Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Buildings Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Related Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction Management, and Computers & Digitization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 7836

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Junwu Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: construction safety; BIM; digital twins; soft computing in civil engineering; uncertainty analysis; PPP; engineering vulnerability management; life cycle management of complex engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Han Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Infrastructure Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: construction safety management; construction enterprise management; cost-duration optimization analysis; uncertainty analysis in civil engineering: application of artificial intelligence in civil engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Zhangsheng Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

College of City Construction, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
Interests: resources; environment and sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following the success of this Special Issue’s first edition, we are pleased to announce the launch of its second edition, “Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings”. It has become the consensus of policy makers, designers, contractors and scholars to realize the scientific management of the whole life cycle of buildings. This is of great significance for enhancing the value of buildings. This Special Issue aims to gather experts from academia and industry to share their new methods, strategies and practical experiences in promoting more efficient, safe, environmentally friendly and sustainable development in the field of buildings. We hope that these contributions will provide new perspectives and solutions for optimal management at all or specific stages of the project life cycle.

We welcome submissions focusing on the following areas.

Whole lifecycle cost analysis in buildings;
New project management strategies oriented towards LCM;
Innovative strategies for durable design;
Applications of emerging technologies and materials in the maintenance and repair of structures;
New applications of BIM and digital twin technologies in LCM;
New applications of smart devices and sensor technologies in construction monitoring and maintenance;
New strategies for green construction and sustainable management;
New tools for risk management and decision support of buildings in the design, construction and operation and maintenance stages;
Innovative strategies for resilience and adaptability management in buildings;
New strategies for LCM management at the corporate level of building enterprises;
Supply chain management of complex building projects;
Mechanical performance analysis of buildings in LCM.

Manuscripts that analyze the interrelated effects of buildings and their surrounding infrastructure in the whole life cycle are also welcome, given their proximity to each other.

This Special Issue presents an excellent opportunity for researchers to share their findings and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in this field. All submissions will undergo a thorough review process to ensure the publication of high-quality content.

Authors are encouraged to submit their papers by the specified deadline. We look forward to receiving your contributions and collaborating to expand our understanding of the life cycle management of buildings.

Prof. Dr. Junwu Wang
Dr. Han Wu
Dr. Zhangsheng Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

cost and duration analysis in LCM
durable design in LCM
construction enterprise management
digital twins and BIM
smart devices and sensor technologies
soft computing in civil engineering
uncertainty analysis in LCM of civil engineering
risk management in LCM of civil engineering
decision support in LCM of civil engineering
green construction and sustainable management

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Advances in Life Cycle Management of Civil Engineering in Buildings (13 articles)

Published Papers (9 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Other

30 pages, 778 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Performance Evaluation Framework for Sponge City Construction

by Le Luo, Lei Yang and Wang Jiang

Buildings 2025, 15(11), 1814; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15111814 - 25 May 2025

Viewed by 107

Abstract

As sponge city construction is gradually promoted globally, it is very important to construct a scientific and reasonable performance evaluation framework. This paper establishes an indicator system with 5 primary indicators and 15 secondary indicators, calculates subjective weights by fuzzy hierarchical analysis, determines objective weights by a projection tracing model, calculates comprehensive weights of indicators by combining game theory, and finally determines the city’s evaluation level based on the interval-counting multi-objective gray target decision-making model. Eleven typical sponge cities were selected for the case study analysis, which verified that the research framework of this paper can effectively deal with complex data and the reliability of the evaluation results, providing new ideas for the evaluation of sponge city construction performance. It also helps city managers to optimize the construction plan and resource allocation in a timely manner, thus enhancing the comprehensive benefits of the city and providing a scientific basis for the long-term development of sponge cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 1588 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coordinating Construction Machinery Leasing Supply Chains Under Integrated Installation–Dismantling Services: A Game-Theoretic Approach with Profit–Cost Sharing Contracts

by Jing Yin, Hao Chen, Jiawei Zhang, Tingting Wang and Shunyao Cai

Buildings 2025, 15(8), 1217; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15081217 - 8 Apr 2025

Viewed by 235

Abstract

Construction machinery operations are intrinsically linked to critical societal challenges, including safety risks and carbon emissions. In response to the high incidence of fatal accidents during installation and dismantling phases, the Chinese government has officially promoted integrated installation–dismantling services to enhance construction safety since 2023. However, the economic viability of this policy for leasing companies remains largely underexplored. To address this gap, this paper develops a leasing-oriented closed-loop construction machinery supply chain model that incorporates integrated installation–dismantling services under an industrial internet platform. The study first compares and analyzes the product leasing demand, installation and dismantling demand, and supply chain profits under both centralized and decentralized decision-making scenarios. Based on these analyses, a profit–cost sharing joint contract is designed to coordinate the supply chain. Furthermore, the interrelationships among key parameters are examined through a sensitivity analysis and numerical simulation. The results reveal that enhancing leasing information services increases both the demand for construction machinery and the platform’s operating costs. These costs are positively correlated with the product’s selling price, leading to higher purchasing costs for lessees. Similarly, improving information services for installation and dismantling raises the platform’s operating costs and enhances service levels, which in turn increases installation and dismantling costs for lessees. The findings demonstrate that within a certain range of cost-sharing and leasing-sharing proportional coefficients, the joint contract enables the supply chain to achieve Pareto optimization. This approach simultaneously alleviates economic pressure on lessees, improves construction safety, and promotes the integration of installation and dismantling services. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 1068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Vulnerability Evaluation Model of a Public Service Building Based on Structural Equation Modeling and Matter-Element Extension

by Hao Peng, Jin Zhang, Xinyu Wang and Chenyang Peng

Buildings 2025, 15(6), 948; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15060948 - 17 Mar 2025

