demand. The develop ing countries are also actively and
aggressively seeking foreign direc t investments from private investors. The investors consider such
factors as workforce, and infrastructure in making thei r in vestme nt decisions. One industry that directly
contributes to the decisions to invest in a country is the construction industry. This is because the
quality o f construction, its workforce, contractors and the other subcontractors arc c ritical in providing a
qualit y infrastructure.

The developing countries arc faced with several challenging issues. They are concerned with econom1c
development, growing population, lack of adequate infrastructure such as roads, power, lack o f adequate
water supply, waste manage ment and many othe rs . In addition , they a lso have cultural issues that arc
characteristically unique to them. /\s a result of these issues some of the methodologies used in the
developed countries in managing projects may be at odds in the developing countries. For example,
most of the construction processes in developed economics are machine intensive while in developing
countries they arc generall y labor intensive. Therefore, the work practices and usc of mechanized tools
may not he favorable because of its impact on employment.

This conference cove rs five key areas; Innovation, Project Delivery Systems, Sustainahle Construction,
Workforce Safety and Project Manageme nt. The proceedings present the findings of the latest research
in the developing countries focusing on these five themes. The findings and the results explore the
different project delivery systems, construction worker safety, project management practices, and
sustainable environmenta l issues. The deve loping co untries are vul nerable to severe e nvironmental
related problems such as fl ooding and erosion than the developed cou ntries. They also face rapid
urbanization as more of their population move to the cities. As a result they are unable to provide
dean water to the population, waste management systems, and adequate highways and housing. Based
on these c hallenges, the the me of sustainabi lity was incorporated in the conference to present some of
the latest and best findings and practices that can be implemented in the construction process. These
findings we believe will provide an opportunit y for robust interaction amongst the researchers and
hopefully help set speci fic research agendas for the developing countries.

Hanoi, November 20 ll
 Innovation and sustainable construction m developing countnes, Ben (edt). Construction Publishing House

Introduction

Innovation and Sustainable Construction in Development Countries comprises with five sections:
• Innovation in construction
• Innovative project delivery systems
• Sustainable construction practices, coM effectiveness and industry development
• Construction workforce, safety, productivity and quality
• Project management and quality construction
Innovation in construction section focuses on the different factors that drive innovative construction in the
developing countries. Innovative project delivery systems focuses on different methods of sharing and
demonstrating current innovative methods in developing countries. Sustainable construction practices,
cost effectiveness and industry development section represent the application of sustainable development
and its cost effectiveness in the developing countries. Construction workforce, safety, productivity and
quality this section promotes safety and health environment in construction industry. Project
management and quality construction, these sections improves the techniques of project management and
qual ity construction in developing countries
The Structure of the Sessions
These papers have been arranged in five systematic sessions because; Innovation in construction deals
with the subject matter of the conference. Innovative project
delivery systems, is the methods of executing and delivery innovative projects in the proper manner.
Sustainable construction practices, cost effectiveness and industry development, focu ses on the high
demands of social. economic and environmental instability in the construction industry of developing
countries. Construction workforce, safety, productivity and quality, is the proper implementations of
~afety management. Project management and quality construction, is the process of delivering a quality
product. This systematic arrangement makes it easier to read and understand it in a standardize form, and
also maintain consistency with the sessions.

Acknowledgement and Editorial Assistant

Special thanks to the all Scientific Committee, NCA&T Committee, and Vietnam Local organizing committee
for their valuable contribution towards the successful completion of this book.

Scientilic Committee: l\C A&T Committee Vietnam Local Organizing

Ben 0. Uwakweh [USA] Terri Williams Commiuee
Alfredo Serpell [S. America] Alfre Dreamsky Dr. LeVan Thanh, Chatrman
Stephen Ogunlana l U.K.] Gwendolyn P. Sanders Dr. Pham Hung Cuong, Vice
P.D. Rwelamila [Africa] Wanda Watford Chairman
A. Aghayere [USA] Paul K. Tsckumah Dr. Do Huu Thanh.
B. llozor [USAJ Kingsley C. Enyinnaya Coordinator
M. Shofoluwe [USA] Dr. Pham Due Toan. Member
L. Waller [USA] Dr. Vo Quoc Bao. Member
Session 3. Sustainable construction practices, cost
effectiveness and industry development
 InnovatiOn and sustainable coostllJCiion m developing countnes, Ben (edt). ConstllJCIIOn Publish1ng House

High strength concrete using fly ash for the stru ctures in Vietnamese
marine environment for sustainability

Hanh II. Pham, Kien T. Tong

Departmellf of Building Mmerinls. Nmionnl University of Civil Engineering of Viemam, 55 Giai ?hong Road. Hanoi.
Viemam. Telephone: +84 43 8693571 . Fax:+84 43 8693684, email: hanhph@nuce.edu. vn, hanh !998@yalwo.com.
kien020881 @yahoo.com.

Thanh T. Le
Depnrtmelll of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough Uni1•ersiry. U!lcesrershire, LEI I 3TU. UK.
Telephone: +44 1509 223782. Fttf: +44 (0)/509223981, email: TTLe@lboro.ac.uk

ABSTRACT: Vietnam has an over 3,000 km long coastline and many islands. Therefore, construction of
the infrastructures in the marine envi ronment in Vietnam is very important to develop the national econ-
omy. However, the concre te structures in marine environment are usually deteriorated due to the severe
marine conditions. This paper presents the research results of a high strength concrete (compressive
strength of above 80 MPa) which has up to 35% cement content replaced by fly a~h to be used for the
structures in V ietnamese marine environment. The use of this concrete probably helps extend the service-
life of the infrastructures and also helps reduce a large amount of an industrial waste (Oy ash) discharged
from Vietnamese thermal power plants. This will be able to improve all three aspects of a sustainable
construction which comprises economy, natural resource and environment.

