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Sustainability principles should be incorporated into all decision-making stages for residential construction projects to ensure maximum revenue while maintaining essential residential building services. This study identifies and analyzes the critical success factors (CSFs) necessary for implementing agile project management (APM) in residential construction projects. Data were collected from 120 professionals in the Nigerian construction industry through questionnaire surveys to understand the implementation of APM. The CSFs were obtained from previous research and analyzed within the specific context of the Nigerian construction industry through questionnaire surveys. The CSFs were grouped into two main categories using exploratory factor analysis: dynamic project optimization and agile project foundations. The model for the CSFs was developed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The study found that the dynamic project optimization element had the most significant impact on the model, highlighting its importance as a key CSF in APM implementation. These results support the adoption of APM within Nigeria's construction industry as stakeholders and professionals seek effective strategies to reduce costs and improve sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notes on the building construction of classical modernism on the occasion of the founding of Gemeinnützige Heimstätten AG (GEHAG) 100 years ago To mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of GEHAG on 14 April 1924, the Architekten‐ und Ingenieurverein zu Berlin‐Brandenburg e. V. (AIV) and the August Bebel Institute (ABI) hosted a conference in April 2024 at the historic location, the Berlin Trade Union House. Here, the successors of the clients for Neues Bauen – housing cooperatives, trade unions, the municipal housing industry, Konsum, AOK and others – were presented with the progress made by Neues Bauen in providing the population of a Greater Berlin with housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings consume significant amounts of energy and resources at all stages of their life cycle, causing a huge impact on the environment. Life cycle energy analysis is a holistic approach to assessing the design energy efficiency of buildings. Although new construction involves the energy-efficient, sustainable buildings, the energy demand in the construction sector will increase due to the ever-increasing demand for housing. Therefore, housing construction has significant potential for energy saving and potential for further research. The aim of the article is an energy analysis of the life cycle of buildings to formulate a strategic framework for reducing the energy footprint of the construction sector. The article examines energy-efficient solutions at the stage of selection of building systems for the construction of external wall structures. The evaluation criteria were the indicators of heat transfer resistance, embodied energy and carbon dioxide emissions from the production of building materials. It is shown that in terms of thermal and technical indicators, structures with facade thermal insulation meet the requirements of the current legislation. Comparison of embodied energy indicators showed that for a wall structure made of solid bricks, this figure is 2.0–2.7 times higher than for walls using energy-efficient building materials, which is due to the high density of ceramic bricks and significant energy consumption for their firing. For aerated concrete walls, the value of embodied energy is 769 and 1019 MJ, and the embodied carbon dioxide value is 54 and 69 kg/m2 when using expanded polystyrene and mineral wool, respectively. Life cycle energy assessment provides a strategic framework for reducing energy demand in the construction sector for practical implementation by developers. Prospects for further research in this direction are to determine the embodied energy of the proposed solutions, taking into account the durability of building materials.

This research has investigated and evaluated the demographic profile and competency levels of local builders involved in residential building construction sites at Nawalparasi East, Gandaki province, Nepal. The construction industry is a cornerstone of Nepal’s economic development. The reliability and quality of construction heavily depend on the local builder’s capability to execute the work on the basis of technical and skills proficiency. This study aims to ascertain the status of local builders regarding their competency levels and their construction work profiles on the basis of work experience. The research employs a questionnaire approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. A field survey is administered to local builders to evaluate their demographic profiles, technical skills and knowledge as well as their construction site experiences. The findings of this study reveal what local builders are good at and where they need to improve in residential construction. The results of this research are meant to help construction entrepreneurs, industry players, and local-level authorities come up with plans to boost the local builders and categories them as per their ability and strength. The outcome of the alternate hypothesis indicates that, concerning local builders, there is substantial evidence suggesting that at least one characteristic significantly varies from the others.

