R. Brahme and A. Mahdavi
It is important to provide building performance feedback to the designer as early as possible in the design process. However, many aspects of building performance are…
Abstract
It is important to provide building performance feedback to the designer as early as possible in the design process. However, many aspects of building performance are significantly affected by the design of the building’s technical systems (e.g., heating, airconditioning), which are typically configured in detail only in the later stages of design. The challenge is thus to find a method to use detailed simulation tools even during the early stages of design when values for many of the variables for the building’s technical systems are not yet available. In this paper, we demonstrate how this problem can be partially solved by use of differential representation for building and technical system, homology‐based automatic mapping of relevant information from the building to the technical system representation, and generative design agents which, with a minimal user‐input, can design and model the technical system. We conclude the paper with illustrative examples of detailed performance analysis of complex buildings and their heating, ventilation, and air‐conditioning systems, performed in early stages of design.
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Mariangela Zanni, Kirti Ruikar and Robby Soetanto
Sustainability considerations are often treated as an add-on to building design, following ad-hoc processes for their implementation. The purpose of this study was to investigate…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainability considerations are often treated as an add-on to building design, following ad-hoc processes for their implementation. The purpose of this study was to investigate, model and facilitate the early stages of building information modelling (BIM) enabled sustainable building design (SBD) by formalising the ad-hoc working relationships of the best practices in order to standardise the optimal collaboration workflows.
Design/methodology/approach
Four stages of data collection were conducted, including a total of 32 semi-structured interviews with industry experts from 17 organisations. Fourteen “best practice” case studies were identified, and roles and responsibilities, resources, information exchanges, interdependencies, timing and sequence of events and critical decisions were examined.
Findings
The research classified the critical components of SBD into a framework utilising content and thematic analyses. These components were coordinated explicitly into a systematic process, which followed concurrent engineering (CE) principles utilising Integrated DEFinition (IDEF) 3 structured diagramming technique. Then, Green BIM Box (GBB) workflow management prototype tool was developed to analyse communication and delivery of BIM-enabled SBD in a centralised system.
Originality/value
This study represents an improvement to previous attempts to systematically define the BIM-enabled SBD process for the early stages. The results support the idea that a transparent SBD process, which follows specified communication patterns, can assist in achieving sustainability efficiently in terms of time, cost and effort.
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Maria-Angeliki Zanni, Robby Soetanto and Kirti Ruikar
The purpose of this research is to develop a building information modelling (BIM)-enabled sustainable design process model that identifies critical decisions actions in the design…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to develop a building information modelling (BIM)-enabled sustainable design process model that identifies critical decisions actions in the design process along with the information and level of detail that facilitate an informed and timely decision. Building performance analysis is usually performed after the design and construction documents are produced, resulting in lost opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
A number of research methods have been adopted; these include extensive literature review and 11 in-depth exploratory interviews with industry practitioners (sustainable building design experts, early BIM adopters).
Findings
Project delivery methods have a significant effect on the sustainable outcome of buildings. The development of a structured process can assist sustainable design practice among building professionals. Learning from implemented projects, that have utilised BIM processes, facilitates the scope of creating this process and advises future projects to prevent failures. Process mapping is essential to streamline the process, support key project processes and help the design team manage their own responsibilities and deliverables required by them.
Originality/value
The identification of the gap and the need for a structured process for sustainable building design for BIM execution is discussed. The synergies that exist between BIM, building performance modelling, Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method assessment and the Royal Institute of British Architects Plan of Work are shown. The effect that project delivery has on sustainable design outcome has been established. A coordinated collaborative design process model is presented based on the findings from interviewing early adopters.
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Marcelo Benetti Corrêa da Silva, Suélen Bebber, Gabriel Sperandio Milan, Angélica Ravizzoni Veronese, Jéssica Testolin and Maria Emília Camargo
This paper aims to identify the built environment attributes and dimensions to assess customers’ satisfaction concerning the built environment in a gas station located in southern…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the built environment attributes and dimensions to assess customers’ satisfaction concerning the built environment in a gas station located in southern Brazil. Besides, this study aims to verify the dimensions that most impact customers’ satisfaction and the attributes that are most relevant to customers.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was operationalized through a survey and data were analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the impact of the dimensions on perceived customer satisfaction, while stepwise linear multiple regression was used to identify the most significant attributes.
