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Despite evidence that sustainable construction practice has numerous environmental, economy and societal benefits, many construction practitioners have failed to support sustainable construction practice due to perceive higher initial cost known as "green cost premium" when compared to traditional construction practice. Hence, the factors of green cost premium that are commonly cited as a crucial barrier toward sustainable construction practice must be investigated. Based on the analysis of the existing literature (e.g.: conference paper, journal article), there are 27 factors, that classified into seven elements, that contribute to the cost differential. However, few studies have been conducted on green cost premium in developing countries. Therefore, this study attempts to fill this gap and is expected to contribute to the discussion on green cost premium to improve sustainable construction implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic changes in the total amount and the structure of urban construction land are barometers to measure the health and efficiency of regional urbanization. From 1981 to 2014, vast changes have occurred in quantity, average per capita area and sprawling elastic coefficient of urban construction land in China. The area of urban construction land increased 6.44 times, which means annual increase of 1 311 km2 in the past 35 years. Per capita urban construction land increased 2.78 times, with annual increase of 2.37 m2. The speed of urban construction land expansion was significantly higher than that of population growth, and presented a large undulating change trend. The structure of urban construction land changed stably as a whole. The total amount of various types of urban construction land in the eastern region accounted for over 50% of the whole nation, which decreased slightly in recent years. The proportion of urban construction land of large, medium and small cities in China remained 50%, 20%, and 30% respectively. The main issues of urban construction land expansion in China during the last 35 years are mainly: 1) the urban construction land spread disorderly that lead to high per capita construction land; 2) the structure of urban construction land is not harmonious, which reduce the efficiency of urban land intensive use; 3) the urbanization and economic growth depended overly on construction land, and this trend is difficult to reverse in short term; 4) too many new city zones have been built in recent years and the area is too large, which exacerbated the expansion of urban construction land. Hence, the urban construction land control in China in the future should be preventing the urban sprawl disorderly, raising the level of land intensive use, optimizing the structure and function of urban construction land and making the cities growth intensively, working out the differential control measures according to local conditions, and guiding the new city zones to rational and moderate development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the ventilated facades as an intervention for efficient energy upgrade of new and, mainly, existing buildings. It focuses on the requirements that this specific building element should fulfill, with regard to legal, technical, social and financial aspects. More specifically, legal aspects concern mainly the regulations that determine the element's behaviour with respect to the hygrothermal, energy, sound and fire performance, as well as other legal restrictions (i.e. urbanism/planning rules or listed buildings). The technical aspects involve structural issues, architectural concerns and aesthetics, as well as functional matters. Finally, the social aspects refer to the acceptance of the element by building users and architects/engineers, while the financial aspects interrelate the ownership with the economic incentives and the investment feasibility. All the above are presented and discussed in the paper in order to highlight the applicability of ventilated façade systems in residential buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The construction industry, with its adversarial culture, could use relational contracting (RC) to improve project outcomes by nurturing healthy social interactions among its key players, particularly clients and contractors. The aim of this research is to investigate the application of social interaction theory in RC in construction. A literature review was used to identify factors from social interaction theory that affects RC performance. These factors were verified by experts and practitioners to determine their relevance. Questionnaires were then distributed to measure the level of implementation of the verified factors in the Pakistani construction industry. In total, 204 data were collected and analyzed using factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that in order to have successful RC, clients and contractors must identify motivational factors, develop a collaborative culture, and establish structured interactions. The research has found 6 dimensions and 36 factors that are essential for this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, BUILDING OWNERS WANT TO IDENTIFY, CONTROL, AND MITIGATE PROJECT RISKS BY DECIDING ON HOW PROJECTS WILL BE DELIVERED ON TIME AND WITHIN BUDGET. Project delivery method is a comprehensive process by which designers, constructors, and various consultants provide services for design and construction to deliver a complete project to the owner (Migliaccio et al., 2008). This research paper discusses the types and impacts of various project delivery methods that affect project outcome. The purpose is to understand how project stakeholders interact within the delivery method for the best outcome. To analyze the effectiveness of project delivery method, two case studies in the public higher education in California are reviewed. Both projects are delivered under the same project delivery method. The project outcomes varied significantly in terms of cost, schedule, scope compliance, quality, and stakeholders' expectations. These outcome variances in the case studies demonstrate the necessity to understand the benefits of strategic alignment of process execution with the culture of integrative team to produce project sustainable outcome in the built environment. Applying an integrated project delivery method is not a substitute for a high performance team. The interdisciplinary interaction and balancing project constraints (cost, time, and scope) with the integrative nature of 3 core areas (Process, People, and System) will contribute to project success. A project sustainable outcome has positive benefits and long term impacts on the society, economy, and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The male-ness or masculine nature of the construction industry has often been blamed for the problems of equality and diversity in the sector. Yet, what constitutes masculinity in construction is rarely problematized. Conventionally, masculinity in construction tended to be associated with the subordination and harassment of minority groups (e.g. women, non-heterosexuals), and the ideals of keeping fit in order to meet the tough, physical demands of construction work. Therefore an attempt was made to expand the conceptualization of alternative masculinities in construction. By deploying queer theory, the life stories of nine non-heterosexuals working in trade and professional occupations in the construction industry were analysed to explore how a range of different masculinities played out in the social interactions in their personal and working lives. The findings suggest that conventional hegemonic masculinity, while present, is not the only form of masculinity that subordinates minority groups in construction. Rather, other non-hegemonic forms of masculinity (e.g. found in homo-social contexts) also serve to