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Basements are integral to contemporary building design, serving as foundational structures with diverse functions in residential and commercial constructions. The utilization of wood as a natural, economical, and CO2 storage material for basement construction significantly influences the future of construction, necessitating established concepts to guarantee sustainability, and foremost, avoid possible damages induced by moisture intrusion. This paper explores the hygrothermal performance of a wooden basement when subjected to severe indoor and outdoor climates and in the absence of pressuring groundwater. Using both 1D and 2D numerical simulations, this study conducts risk analyses for several cases to evaluate how the wooden basement behaves under critical conditions, such as moisture accumulation in the assembly due to air convection through a gap in the insulation layer, air leakage through the waterproofing membrane, and high-vapor pressure caused by the high moisture load in the indoor space. The thresholds are determined for the initial wood moisture and indoor relative humidity, under which supports are given for the use of wooden elements in the basement structures, exhibiting satisfactory performance and avoiding wood decay in the construction. Additionally, the impact of the waterproofing membrane on avoiding wood decay in the assembly is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing requirements concerning the consideration of the environmental impact of building materials, along with the simultaneous preservation and enhancement of building thermal parameters, have led to a surge in interest in insulations based on organic or recycled materials. Despite the growing interest in these materials, there remains a scarcity of scientific studies regarding their hygrothermal properties. Within the scope of the research described in the text, the insulation properties of loose-fill materials (hemp shives, cellulose fibers, loose wood wool, and mineral wool as a reference) in wooden frame walls were analyzed. The authors simulated walls with the same U value filled with these materials using Delphin 6.1 software. The simulation time was 3 years, considering the appropriate climatic conditions of Olsztyn and different microclimatic conditions inside the rooms. Insulations made of natural organic can absorb and reveal moisture to the internal environment, while mineral wool transports the moisture to the outside, which may cause condensation problems. Insulations made of hemp shives or wood wool do not increase the level of accumulated moisture over time, which results in thermal stability. In contrast, cellulose and mineral wool store more moisture, which in wet conditions increases the heat flux by 6.9% and 5.2%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the growing global water demand, it is imperative to implement advanced treatment systems and sustainable alternatives for managing the large amount of waste generated during the water purification process, known as water treatment sludge (WTS). Worldwide, researchers and companies are exploring alternatives and methods for the valorization of WTS as a raw material in other processes. It is urgent that all productive sectors, which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, adopt this management principle to ensure more sustainable production, contributing to the global goal of climate neutrality. Notably, in civil construction, incorporating WTS as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) shows great promise, considering that the industrial waste currently used for this purpose is increasingly restricted. The use of WTS as a raw material in the cement industry not only contributes to the reduction of the carbon footprint, but also reduces the high waste load still disposed of in landfills. The emerging applications for WTP sludge are reviewed, with emphasis on its valorization in the civil construction as an SCM. The main characteristics of this waste and their impacts on the environment are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal 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.)

Basements are integral to contemporary building design, serving as foundational structures with diverse functions in residential and commercial constructions. The utilization of wood as a natural, economical, and CO2 storage material for basement construction significantly influences the future of construction, necessitating established concepts to guarantee sustainability, and foremost, avoid possible damages induced by moisture intrusion. This paper explores the hygrothermal performance of a wooden basement when subjected to severe indoor and outdoor climates and in the absence of pressuring groundwater. Using both 1D and 2D numerical simulations, this study conducts risk analyses for several cases to evaluate how the wooden basement behaves under critical conditions, such as moisture accumulation in the assembly due to air convection through a gap in the insulation layer, air leakage through the waterproofing membrane, and high-vapor pressure caused by the high moisture load in the indoor space. The thresholds are determined for the initial wood moisture and indoor relative humidity, under which supports are given for the use of wooden elements in the basement structures, exhibiting satisfactory performance and avoiding wood decay in the construction. Additionally, the impact of the waterproofing membrane on avoiding wood decay in the assembly is highlighted.