Findings
The factor analysis result indicates that 66.77% of the variance explained concerns to six built environment dimensions (or factors). The regression analysis shows that overall satisfaction with the gas station is predicted by the dimensions appearance, functionality and location, and positively related to seven attributes. In relation to the built environment satisfaction, the location and functionality of the dimension are its predictors and positively related to five attributes.
Research limitations/implications
Further studies in different contexts are required to test the reliability of the built environment dimensions – comfort, functionality, configuration, location and appearance. Also, the study calls for further debate about the built environment related to the occupant or user satisfaction and other factors that can impact it.
Originality/value
This study identifies the need to evaluate the impacts of post-occupancy evaluation of measurable factors related to the user’s judgment.
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J. Ahmad, H. Larijani, R. Emmanuel, M. Mannion and A. Javed
Buildings use approximately 40% of global energy and are responsible for almost a third of the worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. They also utilise about 60% of the world’s…
Abstract
Buildings use approximately 40% of global energy and are responsible for almost a third of the worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. They also utilise about 60% of the world’s electricity. In the last decade, stringent building regulations have led to significant improvements in the quality of the thermal characteristics of many building envelopes. However, similar considerations have not been paid to the number and activities of occupants in a building, which play an increasingly important role in energy consumption, optimisation processes, and indoor air quality. More than 50% of the energy consumption could be saved in Demand Controlled Ventilation (DCV) if accurate information about the number of occupants is readily available (Mysen et al., 2005). But due to privacy concerns, designing a precise occupancy sensing/counting system is a highly challenging task. While several studies count the number of occupants in rooms/zones for the optimisation of energy consumption, insufficient information is available on the comparison, analysis and pros and cons of these occupancy estimation techniques. This paper provides a review of occupancy measurement techniques and also discusses research trends and challenges. Additionally, a novel privacy preserved occupancy monitoring solution is also proposed in this paper. Security analyses of the proposed scheme reveal that the new occupancy monitoring system is privacy preserved compared to other traditional schemes.
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Upeksha Hansini Madanayake and Charles Egbu
The purpose of this paper is to identify the gaps and potential future research avenues in the big data research specifically in the construction industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the gaps and potential future research avenues in the big data research specifically in the construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts systematic literature review (SLR) approach to observe and understand trends and extant patterns/themes in the big data analytics (BDA) research area particularly in construction-specific literature.
Findings
A significant rise in construction big data research is identified with an increasing trend in number of yearly articles. The main themes discussed were big data as a concept, big data analytical methods/techniques, big data opportunities – challenges and big data application. The paper emphasises “the implication of big data in to overall sustainability” as a gap that needs to be addressed. These implications are categorised as social, economic and environmental aspects.
Research limitations/implications
The SLR is carried out for construction technology and management research for the time period of 2007–2017 in Scopus and emerald databases only.
Practical implications
The paper enables practitioners to explore the key themes discussed around big data research as well as the practical applicability of big data techniques. The advances in existing big data research inform practitioners the current social, economic and environmental implications of big data which would ultimately help them to incorporate into their strategies to pursue competitive advantage. Identification of knowledge gaps helps keep the academic research move forward for a continuously evolving body of knowledge. The suggested new research avenues will inform future researchers for potential trending and untouched areas for research.
Social implications
Identification of knowledge gaps helps keep the academic research move forward for continuous improvement while learning. The continuously evolving body of knowledge is an asset to the society in terms of revealing the truth about emerging technologies.
Originality/value
There is currently no comprehensive review that addresses social, economic and environmental implications of big data in construction literature. Through this paper, these gaps are identified and filled in an understandable way. This paper establishes these gaps as key issues to consider for the continuous future improvement of big data research in the context of the construction industry.