High construction prices and worsened financing conditions are weighing on the construction industry, especially building construction. Despite a nominal increase of six percent in construction expenses in 2023, it decreased by just over one percent in inflation-adjusted terms. In 2024, the nominal construction volume is likely to contract by around 3.5 percent, declining for the first time since the financial crisis due to falling construction prices. Residential construction in particular experienced a sharp decline in 2023 and will continue on this downward trend more strongly in 2024. Renovation and modernization activity is less affected than new construction. The situation will stabilize by 2025. The prospect of constructing 400,000 new residences annually is thus becoming increasingly out of reach. Only civil engineering is stabilizing the construction industry overall; it is likely to expand in both 2024 and 2025. The different growth prospects of the sectors require restructuring in the construction industry. In particular, capacities freed up in new residential construction should be utilized in the energy-efficient renovation of private and public buildings. Policy makers should actively support this restructuring. In addition, they should provide clarity about the subsidy programs for energy-efficient building renovation and residential unit construction. At the same time, it is important to maintain focus on the new housing construction target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Contemporary History / Časopis za Suvremenu Povijest is the property of Croatia Institute for History and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The (re-)introduction of tenancy regulation in the form of rent controls, tenant protection or supply rationing is back on the agenda of policymakers in light of rent inflation in many global cities. While rent controls promise short-term relief, economists point to their negative long-run effects on new construction. This study presents new long-run data on both rent regulation and housing construction for 16 developed countries (1910–2016) and finds that more restrictive rental market legislation generally has a negative impact on both new housing construction and residential investment. This is especially true for strict rent controls and housing rationing measures in the post-1960 period. Tenancy security can on average also dampen construction activity. The negative effect is overall less significant and strong in magnitude than expected and may have been offset by exemptions for new construction, by compensating social housing construction and by a flight of new construction into the owner-occupied sector. Still, on average, rent controls came at the cost of less construction activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embodied carbon is a buzzword in the construction industry. Australia is committed to achieving Net Zero 2050 targets, and minimizing embodied carbon (EC) is inevitable. Owing to the population growth, there will be a significant demand for residential construction. Therefore, the material consumption in residential construction should be evaluated and proper strategies should be in place to minimize EC. The aim of this research is to undertake a preliminary study of EC in the Australian residential sector, with an emphasis on new residential home construction. This research presents a preliminary study on EC in residential buildings in Australia. Three case study residential buildings were used in this study. All three case studies are single -story residential units, with a gross floor area between 200 and 240 m2. One Click LCA software was used to calculate the EC. The EC of three case study residential homes is between 193 and 233 kgCO2e/m2. Based on the findings of this study, 'other structures and materials' contribute to a large amount of EC in residential construction. Concrete and aluminum are considered significant contributors to EC. Therefore, it is vital to either introduce low-EC material to replace aluminum windows or introduce various design options to minimize the use of aluminum in windows. There are various sustainable concretes available with low EC. It is essential to explore these low-EC concretes in residential homes as well. This research identifies the importance of adopting strategies to reduce the carbon impact from other sources, including concrete. It is also essential to consider the EC through transportation related to construction and promote locally sourced building materials in residential construction. Therefore, the results of this research indicate the necessity of reducing raw material consumption in Australian residential construction by implementing approaches such as a circular economy in order to circulate building materials throughout the construction supply chain and reduce raw material extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has demonstrated that sustainable homes can help mitigate the impact of climate change and assist with meeting international climate targets. However, market implementation has been slow due to limited regulatory regimes and poor engagement by home builders across Australia. In Australia, homes are commonly built by 'volume home builders' (VHBs), who are defined as home builders who build large quantities of homes, generally from a standardised set of plans and formats. The Housing Institute of Australia (HIA) ranks the largest volume home builders annually in their top 100 home builders report. To evaluate the VHBs' approach to communicating sustainability in their home products, this study used content analysis techniques to investigate their use of online communication channels (websites, blogs and social media accounts). This study examined 23 New South Wales VHBs in 2020 and 2022 and compared them to a study of Australia's top 100 VHBs in 2016. The findings demonstrated a significant increase in the level of sustainability communications in their online channels between 2016 and 2020 but showed a decrease between 2020 and 