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The escalation in demand for buildings in tropical zones has risen resulting from global population growth. Moreover, the construction industry is under growing pressure to adapt sustainable practices. Hence, this research aims to investigate how Circular Economy (CE) principles can be converged with Tropical Design Strategies (TDS) to enhance sustainability within the construction industry.

Qualitative approach was employed with three rounds of Delphi technique, following semi-structured expert interviews. Collected data were analysed through content analysis.

Four passive design strategies were explored as the most suitable strategies for building designs in the tropical regions. To amalgamate passive design strategies of Tropical Designs (TD) with the most practicable CE R principles, 23 number of methods were proposed to each passive design strategy. Furthermore, 11 enablers were revealed in converging TD with CE. Among them, green building design, advanced design software and bioclimatic designs are the enablers which are applicable for all the design strategies.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first kind of research which was done converging three concepts of CE, TD and sustainability. Moreover, this research defined various approaches on how to integrate CE R principles with each identified passive design strategy as an influential approach for ameliorating sustainability. This research contributes to the practice by proposing methods to building designers and architects on how to design buildings in tropical regions following CE principles while ensuring sustainability.

This review investigates the significance of passive solar systems and bioclimatic building designs in improving thermal comfort across various African regions. The study evaluates current papers and publications, focusing on best practice standards, scientific developments and the possibility of achieving maximum thermal comfort across varied temperature zones.

This research utilised a systematic approach to analyse passive solar systems and African bioclimatic design. It involved a review of 175 documents sourced from the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases, focusing on peer-reviewed publications from 1992 to 2023 as well as the Regulations and Standards for Thermal Comfort established in African countries.

The study shows how integrating passive solar systems into bioclimatic architecture greatly increases thermal comfort and lowers energy consumption in African buildings. Nevertheless, significant research gaps exist in using these systems in different African climates. Maintaining and modifying passive solar systems is essential to tackling the distinct environmental issues faced by the continent.

While this review provides a thorough analysis, it acknowledges the complexity of local settings and construction practices, recognising potential limitations in the available literature. The implications include a call for further research and technological advancements to address these limitations and refine passive solar systems for optimal performance.

This study bridges knowledge gaps about how passive solar systems and bioclimatic design principles can be efficiently used across various African climates and areas. Furthermore, it incorporates recent advances and a thorough review procedure to ensure that findings are current and relevant.

The study aims to synthesize findings from over two decades of research, highlighting key trends, progress, innovations, methodologies and challenges in bioclimatic design strategies and their interconnection with building environmental performance across the world.

This systematic review examines advancements in bioclimatic design strategies aimed at enhancing the environmental performance of buildings from 2000 to 2023 (n = 1,069). The methodology/approach involves a comprehensive analysis of literature from the SCOPUS database using bibliometric analysis, identifying trends, thematic evolution, keyword clusters and pivotal strategies such as passive solar design, natural ventilation, green roofs and thermal mass utilization.

The review highlights significant progress in several areas, including improved simulation/modeling tools for passive solar design, advanced computational fluid dynamics models for natural ventilation optimization, and the integration of green roofs with photovoltaic systems for increased building energy efficiency. Additionally, the use of phase change materials and high-performance glazing has reduced heating and cooling loads, while real-time optimization technologies have enhanced building performance and led to energy savings.

The study recognizes limitations where the effectiveness of bioclimatic strategies varies across different climates. For example, passive solar design is highly effective in temperate climates but less so in tropical regions. Global differences in design preferences and building types and practices impact the applicability of bioclimatic strategies and traditional building methods in some cultures may not easily integrate with modern approaches, affecting their implementation and effectiveness. Furthermore, practical implications highlight the potential for reduced reliance on artificial heating, cooling and lighting systems, while social implications underscore the role of bioclimatic design in promoting sustainable construction practices.

Practical implications highlight the potential for reduced reliance on artificial heating, cooling and lighting systems.

Social implications underscore the role of bioclimatic design in promoting sustainable construction practices.