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Eric Kwame Simpeh, Jon-Patrick George Pillay, Ruben Ndihokubwayo and Dorothy Julian Nalumu
Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems account for approximately half of all energy usage in the operational phase of a building's lifecycle. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems account for approximately half of all energy usage in the operational phase of a building's lifecycle. The disproportionate amount of energy usage in HVAC systems against other utilities within buildings has proved a huge cause for alarm, as this practice contributes significantly to global warming and climate change. This paper reviews the status and current trends of energy consumption associated with HVAC systems with the aim of interrogating energy efficiency practices for improving HVAC systems' consumption in buildings in the context of developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The study relied predominantly on secondary data by analysing the relevant body of literature and proposing conceptual insights regarding best practices for improving the energy efficiency of HVAC systems in buildings. The systematic review of the literature (SLR) was aided by the PRISMA guiding principle. Content analysis technique was adopted to examine germane scholarly articles and finally grouped them into themes.
Findings
Based on the SLR, measures for enhancing the energy efficiency of HVAC systems in buildings were classified based on economic considerations ranging from low-cost measures such as the cost of tuning the system, installing zonal control systems, adopting building integrated greenery systems and passive solar designs to major approaches such as HVAC smart technologies for energy management which have multi-year pay-back periods. Further, it was established that practices to improve energy efficiency in buildings range from integrated greening system into buildings to HVAC system which are human-centred and controlled to meet human modalities.
Practical implications
There is a need to incorporate these energy efficiency practices into building regulations or codes so that built environment professionals would have a framework within which to design their buildings to be energy efficient. This energy efficient solution may serve as a prerequisite for newly constructed buildings.
Originality/value
To this end, the authors develop an integrated optimization conceptual framework mimicking energy efficiency options that may complement HVAC systems operations in buildings.
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By the mid-19th century the British colonial state introduced liberal education to India. Amongst various disciplines, political economy illustrates the concerns of the colonial…
Abstract
Purpose
By the mid-19th century the British colonial state introduced liberal education to India. Amongst various disciplines, political economy illustrates the concerns of the colonial state with the education of Indians, and its anxiety with quelling political discontentment. The emerging Indian nationalist intelligentsia also utilized ideas from classical political economy, first taught in educational institutions, to critique colonial policy and proposed the development of “Indian Economics”, suited to national economic interests. This paper explores the development of political economy as a specific knowledge form in Calcutta University and Bombay University, and its connection with colonial educational policy.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies primarily on university records and the proceedings of the Education Department to bring out the politically sensitive nature of the teaching of economics in colonial India.
Findings
The study finds that political economy grew from being a minor part of the overall university syllabi to becoming part of the first university departments created in early-20th-century India. The government and nationalist forces both found the discipline to be relevant to their respective agendas. The circulation of knowledge theoretical framework is found to be relevant here.
Originality/value
The history of political economy in Indian universities, especially during the 19th century, has not been dealt with in any detail. This study tries to fill this gap. The close connection between politics and the teaching of economics has also not been studied closely, which this paper does.
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While the global body of knowledge on men and boys' experiences of sexual abuse during childhood has incrementally grown over the last several years, it remains an…
Abstract
While the global body of knowledge on men and boys' experiences of sexual abuse during childhood has incrementally grown over the last several years, it remains an under-researched area of study. Drawing upon primary phenomenological research with men survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) in India, in this chapter, I report and discuss findings that explore the gendered meanings that men who have experienced CSA make of their abuse experiences against a backdrop of heteropatriarchal assumptions and expectations regarding masculinity. Specifically, I discuss how effeminophobia – anxiety and disdain regarding feminine-identified behaviors, mannerisms, attributes and presentations among boys and men – is an ingredient and also the product of such meaning making and eventually works as another form of violence against men and boy survivors following the primary experience of sexual violence. More broadly, acknowledging the role of effeminophobia in constructing men and boy survivors' experiences supports the argument that heteropatriarchy is a double-edged weapon that injures women and gender-expansive people disproportionately but also hurts boys and men.
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Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles and Robert Detmering
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.
Findings
Information about each source is provided. The paper discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.
Originality/value
The information in the paper may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.