Announcements

MDPI has just become the first open access (OA) publisher to reach the milestone of one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon! We are proud to share this special moment with the global scientific community.

This landmark has been reached thanks to the immeasurable support of more than 600,000 expert reviewers, 66,000 editorial board members and 6700 hard-working colleagues across MDPI’s global offices.

Within more than 25 years of publishing, our journals received 2.1 million manuscripts and generated 4.6 million peer review reports to get to one million papers published.

Reaching the milestone of one million articles published reinforces our mission to remove any existing barriers and to make scientific research accessible to all. Since its inception, MDPI’s goal has been to create reliable processes to make science open. This is a path towards facilitating the dissemination of novel insights in scientific communities.

Regular feedback from authors and reviewers shows that our service is greatly appreciated and needed. At the same time, the feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

As it stands, a significant share of published research findings remain closed access. More than half of the content published with the most well-known legacy publishers stays behind a paywall, and that is not including articles published in hybrid OA journals, or made available months or years after publication.

A new policy announced by the US administration in August 2022 requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. While the new policy does not mandate articles be published under an open access license, it is aligned with the open access movement in removing all barriers to research. Similarly, some of the most advanced research institutions in the world intend to have all funded research articles published in open access by 2025.

MDPI is proud to be the leading agent of the transition to open access.

"Thanks a Million" to all the contributors!

We are pleased to announce that the website of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation has been revamped! For the past couple of months, our UX UI team and front-end developers have been working hard to launch the website in time for the opening of the Sustainability Awards nominations.

The website is not the only thing that has had a remodeling. Indeed, the format of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) has been updated. ESLA is now a competition open to individual researchers or start-ups founded by researchers under the age of 35. Nominee applications will go through 2 rounds of selection until the final 3 are decided. The finalists will then be invited to give pitch presentations during the Award Ceremony to win either first place (10,000 USD) or runner-up (2 x 5000 USD).

The World Sustainability Award, on the other hand, remains the same: a total prize money of 100,000 USD is up for grabs by senior individual researchers or groups of researchers from the international research community.

Nominations for both the World Sustainability Award and the Emerging Sustainability Leader award are now open! Check out our new website for more information on how to nominate.

Scientists at Stanford University have recently published an update of the list of the top 2% most widely cited scientists—the World's Top 2% Scientists.

We are pleased to share that 109 Editorial Board Members from MDPI’s Buildings (ISSN: 2075-5309) were featured in the World's Top 2% Scientists list in 2022. The list was created by Prof. John P. A. Ioannidis from Stanford University and his research team. They have created a publicly available database of 100,000 top-cited scientists that provides standardized information on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions and a composite indicator (c-score). Scientists are classified into 22 scientific fields and 176 sub-fields. We would like to congratulate our Editorial Board Members on their excellent achievement and thank them for their immense contribution to the scientific progression and development of Buildings.

The 45th Australasian Universities Building Education Association (AUBEA) conference will be hosted by Western Sydney University, Kingswood Campus, Sydney, Australia, the School of Engineering, Design, and Built Environment in collaboration with the Centre for Smart Modern Construction, Western Sydney University, between 23 and 25 November 2022. The conference will present the latest research with the theme “Global Challenges in a Disrupted World: Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Approaches in the Built Environment.” AUBEA 2022 has brought together researchers, educators, students, and industry practitioners from Australia and other regions to share knowledge, collaborate, reflect, and learn about current issues and participate in shaping the future of the construction and built environment sectors.

The conference will present the latest research on a wide range of topics related to smart, sustainable and resilient approaches in the built environment; the research proceedings will be split into eight sub-themes. The key research areas that will be discussed include construction project management, the digitalization of construction, industrialization, sustainability, resilience, health and safety, and education in the built environment.

Selected authors from the AUBEA 2022 are invited to submit their extended papers to the Special Issue “Selected Papers from the 45th Australasian Universities Building Education Association (AUBEA 2022)” of Buildings (ISSN: 2075-5309), which will be fully peer reviewed for further selection and publication. The Buildings journal will also sponsor the Best Paper award by selecting one winner from the conference.

You can find out more details about the conference at the following link: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/soedbe/engagement/events_and_seminars/aubea_2022.