2022. Overall, the level of detail, the type of information and the educational quality improved from 2016 to 2022. However, only two VHBs provided a high level of sustainability information. The most recent results illustrated that VHBs have moved away from having sustainability links and terminology on their websites compared to the 2020 baseline. This study demonstrated that leading Australian VHBs have an enormous opportunity to improve their sustainability messaging and suggested recommendations for enhancing communication capabilities and providing more meaningful sustainability information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time required to implement projects is one of the basic elements for evaluating the performance of these projects, as the project is considered successful if it is delivered on time, and there are many and multiple reasons that lead to delay in the project time. Delay in time is considered one of the important problems that affect the performance of projects. This research aims to know the role of the structural systems used in the construction of multi-storey concrete buildings in reducing construction time and thus reducing the total time required to implement projects. A group of structural systems commonly used locally in the city of Mosul were applied, such as (1- Traditional building system - in-situ pouring of concrete 2- The Tunnel system and 3- The prefabricated system - pre-casting of concrete, in addition to 4- A proposed system within the study, which is a combination of 1 and 3) on a model of a multi-storey residential project, in view of the great need for residential units and the importance of implementing them at an appropriate time compared to the cost achieved from that. This can be considered the optimal time for implementation while maintaining the necessary efficiency for these projects. To test the research hypothesis which states that the construction system has an important role in achieving the optimal time for project implementation, the data obtained from each system was extracted and compared, then the completion rates for the first 100 hours of work were calculated. In an attempt to determine the system that achieves the optimal time required for construction, it was concluded that it is difficult to determine the optimal system directly, but it can be considered that the prefabricated building system can be considered the optimal system on the one hand, and the time and Mixed System can be considered the optimal system in terms of cost, and the results. The study may help decision-makers who are specialists in the construction industry to take appropriate measures and determine the appropriate construction system in constructing projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper problematises the perception that enhanced competition within the Swedish residential construction sector offers a panacea to rising building costs and deteriorating housing affordability. The paper investigates the relationships between housing production, exchange, and consumption from three perspectives: (i) an historical analysis of the residential construction industry; (ii) elite semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and (iii) an exploration of state crisis management. Instead of viewing competition within the construction sector as an isolated sphere, we argue that the inherent unevenness within this sector needs to be grasped in combination with broader political-economic developments. We claim that rising productions costs (particularly in the tenant-owner sector) have been fuelled by soaring land prices, and that this situation has provided fertile terrain for rent-seeking throughout the housing supply chain. We conclude that calls for more competition, both in Sweden and further afield, tend to oversimplify the complex issue of housing provision and shroud more fundamental housing system imbalances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the city and the development of residential areas, which have the largest quantitative share in the city, with internal dynamics other than defining them through planning studies, contributes to understanding urban development and shaping predictions about the benefits of future studies. Exploring and describing this development is possible by providing detailed data and descriptions using qualitative research methods used in social sciences. This study aimed to describe the socio-economic, cultural, demographic, political, and legaladministrative development of the city of Diyarbakir, from the settlement of Surici. Thus, it was aimed to convey an overview of the city and to describe the main features of city and residential construction, including the historical background and the factors affecting development. In line with this objective, data was gathered via in-depth face-to-face interviews with decision-makers involved in the city planning process, and planning and implementation processes in residential construction. In the evaluation, descriptive analysis was performed by presenting the interview data with paragraph-supported explanations. The analysis contributed to the literature by describing the dynamics of urban development, residential construction, multi-storey housing becoming the dominant building culture, and the spatial design of multi-storey residences. In this context, an assessment was made with the actors who were alive in the period from 1982 to the present day, based on the central districts of Yenisehir, Baglar, and Kayapinar, which are growth areas outside the historical walled settlement. As a result, it was determined that socio-economic, cultural, and political factors have caused spatial segregation in the development of Diyarbakir, which has been shaped by intra-urban population and relocation mobility, that they have formed turning points in urban development and residential construction, and that this situation has also affected the spatial formation of the residence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural concrete aggregate can be