Comparative analysis of conventional, hybrid and bio-architectural approaches using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP): implications for sustainable built environment design
Abstract
Sustainability is taking the lead in shaping architectural practice in the twenty-first century due to urgent environmental concerns, the goal to enhance community welfare, and the necessity of maintaining economic stability. Conventional buildings feature static structures, reliance on non-renewable materials, and a high energy consumption mode, thus becoming contradictory to the notions of sustainable development. In response, the integration of biotechnology, ecology, and architecture has fostered the rise of bio-architecture: an emergent design philosophy that promotes responsive, adaptive, and self-regulating systems. The present research aims to develop a comparative framework for conventional, hybrid, and bio-architecture approaches that enables architects to assess and compare the sustainability dimensions of each approach within a clearly defined expert-based AHP framework. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used as a decision-support tool to structure the comparison through a hierarchy of criteria and sub-criteria. The analysis therefore ranks the three alternatives within the selected criteria, expert sample, and AHP assumptions, rather than establishing a universal or context-free sustainability order. These criteria cover environmental performance, material innovation, energy efficiency, resilience and adaptability, and socio-cultural and human well-being. The proposed framework outlines the relative strengths and weaknesses of each approach and provides a systematic method for sustainable design decision-making. Within the boundaries of the selected criteria, expert sample, and AHP assumptions used in this study, bio-architecture ranked highest among the three alternatives. This result should be read as an AHP-based ranking within the adopted framework, not as an absolute claim that bio-architecture is the most sustainable alternative in all building contexts.