Innovation and Challenges in Creating Smart Buildings for Sustainable Construction
A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction Management, and Computers & Digitization".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 34
Special Issue Editors
Interests: smart buildings; digital twin; IoT; BIM; sustainable construction; energy efficiency, renewable energy
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The built environment plays a vital role in shaping the way people live, work, and interact. With rapid urbanization, climate change, and growing environmental awareness, there is an urgent need to rethink how buildings are designed, built, and operated. Enhancing smart buildings through sustainable construction methods offers innovative solutions to reducing the environmental footprint of the construction industry, improving energy efficiency, enhancing occupant comfort, and promoting long-term economic and environmental benefits. These advances are key components of a broader vision for sustainable urban development, resilient communities, and improved quality of life.
Smart buildings use advanced technologies—such as the Internet of Things (IoT), automation systems, real-time data analytics, and AI—to monitor and optimize building performance. These systems enable efficient energy use and the implementation of predictive maintenance phases to globally improve the efficiency of building management. Meanwhile, sustainable construction emphasizes the use of eco-friendly materials, circular economy principles, and low-carbon design strategies to minimize waste, pollution, and resource depletion. Together, these approaches redefine traditional building practices and provide resilient and adaptable solutions to future challenges.
Equally important is the development of methods to assess the sustainability, functionality, and performance of smart and green buildings. Construction decisions are coming to be increasingly based on data-driven insights, life cycle assessments (LCAs), and performance metrics that consider energy use, carbon emissions, and occupant wellbeing. The integration of digital technologies such as building information modelling (BIM), sensor networks, AI, and machine learning is revolutionizing the way buildings are designed, monitored, and maintained throughout their lifecycle.
This Special Issue aims to collect original research papers, reviews, and case studies reports that explore innovations in smart building technologies, sustainable building practices, and their intersection. We welcome submissions that address the energy performance of buildings, eco-friendly materials and technologies, digital construction methods, automation and control, climate-responsive design, and strategies for enhancing sustainability and resilience in the built environment. Papers focusing on smart infrastructure; building diagnostics; and the application of AI, IoT, and data analytics in sustainable construction are also within the scope of this Special Issue.
Dr. Francesco Muzi
Dr. Francesco Livio Rossini
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
- sustainable construction
- smart buildings
- renewable energy
- energy efficiency
- smart grid
- digital twin
- BIM
- Internet of Things
- artificial intelligence
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