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Recent Advances in Green Building Projects and Sustainable Design

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2025) | Viewed by 8190

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Economics, Management and Information Systems in Construction; Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Košice, Kosice, Slovakia
Interests: sustainable construction project management; information and communication technology in construction; economic sustainability of construction projects; green building information modelling; circular economy; cost management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Technologies and Innovations in Construction, Institute of Technology, Economics and Management in Construction, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Košice, Vysokoškolská 4, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia
Interests: technological and environmental parameters of design and implementation of buildings in the context of sustainable construction; circular economy in construction; green building information modelling in construction; smart technologies in construction; smart approaches to construction implementation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics, Management and Information Systems in Construction, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Košice, Vysokoškolská 4, 042 00 Košice, Slovakia
Interests: economics; management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We kindly invite you to contribute to the Special Issue, "Recent Advances in Green Building Projects and Sustainable Design". Submissions of original scientific works as well as review papers focused on smart technology and sustainable management approaches for green buildings and the environment are strongly encouraged and welcome.

Sustainability in construction can be realized in several ways. The development of technologies is rapid, which can positively affect the design of green buildings. Sustainability in construction can also be achieved through a responsible approach and management of construction projects. Therefore, all efforts for economic sustainability in the field of green building design are also welcome. The benefits of smart technologies and management approaches for designing and implementing green buildings represent the potential for research in this area. Similarly, studies on the impact of smart technology in the context of green buildings and a sustainable environment have the potential to contribute new information to practice.

The aim of this Special Issue (SI) is to present smart technologies and modern approaches for the green and sustainable design of buildings. An important aspect is also the management of the circular economy, waste management, smart technology implementation and impacts on sustainable design.

This SI would act as an international platform to showcase emergent findings and contribute to generating new knowledge in this growing field of research.

Dr. Tomáš Mandičák
Dr. Marcela Spisakova
Prof. Dr. Peter Mésároš
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • smart technology
  • BIM technology
  • green BIM
  • sustainable management
  • economic sustainability
  • sustainable construction project management
  • sustainable cost management of green buildings
  • development and utilization of smart technology in construction
  • circular economy
  • sustainable management
  • green building information modelling
  • sustainable waste management
  • infrastructure of green buildings
  • energy and cost savings

