Buildings, Volume 7, Issue 3

Prefabricated construction, a new direction for the future development of the Chinese construction industry, can maximize the requirements of “green”. As a new form of green building, prefabricated construction is of particular interest. On account o...

This paper purports to provide answers to the following questions with regard to multi-crane building construction sites: (1) Do such construction sites differ from smaller sites only in magnitude, or are there unique characteristics that stem from t...

Real estate capital is in constant competition with other capital assets due to its different and complementary economic functions such as direct use, productive investment, and speculative investment. These features and the resulting opportunities c...

A reliable numerical evaluation of the nonlinear behaviour of historical masonry structures, before and after a seismic retrofitting, is a fundamental issue in the design of the structural retrofitting. Many strengthening techniques have been introdu...

Phase change materials (PCMs) offer great potential as a latent heat energy storage technique to provide energy efficient systems in new and existing residential buildings. Due to their unique characteristic of high storage densities and latent heat...

The present study evaluated the combined effects of two types of waste materials of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and unprocessed fly ash (FA) on different properties of concrete. A novel recycling technique of densifying waste EPS is used to produce a...

Growth of urban areas and abandonment of rural areas are phenomena that increase quickly. The main consequences of urbanization are pollution, consumption of resources and energy, waste dumps, and junk yards. These aspects require a better planning a...

Early collaboration is crucial if the final design is to be clash-free, and automation processes through Building Information Modelling (BIM) have the capacity to reduce clashes through 3D design coordination. Yet, current design practices are still...

Available guidelines do not provide design procedures for the general case of retrofitting reinforced concrete (RC) columns using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets subjected to simultaneous bi-axial flexural and axial loads. In many practical cas...

The widespread adoption of photovoltaics (PV) in architecture as a source of renewable energy is often limited due to poor visual acceptance. We propose the use of coloured frontglass manufactured by digital ceramic printing to cover the PV cells, th...

Providing affordable housing has been a long-standing issue for governments of most countries. In an attempt to address the issue, affordable housing programs have been introduced with the aim of improving household’s access to housing, as well as su...

The retrofitting of existing masonry buildings is now a crucial problem for Europe. Indeed, structural safety and energy efficiency should represent the target of any renovation. The proposal of a new synthetic performance parameter is presented and...

Alongside well-researched themes such as water and moisture, the service life and function of masonry veneers are often compromised by precipitation combined with poor design considerations, execution, and selection of materials. Little research has...

The assessment of the rocking and overturning response of rigid blocks to earthquakes is a complex task, due to its high sensitivity to the input motion, variations in geometry and dissipation issues. This paper presents a literature review dealing w...

In order to achieve the ambitious objective of decarbonising the economy, it is mandatory, especially in Europe and in Italy, to include the retrofitting of existing buildings. In a country where a large share of existing buildings have heritage valu...

In this research, the socio-economic determinants of housing market values have been examined, highlighting their respective contributions to the formation of the property prices and, in particular, verifying the property tax liability. The property...

The present paper deals with the influence of material variability on the seismic vulnerability assessment of reinforced concrete buildings. Existing r.c. buildings are affected by a strong dispersion of material strengths of both the base materials....

The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for supporting decision making in design activities; in case of new projects or retrofitting of existing buildings. A multidisciplinary approach is adopted; involving Real Estate Appraisal and Economi...

Although life cycle assessment offers insight into the long-term value of our building stock, it has become impossible to model with certainty the service life of a building. What if new lifestyles make reality diverge from the expected service life?...

In general, the satisfactory seismic performance of timber buildings can be partially attributed to the material characteristics of the wood itself and to the lightness of its own structure. The aim of this paper is to analyze the in-plane behavior o...

The paper deals with the effectiveness of an innovative phosphonate-based superplasticizer (PNH) for ready mixed concrete. Concrete specimens were manufactured by considering a constant initial workability, equal to 220 mm slump at the end of the mix...

Silos generally work as storage structures between supply and demand for various goods, and their structural safety has long been of interest to the civil engineering profession. This is especially true for dynamically loaded silos, e.g., in case of...

Around 30% of the European building stock was built before 1950, when no regulations about energy efficiency were in force. Since only a small part of them has been renovated by now, the energy performance of this building stock is on average quite p...

This paper presents a study of the development of building envelope design for improved energy performance of a controlled indoor agricultural growing center in a cold climate zone (Canada, 54° N). A parametric study is applied to analyze the effects...

Identification of costs drivers and their influence level on building development costs play a key role in the development of construction models and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of any project. Forty-five indicators influencing building...

The effect of irregularities due to the non-uniform distribution of material properties on structural elements of a significant real case is here investigated. Mechanical tests performed on a typical Italian reinforced concrete (r.c.) school building...

Energy efficiency of building heritage derived from pre-regulation period is one of the most debated topics in Europe. Building façades, through opaque walls and thermal bridges, are a major source of transmission heat losses and require sustainable...

Phase change materials (PCM) are very promising materials for improving energy efficiency in buildings, especially in hot weather conditions. In spite of the growing attention paid to the integration of PCM into buildings, there are few studies on PC...