INTRODUCTION dense concrete by optimisation of the mix propor-

Concrete is a popular material used for the struc-
tures in marine environment. The use of concrete
has the following advantages: simple manufacture
everywhere in the world, good durability, high
loading capacity. However, in an aggressive ma-
rine environment with many chloride ion Cl. and
sulphate ion so? dissol ved salts, ordinary con-
crete is destroyed relatively quickly. The deteriora-
tion of concrete in marine environment can be
caused by physical, chemical factors as well as
marine organisms (Mehta 2003, Page 1975). The
deterioration can occur in both concrete and steel
reinforcement. Therefore, concrete used in marine
environment needs to be highly compacted and the
cement hardened part also needs to be durable to
prevent the attack of deteriorating factors (Mehta
2003, Dcby et al. 2009. T homas ct al. 2004).
Many research (Tran 1996) reported that a large
number of the structures in Vietnamese marine
environment have been deteriorated after only I 0
to 15 years of use. Therefore, development of a
high performance (high durability) concrete for the
structures in Vietnamese marine environment is
really essential. This paper presents a combination
method for manufacturing a highly durable and
tions. An experiment-planning mathematic method
has been employed to carry out the optimisation
with the target of a high strength. Up to 60% fl y
ash has been used to replace cement in the con -
crete. Silica fume has been also incorporated in the
mix. These replacements re<.luccd (estimated that
up to 40%) the content of tricalcium aluminate
3Ca0.Al 20 3 mineral of cement which is consid-
ered as the weakest element of the concrete com-
position in marine environment. As a result, a new
binder comprising cement-fly ash-silica fume has
been formed. Furthermore, the use of fly ash with
a high content for· cement replacement aimed to
save the natural resources (lime stone, clay. coal ,
etc.) in manufacturing cement. This also helps re-
duce environmental pollution caused by cement
production and the landfill areas for storing ashes
discharged from thermal power pl ants i n Vietnam.
SELECTION OF M/\TERIALS
Portland cement ButSon PC40 with the quality
complying with the Vietnamese standards TCVN
4030-2003 and TCV r 6017- 1995 was used
throughout the research. Silica fume was supplied

173
by Elkem and complied with ASTM C 1240. Fly
ash was from PhaLai thermal power plant and it
suited type F- ASTM C618- 99. The physical
properties of PhaLai fly ash are shown in Table
2.1. The, hi nder comprises three ingredients that
are cement, sili-ca fume and fly ash.
Table 1. The phvsic:al properries of Phai.Ai {lv ash
Propenies Test results
Fineness using Blaine method, cm2/g 3440
3
Specific gravity. g/cm 2.9
Rate of reactivity with cement at 7 day 82
age.%
Rate of reactivity with cement at 28 day 84
age,%
Consistency. % 91.5
The fine aggregate was the sand quarried at Lo
ri ver. The coarse aggregate came from a quarry in
Binh Dinh which had a maximum size of 20 mm.
It was a granite with the compressive strength of
140 MPa. The aggregates were checked and com-
plied with the Vietnamese standard TCVN 7570:
2006 for manufacturing concrete. The particle size
analysis of the aggregates is shown in Table 2.
Glenium®ACE 388 SureTec superplasticiser sup-
plied by BASF was used for the concrete. This is a
type F as classi fied in ASTM c '494. The concrete
used a tap water with the quality met the technical
description in the Vietnamese construction stan-
dard TCXDVN 302: 2004.
Mix design
The mix design of a high strength concrete is s up-
posed to be more thorough than the one of an or-
dinary concrete. Particularly, the selection of min-
eral and chemical admixtures, water-binder ratio
should be ve ry critical. A general method used to
design the mix proportions for a high performance
concrete is the combination of theoretical analysis
and experiment In this research, the authors ini-
tially followed the guides ACI 211.4R-08 and ACI
363.2R-98 for selecting the preliminary propor-
tions for high strength concrete, then an optimum
mix was approached using an experiment-planning
mathematic method.
Aggregate gradi11g oprimisation
For high performance concrete, the aggregate
grading is a key factor which influences the
workability, strength, elastic modulus, shrinkage,
174
durability as well as the cost. In this research, the
aggregate combination grading was opti mised us-
ing a graph method (Pham 2007) for the aggre-
gates shown in Table 2. The optimum result shown
in Table 3 was the combination of 40% of 10-20
mm coarse aggregate, 25% of 5-10 mm coarse ag-
gregate and 35'/o of sand.
The result showed that the aggregate grading op-
timised had fit in all 8 groups of particles required.
This means that 1he aggregate combination, in the-
ory, would enhance both the mechanical properties
and economic aspect for the concrete. This aggre-
gate has been used as a key part to optimise the mix
proportions of high strength concrete.
Mix design
Based on the! guide of ACl 211.4R-t)8 and the
aggregate combination optimised in Table 3, a pre-
liminary mix has been designed. The mix propor-
ttons for one cubic metre volume comprised 337
kg cement, 34 kg si lica fume, 202 kg ny ash, 125
kg water, 5.7 kg Glenium ACE 388 SureTec, 630
kg sand, 650 kg 5- l 0 mrn coarse aggregate and
769 kg 10-20 mm coarse aggregate.
This preliminary mix was used to optimise the
mix proportions by using an experiment-planning
mathematic method (Pham 2007) with two vari-
ables. The first variable selected was the sand to
aggregate ratio and named as X 1 with the central
point of 35%. The second variable was the water
to binder ratio and named as X 2 with the centml
point of 0.22. The experimenlal plan and compres-
sive strength results are shown in Table 4.
Based on the experimental resu lts, the fo l-
lowi ng equation was generated using Maple 14
software.
Y = 84. 1 + l.8X 1 - 3.1X2 + 0.4X 1X2 + 1.25+ 0.85
The results showed thal the compressive strength
reduced when reducing the ratio of sand to aggre-
gate. It is thought that the cementitious paste in this
case might not be able to fill the voids of the coarse
aggregate and resulted in the reduction of compres-
sive strength. Also, when increasing the sand to ag-
gregate ratio the ccmentitious paste could not !ill the
voids of the sand then led to lower the compressive
strength. For the effect of the water to binder ratio,
when it was increased the compressive strength re-
duced as too much water used led to more voids
formed in the concrete after hardening. When this
ratio was lowt:red, the workability of concrete was
not sufllcient so res ulting in increase of the void con·
tent, then the compressive strength also reduced.
Table 2. Panicle size analvsis o[the a&&,re&ares
Sieve size (mm) 20 10 5 2.5 1.25 0,6} 0.31 5 0,14
Passing Coarse
percentage aggregare (1 0 ~ 20 mm) 100 0
(%)
Coarse
:o,m~:o.\t:"'),""' \IJ.mm\ \.~ \~ ~ ~

Sand 100 100 100 90.0 67,2 40,6 13,7 2,9

Table 3. Particle analvsis o{tlze as&re&ate combination

Sieve Si7e (mm) 20 10 5 2.5 1.25 0.63 0.315 0.14
4Q<k ( 10-20) mm coarse aggregate 40 0
25% (5-1 O)mm coarse aggregate 25 25 0.8 0
35% sand 35 35 35 31.5 23.5 14.2 4.8
Aggregate combination
optimised - Passing per-centage(%) 100 60 35.8 31.5 23.5 14.2 4.8
Passing pcrcemage required (%) 100 55-65 35-42 28-35 2 1-28 14-2 1 3-5 0-1