This review offers a detailed analysis of bioclimatic design evolution, highlighting trends such as adaptive building designs and smart materials. This study serves as a crucial resource for architects, engineers and policymakers, advocating for innovative, climate-responsive design solutions to mitigate the environmental impact of the built environment and address challenges related to climate change and urbanization.

The study aims to tackle Egypt's rising electricity consumption due to climate change and population growth, focusing on the building sector, which accounts for up to 60% of the issue, by developing new energy-efficient design guidelines for Egyptian buildings.

This study comprises six key steps. A literature review focuses on energy consumption and efficiency in buildings, monitoring a single-family building in Cairo, using Energy Plus for simulation and verification, performing multi-objective optimization, comparing energy performance between base and controlled cases, and developing a localized version of the Passive House (PH) called Energy Efficiency Design Criteria (EEDC).

The research shows that applying the (EEDC) suggested by this study can decrease energy consumption by up to 58% and decrease cooling consumption by up to 63% in residential buildings in Egypt while providing thermal comfort and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This can benefit users, alleviate local power grid strain, contribute to Egypt's economy, and serve as a model for other countries with similar climates.

To date, no studies have focused on developing energy-efficient design standards tailored to the Egyptian climate and context using the Passive House Criteria concept. This study contributes to the field by identifying key principles, design details, and goal requirements needed to promote energy-efficient design standards for residential buildings in Egypt.

Passive design strategies contribute to improving indoor comfort conditions and reducing buildings' energy consumption. For several years, courtyards have received wide attention from researchers because of their significant role in reducing energy demand. However, the abundance of multi-story buildings and the courtyards' incompatibility with them, the courtyard is currently limited. Therefore, it is necessary to search for alternatives. This paper aims to bridge the gaps in previous limited studies considering skycourt as a passive alternative on the vertical plane of the facades in contrast to the courtyard.

This research presents an overview and a bibliometric analysis of the evolution of the courtyard to the skycourt via VOSviewer software and the bibliometrix R package.

The research provided various concepts related to skycourt as a promising passive design strategy, which can be suitable for multi-story buildings, starting with its evolution, characteristics, configurations, benefits, and challenges.

The findings can urge designers, researchers and policymakers to incorporate such an important passive alternative.

Researchers, instructors, educational specialists, faculty members, and decision-makers can provide design motivation for skycourt in buildings, in addition to achieving awareness about skycourt and its significant benefits and its role as an important passive design strategy.

The research highlights the possibilities of the skycourt and its role as a passive design element as an extension of the courtyard in addition to identifying design indicators that help designers determine the appropriate designs.

The purpose of this study is to give an informative map of sustainable architectural education by focusing on publishing trends, prominent publications, prolific contributors, research challenges and future research prospects. As a consequence, an efficient framework for collecting significant knowledge and identifying prevalent topics in sustainable architectural education towards more sustainable environments at the urban and building scales may be provided.

The methodology adopted in this study is based on examining the subjects of many consecutive rounds of the Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA) conference, with an emphasis on the most recent five rounds. The PLEA's official website served as the main source for gathering all proceedings. Earlier rounds from 2016 to 2020, which cover a time span of five years, were utilized to analyze patterns during that time period. The rationale for selecting this time period was the limited availability of data required to observe the trends, area of interest and emerging themes in these fields that could be analyzed qualitatively.

The findings show that the following drive themes emerged around education and research-driven sustainable architecture: emerging design as a core idea; concentration on the way of delivering and developing education; constructing and shaping the building; assessing current practices; acquiring and recruiting knowledge and new concepts; reporting on the current condition; portraying the target audience and ensuring the long-term viability of the architectural educational process. This insight provides academics and professionals a greater grasp of the state of the art, allowing them to direct their research toward developing concerns in education and research-driven sustainable design.

The study results provide an effective framework for collecting relevant content and identifying prominent topics in sustainable, passive and passive low-energy architecture for the creation of more sustainable urban and building environments. Furthermore, this qualitative and exploratory study may serve as a framework for those researching, creating and verifying different research approaches in education and research-driven sustainable architecture.