In the context of sustainable development and parametric design, it is interesting to analyze the possible synergies between Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the most-used certification scheme for the design, construction, and management of green buildings, and Building Information Modeling (BIM), which supports the supply, integration, and management of information throughout the building life cycle. This paper aims to review the state of the art of the different integration methods between LEED and BIM at the early design phase. Third-party software information exchange, the cloud-BIM approach, and plug-in development using application program interface (API) were considered as possible integration strategies to automate LEED certification by BIM. In addition, optimization models and rule-based methods were analyzed. Finally, a critical review on the limitations, advantages and future research developments in LEED and BIM integration was clearly defined. Although the development of plug-ins was the most powerful integration method, it requires advanced informatics knowledge. On the other hand, using third-party tools increased manual working and checking due to interoperability issues. A visual programming language (VPL) can allow designers and researchers without any informatics knowledge to create parametric BIM models by including LEED requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enormous range of building materials that is almost impossible to keep track of is available. The trend toward building densification in cities continues apace. Coupled with climate change, a situation is emerging that poses ecological as well as economic risks in terms of living comfort in public, urban spaces. Building designers need help (tools) to be able to address a wide range of requirements within their planning. The development of the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model BASK (engl. "Construction Materials for Cities in Climate Change") is presented. The goal of the model is to assist building designers in determining surface materials for wall, ground and roof construction and help determine the best compromise between environmental, economic, and building practice criteria. Currently available criteria are heat stress, visual reflectance, CO2 equivalents, electricity production, retrofitability, sound absorption, construction costs, and life span. The criteria can be weighted by the designer, resulting in a customized ranking of construction systems that best meets the designer's prioritized criteria. The design of BASK basically allows for an extension of the criteria. The version of BASK described in this paper includes 10 construction systems covering a wide range of construction types focused on walls. The tool requires technical data for materials considered in construction systems included, which are made available via a data base. The scope of construction systems can also be extended in the future. Based on the restricted set of construction systems the results of a sensitivity analysis and initial validation are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary interdisciplinary design requires architects' knowledge and cooperation with such fields as construction, material engineering, fabrication methods, and knowledge in optimisation of the design process, production, and minimisation of used materials and energy. Following the example of other disciplines, contemporary architecture seeks inspiration from Nature on various levels. The development of modern tools and materials opens unprecedented opportunities for designers to shape free forms with precision, following sustainable development guidelines. The article presents the influence of biomimicry inspiration on shaping spatial structures of 20th and 21st-century architecture. The primary conclusion of the review indicates the need for further implementing bio-logic strategies into interdisciplinary, holistic building design.

Copyright of Themis: Revista de Derecho is the property of Themis Asociacion 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.)

This study proposes a methodology to evaluate the energy performance of existing Zero Energy Buildings and to prospect retrofit strategies in a Savannah climate, concerning the A2 scenario of emissions from the Fourth Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The selected building to study is recognized for its high energy performance, named Centro SEBRAE de Sustentabilidade (CSS). Two efficient measures were considered: (i) improvement in the air conditioning system coefficient of performance (COP) and (ii) in the energy efficiency of the photovoltaic plates of generation on-site. The methodology is grounded in the potential bioclimatic concept and the employed steps applied were: preparation of climate archives in the 2020, 2050 and 2080 time-slices; calibration of the computational model; evaluation of the retrofit strategies on its energy consumption efficiency through computer simulation. Considering the CSS has already attended mostly the bioclimatic strategies for the local climate and has high efficiency measures in its systems, the retrofit focused the air conditioning and PV system. The isolated retrofit of the air conditioning system was unable to guarantees the NZEB condition despite providing an adequate level of energy efficiency until 2080. The retrofit of the PV system was the only one that provides the NZEB condition for climate change scenarios. The contribution of this paper is to provide a guide to be used in NZEBs, with measures of optimization that provide high potential bioclimatic face to the local where it is built, making it possible to maintain this condition in scenarios of global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation sought to identify how the multidisciplinary design (technical file) and the execution of a sustainable work influence in the operation phase of the public investment system, taking as a reference the project: "Research Center for Wastewater Treatment and Hazardous Waste CITRAR-UNI", and eight public investment projects executed at the National University of Engineering (2019-2021 period). The variables multidisciplinary design (technical file), and execution of a sustainable work phase of operation were analyzed. We worked with technical information that works in the University Infrastructure Center of the National University of Engineering, as well as through digital media and public access information platforms (friendly consultation from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and INFOBRAS). The costs in the operating phase (at the operation