Table 4. Exe,erimemal e.Lan and come,ressive strent:.th results

Assigned variable Actual variable Compressive strength
Mix X X Sand/Aggregate Water/Binder (MPa)
CPI 0.36 0.24 91
CP2 -I 0.34 0.24 89.7
CP3 -I 0.36 0.20 89.9
CP4 -I -1 0.34 0.20 90.3
CPS 1.4 14 0 0.374 0.22 87
CP6 -1.4 14 0 0.326 0.22 77.5
CP7 0 1.414 0.35 0.254 72.6
CP8 0 -1.4 14 0.35 0.186 90.4
CP9 0 0 0.35 0.22 83.2
CPIO 0 0 0.35 0.22 86.5
CPII 0 0 0.35 0.22 83.8
CP12 0 0 0.35 0.22 82.6
CPI3 0 0 0.35 0.22 84.4

The equation can be also plotted as 3D and 2D The highest compressive strength obtained was
graphs to show the effect of the sand to aggregate =
92.6 MPa with X 1 -0.48 and X 2 = 0.25 (i.e. sand I
ratio and the water to binder ratio on the compres- aggregate = 0,345 and water I binder = 0,225).
sive strength, see Figure I. Therefore, the optimum mix proportions (for one
cubic metre volume) could be worked out as fol-
lows: 334 kg cement, 34 kg si lica fume, 200 kg fly
~---)­ ash, 128 kg water, 5.7 kg Glenium ACE 388
(<...~::__; .. SureTec, 62 1 kg sand, 453 kg 5- 10 mm coarse ag-
gregate and 725 kg 10-20 mm coarse aggregate.
. ('~
--­
~

.---
·.)('-....:: ---_-
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
X,
The optimum mix was used to check various
Figure I. Sand to aggregate and water to binder ratios properties of the concrete and also to compare
affecting compressive strength wi th a typical concrete which is usuall y utilised

175
for the structures in Vietnamese marine environ- The flexural mength increased nearly 2.8 times
men!. The mix proportions (for one cubic metre which had a higher increasing ratio than that of
volume) of the typical concrete comprised 380 kg compressive strength. This is thought that the use
cement, 690 kg sand, 1200 kg coarse aggregate of the optimum aggregate combination grading
and 185 kg water. and the addition of superplasticiser and si lica fume
The compressive strength, flexural strength, improved the internal structures (high compaction)
water permeability. chloride penetration were of the high strength concrete and resulted in the
tested using the Vietnamese standards TCVN improvement of the flexural behaviour.
3118:93, TCVN 3119:93, TCVN 3116:93, and the The high strength concrete was more advanta-
Vietnamese construction standard TCXDVN 360: geous than the typically ordinary concrete as the
2005. respectively. The abrasion resistance was water permeability could be resisted up to a 16
tested using ASTM Cll38. The results are pre- atm pressure without any signs of water permea-
sented in Table 5. tion. also the chloride penetration reduced 2.8
times (i.e. 530 coulombs compared with 1500
Table 5. Test results of the optimum high strength coulombs). Those results imply that the optimum
concrete and the tvpical concrete high strength concrete is very dense, i.e. the du-
Properties Mix Standards rability in terms of corrosion resistance has been
Optimum Typical concrete improved.
high used in Viet- The abrasion resistance also increased 2.5 times
strength namese marine in a test method regarding a severe condition with
oncrete environment the abrasion under water. Therefore, it confirmed
Slump (em) 20 8 TCVN that the high strength concrete definitely improve
3106: 1993 the service life in marine environment compared
with the typically ordinary concrete.
Compressive TCVN
strength 3118:93
(MPa)
CONCLUSIONS
3 day 52 18
7day 65 25 High strength concrete can be manufactured us-
ing high content of fly ash as a cement replace-
28 day 82 32 ment for the structures in Vietnamese marine en-
Flexural 12.7 4.6 TCVN vi ronment. 35% fly ash added in a 80 MPa com-
strength 3119:93 pressive strength concrete showed more advanta-
(MPa) geous in mechanical properties comprising flex-
Water perme- 16 6 TCV ural strength, water permeability, chloride pene-
ability (atm) 3116:93 tration and abrasion resistance, when being com-
Chloride 530 1500 TCXDVN pared with a typical concrete which is usually
penetration 360: 2005 used for the structures in Vietnamese marine en-
(Coulomb) vironment. The use of a high content of fly ash in
replacing cement for this high strength concrete
Abrasion re- 2,2 5.5 ASTM wi II bring benefits for the development of sus-
sistance c 11 38
tainable construction. The benefits here could be
(% by weight)
foreseen that the natural resources (lime stone,
clay, coal, etc.) in manufacturing cement will be
Although the high strength concrete used a high saved as less cement needed in this kind of con-
content of fly ash (i.e. 35% cement replacement), creiC. More durable high strength concrete in usc
its compressive strength development with time means that the size of structures will be reduced
was still faster than the ordinary concrete, i.e. and also the maintenance will be minimised. An-
64.2% compared with 55% at 3 day age and 80% other benefit concerning environment is that re-
compared with 79% at 7 day age, respectively. ducing the use of cement will reduce the emission
The test results also showed the following advan- of carbon dioxide from cement production and
tages of the high strength concrete using 35% tly the increase of using fly ash will reduce the land-
ash over the currently typical concrete when the fi ll areas storing the ashes discharged from ther-
compressive strength increasing over 2.5 times. mal power plants in Vietnam.

176
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1l1e authors acknowledge the linanc1al suppon of
DciPHE project 743. which is funded by Depan-
ment for International Development. The Bntish
Government, 10 collaborate National Uni versity of
Civil Engineering of Vietnam and Loughborough
University (U K) and The University of Liverpool
(UK) in developing and transferring the latest
Knowledge regarding sustainable construction, for
atlending this conference.
REFERE CES
ACI Commiuee 211.4R-08 (2008). "Guide for
Selecting Proportions for High- Strength
Concrete Using Portland Cement and Other
Cementitious Materials". American Concrete
Institute Farming10n Hills. Ml ~8331 U.S.A.
ACI Committee 363.2R-98 ( 1998). "Guide to
Quality Control and Testing of High-Strength
Concrete". American Concrete Institute
Farmington Hills, Ml 48331 U.S.A.
Deby, F. et al. (2009). "Probabilistic approach for
durability design of reinforced concrete 111
177
marine environment". Cement cmd Concrete
Research. vol. 39, 466-~71.
Mehta, P. K. (2003). "Concrete in the Marine
environment". Taylor & Francis.
Page, C. L. ( 1975). "Mechanism of corrosion
prOtection in rei nforccd concrete marine
structures". Nmu re , vol. 258, 5 14-515.
Ph~m. H. II. (2007). "Efficient use of materials for
transponauon \\Orks". Construction Publishing
House, Hanoi. (in Vietnamese)
The American Society for Testing and Materials
(2000). "Standard Test Method for Abrasion
Resistance of Horizontal Concrete Surfaces".
ASTM Designation: C 779, Philadelphia U.S.A.
Thomas. M. D. A. et al. (200~). "Performance of
pfa concrete in a marine environment - 10-year
results". Cement and Concrete Research, vol.
26. 5-20.
Tr~n N. T. et al. (1996), Development of concrete
and mortar contammg corrosion resistant
admixtures to be used for the structures in
Vietnamese marine environment". National
project report. Institute for Military
Technology of Vietnam.
 Innovation and sustainable construction in developing countries. Ben (edt). Construction Publishing House

