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Buildings are complex structures composed of heterogeneous elements; these require building management systems (BMSs) to dynamically adapt them to occupants' needs and leverage building resources. The fast growth of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has transformed the BMS field into a multidisciplinary one. Consequently, this has caused several research papers on data-driven solutions to require examination and classification. This paper provides a broad overview of BMS by conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) summarizing current trends in this field. Unlike similar reviews, this SLR provides a rigorous methodology to review current research from a computer science perspective. Therefore, our goal is four-fold: (i) Identify the main topics in the field of building; (ii) Identify the recent data-driven methods; (iii) Understand the BMS's underlying computing architecture (iv) Understand the features of BMS that contribute to the smartization of buildings. The result synthesizes our findings and provides research directions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial turn in humanities and social sciences has contributed towards a significant discourse on the city and urban spaces, and street art is widely accepted to be one of the ways in which one can analyse and unravel the cityscape. The utilization of the public domain of the city, its entanglements with urban authorities and its diverse potential has sparked several debates, and I seek to engage in the same, and interrogate the role of street art in modifying the cityscape. Through the course of my paper, I seek to interrogate the changing cityscape of Delhi and the role that street art has played in the same, post the events of 13th and 15th December 2019. The walls of Jamia Millia Islamia serve as a canvas for the articulation of resistance against the State and its excesses, its personal testimony of the same, and the graffiti on the same covers a plethora of topics, ranging from assertions of revolution, encouraging slogans and ominous warnings by literary figures, and is a dynamic form of subversion of State Power, unlike the street art projects at Lodhi Art Districts that are aimed at gentrification. The murals have been painted by students but the anonymity of the artists is retained, and thus belongs to no one but the multiplicity. I seek to study the reorientation of the cityscape of Delhi by the protest sites of Jamia and Shaheen Bagh that is not just limited to street art but the rerouting and diversion of traffic, creation of temporary structures like classrooms and libraries outside the institution and on the roads through the works of Henri Lefebvre, and weigh the significance of this protest.

In this paper, a new type of recycled polyurethane material is used as a new type of wall insulation material, and the new building insulation wall made of this paper has high efficiency thermal insulation and energy-saving characteristics and also has certain environmental significance. The thermal conductivity of the new building cold insulation recycled polyurethane material is 0.023 W/(m·K), and the thermal conductivity of the new building insulation wall prepared is 0.297 W/(m·K). Compared with traditional double-sided plastered porous wall tiles, it can save 85.4% of energy consumption per square meter, with higher thermal insulation characteristics and economic benefits. The preparation of a new type of building insulation wall proposed in this paper provides a new and green way for wall insulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning has gained widespread interest in the task of building semantic segmentation modelling using remote sensing images; however, neural network models require a large number of training samples to achieve better classification performance, and the models are more sensitive to error patches in the training samples. The training samples obtained in semi-supervised classification methods need less reliable weakly labelled samples, but current semi-supervised classification research puts the generated weak samples directly into the model for applications, with less consideration of the impact of the accuracy and quality improvement of the weak samples on the subsequent model classification. Therefore, to address the problem of generating and optimising the quality of weak samples from training data in deep learning, this paper proposes a semi-supervised building classification framework. Firstly, based on the test results of the remote sensing image segmentation model and the unsupervised classification results of LiDAR point cloud data, this paper quickly generates weak image samples of buildings. Secondly, in order to improve the quality of the spots of the weak samples, an iterative optimisation strategy of the weak samples is proposed to compare and analyse the weak samples with the real samples and extract the accurate samples from the weak samples. Finally, the real samples, the weak samples, and the optimised weak samples are input into the semantic segmentation model of buildings for accuracy evaluation and analysis. The effectiveness of this paper's approach was experimentally verified on two different building datasets, and the optimised weak samples improved by 1.9% and 0.6%, respectively, in the test accuracy mIoU compared to the initial weak samples. The results demonstrate that the semi-supervised classification framework proposed in this paper can be used to alleviate the model's demand for a large number of real-labelled samples while improving the ability to utilise weak samples, and it can be used as an alternative to fully supervised classification methods in deep learning model applications that require a large number of training samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A column is a critical member in a reinforced concrete framed building. It transfers lateral shear during an earthquake, in the presence of gravity loads. Failure of short wall-type shear-critical columns in the soft and weak open ground story (OGS) of a building during an earthquake can trigger pancake-type collapse. To avoid these types of failures, the weak columns in the OGS can be strengthened locally, in addition to a global retrofit strategy applied to the entire structure. This research focuses on the seismic strengthening of such short columns using the concrete jacketing technique. The study presented in this paper demonstrates a methodology to model the shear behavior of short columns before and after jacketing. This pertains to the nonlinear static analysis of a building under lateral loads, such as a static pushover analysis. The development of shear hinge properties for as-built and jacketed short columns is presented in this paper. These were based on a proposed generalized truss analogy, which was validated based on the tests of column specimens conducted as part of this research. Pushover analyses of a building model without and with jacketed columns in the OGS were conducted. Selected results of the analyses are presented in this paper. The modeling of the shear hinge properties for the short columns in the OGS demonstrated the brittle behavior under lateral loads before jacketing and the improvement in ductility after jacketing. The proposed method can be used in professional practice for evaluating buildings with short columns strengthened by concrete jacketing. Since all the columns in a story cannot be jacketed due to economic and functional considerations, the effect of selective jacketing of the columns on the behavior of the building under lateral loads is illustrated. Practical Applications: An existing reinforced concrete framed building can be retrofitted to mitigate the damage expected during a future earthquake. The effect of retrofit on the structure should be justified preferably by a nonlinear method of analysis such as pushover analysis. The primary input in such an analysis is the nonlinear behavior of each structural member under increasing lateral loads, modeled as the hinge property. The presented study discusses the pushover analyses of a building, before and after strengthening its short wall-type columns in the open ground story by concrete jacketing. A method to develop the shear hinge properties of as-built and jacketed short columns is explained in this paper. The method is based on extending the truss analogy for modeling the shear deformation of a short frame member after the diagonal cracking of concrete in the web. The procedure does not need any special purpose program for calculation and can be implemented using a spreadsheet. Also, a parametric study on optimum strengthening is presented, showing the effect of jacketing selected columns, as all the columns need not be intervened, to reduce the cost as well as the disruption to the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the growing prominence of nature-inspired design philosophies in the context of sustainability and human well-being within the built environment and focuses on their application within laboratory buildings. Biomimicry and biophilic design are highlighted as key nature-inspired design approaches, with biomimicry drawing inspiration from nature for innovations and biophilic design promoting human health through enhancing the connection with the surrounding natural elements. This paper further discusses living building strategy as an emerging method for creating dynamic and adaptable spaces by prioritizing user experience through co-creation and focusing on sustainable and regenerative structures. The potential of integrating these approaches is emphasized using laboratory buildings as an example, with nature-inspired and living laboratories serving as models for future built environments that promote both environmental responsibility and a positive human experience. Accordingly, this work aims to investigate the design and construction of laboratory buildings based on nature-inspired design strategies and the living building concept. Moreover, the paper discusses the application of biomimicry and living building concepts within laboratory buildings as a novel contribution to the body of knowledge, and concludes by proposing the Nature-inspired & Living Laboratory (NILL 1.0)TM Building Assessment index to serve as a guideline for the design and construction of laboratory buildings using nature as an inspiration and the analogy of human body systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standards for the design of bridges, buildings and other infrastructure specify design loads for climatic hazards such as temperature, snow, wind, and floods based on return periods presented in maps or tables that account for regional differences. These design loads were developed from statistical analyses of historical hazard data under the assumption that the past is representative of the future. Climate change may affect the frequencies and intensities of environmental hazards which, depending on regional variations, raises questions as to whether structures designed to current specifications will meet minimum safety standards over their future service lives. This paper critically appraises issues related to using historical hazard data for future designs. It reviews basic principles of uniform reliability, that modern design codes use as the basis for ensuring minimum levels of safety, describing the relationship between hazard return periods, structural reliability, risk and the maximum loads expected within a structure's service life. Simple examples involving wind effects on structures demonstrate how to calibrate structural design hazard maps for climate-related extreme events to meet the minimum standards of safety implied in current specifications. The paper also introduces a possible practical approach to account for climate change when designing new structures and assessing the safety of existing facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earthquakes are catastrophic natural disasters, and the built environment requires a quick recovery after such events. Estimating the loss from an earthquake can be complex as unique factors, in addition to conventional repair work, that need to be considered during the postperiod stage. Previous research has been able to identify 11 factors that impact the postearthquake cost estimation for the earthquake damage repair work (CEEDRW) process. Current loss estimation methods such as PACT, SLAT, and SP3 do not incorporate the impact of all these factors. This paper identifies the factors that impact different stages of traditional CEEDRW: precontract estimates, estimates during repair work, and cost calculations after construction. Discussion around methods to adopt these modeling factors into CEEDRW is also presented. A two-stage data collection method was adopted for this paper. Data were collected through semistructured interviews using 19 participants and a questionnaire survey using 92 participants who have experience in the CEEDRW process. The interview data analysis emphasized the usage of 11 factors at the three stages of estimation. Furthermore, survey results identified the most suitable methods of incorporating each factor in CEEDRW. Existing estimation tools used for CEEDRW do not consider a number of factors. This paper suggests the most suitable methods of considering these into an estimation tool that aims to enhance the accuracy and reliability of the CEEDRW process. The methods identified in this paper can be used in developing more reliable future cost estimation models used to determine postearthquake damage repair work. The data were collected from professionals who are experienced in housing repair work in New Zealand. The results vary for other types of geographic regions and construction methods. Currently used postearthquake cost estimation processes for earthquake damage repair work have a lot of drawbacks. To achieve the final aim of developing a standard postearthquake cost estimation model for earthquake damage repair work that is more accurate and faster than current ones, this research achieved one of the objectives of identifying methods that can be used to mitigate problems of the current cost estimation process. The research identifies methods that can be used to include factors that were not fully considered in current postearthquake cost estimation processes. The results of the research will help with increasing the accuracy of the upgraded model. The next step in this process is the develop the upgraded standard postearthquake cost estimation model for earthquake damage repair work. Even with the current findings, cost estimators, builders, and insurance agencies can improve their cost estimation process by including the impact of the factors through the suggested methods. Governments can implement changes to standard construction contracts and policies so that the construction industry can positively manage the cost-varying dynamics of earthquake damage repair work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines speech privacy in both residential and commercial spaces. The ASTM E2638 standard defines the Speech Privacy Class (SPC) parameter, which measures speech privacy based on the signal-to-noise ratio at the listener's position. This paper proposes estimating the SPC value using relevant ISO parameters commonly used in European practice: the apparent sound reduction index in dB (defined by ISO 16283-1, 2 standards) and the equivalent ambient noise level in dBA (defined by the ISO 1996-1 standard). The estimated value of the SPC parameter in this paper is referred to as the Speech Privacy Index (SPI). A diverse range of situations, i.e., rooms, was analyzed in the field. These rooms varied in terms of purpose, organization, dimensions, furnishings, isolation from other spaces, and internal and external environments. The results of the experiments demonstrate a strong correlation between the SPC value estimated according to ISO parameters (the proposed method) and the SPC as defined in the ASTM E standard. This indicates that the proposed method can provide an indicator of the state of speech privacy in buildings. The significance of the proposed calculation method (i.e., the STI parameter) lies in its ability to be applied at the building design stage, as well as after its completion, during routine testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on smart indoor space applications, which focus on the occupants’ trace, requires a design process consisting of deploying several devices (sensors and actuators) and developing software components (services). The design process in the real-world is labour-intensive, costly and time-consuming, which implies the need for a simulation-based prototyping framework for quickly simulating smart indoor space applications. An increasing body of literature has sought to provide simulation methodologies for smart indoor space applications. However, a unified taxonomy that represents the simulation tools in terms of their essential components and their specifications is missing. In this survey paper, we systematically collect the related papers and derive a taxonomy for the specifications of the smart indoor space simulation tools. We use the taxonomy in order to cluster the papers. Our results indicate that our proposed taxonomy can divide papers into meaningful groups. We review each group in detail, summarize each paper, and provide insights into their specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistent Scatterer InSAR (PS-InSAR) technology enables the monitoring of displacement in millimeters. However, without the use of external parameter correction, radar scatterers exhibit poor geopositioning precision in meters, limiting the correlation between observed deformation and the actual structure. The integration of PS-InSAR datasets and building databases is often overlooked in deformation research. This paper presents a novel strategy for matching between PS points and building contours based on spatial distribution characteristics. A convex hull is employed to simplify the building outline. Considering the influence of building height and incident angle on geometric distortion, an adaptive buffer zone is established. The PS points on a building are further identified through the nearest neighbor method. In this study, both ascending and descending TerraSAR-X orbit datasets acquired between 2016 and 2019 were utilized for PS-InSAR monitoring. The efficacy of the proposed method was evaluated by comparing the PS-InSAR results obtained from different orbits. Through a process of comparison and verification, it was demonstrated that the matching effect between PS points and building contours was significantly enhanced, resulting in an increase of 29.2% in the number of matching PS points. The results indicate that this novel strategy can be employed to associate PS points with building outlines without the need for complex calculations, thereby providing a robust foundation for subsequent building risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it more environmentally friendly to replace an existing building with a new one or to renovate the existing property? This paper addresses how to frame and evaluate this question. Although several previous studies exist, their methods lack a harmonised set of practice. A new framework is introduced that adopts the concept of consequential replacement framework (CRF) for life cycle assessment (LCA) which had previously been applied to vehicles. The application of the CRF to buildings is demonstrated with case studies on school buildings in Finland. Three alternative cases are examined: the refurbishment of a 1950s school; extending it with an annex; and demolition and replacement with a new concrete or timber building. As the European environmental impact regulation of buildings pertains to CO2 emissions, the paper also focuses on CO2. The case studies demonstrate that refurbishment in Finland is a more climate-friendly alternative to demolition and new build. The studied new buildings' better energy efficiency is set off for decades by the carbon spike caused by the embodied CO2 in their materials. The CRF is shown to be a methodologically sound, easily approachable framework for evaluating immediate environmental consequences of decision-makers' retention or replacement choices, suitable to different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid energy systems physically or conceptually combine various energy generation, storage, and/or conversion technologies to reduce costs and improve capability, value, efficiency, or environmental performance in comparison with independent alternatives. Hybridization is an interesting energy sector solution for plants to expand their flexibility, optimize revenues, and/or develop other useful products. Integrated hybrid energy systems' improved flexibility can hasten the integration of more renewable energy into the grid and help become closer to the target of zero-carbon energy grids. This paper aims to provide an updated literature review of design and applications of hybrid energy systems in buildings, focusing on economic, environmental, and technical viewpoints. This current study will analyze current and future trends toward hybrid energy systems for buildings and their functions in electrical energy networks as potential research study topics for the future. This study aims to enhance sustainable building techniques and the creation of effective electrical energy networks by offering insights into the design and applications of hybrid energy systems. The methodology used in this study entails assessing present and potential trends, as well as looking at hybrid energy system uses and designs in buildings. The higher flexibility of integrated hybrid systems, which enables enhanced grid integration of renewables, is one of the key discoveries. The discussion of potential research study themes and conceivable applications resulting from this research forms the paper's conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ANNs have become a cornerstone in efficiently managing building energy management systems (BEMSs) as they offer advanced capabilities for prediction, control, and optimization. This paper offers a detailed review of recent, significant research in this domain, highlighting the use of ANNs in optimizing key energy systems, such as HVAC systems, domestic water heating (DHW) systems, lighting systems (LSs), and renewable energy sources (RESs), which have been integrated into the building environment. After illustrating the conceptual background of the most common ANN architectures for controlling BEMSs, the current work dives deep into relative research applications, thereby exhibiting their methodology and outcomes. By summarizing the numerous impactful applications during 2015–2023, this paper categorizes the predominant ANN-based techniques according to their methodological approach, specific energy equipment, and experimental setups. Grounded in the different perspectives that the integrated studies illustrate, the primary focus of this paper is to evaluate the overall status of ANN-driven control in building energy management, as well as to offer a deep understanding of the prevailing trends at the building level. Leveraging detailed graphical depictions and comparisons between different concepts, future directions, and fruitful conclusions are drawn, and the upcoming innovations of ANN-based control frameworks in BEMSs are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings consume 30% of the total energy consumption around the globe and 29% of the energy consumption in Egypt, which in 2022 had a total population of 102 million, out of which 43% live in urban areas. The operation of buildings contributes to around 30% of global CO2 emissions due to their high energy consumption. Among the efforts made towards improving the energy efficiency of buildings are Advanced Energy Design Guides (AEDGs), building rating systems, codes, and standards. Furthermore, numerous research studies that are either literature review studies, experimental studies, or computational studies addressed the topic of energy efficiency in buildings. In this paper, 124 articles are systematically reviewed with the purpose of identifying the research gap in available research with a focus on Egypt. The identified gap is the development of a prescriptive path for the Egyptian Green Pyramid Rating System (GPRS) energy efficiency category based on whole building energy simulations. Furthermore, recommendations for future research are given based on gaps in the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency, sustainability, and renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly relevant topics in today's world. Buildings are one of the largest consumers of energy in society, and as such, improving their energy efficiency by reducing unnecessary energy loss and utilizing solar power is crucial. This paper comprehensively analyzes a neighborhood with buildings characteristic of the researched area by applying empirical and theoretical methods and calculations that have been proven in numerous individual cases. The main contribution of this paper is its demonstration that implementing methods to increase the energy efficiency of buildings and utilizing the potential of solar power can result in significant savings in energy consumption, increase the energy sustainability of the analyzed buildings, and substantially reduce the negative environmental impact. The novelty of this study lies in the location and multiple software applications for data analysis. The data and conclusions obtained in this paper serve as a foundation and path towards sustainable development in the field of energy efficiency for buildings in this and similar areas. Heat loss was calculated by analyzing households in the urban neighborhood of Nova Kolonija. All analyzed houses exceeded the maximum allowed annual required energy for household heating (75 kWh/m2). After the reconstruction and implementation of the proposed measures to increase energy efficiency, all houses met the requirements and entered a higher energy class, C. Energy for heating was reduced from 9294.68 kWh/a to 4641.84 kWh/a, representing a reduction of 50.03%. Simulations were conducted regarding solar rooftop power plant installation of 5655 Wp capacity. Software that was used included: a Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS), Photovoltaic System software (PVsyst 7.3.), and Photovoltaic Design and Simulation software (PV*SOL). The results of the analysis indicated that the average amount of electricity produced is 6186.98 kWh, which meets 98.12% of households' annual electricity consumption of 6278.41 kWh. The paper contributes to the existing body of literature and provides significant insight for both practical implications and future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every stage of a construction project has a time and cost aspect. Project delays are normal and frequently happen in the construction industry. Delays have a massive impact on completing deadlines for projects, managing cash flow, and maintaining the appropriate level of quality. This paper aims to identify the financial problems facing by the contractor of construction sector and their effects on the projects in Kedah and Perlis. The goal of the study was to identify the options and tactical approaches that may be used to address these financial issues, as well as to analyse the causes, consequences, and repercussions of these issue. The hermeneutic phenomenology method is chosen for this study and six respondents who were chosen based on their expertise and skill in managing building projects in rural areas with more than 10 years of experience participated in structured interview sessions utilising standard semi-structured questions. The paper reveals that the critical financial issues in Kedah and Perlis of the construction industry are the withholding of payment by the approval parties, lack of cash flow management, past due payment received from the client, difficulties in obtaining funds from financial institutions, and inflation. The recommendations made to enhance and resolve the financial issues encountered, meaning that all these things had to take place earlier stage in the construction process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building sector is a major contributor to global resource consumption and waste generation. The circular economy (CE) concept offers a promising alternative to the traditional linear economy by promoting the reuse, remanufacture, repair, and recycling of materials and products. However, the adoption of CE in the building sector faces several barriers. This paper presents a systematic literature review utilising the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach, focusing on the barriers and enablers influencing the adoption of the CE concept in the building sector. Drawing from an analysis of