HOSN is a simple yet practical local building sustainability rating system for the Omani building sector. Although HOSN main focus is on residential buildings, it can be used to rate other building types such as educational, cultural, commercial and administration buildings.

Unlike other regional and international rating systems, HOSN does not require intensive training nor a certified persons to use it. It is designed in a way that allows any project owner or manager to use it to assess how stakeholders perceive the sustainability of a design proposal or an existing building. It can be used at any stages of the project life, but it would be most useful when it is applied as early as possible in the project life cycle. We recommends starting using HOSN from the project conceptualization stage.

Our main moto is that “a building is not sustainable unless it is seen as such by the stakeholders; and ‘value’ lies in what stakeholders collectively see important”. Therefore, HOSN was developed based on an intensive involvement of a large array of Omani stakeholders representatives from the Omani construction industry including private and public sectors, professional societies, academia, expert individuals, and end-users. Rigorous and well-documented scientific methods were used to establish the main framework of HOSN and to ensure that the views of all stakeholders are incorporated in the tool.   

HOSN provides a local framework for sustainability assessment by considering sustainability categories and indicators that are seen as important by the Omanis themselves. It also, provides a structured process for project stakeholders to get involved in constructive discussions and exchange opinions and expertise on building sustainability and how to improve the design to become more sustainable.