Development of sustainable building materials at national university

of civil engineering of Vietnam

Han h H. Pham, Dai D. Bui. Kien T. Tong

Departme/11 of Building Materials, National Universily of Cil'il Engineering of \liemam, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hanoi.
Viemam. Telephone: +84 43 8693571. Frr>:: +84 43 8693684. email: hcmhpfz@nuce.edu.vn, lumh /998@yahoo.com.
buidai2000@yahoo.com. kien02088 I @yal10o.com
Thanh T. Le
Vepanmenl of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough Universilv. Leiceslershire. LEI J 3TlJ. UK. 1'ele-
phone .· +44 1509 223782. Fax.· +44 (0)150922398/, email: TT.Le@lboro.ac.uk
Tuan V. Nguyen
Microlab, Facu/1y of Civil Engineering and Geosciences. Delft Unirersity of Technology, SteviJIIveg I, 2628 CN,
Delft. Ne1her/ands. Telephone: +31 {0)15 2782307, Fax: +31 (0) 15 27 87966, email. 1. vmmguyen@wde/fl.nl

ABSTRACT: Building materials are contributing a great pan to sustainable construction in Vietnam. This pa-
per presents research results on the development of numerous building materials for sustainability in National
University of Civil Engineering of Vietnam (NUCE). The University has three main targets in the sustainable
development of building materials: (a) Manufacture and efficient use of building materials to save energy and
minimise constmction waste; (b) Use of industrial wastes in manufacturing building materials; and (c) Devel-
opment of high performance building materials to improve the service life for buildings.

INTRODUCTION and industry to improve the sustainability in all

Sustainable construction is referred to the creation.
maintenance and operation of infrastructure and
buildings that shape communities in a way that sus-
tains the environment, generates long term wealth
and enhances the quality of life (ICE 2007, British
Government 2008, Le and Vu 2008). Building ma-
terials play a key role in the development of sus-
tainable construction as tlley participate in most ac-
tivities of construction and contribute a great pro-
portion of the total cost of construction projects.
Development of sustainable construction in
Vietnam has been mentioned in a number of poli-
cies and decisions issued by Vietnamese govern-
ment. for example, the Agenda 21 for Vietnam and
the Decision No. 153/2004/QD-TTg for the Stra-
tegic Orientation for Sustainable Development in
Vietnam (Vietnamese govemment 2004). These
actions are to respond to the Rio Declaration 1992
on environment and development with the Agenda
2 1 (United Nations 199'2) and the Johannesburg
Declaration 2002 on sustainable development
(United Nations 2002). In those documents, the
construction industry has been mentioned as one
of the crucial elements for the sustainable devel-
opment in Vietnam. The government required all
organisations operating in construction education
activities and transfer the knowledge on sustain-
able construction to people as wide as possible.
However, the implementation of the policies in
practice is generally limited. The exploitation of
raw materials and natural resources for manufac-
turing building materials is badly organised (Cen-
tre for Industrial Environment 200 I, Vietnamnet
2010 and 2011).
In addition, the investment in building materials
factories and industrial zones is not sufficiently ef-
fective in term of sustainable construction. Construc-
tion activities in Vietnam still use large amounts of
energy and raw materials, and also produce a large a
mount of wastes (Wikipedia 20 I I, Nguyen 20 I I,
Look At Vietnam 2009). This has caused signiticant
environmental pollution and adversely affected the
quality of life of the Vietnamese people.
Followi ng closely to the policies regarding sus-
tainable development issued by Vietnamese gov-
ernment. National Uni versity of Civil Engineering
of Vietnam ( 1UCE Vietnam) http://nuce.edu. vn/ -
a leading uni versity and the largest university in
training civil engineers and doing research in con-
struction in Vietnam. has carried out a large num-
ber of research activities in the development of
sustainable building materiu ls. The University has
three main targets in the sustainable development

201
of building materials: (a) Manufacture and effi.
cient use of building materials to save energy and
minimise construction waste; (b) Use of industrial
wastes in manufacturing building materials; and
(c) Development of high performance building
materials to improve the service life for buildings.
The development of sustainable building materials
20%) and fly ash (up to 20%) (B ui 2009). The
concrete had a density of 800- 1000 kg/mJ and a
compressive strength in a range of 2.5-7 MPa, see
further in Figures I and 2.
8
~ 7
6 .AI

is considered as a proper way to improve the con- ..:: 6

O~ n;it>t = 1~~ kgf.rr.:>·-::-· ..--
-·~·
lib
struction in Vietnam in sustainability. This paper c s
1:! Density = 900 kgir~
t: 4
presents an overview on the development of sus- De nsity= 800 k.g/~
tainable building materials at NUCE Vietnam. -~
K 1
E
DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE BUILD- s 0
ING MATERIALS AT NUCE VIETNAM 0 10 15 2~ 25
Rice husk ash (%by weight of binder)
NUCE Vietnam has three following main targets
in sustainable development of building materials Figure 1. Rice husk ash content added versus compres-
which have the aims of minimising the environ- sive strength (Bui 2009)
mental pollution, reducing the cost and improving
the performance: (a) Manufacture and efficient use
of building materials to save energy and minimise
construction waste; (b) Use of industrial waste in
manufacturing building materials; and (c) Devel-
opment of high performance building materials to
improve the service life for buildings.

Advanced manufacture and efficient use of build-

ing materials to save energy and minimise con-
struction waste
A typical research has been doing in NUCE Viet-
nam is developing light-weight aerated and foamed
concrete blocks to replace traditional fired-clay
bricks. This has been encouraged by the reasons
that manufacturing red bricks has disadvantages of
wasting energy, environmental pollution, wasting
natural soil and clay, while manufactUiing light-
weight aerated or foamed concrete blocks is a re-
source- and energy-efficient manufacturing process.
The light-weight concrete blocks are good in ther-
mal and sound insulation and also help reduce the
self- weight static loading for buildings. This re-
search is also complied with a steering governmen-
tal policy with the decision I 15/2001 (Vietnamese
government 200 I) which stressed that "low-
technology manufacturing of .fired clay bricks
should be stopped by 2010 in the whole country".
The preliminary research results showed that an
aerated concrete manufactured by using cement,
lime, silica powder, water and air creating admix-
tures, could gain 4-6 MPa compressive strength
and 700-900 kg/tm density. Another lightweight
foamed concrete has been also developed and even
incorporated with Vietnamese rice husk ash (up to
0 10 15 20 25
Fty ash (%by weight of binder)
Figure 2. Fly ash content added versus compressive
strength (Bui 2009)
Use of industrial wastes in manufaC/uring building
materials
Use of industrial wastes in manufacturing building
materials has been agreed that it is a practical and
effective way to improve sustainable construction.
On the one hand, it helps solve the wastes dis-
charged fr01n other industries and on the other
hand it helps reduce the consumption of natural
materials in manufacturing construction materials.
Environmental pollution can be therefore mini-
mised significantly.
Used tyre rubber powder has been used for as-
phalt concrete in tropical weather conditions
(Pham 2002) in order to solve the disposable prob-
lems of rubber waste discharged from millions of
used tyres of bicycles, motorbi.kes and cars in
Vietnam. The experimental results showed that 9%
recycled rubber powder replaci ng the bitumen con-
tent could improve. the heat resistance for asphalt

202
concrete, and also improve the compressive very positively with the mixes usi ng I 0-15%-
strength by approximately 60o/c at a normal tem- RH/\ plus 15-20% F/\, see Figure 5. The outcome
perature, and by approximately 92% at 50oC, of thi s research is promi singly appl ied for con-
compared w ith the asphalt concrete usi ng pure bi- struction of long-span bridges and high- rise
tumen. sec Figure 3. The use of rubber powder re- buildings in Vietnam.
cycled for asphalt concrete also improved the
bondability of bitumen binder on aggregates; ten-
sile strength up to 2 1%; clastic modulus up to
98%; hardness up to 20%; Marshall stabi lity 30 -
40% (Figure 4); and reduced deformation to 14<k.

e.
10
W/ 8 = 0.30 I
~ 8
Ctment PC40 l
.1:.
i
~
c:
I! 6
- · -- · -Control
---JO%FA I
3
t: - I 0%R11A+ 20%FA
.~ d ~--· l5~~RJ t~:_!_?~f:A
~
c 2 a)
U 1 14 !I ]g H l j olY S6 6: 10 ":1 ~ 91 98

1\gt (days)
8
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 so
Temperature (oC)

f-igure 3. Compressive strength of asphalt concrete be-

ing innuenccd by recycled rubber powder at variou s
tempcrawres (Pham 2002) W/B • 0.32
Cement PC40

j
I
l - - - - Control
PIO
~ ~:~o
--30%fA
__.,_ 10%R1JA+20%r.A ·
i ~ 1 i -15%R ~~·FA j

l+-
1130 11

~ 1090
b)
0 1 l4 21 Z8 J$ "'~ .49 S6
Age (days)
~} 10 n 8.t ~l 9S

'ii
.c:;
:!! 1050
~"' 1010
Figure 5. Combination of rice husk nsh (RHA) nnd lly
<no ash (FA) innuencing the strength development with
179 S5 ;;o 95 102
time of high strength concrete (Bui 2001 ).

Fl y ash, a by-product discharged from thermal

Figure 4. The Marshall stability of asphalt concrete with
various contents of rubber powder added (Ph am 2002)
Rice husk, which i s come from an enormous
quantity of waste discharged from Vietnamese rice
paddy (Vietnam is one of the largest rice-exporting
countries in the world), has been processed to be-
come a mineral admixture for using in concrete
products. For example. 20% rice husk ash has
been uti lised to partially replace cemen t in a 70 -
90 MPa high strength concrete (Sui 200 I).
More importantly rice husk ash (RliA) com-
bining with fly ash (FA) has been also developed
in high strength concrete and the results showed
power stations. has also been used widely in an-
other research concerning rol ler compac ted con-
cretes at NUCE Vietnam. The experimental results
confirmed that the cement content could be re-
placed by up to 30% fly ash without significantly
detrimental ef fect on the compressive strength
(Nguyen 2008).
Stone dust waste discharged from the quarries
in Vietnam has been informed that it used a large
area of land for storing which polluted air and wa-
ter. T hree types of stone dust were taken from
three different stone quarries in Vietnam to carry
out a research (Phung and Nguyen 2008). Mix
proportions were optimised and then the fresh and
hardened properties including the workabilit y. the