numerous papers published between 2008 and 2023, we identified a high number of barriers and enablers that delay the integration of CE. The barriers were categorised into six categories: awareness, technical, economic and market, implementation, support/promotion, and social. The paper also discusses the interdependence of the identified barriers, using a co-occurrence matrix. The study findings indicate lack of CE regulations, fragment supply chain, and high upfront investment cost as major barriers to the implementation of CE in the building sector. Based on the study results, stringent governance and legislation, financial incentives, and the development of technology and innovation for circular building tools are critical factors for the successful implementation of CE principles. The results of this study provide a comprehensive overview of the feasibility to CE adoption in the building sector, which could also help to develop strategies to accelerate the transition to an integrated CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, we are raising the rise in traffic noise levels to one of the significant problems solved in residential areas. The above–mentioned noise load acts to a person negative. The permissible values for determining the noise level from ground transport in a protected area are determined by Government Regulation. The subject contribution concerns the application of noise reduction measures in the selected location. It discusses the possibilities of anti–noise measures, measures to reduce the effects of traffic noise. The paper presents the different types of noise barriers and their basic requirements in the design. Noise barriers are the perfect solution to reduce noise problem due to traffic, industry sources and other. The primary benefits of a noise barrier are the acoustical qualities and traits which directly relate to the barrier's ability to absorb and eliminate noise once installation is complete. The aim of the article was on the basis of the available information, to propose possible noise measures in selected locality. Noise barriers are often used for reducing the noise propagation in outdoor area. Nowadays are widely used different types of materials. Paper also provides the proposal of new constructions of noise barriers with application of recycled materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been a long-standing leader in driving advances in science and technology through advanced computing. However, DOE laboratories are currently facing urgent workforce challenges, particularly in terms of underrepresentation from key communities, including people of color, women, persons with disabilities, and first-generation scholars. This paper introduces the work carried out as part of the Exascale Computing Project (ECP) Broadening Participation Initiative, which aims to address workforce challenges through a lens that considers the distinct needs and culture of high-performance computing (HPC). The work focuses on three main efforts: hosting Intro to HPC Bootcamps, expanding the Sustainable Research Pathways (SRP) internship and workforce development program, and establishing an HPC Workforce Development and Retention Action Group. The paper also highlights various workforce efforts throughout the computational science community and explores opportunities for future work aimed at broadening participation in HPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the difference between the ways that nature functions and the way that the built environment is currently produced and operates, and if and how they can be realigned. While regenerative approaches can apply to a range of human enterprises, the paper focuses on their application to the production of the urban built environment. It examines if and how they may move into mainstream building practice and how long this may take given the inherent inertias in the building industry. Key issues include the recasting and interrogating of the accumulated knowledge held by design professionals within a broader living systems frame, and rethinking what constitutes a successful outcome of building design. Such efforts are set against the diminishing time available before a series of climate tipping points are crossed and further short- to mid-term constraints posed by a host of other powerful countervailing forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing interest in reusing abandoned industrial landscapes creates a possibility to revitalize former spaces by giving them a new life. With the swift transformation of society and its needs, new and creative methods will be required to coincide with the new needs, and using formal industrial sites gives us a sustainable strategy to meet those needs. A great area of Tetovo's landscape is made of unused industrial landscapes. This paper is going to explore and identify the possible industrial sites of the city that have historical, architectural, and cultural values, analyze, and then result in a set of principles and examples of how the chosen post-industrial landscapes can be reclaimed and reused. This paper represents a research project that aims to describe how this approach to Tetovo's industrial heritage is going to benefit the city and the possible public functions these buildings could accommodate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing building energy consumption is of paramount significance in sustainability and energy efficiency (EE) studies. The development of an accurate EE prediction model is pivotal for optimizing energy resources and facilitating effective building planning. Traditional physical modeling approaches are encumbered by high complexity and protracted modeling cycles. In this paper, we introduce a novel evolutionary dendritic neural regression (EDNR) model tailored to forecasting residential building EE. Acknowledging the vast landscape and complexity of the EDNR weight space, coupled with the inherent susceptibility of traditional optimization algorithms to local optima, we propose a complex network-guided strategy-based differential evolution algorithm for training the EDNR model. This strategy adeptly strikes a balance between exploration and exploitation during the search process, significantly enhancing the predictive and generalization capacities of EDNR. To our knowledge, this study represents the inaugural application of dendritic neural regression in real-world prediction scenarios. Extensive experimental findings demonstrate the efficacy of EDNR in accurately predicting building EE with commendable performance. Furthermore, the results of two nonparametric statistical tests affirm the validity and stability of EDNR. Consequently, our proposed methodology exhibits high potential and competitiveness in machine learning applications within the energy domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming, climate change and the energy crisis are trending topics around the world, especially within the energy sector. The rising cost of energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global temperatures stem from the over-reliance on fossil fuel as the major energy resource. These challenges have highlighted the need for alternative energy resources and urgent intervention strategies like energy consumption reduction and improving energy efficiency. The heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system in a building accounts for about 70% of energy consumption, and a decision to reduce energy consumption may impact the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of the building. It is important to adequately balance the tradeoff between IEQ and energy management. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions are being explored for improving building energy performance without compromising IEQ. This paper systematically reviews recent studies on AI and machine learning (ML) for building energy management and IEQ by exploring common use areas, the methods or algorithms applied and the results obtained. The overall purpose of this research is to add to the existing body of work and to highlight energy-related AI applications in buildings and the related gaps. The result shows five common application areas: thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) control; energy management and energy consumption prediction; indoor temperature prediction; anomaly detection; and HVAC controls. Gaps involving policy, real-life scenario applications, and insufficient study of the visual and acoustic comfort areas are also identified. Very few studies take into consideration the need to follow IEQ standards in the selection process and positioning of sensors in AI applications for IEQ in buildings. This study reveals a need for more systematically summarized research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent seismic activity highlights the crucial need to enhance seismic design and safety assessment methods, particularly for irregular structures, in both new and existing constructions. The present study focuses on structural irregularities in elevation for buildings, as the design of structural systems involves multiple variables that often result in irregularities in many buildings. This work aims to perform a comparative assessment of the criteria adopted for the evaluation of the structural irregularities in elevation present in European and international seismic codes. This paper is structured as follows: Firtsly, it discusses structural irregularities and more specifically the most common types of structural damage due to seismic events. Then, it shows the documented experiences of structural damages in seismic events associated with structural irregularities in China, Italy, Spain, Nepal and Mexico. Additionaly, it discusses the requirements of the standards on irregularities and their limitation in that matter. At the end of this section, the different approaches of each code in irregularities in elevation are compared. All assessed seismic codes addresses the structural irregularity issue, attributing the desired characteristics of a seismic-resistant structure. However, there are considerable development differences between norms, demonstrated on ambiguity of few codes on criteria of vertical irregularies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency in buildings has a central role to play in reaching the climate neutrality goal set by the European Green Deal. With detailed knowledge of their building stock and the profile of their occupants, regional and local authorities can forge an important link between financiers, industry professionals and homeowners to ensure the successful deployment of financial schemes that support the uptake of energy efficiency upgrades. This paper provides a first assessment of the role of regional and local authorities by reviewing relevant initiatives and programmes on energy efficiency. Based on a questionnaire completed for more than 150 schemes, it explores how European municipalities and regions stimulate energy upgrades in residential, commercial and public buildings through public financial support. It is found that 60% of the examined schemes are offered in the form of grants and subsidies, and 45% of them targeted residential upgrades. The use of EU cohesion policy funds in supporting regional schemes, and promotion of energy efficiency investments at local level through the European Covenant of Mayors initiative are also explored. In spite of possible resource limitations at this level of governance, regional and local authorities are in a good position to utilise European structural or research funds to develop financial schemes, as standalone programmes or blended with national ones, thus providing additional support and funds for deep renovations. The results suggest that energy efficiency in buildings has become an important part of local and regional strategies in several European countries, but could be further enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-residential buildings are responsible for more than a third of global energy consumption. Estimating building energy consumption is the first step towards identifying inefficiencies and optimizing energy management policies. This paper presents a study of Deep Learning techniques for time series analysis applied to building energy prediction with real environments. We collected multisource sensor data from an actual office building under normal operating conditions, pre-processed them, and performed a comprehensive evaluation of the accuracy of feed-forward and recurrent neural networks to predict energy consumption. The results show that memory-based architectures (LSTMs) perform better than stateless ones (MLPs) even without data aggregation (CNNs), although the lack of ample usable data in this type of problem avoids making the most of recent techniques such as sequence-to-sequence (Seq2Seq). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the critical need for sustainable architectural designs within the context of climate change and the significant role the built environment plays in greenhouse gas emissions. The focus of this paper is on understanding the influence of unbalanced cantilevers on the embodied carbon of structural systems in buildings, a subject that has, until now, remained underexplored despite its importance in architectural innovation and environmental sustainability. Employing a case study approach, the Melbourne School of Design (MSD) building serves as a primary example to assess the embodied carbon implications of cantilevered versus supported structures. The methodological framework encompasses a comparative embodied carbon assessment utilising an input–output-based hybrid life cycle inventory analysis approach. The findings reveal that unbalanced cantilevers in buildings, exemplified by the MSD building, can lead to a 10% increase in embodied carbon compared to alternative designs incorporating supporting columns. Such findings underscore the environmental premium for cantilevers, prompting a re-evaluation of design practices towards minimising embodied carbon. Through this investigation, the research contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable construction practices, offering valuable insights for both design practitioners and educators in the pursuit of improving the environmental performance of the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analogous to the way a good driver is aware of neighboring cars, electrical loads can coordinate with other loads within a building or section of a distribution grid. This paper develops methods that enable groups of cyclic loads (devices that turn on and off periodically to maintain setpoints) to reduce their peak aggregate power demand. The methods accommodate a wide variety of cyclic loads, including those with nonlinear or unknown dynamics, and can be implemented in a fully distributed fashion. This paper targets settings with a few hundred cyclic loads or fewer, where the methods developed here could reduce demand peaks significantly while maintaining or improving quality of service. This could save ratepayers money on monthly demand charges, decrease fuel use in microgrids, or extend the life of power delivery equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few decades, energy efficiency has received increasing attention from the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) industry. Digital Twins have the potential to advance the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) phase in different application fields. With the increasing industry interest, there is a need to review the current status of research developments in Digital Twins for building energy efficiency. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the applications of digital twins for building energy efficiency, analyze research trends and identify research gaps and potential future research directions. In this review, Sustainability and Energy and Buildings are among the most frequently cited sources of publications. Literature reviewed was classified into four different topics: topic 1. Optimization design; topic 2. Occupants' comfort; topic 3. Building operation and maintenance; and topic 4. Energy consumption simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainwater harvesting is a promising technique for more rational water use. However, its sustainability merits remain a subject of ongoing debate among researchers. Life cycle assessment (LCA), a method employed to measure the environmental impact of varying solutions, is helpful in this regard. Accordingly, this paper delivers an integrative review based on the PRISMA protocol, outlining challenges and potential avenues for the LCA application to rainwater harvesting. The central findings indicate that while residential buildings are most commonly examined, more consensus is needed on a uniform analytical framework. Furthermore, several benefits of rainwater are often not considered in LCA and need further exploration to understand possible synergies for its broader implementation. Finally, LCA integration with a life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) shows exciting results as it may be a more straightforward showcase of the benefits of an integrated assessment. It is concluded that specific details of the LCA of rainwater harvesting may still be simplistic. There is much work to be done in holistic assessments to prove the system's sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to uncover how the process of managing electricity in buildings based on the Internet of Things occurs. In particular, the work seeks to depict the factors affecting electricity consumption and management, as well as the application of the Internet of Things in energy management. A systematic literature review is used to examine the breadth of the electric energy management literature, encompassing bibliometric and thematic analysis based on an established procedure. The findings show the evolution of this field within key research networks with a few papers covering important elements of energy management, such as energy use, consumption and monitoring, assessment, and planning, in an integrative manner. Within this field, lacking in theory and practice, the originality of the work is the assembly of electric energy management into a conceptual framework based on real-time consumption and the Internet of Things (IoT). Indeed, the framework brings together the breadth of factors affecting consumption, energy use, and improvements that have been dispersed across the literature into one place. This framework, therefore, represents a stage towards an integrative view of IoT electric energy management and subsequent enhancement of theory and energy efficiency adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen has been widely recognised as a versatile and environmentally-friendly energy carrier, with a broad range of potential applications across various sectors. The abundance of hydrogen in the universe and its high energy content makes it an attractive alternative to conventional fossil fuels. Moreover, the utilization of hydrogen does not produce greenhouse gases or other pollutants that contribute to air pollution and climate change. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing and deploying hydrogen technologies for a sustainable energy future. This paper provides an in-depth exploration of the potential of hydrogen as a clean energy source in different sectors, such as transportation, energy storage, power generation, industry, buildings, maritime transport, and aviation. The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the current state of hydrogen applications in Europe and the Baltic States, including examples of ongoing projects and initiatives, and to assess the advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen technologies in different sectors. The main results of the paper highlight that hydrogen has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality targets. However, the deployment of hydrogen technologies also faces various challenges such as high production costs, lack of infrastructure, and safety concerns. The tasks of the paper are to provide an insight into the potential of hydrogen, identify the challenges and limitations, and highlight ongoing research and development efforts in this field. The paper concludes that the widespread adoption of hydrogen technologies is a long-term goal that requires the cooperation of various stakeholders and the development of innovative and cost-effective solutions. Despite the challenges, the current state of hydrogen applications and ongoing projects in Europe and the Baltic States demonstrate that hydrogen has the potential to play a significant role in the transition to a sustainable and low-carbon future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the potential of rooftop solar PV to meet the electricity demand in the urban areas of Abha city, Saudi Arabia (KSA), minimising imports from the grid. A localised energy system for Abha is proposed that considers two types of loads: (i) residential loads with a monthly aggregated energy consumption of 172,440 MWh and an electric demand of 239.5 MW, and (ii) commercial loads with a monthly aggregated energy consumption of 179,280 MWh and an electric demand of 249 MW. The grid currently supplies this load. This paper proposes a PV development planning tool for residential and commercial areas to calculate the total PV production for each type of load to achieve a balanced energy area, considering (i) the number of buildings, (ii) the type of load, (iii) the peak load, and (iv) the total PV array area in m2 per building. The results of the modelling study using real data demonstrate that the anticipated total PV production in residential and commercial areas is sufficient to meet local peak demand, and there is an excess of power that can either be stored locally or exported to the grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable building practices are a response to environmental issues. Businesses and industries are assessing how their activities affect the environment. The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries have significant impacts on the environment and economy, while the industry is considered one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has, therefore, been highlighted by researchers as a key area of intervention with a great potential to reduce environmental impacts. This paper critically reviews and evaluates the current state of sustainable building certification systems with the purpose of having a good understanding of the status quo and possibilities for future directions in Saudi Arabia. It reviews the academic literature on Saudi Arabia's green/sustainable building codes, standards, certification systems, methods and tools. It starts by addressing sustainability in the broadest sense. Then, it investigates sustainability strategies and evaluates the building certification systems in Saudi Arabia, followed by an introduction to the new practice of sustainable healthcare building assessment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and building information modelling (BIM) techniques have also been investigated. The paper introduces the updated Saudi Building Code (SBC) with further evaluation of the Saudi Green Building Code (SBC 1001-CR). Finally, the paper clearly highlights the key role of sustainable building practices and the need to develop a certification system that considers the new trends and the local context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in Frontiers in Energy Research, focuses on the topic of energy-efficient and energy-flexible buildings towards net-zero carbon emissions. It presents five research papers that explore innovative strategies and technologies for advancing energy efficiency and flexibility in buildings. The papers cover a range of topics, including predictive models for carbon emissions in the Chinese construction sector, multi-objective energy-saving optimization methods for residential buildings, climate mitigation options post-Paris Agreement, the impact of rural logistics on consumption in China, and the potential of digital twin technology in the built environment. The article emphasizes the importance of technological innovation, interdisciplinary research, and policy integration in achieving sustainable built environments. [Extracted from the article]

Contextual data are receiving increasing attention in Smart Cities as they enable the development and delivery of smart services for their citizens. The homogenization of contextual data flows has become an important topic for standardization bodies as they attempt to enable data flow control and vendor-independent solutions. Buildings are a critical component of cities, due to their role in several dimensions of Smart Cities (including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals); these may include the monitoring of their operation, maintenance, energy consumption, ability to respond in emergencies, and people flows, all of which affect the sustainability of a Smart City's ecosystem. In this respect, Building Information Management Systems and Building Infrastructure Management Systems can benefit from this standardization. This paper presents how a novel solution named Smart-City-as-Hub can homogenize building contextual data and enable smart services' development and delivery based on these data. The analysis of the data from several IoT deployments in public school buildings is the method used to highlight the segmentation and fragmentation of the IoT landscape and to present the benefits that the Smart-City-as-Hub provides in this context. The ways in which the Smart-City-as-Hub concept can mitigate these challenges and enable Smart City stakeholders to concentrate their efforts on developing value-added services is presented in the discussion section. By providing real-life data of the IoT devices deployed in Smart City projects, this study aims to further advance research pursuing the homogenization and standardization of Smart City flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airborne circular synthetic aperture radar (CSAR) can realize high-resolution imaging of the scene over 360 degrees azimuth angle variation. Aiming at the problem of focusing of buildings for the airborne CSAR, this paper first analyzes the phase errors of CSAR buildings focusing in detail, and the analytic relationship between the scatterer height and azimuth focusing quality is deduced. Then, a focusing method of CSAR buildings based on the back projection algorithm is proposed. This method adopts the processing strategy of multi-layers imaging, and it is able to improve azimuth focusing quality of the buildings which have large height dimension. The proposed method is especially suitable for the high-resolution imaging and monitoring of the urban site with high-rise buildings in the airborne CSAR scenario. The correctness of the theoretical analysis and the validity of the proposed method are verified by using both simulation results and Ku-band airborne CSAR real data processing results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to recognize the effect of material waste on cost increase in Palestinian construction projects. The study used questionnaire survey to achieve its objectives. The target population of the study are constructors and consultants involved in construction projects. The study also predicts the effect of cost overrun on material waste in some construction activities, namely: ceramic and brick works. The collected data were analyzed using statistical analyses. The study has established that among the various factors that affect cost overrun, experience in the line of work, conflicts among project participants, payments delay, and political situation are the key factors. While the analysis revealed that the main material waste factors are: poor site management, using untrained labors, rework due to workers' mistakes, selecting the lowest bidder contractor/subcontractor, and frequent change orders. Data from 55 building projects constructed in the West Bank between 2015 and 2020 were collected to test the relation between material waste and cost increase. Two mathematical models were developed: Model (l) links cost increase and waste in ceramic works. It indicates that if waste increases by 1%, the cost will increase by 1.07%. Model (2) links between cost increase and material waste in brick works. It tells that if waste increases by 1%, cost will increase by 1.25%. R square of value >0.7, for both models, indicates a strong linear relation between cost increase and material waste. This is the first study that predicts the effect of material waste on cost increase in Palestinian construction sector. The study encourages different parties related to construction projects to manage factors of cost overrun and material waste to enhance the sector of construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]