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1623 KiB  
Article
A Systematic Approach to Substantiating the Effectiveness of Waste Management Systems
by Lyudmila Korshunova and Sofia Boichenko
Sustainability 2025, 17(10), 4337; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17104337 - 11 May 2025
Viewed by 477
Abstract
This study addresses the growing global concern regarding electronic waste (e-waste) management, focusing on the challenges and potential solutions within the Russian Federation. This study employs a systematic approach, statistical analysis, and comparative studies to evaluate the current state of e-waste management, including [...] Read more.
This study addresses the growing global concern regarding electronic waste (e-waste) management, focusing on the challenges and potential solutions within the Russian Federation. This study employs a systematic approach, statistical analysis, and comparative studies to evaluate the current state of e-waste management, including its collection, transportation, recycling, and disposal. Data from Rosprirodnadzor and other regulatory bodies were analyzed to assess the dynamics of e-waste generation, recycling rates, and the implementation of best available technologies (BATs) through integrated environmental permits (IEPs). The study findings reveal a significant increase in e-waste generation (from 87,832 tons in 2019 to 113,372 tons in 2022, but decreased to 82,965 tons in 2023), with only a fraction being properly recycled (the amount of waste processed has decreased significantly: from 79,616 tons in 2019 to 11,569 tons in 2023), and highlight the inefficiencies in existing regional waste management systems (including monopolistic operators and inefficient infrastructure, with just six certified e-waste recyclers operating nationally). This study concludes that a comprehensive, regionally tailored e-waste management system, supported by financial mechanisms such as parafiscal charges, is essential for improving recycling rates and reducing the environmental impacts of e-waste. Key recommendations include QR-code labeling for traceability, expanded collection networks, and BAT-aligned permits to meet the 65% collection target set by EU Directive 2012/19/EU. Our findings underscore the urgency of scaling recycling capacity—currently 481,935 tons/year nationally—to match annual e-waste generation (1.4 million tons). The proposed system emphasizes the prioritization of ecological over economic considerations, aiming to create an effective system for e-waste management in Russia. The proposed hypothesis includes an effective e-waste management system that can be established through BAT-based processes, financial incentives, and systemic regional integration—but it requires empirical validation under real-world conditions. To achieve this, it is necessary to conduct a pilot implementation in a selected region. A pilot with partial infrastructure exists in Moscow (e.g., Ecopolis Corporation’s facilities) and integrates disjointed processes (collection → sorting → recycling) while monitoring key metrics (e.g., volume processed, cost per ton, stakeholder compliance). A 3-year evaluation period would provide actionable data for a nationwide rollout. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Green Building Projects and Sustainable Design)
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50 pages, 8528 KiB  
Article
Uncovering Barriers to Circular Construction: A Global Scientometric Review and Future Research Agenda
by Yusuf Berkay Metinal and Gulden Gumusburun Ayalp
Sustainability 2025, 17(4), 1381; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17041381 - 8 Feb 2025
Viewed by 2150
Abstract
The construction industry is critical to economic growth and environmental sustainability. However, its substantial resource consumption and waste generation highlight the urgent need for a transition toward circular construction (CC) practices. This study uses scientometric and content analyses of 199 articles published between [...] Read more.
The construction industry is critical to economic growth and environmental sustainability. However, its substantial resource consumption and waste generation highlight the urgent need for a transition toward circular construction (CC) practices. This study uses scientometric and content analyses of 199 articles published between 2017 and 2024 to uncover the barriers to adopting CC principles. This study aims to identify these barriers, map key research trends, and propose future directions for addressing obstacles to CC adoption. This research focuses on global contributions to CC, highlighting influential nations, journals, and scholars and analyzing keyword trends over time. Additionally, it examines the recurring themes and patterns to provide a holistic understanding of the systemic challenges faced by the construction industry in embracing CC principles. By presenting the first comprehensive overview of barriers to CC, this study fills a critical research gap and offers insights for researchers and policymakers. The findings reveal that 12% of the total publications in the field originate from Australia and China, leading in contributions, while journals such as Sustainability and the Journal of Cleaner Production account for 31.5% of the articles. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies “management”, “barriers”, and “waste management” as prevailing themes. The annual growth rate of CC-related publications is 44.78%, underscoring its rising importance. Furthermore, 41 barriers to CC were revealed with content analysis. These insights offer a foundational understanding for policymakers and researchers, emphasizing collaboration, government intervention, and innovation in materials and technology to overcome barriers and transition to a circular, resource-efficient construction model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Green Building Projects and Sustainable Design)
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16 pages, 1825 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Design and Building Information Modeling of Construction Project Management towards a Circular Economy
by Tomáš Mandičák, Marcela Spišáková and Peter Mésároš
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4376; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114376 - 22 May 2024
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4265
Abstract
Sustainable design and building information modeling have introduced challenges and opportunities to improve the efficiency of construction project management. The use of circular economy principles provides an opportunity to improve not only environmental indicators but also economic ones. This study addresses sustainable design [...] Read more.
Sustainable design and building information modeling have introduced challenges and opportunities to improve the efficiency of construction project management. The use of circular economy principles provides an opportunity to improve not only environmental indicators but also economic ones. This study addresses sustainable design and BIM in construction project management through circular economy principles. It aims to analyze the impact of using building information modeling on sustainability indicators measured through costs. For research purposes, the basic parameters of sustainability in the construction industry were defined as recycling rate and reductions in waste and CO2. The research questionnaire sample consisted of 199 respondents from Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia. Data were processed and evaluated through descriptive statistics, and then tests were used for data distribution. Statistical significance was determined through ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis tests. Pearson’s correlation analysis was used for data processing. The trends in the research results suggest that sustainable design can be achieved using building information modeling. They also pointed to an impact on sustainability through increasing the recycling rate and reducing the amount of waste. Although these results indicated a trend, this was not confirmed by the statistical significance tests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Green Building Projects and Sustainable Design)
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