substituted with sustainable alternatives from construction and demolition waste, such as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). This contribution assesses the RAP aggregate production chain and aims to investigate the economic aspect of RAP aggregate, evaluating the costs associated with its production and comparing them with the ones necessary to produce NA and recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). This analysis aims to provide additional information on the possible advantages of RAP aggregate use in order to promote sustainable construction. The evaluation was developed using a four-step methodology consisting of (i) determining the RAP aggregate production procedure; (ii) selecting a case study; (iii) defining the mix design; and (iv) performing a cost evaluation and comparing it to the cost of NA and RCA production. The results of the cost analysis of three concretes containing different RAP percentages (0%, 30%, and 45%) demonstrated that RAP's presence led to more expensive admixtures, with the RAP unit cost being higher than NA (+155.39%). Some strategies were proposed to diminish RAP's cost, resulting in a reduction of −39.64% with respect to NA's cost and ranging from 45.13% to 67.30% when compared to RCA's cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. The author analyzes principal relevant state programmes dealing with housing construction. Researchers specializing in different areas of knowledge focus on the problem of preservation and, if possible, improvement of sanitary and hygienic characteristics of housing construction. It is the maintenance of sufficient values of pre-set indicators and their well-organized control can guarantee comfortable and safe living conditions.Materials and methods. The step-by-step analysis was performed and the principal official documents were subsequently compared to get an exhaustive idea of the evolution of sanitary and hygienic standardization in the housing construction.Results. The analysis of the pre-revolutionary legislation and fundamental materials on housing construction has revealed that the main task of standardization was to prevent urban fires and ensure the adherence to private property rights. At this stage, sanitary engineers issued their first proposals concerning lighting, insolation, and ventilation standards. Immediately after the revolution, standardization was applied to distribute the available housing stock. Mass housing construction standards needed revisions as new construction projects were launched. The predominance of low-rise construction projects pre-set the development and approval of standards applicable to this type of buildings. Later these norms were applied to the urban construction of residential buildings. Archival materials provided more information about the development and adoption of the main legislative acts in this area.Conclusions. Conclusions are drawn about the key role of sanitary inspectors in the development of basic sanitary and hygienic requirements in housing construction. Only their status of national legislative acts can ensure their compliance in the construction industry. At the present stage, the preservation of these standards is the only way to ensure safe living conditions in terms of numerous urban multi-storey construction projects.

Despite multiple efforts to improve safety in construction, insufficient hazard identification remains a significant concern. Failure to address these hazards can lead to severe safety incidents that harm workers and a firm's reputation. This problem is especially prevalent in construction small and medium enterprises (SMEs) due to their limited resources, reliance on manual labor, and lack of technical expertise regarding safety concerns. Thus, this study addresses the gap by offering a computational framework that provides a comprehensive evaluation of occupational hazards, considering multiple factors, such as severity, frequency of occurrence, and the likelihood of detection, which are risk dimensions of failure mode effect analysis (FMEA). Notwithstanding the FMEA-based evaluation methods for safety evaluation in the construction sector, drawbacks attributed to the interdependencies of the risk dimensions and the handling of judgment uncertainties are evident. In this work, an extension of the FMEA is developed that assigns an occupational hazard to a risk category under a holistic framework that better addresses the current limitations of the FMEA. In particular, the study offers a two-fold contribution: (1) putting forward the proposed Choquet–FMEA–Sort methods under a q -rung orthopair fuzzy set ( q -ROFS) environment and (2) demonstrating an actual case study in the Philippines that comprehensively evaluates occupational hazards in construction SMEs. Results of a demonstrative case of residential construction projects show that out of the 26 identified occupational hazards, 18 pose a high risk to workers, while the remaining eight pose a moderate risk. High-risk occupational hazards require more attention for mitigation efforts, especially in residential construction SMEs facing resource constraints. The computational framework offered in this work aids decision-makers in identifying high-risk occupational hazards in a more systematic approach. The robustness and stability of the proposed methods were tested using layers of sensitivity and comparative analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Czech Journal of Historical Heritage Preservation / Zpravy Pamatkove Pece is the property of Narodni Pamatkovy Ustav and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The concepts of sustainability should be incorporated at every level of the decision-making process during the construction of residential building projects. It will ensure maximum cost savings without compromising the residential buildings' services. To understand these sustainability principles, this study was conducted to identify and investigate the critical success factors (CSFs) required for implementing cyber technology in residential building projects. These CSFs were obtained from existing studies that were contextually explored via a questionnaire survey involving construction experts in the Nigerian building industry. Based on the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) results, cyber technology CSFs were grouped into five distinct constructs: Governmental, Customer satisfaction, Time, Social safety, and Marketability of the construction product. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was adopted to develop the model for the CSFs. The study showed that the Governmental component possessed the highest effect on the model, further underlining this construct as a crucial CSF in implementing cyber/digital technology. The findings from this study will facilitate cyber/digital technology introduction in the Nigerian construction industry. It will aid decision-makers and construction professionals in seeking viable ways of reducing costs and improving sustainability. Thus, this study has developed a CSF model to showcase the adoption of cyber/digital technology, with other implications for facilitating the goal of achieving sustainable residential building projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing level of population coverage with housing has traditionally been among the most relevant and challenging issues for the national economy of Ukraine. The military conflict, now in its second year, is changing the priorities of the public housing policy and requiring the search for new efficient methods of restoring the lost housing stock and regulating housing construction. The article addresses the volume of capital investment in residential construction in Ukraine and explains the financial framework for residential construction regulation. World best practices in the use of financial instruments in the regulation of the industry are systematized. The authors' view of the system of financial leverage of residential construction regulation is offered. The analysis of the housing affordability indicators shows that the average household income is insufficient to purchase housing and repay a mortgage. Meanwhile, the research indicates that a mortgage is one of the most common financial instruments for the purchase of housing for Ukrainians. The analysis of the level and dynamics of mortgage interest rates shows that they are 4.6 times higher in the euro than in the EU countries. The study of modern housing practices in Ukraine emphasizes the need to introduce new principles of sustainable financial regulation in residential construction. The article substantiates a set of these principles and recommends their implementation. The assessment of modern realities and consequences of hostilities in Ukraine reveals significant losses of housing stock (about 40%) and the need to change the priorities and tasks of public housing policy. An examination of the country's recovery and post-war housing programs allows the identification of the principles of transparency, openness, inclusivity, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, and sustainability as key strategic priorities in financial regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the significant increase in construction waste (CW) due to urbanisation and population growth in New Zealand and worldwide. The aim is to estimate CW using available data in New Zealand and identify relevant indicators to employ estimation methods. Various methods and models for estimating CW at the urban level and from building activities are reviewed. According to the best available data, the paper uses the per-capita multiplier and waste generation rate methods to estimate CW in New Zealand. New Zealand’s per-capita multiplier for CW is 943.46 kg/per capita. The waste generation method using the floor area indicator is applied at residential and non-residential building levels. The estimated CW in 2021 was 531,109 tonnes for residential and non-residential buildings using the floor area indicator. The findings reveal a positive relationship between residential building activity and population growth, with Auckland generating the highest rate of CW. Because of the limitations of the available data and estimation methods, the paper highlights the need for standardised data collection systems and outreach programs to improve CW estimation practices. Further research is recommended to enhance waste reduction strategies and identify high-waste-generating materials and methods. It is vital to have accurate CW estimations to support project waste management plans and sustainable construction practices and to inform waste management policies and regulations at the regional or national level.

Residential foundation selection is critical for the lifetime performance of the project, but the type of foundation selected can depend on cost. This study aims to compare the new construction costs of residential slab-on-fill and four types of crawl space foundations for residential projects by quantifying the material quantities for each and exploring the effect of building characteristics on material quantities and total costs. The building characteristics selected are size (139 m2, 186 m2, and 232 m2), footprint aspect ratio (1:1, 1:2.5, and 1:5) and first floor elevation (0 m–1.2 m in 0.3 m increments). We find that material quantities and total costs change not only with building size and elevation, but also with footprint aspect ratio. Applying 2022 RSMeans Building Construction Cost data, the results show that for any building size, aspect ratio, or elevation, raised wood flooring on pier foundations ($118–$180 per m2) and slab on fill ($103–$211 per m2) are the least expensive, while crawl space foundations with stemwalls are the most expensive ($147–$280 per m2). The results of this study can be used by residential builders, developers and designers in evaluating foundation costs and design alternatives. The methodology may also be adapted for use in other applications such as flood mitigation or energy efficiency projects or environmental sustainability assessments.

