Abstract
Cost measurement plays the fundamental role within the modern construction and project management models, where not only materials, labors and services are measured by cost but also programme delays, quality defects and project risks are converted to be measured as cost. However, the problems of cost measurement models have been analyzed only from the aspect of owners and contractors who construct the buildings, not from the aspect of users who use buildings. In this article, analysis of data surrounding the current high inflation of construction costs in England is conducted, to find out its route causes within the current and historical development of construction cost measurement models. The conclusion is that current cost measurement models are based on the aspect of owners and contractors, which is to assess buildings as monetary asset for short-term taxation purpose, without due regard how buildings are used by users for long-term. Alternative cost measurement models based on the aspect of users are proposed, which assess buildings as functional asset for its long life-cycle. Pros and cons of these two adverse models are discussed in details, and harmonization between owners, contractors and users are sought, in order to arrive at a more consistent cost measurement approach which can be equally applied to buildings and built-environment by all stakeholders involved.