and maintenance level) were projected, the billings they do not reflect the reality in face-to-face circumstances of the university community and billing for services is done at the level of the entire university globally. Likewise, it was determined that public investment projects, within the framework of Invierte. pe, whose purpose is the provision of the necessary infrastructure for the development of Peru, by executing them in a sustainable manner, contribute transversally, not only in terms of health, productivity and well-being of the population, but also economically, which has a positive impact during the operation phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context in which public constructions represent a significant portion of many countries' construction activities, assessing these works' sustainability plays a fundamental role in reducing social, economic, and environmental impacts and encouraging the use of more sustainable construction practices. There are currently several assessment systems and methods with different scopes and approaches. However, few consider the specificities of public works. This article proposes a structured set of indicators for assessing public works' sustainability, based on the criteria proposed by the leading researchers working on the topic and those covered by the LEED, SBTool, BREEAM, and Green Star assessment tools. After extensive and detailed bibliographic research, the criteria were categorized, reordered, and unified, resulting in a structure composed of nine categories that add 214 criteria, which can be adapted to the particularities of different types of work, to any region, and at any stage of the cycle of life. The proposed structure, being more comprehensive and flexible than the most used tools, increases public managers' capacity to assess the real situation, understand the right needs, establish changes, and direct their efforts to make their works more sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of DYNA - Ingeniería e Industria is the property of Publicaciones Dyna SL 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 PARC Pesquisa em Arquitetura e Construção is the property of Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Portal de Periodicos Eletronicos Cientificos 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.)

Investment in energy efficiency of buildings has been a priority issue, including in public administration. The theme is important because of the potential to combine energy savings with cost reduction, and to provide examples of good practices for society. This research aimed at identifying improvements opportunities in energy efficiency in a public building of the São Paulo's Justice Court. The case's data was collected in unstructured interviews and technical visits, and by examining related documentation. The data were analyzed by the label PROCEL-Edifica's prescriptive method. The envelope was characterized label D, the lighting label C and the air conditioning with label B. The building as a whole achieved label C. Some of the potential improvements identified were: change of fluorescent lamps to LEDs, changes in the lighting circuit in office rooms, use of polarized films in the windows glasses, improvement in the vertical and horizontal shading of the tower façades by the use of elements that decrease the sunlight direct incidence, such as brises. Examples of investment return time analysis were calculated, indicating potential priority in actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building construction sector contributes to a quarter of the total Australian Greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are mainly attributed to the use of energy intensive materials. To achieve better environmental benefits and cost saving, the utilisation of wood-based construction materials is currently attracting attention. However, the manufacturing of engineered wood products consumes large quantities of chemicals and energy, which may have adverse environmental impacts. Therefore, a life cycle study was conducted to compare various materials for constructing the structural frame of a 4-storey apartment building compliant with the Australian building codes. Five alternatives were assessed: Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) manufactured from early to mid-rotation hardwood plantation logs (LVL m ), LVL manufactured from mature hardwood plantations (LVL h ), LVL manufactured from mature softwood plantations (LVL s ), concrete and steel. The functional unit was defined as the whole building structural frame. Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification, Eutrophication, Fossil Depletion, Human-toxicity Potential (HTP) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) were evaluated. The LVL generally performed better than concrete and steel structural products. Particularly, LVL m had the lowest GWP (2.84E4±233 kg-CO 2-eq ) and LCC ($128,855 ± 2797), which were less than a quarter of the concrete option. However, the usage of chemical preservatives and phenol-formaldehyde adhesive during the LVL production and treatment caused the HTP impact to be higher than the steel option. Monte Carlo Analysis showed that while the LVL options presented a higher sensitivity to the combined uncertainties, the overall ranking of the five options remained the same. Therefore, the inclusion of wood-based material in structural elements may significantly contribute to reduce the environmental impacts and the LCC of the construction sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current financial and economic crisis has affected many sectors, and also the construction sector. The construction market has been and will be an important source of income for the entire Europe, totaling about 1.650 thousand billion euro, which is more than the GDP of Italy. Building no doubt brings significant percentage in the GDP of any European country, which of course is different from country to country. In Western European countries, the residential market is almost 50% from the construction market, while in Eastern European countries the majority is held by the civil and non-residential constructions. In addition, in the West the medium budget per capita spent on construction is 3-4 times higher than that spent in Eastern countries. But, according to previsions in the coming years the countries that will witness a growth, albeit small, will be the Eastern ones. The paper highlights the impact of the economic and financial crisis in the construction industry on a European and national level, as the sustainable constructions that may represent the sector’s future.