The increasing level of population coverage with housing has traditionally been among the most relevant and challenging issues for the national economy of Ukraine. The military conflict, now in its second year, is changing the priorities of the public housing policy and requiring the search for new efficient methods of restoring the lost housing stock and regulating housing construction. The article addresses the volume of capital investment in residential construction in Ukraine and explains the financial framework for residential construction regulation. World best practices in the use of financial instruments in the regulation of the industry are systematized. The authors' view of the system of financial leverage of residential construction regulation is offered. The analysis of the housing affordability indicators shows that the average household income is insufficient to purchase housing and repay a mortgage. Meanwhile, the research indicates that a mortgage is one of the most common financial instruments for the purchase of housing for Ukrainians. The analysis of the level and dynamics of mortgage interest rates shows that they are 4.6 times higher in the euro than in the EU countries. The study of modern housing practices in Ukraine emphasizes the need to introduce new principles of sustainable financial regulation in residential construction. The article substantiates a set of these principles and recommends their implementation. The assessment of modern realities and consequences of hostilities in Ukraine reveals significant losses of housing stock (about 40%) and the need to change the priorities and tasks of public housing policy. An examination of the country's recovery and post-war housing programs allows the identification of the principles of transparency, openness, inclusivity, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, and sustainability as key strategic priorities in financial regulation.

Following the construction boom of recent years in Germany, inflation and supply bottlenecks hit the industry hard in 2022. While nominal construction volume increased by nearly 14 percent, it decreased by two percent when adjusted for inflation. Residential construction, which is urgently needed, was particularly affected. In 2023 and 2024, it is expected that investors will show restraint and that nominal construction volume will only grow by four to five percent due to rising construction costs and worsening financing conditions. However, the core construction industry should also benefit from the upturn in construction activity, particularly in commercial and public sector construction. The decrease in real construction volume is putting policymakers under enormous pressure and requires a strategy change. Key policy goals can only be achieved if construction capacities are significantly expanded, not shrunk. Policy should focus in particular on incentives for the redensification of existing buildings, for energy-efficient refurbishment, and for expanding municipal infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• Development of a safety immersive storytelling platform using 360-degree panoramas. • Immersive storytelling enhances behavioral and cognitive dimensions of learning engagement. • Immersive storytelling increases hazard identification for opening and scaffold hazards. Virtual safety training environments are increasingly utilized to support the development of safety knowledge and increase hazard identification skills in construction. One of the emerging techniques for virtual safety training is immersive storytelling. However, current studies have not explored how the inclusion or exclusion of storytelling within immersive safety training systems produces learning gains. Specifically, this study explores learning through the lens of engagement – behavioral, cognitive, and emotional. The residential construction industry was used as a case study to explore this research gap. Residential workers were assessed through a between-subject experimental design. Two safety training conditions were employed for this evaluation using a between-subject experiment – (1) immersive storytelling; and (2) immersive non-storytelling. The experimental comparison revealed that using immersive storytelling led to increases in behavioral learning and cognitive learning, allowing trainees to effectively identify openings and scaffold fall hazard categories. On the other hand, trainee emotional learning engagement did not change between immersive storytelling and immersive non-storytelling conditions. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing evidence on how using or not using storytelling can affect learning in the context of safety for fall hazards in residential construction. Practical implications for academicians and industry practitioners for the implementation of storytelling in immersive training systems are provided in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embodied carbon is a buzzword in the construction industry. Australia is committed to achieving Net Zero 2050 targets, and minimizing embodied carbon (EC) is inevitable. Owing to the population growth, there will be a significant demand for residential construction. Therefore, the material consumption in residential construction should be evaluated and proper strategies should be in place to minimize EC. The aim of this research is to undertake a preliminary study of EC in the Australian residential sector, with an emphasis on new residential home construction. This research presents a preliminary study on EC in residential buildings in Australia. Three case study residential buildings were used in this study. All three case studies are single -story residential units, with a gross floor area between 200 and 240 m2. One Click LCA software was used to calculate the EC. The EC of three case study residential homes is between 193 and 233 kgCO2e/m2. Based on the findings of this study, ‘other structures and materials’ contribute to a large amount of EC in residential construction. Concrete and aluminum are considered significant contributors to EC. Therefore, it is vital to either introduce low-EC material to replace aluminum windows or introduce various design options to minimize the use of aluminum in windows. There are various sustainable concretes available with low EC. It is essential to explore these low-EC concretes in residential homes as well. This research identifies the importance of adopting strategies to reduce the carbon impact from other sources, including concrete. It is also essential to consider the EC through transportation related to construction and promote locally sourced building materials in residential construction. Therefore, the results of this research indicate the necessity of reducing raw material consumption in Australian residential construction by implementing approaches such as a circular economy in order to circulate building materials throughout the construction supply chain and reduce raw material extraction.