This study aims to evaluate and synthesize literature on exoskeleton implementation in the construction industry to understand their current applications, evaluate existing research approaches and identify critical areas for future investigation. Through a comprehensive analysis of empirical studies, the research seeks to establish a clear roadmap for advancing exoskeleton adoption in construction work.

This study conducts a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. By searching relevant databases and applying predefined inclusion criteria, the review focused on empirical studies that evaluate the effectiveness and acceptance of exoskeletons in construction. Both objective parameters (EMG data, Kinematic analysis, heart rate) and subjective parameters (user comfort, perceived exertion, usability surveys) were analyzed to assess how impactful are exoskeletons among construction workers.

The review identified 236 publications, of which 36 were included, revealing several critical insights: (1) A significant reliance on studies conducted in controlled environments, accounting for 77.78% of studies. (2) A limited representation of actual construction workers, mainly non-construction worker volunteers, which may affect the practical relevance of the findings. (3) A significant gap exists in standardized evaluation protocols, with researchers using varying assessment methods that hinder cross-study comparisons. (4) Predominantly short-term nature of existing studies. These findings highlight the need for more real-world testing, standardized evaluation frameworks and longitudinal studies.

This review contributes original insights into the deployment of exoskeletons in the construction sector, particularly highlighting the industry's gap in direct, in situ engagement with construction workers. It suggests that future research should prioritize long-term, onsite studies to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of exoskeletons’ impacts, thus supporting the development of targeted intervention strategies for reducing work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among construction workers.

The concept of Circular Economy (CE) has gained significant traction in addressing the issue of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste, which is generated because of global urbanisation and urban renewal. Therefore, this research aims to explore the applicability of CE strategies to minimise the C&D Waste Management (WM) issues in Sri Lanka considering the preconstruction stage of the building project.

The research adopted a qualitative approach, using three expert interview rounds with the Delphi technique. In each round, 17, 15 and 12 experts were involved. A manual content analysis method was used to analyse the collected data.

Findings uncovered effective strategies in CE to address the 14 issues within C&D WM and its effects on the project management iron triangle in Sri Lanka. Integrating CE strategies within the construction sector to tackle C&D WM issues can significantly contribute to establishing a more sustainable, robust and resource-conscious built environment. By adopting CE strategies such as design for adaptability of existing buildings and design for disassembly, construction projects can optimise the project's timeline, cost and quality factors.

This will help to minimise the demand for virgin materials and reduce the volume of waste generated. Using recycled materials also helps close the loop of the materials cycle, thereby contributing to the CE. Also, this research contributes uniquely by offering practical, context-driven solutions that align with Sri Lanka’s construction sector.

This chapter delved into the multifaceted landscape of construction partnering, exploring its key aspects, promotion factors, and associated challenges. It examined how partnering principles are applied in various construction contexts, including stealth construction, where integration of advanced technologies and collaborative practices is pivotal. Moreover, it highlighted the significance of partnering in addressing crucial considerations such as environmental protection, health and safety, project delivery duration, aesthetics, and economy during and after the construction phase. Through collaborative efforts and shared responsibilities, construction partnering emerges as a cornerstone for achieving excellence and sustainability in the built environment.

The recognition of housing as an essential requirement in enhancing the quality of life of an individual has increasingly captivated scholars’ interest, particularly within the context of sustainability. However, the identification of suitable attributes of sustainable housing to be prioritized encountered challenges due to a lack of effective approach in addressing uncertainties and stakeholders’ interests. This study attempts to identify critical attributes of sustainable housing in rural areas and explore their interrelationships.

Six dimensions and 54 criteria are proposed and validated using the expert linguistic preferences through the Fuzzy Delphi Method. The Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial Evaluation Laboratory is also applied to determine the interrelationship between those attributes.

The result demonstrates that economic benefits strongly impacted social implications for sustainable housing. The top criteria, including government participation, reduced life cycle cost, environmental protection and local authorities’ participation, are considered to assist housing stakeholders for better sustainable practices.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies addressing the interrelationship among sustainable housing attributes through linguistic preferences in the context of rural areas.