203
-
210 . . . . - - - - -- - -- - -- - --,
RHA '~ ' oa;s'. ~.
190
. ... - ~ . . 1 . . . . .
~ 110 • • . - • ----:--r
::,. . .. . . ' ---.:- - - - • • £
RHA 17 C~yS I . RHA 8 O~)SI
~ ~ -----~~T
=.
iii
<>
1:.o
130
1,.,___- T
~------
••
~
~
g 110
.... - . • - { . .
RI1A flOOVSl
----'
• ' ' · • • . .• SF f7 0 ,l\Sl
8 ,
SF or RHA ("!. bv 1'-'! qhr •n b ndorJ
Figure 6. Compressive strength of an ultra high performance concrete at various ages. depending on the addition of
rice husk ash (RHA) and silica fume (SF) (Nguyen eta/. 2010).
compressive strength, the bond strength with rein-
forcement and the drying shrinkage were meas-
ured in all comrol mix (natural sand and gravel)
and three mixes using three different stOne dust
wastes. The slump of all mixes was controlled at a
value of 3 to 5 em, the compressive strength
gained 23-26 MPa at 28 day age; the bond strength
with reinforcement was 3. 1-3.4 MPa; and the
shrinkage was 0.09-0.12% in length change at 7.5
hours and at 28 day age the shrinkage of mixes
using stone dust varied at a level of ±3% compared
with the control mix . The stone dust wastes are
consequently recommended to replace natural sand
in production of mortar and concrete.
Development of thermal-insulated bricks made
from clay. ash, sawdust and polystyrene sponge is
also a good research project (Vu 2007) carried
out at NUCE Vietnam. From the environmental
perspecti ve, the use of wastes as building materi-
als helps and also saves decreasing amounts of
clay resources. The developed bricks do not have
such rare materials as diatomite and vermiculite
which arc usually in the composition of tradi-
tional thermal-insulated l)l'icks, thus the research
also helps reduce the cost.
Developmem of high performance materials to
improve rhe sen>ice life for buildings.
High-strength, high-perfo rmance concretes have
been deve loped using local raw materials in Viet-
nam. A typical research (Pham and t\guyen 2008)
reported that a 75 - 115 MPa high strength con-
crete were optimised the mix proportions using a
sand quarried from Viet Tri, a granite coarse ag-
gregate quarried from Binh Dinh and a sulphate
resistant cement developed by Institute of Bui lding
r
J.. . . . ~- • • •
· S~ (~ I O ~)S)
• • .•
• "'•
l.
•SF 128
. • . .
.:C •
d~)'S I
.T
!
t
1 .
• · • . •• .:. •
.
t
SF 13 dJ) SI
Materials of Vietnam. The concrete was then tried
to apply for the structures in Vietnamese marine
environment. lts experimental result complied
with ASTM Cl202-97 showed that the average of
chloride resistance was 237 Coulombs which is
very low when compared to the specification table
of ASTM C 1202-97 standard. Thi s means that the
chloride permeahility of concrete is very low and
thereby the corrosion resistance is very high.
Ultra high performance concretes have been also
developed in a n.umbcr of researches. Rice husk ask,
fly ash and blast fumace slag were also used to make
this kind of reactive powder concrete which has no
coarse aggregate (the largest size of aggregate is less
than I mm) but could gain up to 200 MPa compres-
sive strength (Nguyen et al. 2010). see fw1hcr in
Figure 6. The mix proportions of powder panicle
materials were optimised and then small steel fibres
were added to increase the flexural tensile strengths
and fracture energies eventually.
Fire and heat resistant concretes have been also
developed at NUCE (Vu 2004). Interestingly, other
industrial recycled wastes were also used in these
concretes. For instance, chamotte which is a waste
discharged from ceramic production, was used to
replace up to 55% cemem (by weight) to produce a
lightweight, fire and heat resistant concrete. The
density of concrete was in a nmge of 700-900
kg/m3 when being respectively tested at 1000-
IOO"C. The compressive strength could gain 2.5
MPa at 200°C and reduced to 0.7 MPa at I000°C.
Furthermore, corrosion resistant concretes,
lightweight aggregate concretes, self- compacting
concretes, high performance gypsum, thermal in-
su lating ceramics, etc. have also been and being
developed at NUCE.
204
COI':CLUSIO S
Sustainable construction should be developed
more urgently in Vietnam as it will help improve
Vietnamese life now and in the future. NUCE has
carried out various researches to the targets of ef-
fective usc of materials, saving natural resources,
recycling and reusing of industrial wastes, and de-
veloping high- performance building materials.
The results have confirmed that development of
sustainable building materials is a crucial elemen1
in the development of sustainable construction in
Vietnam. However, the outcomes of these re-
searches are almost in laboratory scales. Therefore
more investments in terms of time and funding are
really needed to boost the experimental results to a
large industrial scale with the involvement of
Vietnamese construction industry sectors.
ACK1'\0WLEDGEMENTS
The research results presented in this paper have
been referred from various projects carried out at
Department of Building Materials, NUCE Viet-
nam. The authors also acknowledge the finan cial
support of DelPHE project 743, which is funded
by Department for International Deve lopment, The
Rritish Government, to collaborate National Uni-
versity of Civil Engineering of Vietnam and
Loughborough University (UK) and The Uni-
versity of Liverpool (UK) in developing and trans-
ferring the latest knowledge regarding sustainable
con~truction, for attending this conference.
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206
 Innovation and sustainable constructKXl m developing countries, Ben (edt). CcnstructJon Pub/Jshing House

A comparative view of uk and Vietnamese civil engineering students

on sustainable construction

T. T. Lc, C. 1. Goodier
Depanmem of Civil and /Juilding Engineering, Louglrborou,~h University, LeicesTerslrire, Unired Kingdom, LEI! 3TU,
e-mail: T.T.Ie@lboro.ac.uk. c.i.goodier@lboro.ac. uk. Web page: www.lboro.ac.uk/deparrmemslcv
H.H.Pham, K.T.Tong
DeparTment of Butlding Mmerials, National Uni1•ersuy ofCiril Engineering (NUC£). 55 Giai Phong. Hanoi. Viewam.
e-mail: lumhph @nuce.edu. Vll, kienu@nuce.edu.vn. IVeb page: www.nuce.edtt.\'ll
M. N. Soutsos
School of Engineering, UniversiTy of Liverpool. Liverpool. Unired Kingdom, L69 3GQ.
e-mail: m.n.sowsos@liv.ac.uk. Web page: hup://wll'w./iv.ac.uk/engineering/

ABSTRACT: Susrainable consrruction in the future will be influenced significantl y by the beliefs and ac-
tions of Civi l Engineer students studying at university today. This paper presents a compararive investiga-
tion of the appreciation and attitudes regarding susrainable construction of final year Civil Engineering
studenrs currentl y at The National Universiry of Civil Engineering (NUCE) in Vicrnam, and rhe universi -
ties of Loughborough and Liverpool in the UK. Preliminary results indicate that studen(S at all three uni-
versities appreciate the importance of the development of sustainable construction and have positive atti-
tudes with regards to sustainability. Design and Materials were two issues generally considered the most
important and were also thought to be covered adequately on the courses.

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION - TilE C01 · ronmental and social elements (ICE 2007, DETR
TEXT IN THE UK AND VIETNAM 2000, The Concrete Centre 2003, 2007). These three
main parts can be symbolised as the 'triple bottom
World population has increased from only one bil- line' (Figure 1). Other sustainable development de-
lion in 1804 to nearly 7 billion in 2008. and it is scriptions have placed the social and economic 'cir-
estimated that it will be around 9 billion by 2050 cles' within a larger environmental background, to
(Swamy 200 1). Furthermore, about 50% of the symbolise the extent to which environment provides
population currently lives in and around cities an overall constraint on development (Figure 2).
rather than in rural areas. This population explo-
sion, together with increased urbanisation, place
enhanced demand on accompanying infrastruclllre
such as houses. bridges, roads, water supply, sani-
tation utilities, and other infrastructures. 13ui !ding
and construction activities worldwide alone con-
sume 3 billion tonncs of raw materials each year-
around 40% of the global total (CIOB 20 10). Ex-
ploiting these natural resources together with pro-
ducing construction materials can seriously affect Figure I. 'Triple bonom line' of sustainable develop-
our natural environment. This impacts directly ment (ICE 2007)
upon water and natural mineral reduction, as well
as being the cause of significant global pollution.
It IS therefore essential that development in con- Economy
struction practices becomes more sustainable.
I
There arc many definitions of sustainable devel-
opment and debate regarding its precise dclinition Erwironment
continues. llowever, a common view of the main
components of sustainable development appears to Figure 2. Sustainable <.lcvclopmcnt emphasising the
be in agreement: the integration of economic. cnvi- environmental aspect (ICE 2007)

