This paper aims at adding a new dimension for green design assessment as a step forward towards better sustainable practice in architecture. The paper focuses on patterns of "architectural building performance-based design" as driver for sustainable practice. Although architectural design includes qualitative and quantitative dimensions, Current green rating systems are more oriented towards assessing quantitative results of performance measures in different means such as energy and water efficiency as well as optimised use of materials and resources, besides physical enhancement for indoor environmental qualities.
Through critical analysis for both performance design and green rating system, the research offers a development for the classical Ghielingh “Hamburger Model" of performance. The developed model adds an additional dimension of performance-based indices driven from Ghielingh model to the existing green rating systems model. The importance of this research is that it offers the theoretical bases for a new assessment paradigm for architectural performance in terms of sustainability. it combines two methods for assessments the first one is based on check points and the other is based on indicators. This re-imaging helps in combining additional dimensions of qualitative and quantitative design measures to current assessment method.