Households with children may Tiebout (1956) sort to safe cities. Cities that cut funding for police protection may become less attractive to households with children, spurring housing developers to build smaller houses with fewer rooms. Voting data on police tax levies using regression discontinuity suggests that newly-built houses have more rooms in cities that renew rather than fail their tax levies. The treatment effect peaks in the second year after the tax levy at 1.9 rooms, a sizeable difference over the mean of 6.6 rooms. House size tells a similar story: the difference between newly-built houses in communities that pass and fail public safety tax levies is 317.6 square feet (29.5 square meters), representing 15% of the mean house size in the sample. The results become evident 2 years after the tax levy and persist in the third year before petering out in the fourth year. The effect may stem from communities signaling a decreased commitment to public safety, rather than an increase in the crime rate itself, because cutting small tax levies has about the same effect on house size as cutting large tax levies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction logistics centers (CLCs) are gaining increasing interest among academics and practitioners as an alternative method for managing material deliveries in congested urban centers with increasing environmental challenges. Because of their novelty and limited implementation, there is a lack of studies that address CLCs' environmental impact, particularly concerning materials transportation in the construction phase. Thus, this paper aims to evaluate the contribution of CLCs to emissions from materials transportation. It compares emissions from material transportation in a residential project that consists of 111 condos in the greater region of Paris following a standard design widely used and replicated by the industrial partner when CLCs are used and when they are not. In this comparison, we use actual data collected from a finished project where a CLC was used and historical data from previous projects with identical architectural and engineering designs. In both scenarios, the assessment process included collecting material quantities, trades information, suppliers, and vehicle characteristics to generate the number of deliveries and compute the traveled distances. That information is then used to assess the environmental impact using COPERT, a software that assesses vehicles' emissions in Europe. The study shows that using CLCs, while all other factors remain the same, can reduce 9%, 12%, 10%, 18%, 19%, and 9% of carbon dioxide (CO2), Particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5), Particulate matter (PM 10), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, respectively. However, (1) the dependence on assumptions and historical data to assess the conventional construction emissions, (2) the limited number of traders who transported their materials through the CLC, and (3) the reliance on only one completed project to evaluate the CLC's environmental performance make the results inconclusive and suggest further investigation. This work advances knowledge concerning construction transportation's environmental performance and provides management researchers and practitioners with an approach to examine the environmental potentials of deliveries' consolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of earth buildings, both throughout history and in the current day, is well-established worldwide. Despite New Zealand's pre- and post-colonial history of earth construction, earth buildings as residential homes have not been well-received or popularised throughout present-day New Zealand. This research aims to identify the reasons for this lack of awareness and to determine methods that promote earth buildings in New Zealand. This research is based on data collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with subject matter experts and via an online questionnaire completed by members of the Earth Building Association New Zealand (EBANZ). The data collected revealed the experiences and perceptions of all participants regarding the advantages, challenges and promotion of earth buildings specific to New Zealand. Following analysis of these responses, key reoccurring themes were identified and compared. Regarding New Zealand's lack of awareness of earth buildings, interview and questionnaire participants responded that this shortcoming was due to earth construction being a very niche market and lacking commercial marketing. Education was the most frequently reoccurring theme raised by all participants as the top promotional tool for raising awareness of earth buildings. The results of this research can be applied to future work regarding obstacles that limit the growth of New Zealand's earth building industry, as well as research on the role of New Zealand's education system in exposing the next generation of builders, designers, and consumers to earth construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building Information Modeling (BIM) entered the construction industry and is permeating the commercial sector. Research is being performed to expand the capabilities and applications within the industry. However, research has historically been primarily focused on the commercial sector and has seen limited study in other sectors of the industry, specifically the residential sector. This study focuses on the custom home building segment of residential construction in the United States because of the unique and complex nature of each project. These project characteristics may assist in the realization of some purported benefits of BIM implementation, like those experienced in commercial applications. Utilizing the Delphi method, industry experts identified and achieved consensus on the most common uses, benefits, and challenges they faced in their implementation of BIM. The primary uses of BIM in residential construction identified