Green Building Concepts and Technologies in Ethiopia: The Case of Wegagen Bank Headquarters Building

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This is a well-written paper that provides an overview of green building practices, and in particular, how these practices were applied and utilized in the Wegagen Bank building. Overall, the paper achieves its state goal and provides some anecdotal evidence that might be used to drive some policy choices aimed to increase the use of green building practices.

One area that I think should be explored a little further is the affect of cost on adoption of green building practices. If the practices are not financially sound, or at least that is how they are perceived, then it is difficult to imagine wide adoption.

Just a few editorial comments:

"revealed" line 72

"green building concepts" line 98

awkward sentence line 117-119

"rise" line 152 & line 155, rather than "raise"

spelling line 169, awkward sentence line 167-169

line 172-173, awkward sentence

verb tense line 184, 189, 203

 

 

 

Author Response

I appreciate very much the reviewer for the constructive comments. I also thank the reviewer for the effort and time put into the review of the manuscript. I have carefully considered the reviewer comments, revised the manuscript accordingly and marked up using the “Track Changes”. I hope this revision addresses all the concerns raised and meets the expectations of the reviewer. In the following sections, you will find my responses to each of your points and suggestions.

 

• Comment 1:- English language and style are fine/minor spell check required

RESPONSE: - Thank you for suggestion. I have made numerous editorial and grammatical corrections on my revised version of the manuscript.

• Comment 2:- One area that I think should be explored a little further is the affect of cost on adoption of green building practices. If the practices are not financially sound, or at least that is how they are perceived, then it is difficult to imagine wide adoption.

Response: - Thank you for raising this point. According to different studies all over the world there is a general perception that green building will cost more. Green buildings are initially more expensive than conventional ones (McGraw, 2003; Zhang, et.al. 2019; Agyekum, 2020). Similarly, based on the information obtained from the key informant in the study area there is a perception that green building will cost more when compared to conventional buildings. However, in the long run, they’re more cost-effective since they have fewer operational costs. Therefore, they’re generally a worthy investment.  Green Buildings provide financial benefits that conventional buildings do not. These benefits include energy and water savings, reduced waste, improved indoor environmental quality, greater employee comfort/productivity, reduced employee health costs and lower operations and maintenance costs.  Therefore, to overcome the obstacles related to the misunderstanding that green buildings will cost more and enhances it wider application, it is crucial to raise awareness among developers and other stakeholders about the financial benefits that green buildings will provide when compared to conventional buildings. For more clarification this issues has been considered on line 638-649 of my revised version of the manuscript.

• Comment 3:- Editorial comments: "revealed" line 72.

RESPONSE: - Thank you for comment. I have corrected the editorial error in my revised version of the manuscript.

• Comment 4:- Editorial comments: "green building concepts" line 98.

RESPONSE: - Thank you for comment. I have corrected the editorial error in my revised version of the manuscript.

• Comment 5:- Awkward sentence line 117-119.

RESPONSE: - Thank you for suggestion. I have now rephrased the sentence on line 117-118 of my revised version of the manuscript to improve the understanding of the sentence.

• Comment 6:- Editorial comments: "rise" line 152 & line 155, rather than "raise".

RESPONSE: - Thank you for comment. I have corrected the editorial error in my revised version of the manuscript.

• Comment 7:- spelling line 169, awkward sentence line 167-169.

RESPONSE: - Thank you for comment. I have now rephrased the sentence on line 167-169 of my revised version of the manuscript to improve the understanding of the sentence and I have corrected the spelling error.

• Comment 8:- line 172-173, awkward sentence.

RESPONSE: - Thank you for comment. I have now rephrased the sentence on line 172-173 of my revised version of the manuscript to improve the understanding of the sentence.

• Comment 9:- verb tense line 184, 189, 203.

RESPONSE: - Thank you for comment. I have corrected the verb tense in my revised version of the manuscript.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

The article is relevant because, as the authors point out, there is a lack of application of these concepts in Ethiopia. Having said that:

- The images and plans must be improved without a doubt.

- The title should be reformulated emphasizing the type of buildings analyzed (although in reality 'only' one is studied in depth).

- I am not bilingual in English, but I have detected several typos and expressions that should be corrected.

- The route that the authors make through the work is correct, but it is too colloquial, sometimes providing little technical and technological content that it would be convenient to implement.

Author Response

I appreciate very much the reviewer for the constructive comments. I also thank the reviewer for the effort and time put into the review of the manuscript. I have carefully considered the reviewer comments, revised the manuscript accordingly and marked up using the “Track Changes”. I hope this revision addresses all the concerns raised and meets the expectations of the reviewer. In the following sections, you will find my responses to each of your points and suggestions.

• Comment 1:- The images and plans must be improved without a doubt.

RESPONSE: - Thank you for suggestion. I have improved the qualities of the images and plans in my revised version of the manuscript. 

• Comment 2:- The title should be reformulated emphasizing the type of buildings analyzed (although in reality 'only' one is studied in depth).

RESPONSE: - Thank you for raising this point. Based on the suggestion of the reviewer I have modified the title as follows “Green Building Concepts and Technologies in Ethiopia: The case of Wegagen Bank Headquarters Building”.

• Comment 3:- I am not bilingual in English, but I have detected several typos and expressions that should be corrected.

Response: - Thank you for suggestion. I have made numerous editorial and grammatical corrections on my revised version of the manuscript.

• Comment 4:- The route that the authors make through the work is correct, but it is too colloquial, sometimes providing little technical and technological content that it would be convenient to implement

RESPONSE: - Thank you for this point. Technical contents and framework that would help to implement the concepts and technologies of green building in the construction industry of the county has provided on line 661- 676 in the implication part of my revised version of the manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx