Materiality and Architecture: Potential Strategy for Achieving Sustainable Design

This study proposes that the impact of the built environment on the natural environment can be mediated by adopting a sustainable approach to building material selection and specification, particularly when articulated at the design stage of the building process. The aim is to identify the main drivers and barriers to sustainable material specification by built environment design professionals. This study carried out for Cyprus where attempts have been made to uncover the attitudes of Cypriot built environment design professionals towards the natural environment, identify the process employed in specifying building materials, and the extent to which they draw inspirations from the natural environment.