Abstract—Sustainable building design and construction strategies is a good approach to address the concern about environmental impacts of construction. There are some environmental impacts that can be avoided in the design of buildings. Hidden waste in building design can result in avoidable environmental impacts. Avoidance of hidden waste requires an evaluation of various designs patterns and the associated (environmental, social and economic) cost for humanity. This study reviews how the choice of design patterns of some sections (roof panels, joists, and beams) of a multi-family building design can result in various amount of material usage and consequent environmental impacts. An earlier study showed that for the same building area, various design choices would require varied amount of building material selection to satisfy the design code. This study indicates that the varied material quantity for the same building area results in varied environmental impacts. At the design stage, it is recommended that design professionals consider various design patterns to avoid hidden waste and to minimize environmental impacts that may originate from the building design. A documentation to show that various design patterns were considered during the design process (before selection of a design that is both safe and that imbibes the principle of sustainable building design) will be desirable.