by this expert panel were design and visualization, the creation of construction documents, and quantity takeoffs. The leading benefits identified were client visualization, plan accuracy, improved client communication, and ease of plan revisions. The leading challenges identified by the panel were high software costs, the steep learning curve when training employees, and the time-consuming nature of creating and maintaining models correctly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Geographica Universitatis Comenianae is the property of Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Czech Journal of Historical Heritage Preservation / Zpravy Pamatkove Pece is the property of Narodni Pamatkovy Ustav and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite multiple efforts to improve safety in construction, insufficient hazard identification remains a significant concern. Failure to address these hazards can lead to severe safety incidents that harm workers and a firm’s reputation. This problem is especially prevalent in construction small and medium enterprises (SMEs) due to their limited resources, reliance on manual labor, and lack of technical expertise regarding safety concerns. Thus, this study addresses the gap by offering a computational framework that provides a comprehensive evaluation of occupational hazards, considering multiple factors, such as severity, frequency of occurrence, and the likelihood of detection, which are risk dimensions of failure mode effect analysis (FMEA). Notwithstanding the FMEA-based evaluation methods for safety evaluation in the construction sector, drawbacks attributed to the interdependencies of the risk dimensions and the handling of judgment uncertainties are evident. In this work, an extension of the FMEA is developed that assigns an occupational hazard to a risk category under a holistic framework that better addresses the current limitations of the FMEA. In particular, the study offers a two-fold contribution: (1) putting forward the proposed Choquet–FMEA–Sort methods under a q-rung orthopair fuzzy set (q-ROFS) environment and (2) demonstrating an actual case study in the Philippines that comprehensively evaluates occupational hazards in construction SMEs. Results of a demonstrative case of residential construction projects show that out of the 26 identified occupational hazards, 18 pose a high risk to workers, while the remaining eight pose a moderate risk. High-risk occupational hazards require more attention for mitigation efforts, especially in residential construction SMEs facing resource constraints. The computational framework offered in this work aids decision-makers in identifying high-risk occupational hazards in a more systematic approach. The robustness and stability of the proposed methods were tested using layers of sensitivity and comparative analyses.

Development of real estate has the potential to advance sustainability. This is particularly important in residential sector as it plays a crucial role in the lives of habitats and directly influences their welfare. As populations grow and cities expand, the demand for real estate increases and construction volumes rise. Assurance of sustainability in the residential projects becomes a new concern of real estate developers and construction companies. This article aims to analyse in more detail the concept of a sustainable residential construction and the evaluation criteria. In the first part the concept of sustainable development and its dimensions in residential construction are analysed. The second part describes the research methodology. In the third part, the research methodology is applied to the evaluation of five residential construction projects in Vilnius, Lithuania. The fourth part describes the possibilities of using wooden construction to improve the sustainability of residential construction projects. First published online 19 May 2021

We evaluate the relative seismic risk between one- and two-story single-family houses, critically assessing the practice of lumping them into a single class for regional risk assessments. Two-story houses are more flexible and experience, on average, spectral displacements 4.7 times larger than those of one-story houses. Furthermore, two-story houses highly concentrate deformation demands on their first stories, resulting in story drifts 4.6 times larger than those in one-story houses. Therefore, two-story houses experience significantly higher damage, which is consistent with observations after different earthquakes. Results suggest that classification systems should be updated, separating one- and two-story houses into different categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sales in the construction industry will continue to increase strongly in 2022 and 2023. Overall, DIW Berlin estimates a nominal increase in construction volume of almost 13 percent in 2022 and six percent in 2023 to 585 billion euros. In 2021, construction volume increased by ten percent to 488 billion euros, which is around 15 percent of GDP. This shows that construction demand remains at a high level despite the coronavirus pandemic. It is also likely that costs for construction work in particular will rise sharply over the course of 2022 following the significant increase in 2021. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that producer prices are currently rising more rapidly than they have in decades. On the other hand, the construction backlog--the number of approved construction projects not yet completed--is still high and the public sector is expanding its investment budgets, which offers companies in the construction sector further leeway for price increases. Nevertheless, the rising prices are likely to result in lower real construction activity. This is likely to make it more difficult for the public sector to achieve its ambitious goals in the areas of infrastructure expansion and housing provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)