Viewed by 293

Abstract

Vulnerability assessments of public service buildings (PSBs) are critical to life cycle management. An accurate evaluation can substantially improve the quality of public services and reduce the government’s financial burden. We proposed a WBS-VBS framework to build a vulnerability decomposition matrix for PSBs. A Chinese vocational education center relocation case study validated the method. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to normalize the path coefficients and obtain the index weights. The matter-element extension method was utilized to calculate correlation functions and determine the vulnerability levels of different indicators. The case study results demonstrate the effectiveness of the model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 7876 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Load Estimation Method Based on Surface Crack Distribution Images of Reinforced Concrete Beams

by Hongli Ding, Chun Zhang, Yinjie Zhao and Jian Yu

Buildings 2025, 15(6), 922; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15060922 - 14 Mar 2025

Viewed by 355

Abstract

The preliminary assessment of structural status in reinforced concrete (RC) using visual indicators like surface cracks serves as the primary step in formulating maintenance and reinforcement strategies. To enhance the efficiency of load identification and damage assessment, this study proposes a novel method for determining external load levels on RC beams using structural surface crack distribution images. First, crack distribution characteristics are extracted using image segmentation techniques. Subsequently, mechanical responses of the beam under different load levels are acquired through the finite element method (FEM). Then, this study develops a novel correlation index model by analyzing the relationships between crack distribution images and strain distribution images from the FEM, enabling accurate identification of the load level that best matches the actual crack distribution. Finally, a preliminary assessment of the damage state is conducted through elastoplastic analysis of the RC beam under the optimal load level. Verification analysis based on multiple experimental beam datasets under different load levels demonstrates that the mean absolute percentage error of the method is 10.98%, and the damage assessment results are in good agreement with the crack distribution images. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 432 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vulnerability Assessment of the Prefabricated Building Supply Chain Based on Set Pair Analysis

by Jinjin Li, Lan Luo and Zhangsheng Liu

Buildings 2025, 15(5), 722; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15050722 - 24 Feb 2025

Viewed by 498

Abstract

In recent years, the disruption of the prefabricated building supply chain has led to increased construction period delays and cost overruns, limiting the development and popularization of prefabricated buildings in China. Therefore, this study established a vulnerability evaluation index system for the prefabricated building supply chain using the driving force–pressure–state–impact–response (DPSIR) framework. We employed the intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (IFAHP), the projection pursuit (PP) model, and variable weight theory to determine the indicator weights. The IFAHP was utilized to reduce the subjectivity in weight assignment and to obtain the degree of membership, non-membership, and hesitation of experts in evaluating the importance of indicators. The PP model was used to determine objective weights based on the structure of the evaluation data, and variable weight theory was applied to integrate subjective and objective weights according to management needs. We utilized Set Pair Analysis (SPA) to establish a vulnerability evaluation model for the building supply chain, treating evaluation data and evaluation levels as a set pair. By analyzing the degree of identity, difference, and opposition of the set pair, we assessed and predicted the vulnerability of the building supply chain. Taking the Taohua Shantytown project in Nanchang as a case study, the results showed that the primary index with the greatest influence on the vulnerability of the prefabricated building supply chain was the driving force, with a weight of 0.2692, followed by the secondary indices of market demand and policy support, with weights of 0.0753 and 0.0719, respectively. The project’s average vulnerability rating was moderate (Level III), and it showed an improvement trend. During the project’s implementation, the total cost overrun of the prefabricated building supply chain was controlled within 5% of the budget, the construction period delay did not exceed 7% of the plan, and the rate of production safety accidents was below the industry average. The results demonstrated that the vulnerability assessment method for the prefabricated building supply chain based on SPA comprehensively and objectively reflected the vulnerability of the supply chain. It is suggested to improve the transparency and flexibility of the supply chain, strengthen daily management within the supply chain, and enhance collaboration with supply chain partners to reduce vulnerability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3305 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Incentive Mechanism of Collaboration in Prefabricated Building Supply Chain Based on Differential Game

by Junwu Wang, Denghui Liu and Shi Qiao

Buildings 2024, 14(11), 3342; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14113342 - 22 Oct 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 956