Contemporary interdisciplinary design requires architects' knowledge and cooperation with such fields as construction, material engineering, fabrication methods, and knowledge in optimisation of the design process, production, and minimisation of used materials and energy. Following the example of other disciplines, contemporary architecture seeks inspiration from Nature on various levels. The development of modern tools and materials opens unprecedented opportunities for designers to shape free forms with precision, following sustainable development guidelines. The article presents the influence of biomimicry inspiration on shaping spatial structures of 20th and 21st-century architecture. The primary conclusion of the review indicates the need for further implementing bio-logic strategies into interdisciplinary, holistic building design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, an analytical presentation of some popular aluminium systems that contribute to sustainability of structures is presented. Special emphasis has been given to the properties of aluminium, while the influence of these systems in the overall performance of the structure regarding environment and economy is described. In particular, characteristics of aluminium elements such as high reflectivity and recyclability and their role in life cycle analysis (LCA) are analyzed. The connections between energy efficiency and conservation of buildings and aluminium application are also discussed. Building applications such as curtain walls, window frames and facade sheets are presented and thoroughly investigated, considering their environmental and economic aspects. Furthermore, many innovative techniques that use aluminium elements in collaboration with other systems in order to produce renewable energy, such as solar panels and photovoltaics, are introduced. Finally, environmental innovations such as optimized ventilation mechanisms and light and shade management systems based on aluminium members are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current financial and economic crisis has affected many sectors, and also the construction sector. The construction market has been and will be an important source of income for the entire Europe, totaling about 1.650 thousand billion euro, which is more than the GDP of Italy. Building no doubt brings significant percentage in the GDP of any European country, which of course is different from country to country. In Western European countries, the residential market is almost 50% from the construction market, while in Eastern European countries the majority is held by the civil and non-residential constructions. In addition, in the West the medium budget per capita spent on construction is 3-4 times higher than that spent in Eastern countries. But, according to previsions in the coming years the countries that will witness a growth, albeit small, will be the Eastern ones. The paper highlights the impact of the economic and financial crisis in the construction industry on a European and national level, as the sustainable constructions that may represent the sector's future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building construction sector is undergoing one of the most profound transformations towards the digital transition of production. In recent decades, the advent of a novel technology for the 3D printing of clay opened up new sustainable possibilities in construction. Some architectural applications of 3D-printed clay bricks with simple internal configurations are being developed around the world. On the other hand, the full potential of 3D-printed bricks for building production is still unknown. Scientific studies about the design and printability of 3D-printed bricks exploiting complex internal geometries are completely missing in the related literature. This paper explores the new boundaries of 3D-printed clay bricks realized with a sustainable extrusion-based 3D clay printing process by proposing a novel conception, design, and analysis. In particular, the proposed methodological approach includes: (i) conception and design; (ii) parametric modeling; (iii) simulation of printability; and (iv) prototyping. The new design and conception aim to fully exploit the potential of 3D printing to realize complex internal geometry in a 3D-printed brick. To this aim, the research investigates the printability of internal configuration generated by using geometries with well-known remarkable mechanical properties, such as periodic minimal surfaces. In conclusion, the results are validated by a wide prototyping campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental emissions and energy from construction activity and building materials contributes significantly to a building's sustainability. Previous research dealing with wood or engineering wood's energy requirements compared to reinforced concrete and steel structures has shown that embodied energy and embodied carbon is significantly lower in wood-based construction. This study has assessed the environmental impact and costs of glued laminated timber (GLT) or cross-laminated timber (CLT). Hardwood and softwood variants of both GLT and CLT were considered. We compared the life cycle costs (LCC) of these alternatives to discover the lowest cost. The comparative results indicated that GLT has higher emissions in Global warming potential (GWP), Terrestrial Ecotoxicity (TE), Land Use (LUP), and Ozone layer depletion (OLD), while CLT has higher impact in Human-Toxicity Potential (HTP), Fossil Depletion Potential (FDP). The results indicated that using CLT significantly reduces embodied energy by 40%. However, a comparison of costs showed that CLT is 7% more expensive than GLT. Establishing which material performs best based on environmental and economic criteria thus required further analysis. Thus, the multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method was applied. This showed that CLT manufactured with softwood is the most sustainable choice among the alternatives considered. This study's findings are important for aggregate level decision making of different wood materials for residential buildings. •CLT and GLT have been assessed as manufactured from both hardwood and softwood. •GLT has higher emissions for global warming potential and ozone layer depletion. •CLT has higher emissions for human carcinogenic toxicity and fossil depletion. •Softwood has a lower environmental impact and embodied energy than hardwood. •Multi-criteria decision-making determined that CLT is the most sustainable option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the sustainability of public works has been a key agenda in recent years for many governmental organizations. Public works contribute significantly to a large portion of engineering works and have great potential to impact the sustainability of cities. Thus, evaluating the sustainability of these projects is highly relevant, mainly regarding their impacts on environmental, social, and economic aspects. There are currently assessment systems and methods with different scopes and approaches. Yet, there remains uncertainty when it comes to considering public works' sustainability and how useful criteria can be incorporated into the proposed assessment tasks to ensure such a goal. This study contributes to filling this gap by developing, through an extensive and detailed bibliographic research, a flexible and comprehensive framework composed of 214 criteria distributed across nine categories that measure the degree of sustainability of public works, with emphasis on economic, social and environmental goals. The proposed framework can act as a practical tool, functioning as a checklist applicable to all types of public construction works, and at any stage of the lifecycle. Evaluation of the framework by professionals indicated its suitability when encompassing sustainability objectives, its viability, and its ease of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A study about the shot-earth as building material is proposed. • The working principle of the shotcrete is here extended to rammed earth. • The shot-earth is based on soil coming from excavation in construction sites. • An experimental campaign has been carried out to assess the mechanical performance of shot-earth. • It is shown that shot-earth resembles a low strength concrete. Earth has been used worldwide as a building material for centuries and it is still one of the most used construction materials. In many countries the excavated soil is becoming one of the largest construction waste and its disposal is costly and problematic. For this reason, there is a rising interest in employing the excavated soil directly in field, possibly as an added value construction material. In this paper a new type of rammed earth is presented. This new material is based on the shotcrete technology and has been named shot-earth. A mix of stabilized soil, aggregates and water is consolidated by high speed projection rather than by mechanical compaction to obtain both structural and non-structural elements. The first characterization of the physical properties of this material has shown the great potential of this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delays in construction projects are a common phenomenon throughout the industry. This problem has many negative impacts on the time, cost, and sustainability of the projects. Many studies were conducted to identify the main causes of this delay in new construction projects in different regions but very few studies have focused on finding an explanation for the causes of delay in major reconstruction projects that have great religious and cultural sustainability. This paper examines the factors that contributed to work delays in one of the most major reconstruction projects that took place recently in the Middle East, which is namely the Mataf Expansion Project in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Fourteen interviews were conducted with project managers, construction managers, and senior site engineers to identify the factors that they encountered and led to the delay in the reconstruction activities of this project. Some of the findings were consistent and similar to most other causes of delay that are associated with new construction projects. However, interestingly, this research has discovered the existence of other unavoidable factors that caused a delay and should be considered for any similar reconstruction projects. The results showed that these factors could be divided into two groups: the first one is related to the demolition phase (five factors) and the second group is related to construction works (nine factors). In addition, it has been observed that the building material during the reconstruction is considered one of the major delaying factors. Finally, these 14 delay factors should be carefully considered to assure the sustainability of the main object's function during the reconstruction activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]