207
 The following definition for sustainable devel-
opment in construction, from the Institution of Civil
Engineers is widely used: ''Sustainable construe-
lion refers to the creation, mainrrmance and opera-
lion of infrastructure and buildings thai shape
communities in a way 1/w1 sustains the environ-
ment, generates long term wealth and enhances 1he
quality of life" (ICE 2007). More importantly, a
sustainability-driven approach to civil engineering
leads to the adoption of the followi ng key objec-
tives in practice (ICE 2007): reducing the environ-
mental impact while improving the environmental
quality; maximising the utilisation of materials and
their reuse; maximising efficient use of secondary
and recycled materials; minimising waste in design,
construction and use; minimising energy and water
use; minimising po.llution from all our activities,
focus on increasing peoples' quality of life; ensur-
ing respect for people; showing care towards the
workforce <md the surrounding community. In addi-
tion, the UK's Strategy for Sustainable Construc-
tion in 2008 identified II key issues for the devel-
opment of sustainable construction in the UK,
namely: Procurement, Design, Innovation, People,
Better regulation, Climate change mitigation. Cli-
mate change adaptation, Water, Biodiversity,
Waste, and Materials (British Govemment 2008).
In 2010 5,763 first- year higher education stu-
dents were surveyed to investigate the role or de-
veloping skills for sustainability literacy (Bone and
Agombar 20 I I ). The results showed that current
students are willing to take jobs with a small remu-
neration sacrifice in order that they are able to work
in a socially and ethically responsible company.
;ndicative of a future demand for the skills to pro-
ject students into this graduate environment. 80% of
the respondents believed that sustainability skills
arc going to be important to their future employers
and the maj ority of students involved thought that it
is the role of universities and courses to prepare
them for grad uate employment. Students agree that
these ski lls shotild be delivered through a contextu-
ally sensitive reframing of curricular content. The
attitude of students on sustainable development also
agrees with the observation of the UK Govem-
n1ent's recent Innovation and Growth Team (!Gn
Low Carbon Construction report that a "quantum
change" is needed in the UK construction indus-
try's response to the challenges of low car-
bon/sustainability, with the suggestion that doing
more to meet these challenges would make the
UK's built environment skills more saleable over-
seas (British government 20 I0). The UK Centre for
Education in the Built Environment (Williams et al.
208
2010) also indicated that the built environment
courses in UK universities will need more taught
material on the development of sustainable con-
struction. probably because of economic conditions
that have affected the built environment industries,
but also for other reasons. including policy shifts.
In Vietnam, the development of sustainable
construction has been mentioned in a number of
policies and decisions issued by the Vietnamese
government. for example, the Agenda 2 1 for Viet-
nam and the Decision No. 153/2004/QD-Tig for
the Strategic Orientation for Sustainable Devel-
opment in Vietnam (Vietnamese Government
2004). These actions are in response tO the Rio
Declaration 1992 on environment and develop-
ment with the Agenda 21(United Nations 1992)
and the Johan nesburg Declaration 2002 on sus-
tainable development (United Nations 2002). The
government required all organisations operating in
construction education and industry to improve the
sustainability in all their activities and transfer
knowledge regarding sustainable construction as
widely as possible. However, the implementation
of the policies in practice is generally limited. The
exploitation of raw materials and natural resources
for the manufacture of building materials is badly
organised (Centre for Industrial Environment
200 I , Vietnamnet 20 !0, 20 I 1). In addition, the
investment in building materials' fac tories and in-
dustrial zones is not sufficiently effective in term
of sustainable construction. Construc tion activities
in Vietnam still use large amounts of energy and
raw materials, and also produce a large amount of
waste (Nguyen 2011, LookAtVietnam 2009,
Wikipedia 2011). This has caused significant envi-
ronmental pollution and hence it is impacting upon
the quality of life of the Vietnamese people.
As stated earlier, current undergraduate students
are the Civi l Engineers of the future, and hence their
views and opinions on sustainability. and the sub-
jects on which they are taught, will have a significant
impact upon the sustainability of the construction
industry of tomorrow. With this in mind, a survey on
the views of students at the three Universities of
Loughborough, Liverpool, and the i'\ational Univer-
sity of Civil Engineering C'\UCE) of Vietnam, has
been carried out. as part of an international collabo-
rative project on sustainable construction between
these three universities in order to promote and de-
velop more sustainable construction in the Vietnam-
ese construction industry. This was funded by the
Depar1ment of' International Development of the
British Govemrnent and the British Council DeiPHE
programme (Goodier et al. 20 I0).
QUESTIONr\A IRE SURVEY
A questionnaire was developed based upon the UK
government's rc<.:ent Strategy for Sustai nable Con-
struction published in 2008 (British Government
2008). T his document brings together the key is-
sues <.:urren tl y considered important for the U K
construction industry with regards to the develop·
mem of sustainable construction. The eleven is-
sues comprised: Procurement, Design, Innovation,
People, Belter Regulation. Climate Change Miti-
gation, Climate Change Adaptation. Water, Biodi-
versity, Waste, and Materials. The views of under-
graduate civi l engineering students with regards to
the relative i mportance of these issues were inves·
tigatcd through three questions:
1- which of these issues do you think are the
most import ant for development of sustainable
construction.,
2- do you think that yo ur degree course covers
this topic adequately? And:
3- do you think that your course should cover it?
The structure of a typical questionnaire is
shown in Figure 3.
,._.~~~,.., __......,__,. . - - --- ~tlo.tl
,......,. ,...,._,,,.,...._..~N/4 -:to.~dt~~
VIEWS ON SUSTAJNABU CONSTRUCOOH
"Sl.tJt..-..e.I•W•UIJ\IciiiM,.,....totf'>eor9• *"'. ~......,_~ QI*._,oi~...,~W~
N ~Q';!to-.niON\4• • ,. . _, ,.,.,-...~_.., .,... ..~ Qe'flrefl\kl l~ .....,lllof-~~~
~~rat.,.· · ~I~ O.~$t«~r ~ Aaionf"l.n lotC....~.vytoO'
....._ .,...~.,•• •o•....,.(tfu-.Jo-edofts:
01·~-~ ·- ~I'OU!tY'* ••WOST ~MII IOT~ ..._~
lllror fiNioo!....,.,_"w-o..,..._,
i» ·Ot"""1.....,..,..'1fN'_,.......,~,_109C~•Y?
,, . ............ IO"''CC10 ... ~
=..__ ...,.... . . . . . ....
01 · Oo ,_, ..... Nl 'f(l!t.ll..,.. Sfo40UU)c- ~
11 ............ ,,10' ...
~ ,_ c- ._ ........ _ ..,. """""' ... .....
....,.._,.,
' ~~"'•· ----.,....,..• f- ,...~-.,..--, wol'•·o _.,
F1gure 3. A typical completed questionnaire from
Loughborough University.
The questionnaires were completed by final year
Civil Engineering students at the universities of
Loughborough (20), Liverpool (23) and NUCE (70).
RESULTS /\NO D ISCUSSION
The comparative views of the students at the thrcc
Universities for the first question, i.e. their opinion
regarding the importance of the eleven issues con-
cerning the development of sustainable construc-
tion. are shown in Figure 4.
10 0
t 9.0
mosr tmport6n!
II
i l tLU 1111 f
~
- ........... . Figure 4. QI -which of these issues do you think ru·c most
important for devclopmcm of sustainable construction?
O verall. students at the three universities believe
that all the eleven issues are broadl y important for
the development of sustainable construction, with
no one issue heing marked lower than 5 out of 10,
correlating with other recent studies on the impor-
tance of sustainability ·~sues as perceived by stu·
dents (Bone and Agombar 2011). The average
marks for all eleven issues given by the students at
Loughborough, Liverpool and ' VCE universities
are 7.0, 7.3 and 7.3 respecti vely with coefticicnts of
variation of 32.3%. 24. I % and 29.2%.
The three groups of students have very si milar
views on the impor1ance of five issues. including
Innovation (7.2-7.3), People (7.3-7.8). Water (7.0-
7.4). and Materials (7.7-8. I). However, they have
very different views on the importance of Procure-
ment (5.7-6.9-7.9) and Beuer Regulation (5.1-5.7·
6.8). in order of (Loughhorough-Liverpooi-NUCE).
These different views might imply that in Vietnam,
a developing country. (improved) Procurement and
Beller Regulation arc needed to help develop su~­
tainablc construction. One of main factors inllucnc-
..,,
ing Procurement and Regulati on in Vietnam is that
the competitiveness between construction enter-
prises is not really open as sta te-owned companies
often have more advantages and opportunities th•m
209
 private-owned ones. However. these issues appear lively. This correlates with similar studies, who be-
not highly marked in the UK, a developed coumry. lit:ve that it is the role of universities and courses to
where the competitiveness is considered to be more prepare the students with regards to sustainability for
open and equitable. Procurement and Better Regula- graduate employment (Bone and Agombar 20 II).
tion in the construction industry in the UK are re-
viewed, critiqued and updated more regularly. Stu-
dents at the two UK universities consider "Better
Regulation" as the least impo11ant, with "Design"
the most important. In comparison, NUCE students
consider "Biodiversity" the least important and
"Procurement" the most.
For Question 2, all three sets of students seem
to believe that their courses do not adequately
UJJIIIIIII • • l...ffJXIO'