1. “The Role of Blockchain Technology in Augmenting Supply Chain Resilience to Cybercrime”
by Aya, B.; David, J. E. and Chris, R.
Buildings 2021, 11(7), 283; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11070283
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/7/283

2. “Assessment of Cloud Computing Success Factors for Sustainable Construction Industry: The Case of Nigeria”
by Ayodeji, E. O.; Ahmed, F. K.; Ibraheem, A.; Idris, O. and Chukwuma, K.
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020036
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/36

3. “A Systematic Review of Construction 4.0 in the Context of the BIM 4.0 Premise”
by Hana, B. and Mario, G.
Buildings 2021, 11(8), 337; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080337
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/8/337

4. “Strategies for Adopting Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Sustainable Building Projects—A Case of Malaysia”
by Bilal, M.; Idris, O.; Syed, S. S. G. and Ehsan, H.
Buildings 2021, 11(6), 249; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11060249
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/6/249

5. “Off-Site Construction Three-Echelon Supply Chain Management with Stochastic Constraints: A Modelling Approach”
by Samira, Al-S. S.; Hediye, M.; Amir, A.; Fariborz, J.; Soroush, J. and Maziar, Y.
Buildings 2022, 12(2), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12020119
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/2/119

6. “Tower Crane Location Optimization for Heavy Unit Lifting in High-Rise Modular Construction”
by Hosang, H.; Moonseo, P.; Dowan, L. and Jeonghoon, L.
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030121
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/3/121

7. “Adoption of Blockchain Technology through Digital Twins in the Construction Industry 4.0: A PESTELS Approach”
by Benjamin, T. and Samad, S.
Buildings 2021, 11(12), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11120670
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/12/670

8. “The Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Dynamic Site Layout Planning in Large-Scale Construction Projects”
by Ahmed, W. A. H.; Bruno, B. F. C.; Carlos, A. P. S. and Assed, N. H.
Buildings 2021, 11(12), 602; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11120602
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/12/602

9. “Construction Waste Audit in the Framework of Sustainable Waste Management in Construction Projects—Case Study”
by Marcela, S.; Peter, M. and Tomáš, M.
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020061
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/61

10. “An Overarching Review on Delay Analyses in Construction Projects”
by Murat, Ç. and Zeynep, I.
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030109
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/3/109

1. “Combating Urban Heat Island Effect—A Review of Reflective Pavements and Tree Shading Strategies”
by V. R. Sankar, C.; Michele, J.; Wahidul, B. and Prabir, S.
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030093
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/3/93

2.“Practical Implementation of Structural Health Monitoring in Multi-Story Buildings”
by Arvindan, S.; Dhanasingh, S. V.; Wojciech, G.; Łukasz, W.; Magdalena, D. V. and Eugeniusz, K.
Buildings 2021, 11(6), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11060263
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/6/263

3. “Failure Analysis of Apennine Masonry Churches Severely Damaged during the 2016 Central Italy Seismic Sequence”
by Francesco, C.
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020058
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/58

4. “Post Occupancy Evaluation of School Refurbishment Projects: Multiple Case Study in the UK”
by Hamad, A.; David, J. E.; Joseph, H. K. Lai.; Chris, R.; Caleb, D.; De-Graft, O. -M. and Wellington, D. T.
Buildings 2021, 11(4), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11040169
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/4/169

5. “Facial Expression-Based Experimental Analysis of Human Reactions and Psychological Comfort on Glass Structures in Buildings”
by Chiara, B. and Silvana, M.
Buildings 2021, 11(5), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11050204
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/5/204

6. “Overview on the Nonlinear Static Procedures and Performance-Based Approach on Modern Unreinforced Masonry Buildings with Structural Irregularity”
by Abide, A.; Graça, V. and Paulo, B. L.
Buildings 2021, 11(4), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11040147
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/4/147

7. “The Alignment of Australia’s National Construction Code and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in Achieving Resilient Buildings and Communities”
by Wesley, W.; Mohammad, M.; Maziar, Y. and Kamyar, K.
Buildings 2021, 11(10), 429; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11100429
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/10/429

8. “Damage Detection in Multiple RC Structures Based on Embedded Ultrasonic Sensors and Wavelet Transform”
by Joyraj, C.; Xin, W. and Marek, S.
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020056
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/56

9. “Integrated Design of Structure and Material of Epoxy Asphalt Mixture Used in Steel Bridge Deck Pavement”
by Wen, N.; Duanyi, W.; Yangguang, S.; Wei, X. and Xiaoquan, X.
Buildings 2022, 12(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12010009
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/1/9