Abstract

Supply chain collaboration is an important guarantee for improving the performance of prefabricated construction projects and exerting its advantages. The aim of this study was to explore the level and effect of supply chain collaboration under a no-cost-sharing contract, a cost-sharing contract, and a centralized decision-making contract. A dynamic incentive model of prefabricated building supply chain collaboration based on the differential game model was proposed. Considering the impact of BIM on collaboration, the BIM application level was also introduced into the incentive model. Through the comparative analysis of model solution results and numerical simulation, it was found that, in the centralized decision-making contract, the optimal collaborative effort and the optimal total revenue of enterprises in the prefabricated building supply chain were the largest; the optimal collaborative effort of enterprise in the prefabricated building supply chain reduced first and then tended to be stable; and the improvement of the BIM application level could promote collaboration in the prefabricated building supply chain. The results of this study are helpful for managers to select and formulate a reasonable collaboration incentive contract in the prefabricated building supply chain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 16524 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel Approach to Protect Red Revolutionary Heritage Based on Artificial Intelligence Algorithm and Image-Processing Technology

by Junbo Yi, Yan Tian and Yuanfei Zhao

Buildings 2024, 14(9), 3011; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14093011 - 22 Sep 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1506

Abstract

The red revolutionary heritage is a valuable part of China’s historical and cultural legacy, with the potential to generate economic benefits through its thoughtful development. However, challenges such as insufficient understanding, lack of comprehensive planning and layout, and limited protection and utilization methods hinder the full realization of the political, cultural, and economic value of red heritage. To address these problems, this paper thoroughly examines the current state of red revolutionary heritage protection and identifies the problems within the preservation process. Moreover, it proposes leveraging advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to repair some damaged image data. Specifically, this paper introduces a red revolutionary cultural relic image-restoration model based on a generative adversarial network (GAN). This model was trained using samples of damaged image and utilizes high-quality models to restore these images effectively. The study also integrates real-world revolutionary heritage images for practical application and assesses its effectiveness through questionnaire surveys. The survey results show that AI algorithms and image-processing technologies hold significant potential in the protection of revolutionary heritage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 543 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Evaluation Model of Subway Station Adaptability Based on Combination Weighting and an Improved Extension Cloud Model

by Weiying Wu, Cheng Song, Xiaolin Wang, Hengheng Su and Bo Huang

Buildings 2024, 14(9), 2867; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14092867 - 11 Sep 2024

Viewed by 1153

Abstract

The rational selection of subway station locations is an interdisciplinary problem encompassing architecture, transportation, and other fields. Few evaluation index systems and quantitative evaluation methods exist for choosing subway station locations; thus, this paper establishes a novel evaluation framework. Overall, 21 indicators covering the construction and operation phases are selected by a literature review, providing a basis for planning decision makers. The Projection Pursuit Method (PPM) and the Bald Eagle Search (BES) algorithm are employed to assign objective weights. The Continuous Ordered Weighted Averaging (COWA) operator is utilized to obtain subjective weights. A combination weighting method is used based on game theory to improve the accuracy of weight calculation. Game theory and extension cloud theory are applied to develop an improved extension cloud model and evaluate the suitability based on optimal cloud entropy. We conduct a case study of 15 stations on the Chengdu Metro Line 11, China. The results reveal that the coordination of the development plans, the alignment with the land use plan, and regional population density are the most crucial tertiary indicators that should be considered in selecting subway station locations. These findings agree with the actual conditions, demonstrating the scientific validity of the proposed evaluation method, which outperforms classical evaluation methods. The proposed method is efficient and feasible for selecting subway station locations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research

19 pages, 2845 KiB

Open AccessStudy Protocol

Risk Assessment of Underground Tunnel Engineering Based on Pythagorean Fuzzy Sets and Bayesian Networks

by Zhenhua Wang, Tiantian Jiang and Zhiyong Li

Buildings 2024, 14(9), 2897; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14092897 - 13 Sep 2024

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1676

Abstract

With the acceleration of urbanization, the importance of risk management in underground construction projects has become increasingly prominent. In the process of risk assessment for underground construction projects, the uncertainty of subjective factors from experts poses a significant challenge to the accuracy of assessment outcomes. This paper takes a section of the Nanchang Metro Line 2 as the research object, aiming to address the subjectivity issues in the risk assessment of underground construction projects and to enhance the scientific rigor and accuracy of the assessment. The study initially conducts a comprehensive identification and analysis of risk factors in underground engineering through a literature review and expert consultation method. Based on this, this paper introduces the theory of Pythagorean fuzzy sets to improve the Delphi method in order to reduce the impact of subjectivity in expert assessments. Furthermore, this paper constructs a Bayesian network model, incorporating risk factors into the network, and quantifies the construction risks through a probabilistic inference mechanism. The research findings indicate a total of 12 key risk factors that have been identified across four dimensions: geological and groundwater conditions, tunnel construction technical risks, construction management measures, and the surrounding environment. The Bayesian network assessment results indicate that the effectiveness of engineering quality management and the state of safety management at the construction site are the two most influential factors. Based on the assessment results, this paper further conducts a risk control analysis and proposes targeted risk management measures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Advances in Life Cycle Management of Buildings

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (9 papers)

Research

Other

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI