Abstract
Facing rising building demands due to a fast-growing world population and significant environmental challenges at the same time, the building sector urgently requires innovation. The Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture at the University of Stuttgart tackles these challenges through a Co-Design approach for integrating computational design and engineering and robotic construction. Within this research framework, a Holistic Quality Model is developed to ensure the technical, environmental, and social quality of Co-Design processes and products. Up to now, quality models that consider and integrate all these three aspects throughout the life cycle of buildings are still missing. The article outlines the concept of holistic quality assessment based on a Holistic Quality Model for sustainable construction. A key mechanism for sustainable quality assessment in the Holistic Quality Model is the definition of control and decision points in the construction process where critical decisions are made that will affect the quality of the building throughout its entire life-cycle. Firstly, subject-specific quality concepts are defined and their interrelations are conceptualized. Subsequently, these interrelations and their effects on the overall Co-Design construction processes and products are explained using the example of the semi-robotic production of concrete slabs. Examples for control and decision points are given as well. The outline presented here serves as a basis for further advancing and concretizing the Holistic Quality Model and its applications in Co-Design for a functioning, liveable, and sustainable high-quality construction and building culture.
Highlights
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) refers to the evaluation of all environmental, social, and economic negative impacts and benefits in decision-making processes towards more sustainable products throughout their life cycle, by combining results coming from life cycle assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Social LCA [24]
Co-Design aims to harness the full potential of digitalisation through an integrative non-linear construction process based on computational feedback loops
The technical, environmental, and social quality of Co-Design processes and products are introduced in Sections 2.2–2.4, the interrelations between these are used for the integration of the three aspects in Holistic Quality Model (HQM)
Summary
The building and construction industry accounts for 36% of global energy use and 39% of process-related CO2 emissions and the building stock is still expected to double by 2050 [1]. The Co-Design approach is supposed to make a significant contribution to providing the prerequisites for a high-quality, liveable and sustainable built environment, and digital building culture Within this context, a Holistic Quality Model (HQM) will be developed that will serve the purpose of evaluating building performance with respect to technical, environmental and social quality characteristics and their interrelations (Figure 1). The HQM will break new ground in that it takes a decisively interdisciplinary approach It is based on requirements and consists of technical, environmental, and social quality characteristics and parameters and integrates different quality aspects into one quality model by considering the interrelations. The holistic quality concept that will be developed requires a global perspective on questions of inter- and intragenerative, social and environmental justice and is in this sense fundamentally oriented towards sustainable development
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