10. “Seismic Vulnerability Assessment and Strengthening of Heritage Timber Buildings: A Review”
by Amirhosein, S.; Ali A.; Mohammad, T.; André, N. C.; Mahgol, S. and Mahdi, K.
Buildings 2021, 11(12), 661; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11120661
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/12/661

1. “Compressive Strength Prediction via Gene Expression Programming (GEP) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for Concrete Containing RCA”
by Ayaz Ahmad, Krisada Chaiyasarn, Furqan Farooq, Waqas Ahmad, Suniti Suparp and Fahid Aslam
Buildings 2021, 11(8), 324; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080324
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/8/324

2. “Fire Resistance Behaviour of Geopolymer Concrete: An Overview”
by Salmabanu Luhar, Demetris Nicolaides and Ismail Luhar
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030082
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/3/82

3. “Mechanical Behavior and Frost-Resistance of Alkali-Activated Cement Concrete with Blended Binder at Ambient Curing Condition”
by Biruk Hailu Tekle, Klaus Holschemacher, Philipp Löber and Björn Heiden
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020052
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/52

4. “Utilization of Corn Cob Ash as Fine Aggregate and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag as Cementitious Material in Concrete”
by Naraindas Bheel, Montasir Osman Ahmed Ali, Yue Liu, T. Tafsirojjaman, Paul Awoyera, Nadhim Hamah Sor and Lenin Miguel Bendezu Romero
Buildings 2021, 11(9), 422; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11090422
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/9/422

5. “Performance of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Alkali-Activated Slag-Fly Ash Blended Concrete Incorporating Recycled Concrete Aggregates and Dune Sand”
by Hilal El-Hassan, Abdalla Hussein, Jamal Medljy and Tamer El-Maaddawy
Buildings 2021, 11(8), 327; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080327
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/8/327

6. “Effect of Needle Type, Number of Layers on FPAFC Composite against Low-Velocity Projectile Impact”
by Nandhu Prasad, Gunasekaran Murali, Sallal R. Abid, Nikolai Vatin, Roman Fediukand and Mugahed Amran
Buildings 2021, 11(12), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11120668
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/12/668

7. “Resistance of an Optimized Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete to Projectile Impact”
by Anna L. Mina, Michael F. Petrou and Konstantinos G. Trezos
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020063
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/63

8. “Properties of Cementitious Materials with Recycled Aggregate and Powder Both from Clay Brick Waste”
by Huixia Wu, Jianzhuang Xiao, Chaofeng Liang and Zhiming Ma
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030119
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/3/119

9. “Effect of Amount of Fibre and Damage Level on Service Life of SFR Recycled Concrete in Aggressive Environment”
by Petr Lehner and Marie Horňáková
Buildings 2021, 11(10), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11100489
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/10/489

10. “Effect of Amount of Fibre and Damage Level on Service Life of SFR Recycled Concrete in Aggressive Environment”
by Freja Nygaard Rasmussen, Camilla Ernst Andersen, Alexandra Wittchen, Rasmus Nøddegaard Hansen and Harpa Birgisdóttir
Buildings 2021, 11(8), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080362
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/8/362

1. “Differentiating Digital Twin from Digital Shadow: Elucidating a Paradigm Shift to Expedite a Smart, Sustainable Built Environment”
by Samad M. E. Sepasgozar
Buildings 2021, 11(4), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11040151
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/4/151

2. “Positioning Positive Energy Districts in European Cities”
by Oscar Lindholm, Hassam ur Rehman and Francesco Reda
Buildings 2021, 11(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11010019
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/1/19

3. “Modeling Social Impacts of High-Rise Residential Buildings during the Post-Occupancy Phase Using DEMATEL Method: A Case Study”
by Ngakan Ketut Acwin Dwijendra, Ravil Akhmadeev, Dmitry Tumanov, Mikhail Kosov, Shahab Shoar and Audrius Banaitis
Buildings 2021, 11(11), 504; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110504
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/11/504

4. “IEA EBC Annex83 Positive Energy Districts”
by Åsa Hedman, Hassam Ur Rehman, Andrea Gabaldón, Adriano Bisello, Vicky Albert-Seifried, Xingxing Zhang, Francesco Guarino, Steinar Grynning, Ursula Eicker, Hans-Martin Neumann, Pekka Tuominen and Francesco Reda
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030130
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/3/130

5. “Integration of BIM and Immersive Technologies for AEC: A Scientometric-SWOT Analysis and Critical Content Review”
by Ayaz Khan, Samad Sepasgozar, Tingting Liu and Rongrong Yu
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030126
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/3/126