cover the eleven sustainability issues (Figure 5).

The average marks for all eleven issues given by
the students at Loughborough, Liverpool and
NUCE universities are 5.4, 5.0 and 4.7 with the
coefficients of variation of 48.6%, 44.1% and
56.8%, respectively. In particular, UCE students
marked 10 of the II issues lower than 5, with the
only exception being Materials (5.6). Loughbor-
ough students marked six issues over 5, whilst
Liverpool students marked five issues over 5, as
well as sharing the same views on the 4 issues of
Design, Innovation, Waste, and Materials. This
could imply that the courses at the 2 UK universi-
ties appear to cover the issues more comprehen-
sively than at NUCE. It could also be a renection
however, of the aspirations and expectations of the
students with regards to their course.
10.0
g 90
8.0
h'l(l~t (QVfttd
Figure 6. Q3 - do you think that your course should
cover it?
Students at NUCE marked all I I issues over S,
with the lowest being 6.2 (Water) and the highest
7.6 (Procurement). This implies that the students
want more information about sustainable construc-
tion to be presented in their courses. It could also be
a reflection however, of an increased appetite for all
knowledge in general, or of a more demanding stu-
dent culture in general. Students at the two LiK uni-
versities agreed closely on the low importance of
People (Loughborough 5 and Liverpool4.9). Liver-
pool students also viewed Better Regulation as the
least necessary issue which needs to be covered in

their courses, with a mark of only 4.3.

~J.lJ~llllll
70
'~ 60
~0
"t
< 40
J.C

t
~
10
12
00
• t.ougt-oo-0 ..'£1'1
• u.·truoe>
CO:\CLUSIO. S

These preliminary results and analysis present only a

Figure S. Q2 - do you think that your degree course
covers this topic adequately?
For Question 3, on whether the I I issues should
be covered in their courses, students at all three
universities generally implied that they should be
covered (Figure 6).
The average marks for all eleven issues given by
the studems at Loughborough, Liverpool and NUCE
universities are 6.2, 6.0 and 6.9 with the coefficients
of variation of 48.3%, 41.9% and 31.5%, respec-
b1ief snapshot of the views of Civil Engineering stu-
dents at the three institutions. They do seem to indi-
cate, however. that the students at all three universi-
ties appreciate the impottance of the development of
sustainable conslrllction and have positive attitudes
towards the subject. Students at l'\UCE are aware that
their courses need to further cover the issues of sus-
tainable conslrllction, compared with their colleagues
at the two UK universities. This cannot be simply
allributed with cultuml or national differences as dif-
ferences in opinion were also found between the two
UK universities. This con·clates well with the objec-
tives of the international collaborative DeiPHE pro-
ject aimed at developing and transferring knowledge
regarding sustainable construction to the National
University of Civil Engineering of Vietnam.

210

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the students at the
three universities who contributed to the survey.
The authors also acknowledge the financial sup·
port of DelPHE project 743, funded by Depart-
ment for International Development, The British
Government to collaborate ational University of
Civil Engineering of Vietnam and Loughborough
University (UK) and The University of Liverpool
(UK) in developing and transferring the latest
knowledge regarding sustainable construction, for
anending this conference.
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..,..

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