exclude both men and women. Nevertheless, examples were also identified of minorities countering such exclusionary forms of masculinity through, for instance, ‘friendship’ alliances at work, which could offer possibilities for building a more inclusive workplace in construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social outcomes, in particular intangible social outcomes, are generally difficult to achieve in the construction industry due to the predominantly episodic, fragmented and heavily regulated nature of construction that presupposes a tendency towards mainstream construction processes and design. The Western Australian ‘Percent for Art’ policy is recognized for stimulating social outcomes, by creating richer and more aesthetically pleasing social environments through the incorporation of artwork into public buildings. A case study of four Percent for Art projects highlights the role of the Artwork Selection Committee in incorporating artwork into construction. A total of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with committee members and policy officers. Data analysis involved a combination of pattern coding and matrix categorization, and resulted in the identification of the committee’s three key elements of collaborative communication, democratic decision-making and project champions. The findings suggest these key elements foster the interaction, communication and relationships needed to facilitate feedback, enhance relationships, create cross-functional teams and lower project resistance, which are all necessary to overcome constraints to social outcomes in construction. The findings provide greater insight into the mechanisms for achieving social outcomes and a basis for future discussion about the processes for achieving social outcomes in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Belgrade has experienced a construction boom for private, gated, high-security housing as the "winners" in the postcommunist transition literally wall themselves off from urban crime and poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium was built in the late 1960s, civil rights activism was integrated into the construction process of this sports facility. Before groundbreaking, civic leaders responded quickly to minority concerns in symbolic ways, but were slower to implement tangible policy changes. The racial exclusionary hiring practices traditionally employed in the Pittsburgh construction industry virtually guaranteed that the stadium project would serve as a magnet for civil rights protests. Civic activists employed the stadium construction site as a key symbol in their efforts to combat discriminatory hiring practices. This case study illuminates the complexities of Pittsburgh's reactions to racial injustice during a crucial era in the civil rights movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental indicators for buildings have the potential to serve as a means of making the environmental impacts (and possibly benefits) of buildings visible to all relevant actors. In addition, indicators facilitate the consideration and management of an array of environmental issues in the relevant decision-making situations. The broad acceptance of indicators across different groups of decision-makers in different phases of a building's life cycle is especially important when indicators are not mandatory, but are to be used in voluntary bottom-up initiatives. The objective of the present study was to investigate if (and to what extent) a consensus on environmental indicators for buildings as ‘a common language for green building’ can be reached among core actors in the Danish building sector and what such indicators could look like. Based on an analysis of current indicator systems and a qualitative investigation of the views of different actor groups on environmental indicators for buildings, the areas of consensus and lines of conflict between the actor groups were identified. Four different technological frames were used to identify four different perceptions of environmental indicators. Applying the theory of the social construction of technology (SCOT) in a prospective way, the findings show that a closure of the indicator-debate on the basis of an all-actors consensus within the near future is unlikely. Instead, three likely scenarios are described for the future development of the indicator debate and the directions for different actors are identified to create a common language for the use of green building indicators. Les indicateurs environnementaux applicables aux bâtiments peuvent être un moyen utile pour rendre visible l'impact des bâtiments sur l'environnement (et, éventuellement, de leurs avantages) à tous les acteurs concernés. En outre, ces indicateurs facilitent la prise en compte et la réponse à un ensemble de questions environnementales lors du processus décisionnel. La large acceptation de ces indicateurs par les différents groupes de décideurs lors de diverses phases du cycle de vie d'un bâtiment est particulièrement significative lorsque ces indicateurs ne sont pas obligatoires mais qu'ils doivent être utilisés dans le cadre d'initiatives volontaires initiées per le terrain. L'objectif de la présente étude était de savoir si (et dans quelle mesure) on pouvait atteindre un consensus sur les indicateurs environnementaux applicables aux bâtiments et considérés comme ‘langage commun pour des bâtiments verts’ pour les principaux acteurs du secteur de la construction au Danemark; il s'agissait également de savoir à quoi pouvaient ressembler ces indicateurs. Sur la base d'une analyse des systèmes actuels d'indicateurs et d'une analyse qualitative de l'opinion des différents groupes d'acteurs quant aux indicateurs environnements applicables aux bâtiments, on a pu recenser les domaines consensuels et les axes de conflits entre les groupes acteurs. On a utilisé quatre cadres technologiques différents pour recenser quatre perceptions différentes des indicateurs environnementaux. Lorsque l'on applique la théorie de la construction sociale de la technologie (SCOT) de manière prospective, il apparaît qu'il est peu vraisemblable que le débat sur les indicateurs s'achève sur la base d'un consensus de tous les acteurs dans un proche avenir. Au contraire, l'auteur décrit trois scénarios possibles concernant l'avancée du débat sur les indicateurs et recense les axes d'évolution pour des acteurs différents afin de créer un langage commun permettant d'utiliser les indicateurs applicables aux bâtiments verts. Mots clés: élaboration d'un consensus, système d'aide à la décision, indicateurs environnementaux, bâtiments verts, construction sociale de la technologie (SCOT), évaluation de la durabilité [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1978, the U.S. Department of Labor set affirmative action goals for hiring women on publicly financed construction sites. The objective was to have female representation on these sites reach 6.9% of the total workforce. Women entering these occupations felt as though they would be the first of a wave of female applicants. But a report issued in 1993 by the New York City Commission on Human Rights, entitled "Building Barriers: Discrimination in New York City's Construction Trades," demonstrated the severe under-representation of people of color and women in the skilled trades. The article looks at the experiences of women working in construction in New York City.

The notion of quasi-rationality is discussed and some new empirical evidence of actual (as revealed in experiments) rather than theorized behaviour is presented. Results from a series of experiments show evidence of money illusion in perception of salary levels and frame dependent risk aversion in agreeing contracts for property development. The implications for the property and construction markets and for research in property and construction economics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]