6. “BIM-Based Energy Analysis and Sustainability Assessment—Application to Portuguese Buildings”
by José Pedro Carvalho,Manuela Almeida, Luís Bragança and Ricardo Mateus
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030126
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/6/246

7. “Carbon Neutral Roadmap of Commercial Building Operations by Mid-Century: Lessons from China”
by Shufan Zhang, Xiwang Xiang, Zhili Ma, Minda Ma and Chenchen Zou
Buildings 2021, 11(11), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110510
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/11/510

8. “State-of-the-Art Technologies for Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Systems”
by Hussein M. Maghrabie, Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem, Abdul Hai Al-Alami, Mohamad Ramadan, Emad Mushtaha, Tabbi Wilberforce and Abdul Ghani Olabi
Buildings 2021, 11(9), 383; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11090383
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/9/383

9. “Application of Portable Air Purifiers for Mitigating COVID-19 in Large Public Spaces”
by Zhiqiang (John) Zhai, He Li, Robert Bahl and Keith Trace
Buildings 2021, 11(8), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080329
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/8/329

10. “Influence of Occupant Behavior for Building Energy Conservation: A Systematic Review Study of Diverse Modeling and Simulation Approach”
by Mohammad Nyme Uddin, Hsi-Hsien Wei, Hung Lin Chi and Meng Ni
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020041
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/41

1. “Multiple Dimensions of Smart Cities’ Infrastructure: A Review”
by Ana Paula P. Kasznar, Ahmed W. A. Hammad, Mohammad Najjar, Eduardo Linhares Qualharini, Karoline Figueiredo, Carlos Alberto Pereira Soares and Assed N. Haddad
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020073
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/73

2. “Structural Optimization in Civil Engineering: A Literature Review”
by Linfeng Mei and Qian Wang
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020066
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/66

3. “An Assessment Methodology for the Evaluation of the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Italian Housing Market Demand”
by Francesco Tajani, Felicia Di Liddo, Maria Rosaria Guarini, Rossana Ranieri and Debora Anelli
Buildings 2021, 11(12), 592; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11120592
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/12/592

4. “Augmented Reality to Enable Users to Identify Deviations for Model Reconciliation”
by Jad Chalhoub, Steven K. Ayer and Kieren H. McCord
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020077
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/2/77

5. “Application of Virtual Environments for Biophilic Design: A Critical Review”
by Maryam Mollazadeh and Yimin Zhu
Buildings 2021, 11(4), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11040148
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/4/148

6. “Application of Low-Cost Sensors for Building Monitoring: A Systematic Literature Review”
by Behnam Mobaraki, Fidel Lozano-Galant, Rocio Porras Soriano and Francisco Javier Castilla Pascual
Buildings 2021, 11(8), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080336
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/8/336

7. “Critical Review of Public Policies for the Rehabilitation of Housing Stock: The Case of Barcelona”
by Angel Uzqueda, Pilar Garcia-Almirall, Còssima Cornadó and Sara Vima-Grau
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030108
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/3/108

8. “Digital Modelling and Accuracy Verification of a Complex Architectural Object Based on Photogrammetric Reconstruction”
by Agnieszka Ozimek, Paweł Ozimek, Krzysztof Skabek and Piotr Łabędź
Buildings 2021, 11(5), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11050206
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/5/206

9. “Architectural Education in the Current of Deep Ecology and Sustainability”
by Ewa Cisek and Anna Jaglarz
Buildings 2021, 11(8), 358; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080358
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/8/358

10. “A Systematic Review of Design Creativity in the Architectural Design Studio”
by Hernan Casakin and Andrew Wodehouse
Buildings 2021, 11(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11010031
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/1/31

MDPI will be attending the 17th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology (ICWMT17), held in Sanya, China, from 19 to 22 November 2022. The theme of this year’s conference is “Synergizing the Reduction of Pollution and Carbon Emission”. Throughout the conference, prominent researchers and government officials will give keynote speeches on pressing issues of solid waste management. ICWMT17 provides an excellent opportunity for participants from industry and academia to keep up to date with the latest trends in solid waste management.

During this conference, MDPI will welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest views as well as research with us.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Sustainability (leading journal);
• Environments;
• IJERPH;
• Atmosphere;
• Buildings;
• Resources;
• Smart Cities;
• Sustainable Chemistry;
• Pollutants;
• Microplastics.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions that you may have.

For more information about the conference, please see the following link: http://www.bcrc.cn/icwmt/.