Building Regulations Research Articles

Why the Construction Trades Have a Valuable Role in Meeting the Climate Challenge

The construction industry accounts for 18 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. There is extensive evidence that this can be reduced significantly by implementing aggressive net zero building practices. However, the way the industry is organized impedes this achievement because it fails to promote the development of a broadly based, highly qualified, climate-literate workforce. Successful low carbon construction requires enhancement of workers’ knowledge, skills, and competencies because it requires much higher energy performance standards than traditional construction practice. Yet the industry remains wedded to the current system of low-bid, low-quality construction to cut costs. The organization of much construction work reflects a Taylorist approach, with extensive piecework and subcontracting that relies heavily on precarious, unskilled, and semi-skilled workers. Most employers avoid investing in trades training, leaving it to governments, unions, and individual workers to fund workforce development. Committed to a deregulated market with minimal government interference in their profit-making activities, many contractors oppose tougher building and energy regulations while lobbying against higher labour standards, occupational certification requirements, and union organizing. To meet their net zero targets, governments must recognize that market forces are inadequate to create the well-trained, highly skilled workforce needed. Major policy interventions are required to force industry to make the necessary changes in vocational education and training (vet) and employment practices – changes designed to upskill the construction workforce and give workers and unions a greater voice in shaping climate-informed building practice.

Eco-Sustainable Building Materials in Cameroon: Straw in Contemporary Architecture

The construction industry in Cameroon is facing increasing pressure to adopt more sustainable practices to mitigate environmental degradation and promote energy efficiency. This article explores the potential of straw as an eco-sustainable building material, particularly in the context of contemporary architecture in Garoua- Cameroon. Straw, a renewable resource, offers several benefits, including low embodied energy, excellent thermal insulation, and local availability, making it an ideal material for sustainable construction in the region. This article reviews global examples of straw-based architecture, examines the advantages and challenges of using straw in construction, and proposes practical applications for straw in Cameroon. Finally, it discusses the implications of adopting eco-sustainable practices in the country’s construction industry and highlights the need for updated building regulations and training programs to support the wider use of alternative building materials.

Implementation of thermoelectric wall systems for sustainable indoor environment regulation in buildings through numerical and experimental performance analysis

With buildings representing a substantial portion of global energy consumption, exploring alternatives to traditional fossil fuel-based heating and cooling systems is critical. Thermoelectricity offers a promising solution by converting temperature differentials into electrical voltage or vice versa, enabling efficient indoor thermal regulation. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the integration of thermoelectric wall systems for sustainable building climate control through numerical simulations and experimental analyses. Numerical simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques were conducted to model fluid flow and heat transfer within the thermoelectric wall systems under various operating conditions. These simulations provided insights into the system’s thermal behavior, which were validated through experimental setups designed to measure temperature differentials, airflow rates, and power consumption. The results showed that power consumption is directly correlated with electrical current, ranging from 0.19 W to 77.4 W as the current increased from 0.1 A to 2 A. Additionally, the heat absorbed by the system increased significantly with electrical current, by 706–1044%, depending on the air velocity. The thermal energy released from the hot side of the thermoelectric modules also rose substantially, ranging from 9850 to 5285% with increasing electrical current, and from 275 to 51% with higher air velocities. Moreover, increasing air velocity led to a 6.78–9.37% reduction in power consumption for currents between 0.1 A and 2 A. The coefficient of performance (COP) analysis revealed that optimizing both electrical current and air velocity is essential for maximizing system efficiency. While fan power consumption reduces COP at higher air velocities, neglecting fan power consumption results in COP improvements ranging from 6.5 × 10⁻⁴ to 49.0%. These findings highlight the potential of thermoelectric wall systems to enhance indoor comfort and energy efficiency in buildings.

The impact of urban morphology on energy demand of a residential building in a mediterranean climate

This paper uniquely and systematically explores the relationship between energy performance of buildings and urban morphology by studying an existing urban fabric in a Mediterranean climate. The study took place in the city of Hebron which is geographically confined in area with continuous urbanization. Using (GIS), the K-means clustering technique was chosen to perform the statistical analysis. The coefficient variables of Floor Space Index (FSI), Ground Space Index (GSI), Open Space Ratio(OSR), and buildings’ height (L), were identified at the urban level to classify the urban tissue of the city. Accordingly, six urban patterns with equal area of 33,000 m2 were selected as representative samples of the different urban patterns of the city’s urban fabric. Then, a prototype building was placed in each of the selected patterns by the mean centre in the GIS based on the horizontal-vertical built density. Building energy simulation was performed using Design Builder software to assess the prototype’s performance. The results showed that the urban form plays a significant role in determining performance quality and energy demand. The results indicate that the cooling demand decreases when the ratio of (FSI) and (GSI) increases and when the (OSR) decreases, and vice versa in relation to the heating demand. Notably, Pattern 4, with (FSI) of 1.2, (GSI) of 0.6, (OSR) of 0.6, and (L) of 1.7, exhibited the highest heating demand at 40.3 kWh/m2/year, whereas Pattern 3, with (FSI) of 0.7, (GSI) of 0.3, (OSR) of 2.5, and (L) of 2.0, recorded the lowest at 18.6 kWh/m2/year. Conversely, Pattern 3 had the highest cooling demand, while Pattern 2, with (FSI) of 1.0, (GSI) of 0.3, (OSR) of 1.6, and (L) of 3.0, had the lowest cooling demand. To enhance energy efficiency, urban planners should consider increasing the (FSI) and (GSI) while managing the (OSR) to balance heating and cooling demands. Patterns with moderate (FSI) and (GSI) and higher (OSR) generally result in lower cooling demands and more efficient energy use. Enhancing the energy efficiency of cities should be tackled not only on the single building level but also on the urban scale. This should be addressed in urban regeneration, master plan,s and building regulations. Incorporating tools that consider the impact of all urban parameters can contribute to energy savings.

Assessing the energy performance certification effectiveness for the Spanish building stock in response to recent climate change data

This comprehensive study analyses the energy demand for heating and cooling in the building stock across different climatic zones in Spain, incorporating the effects of weather evolution over the past 30 years (from 1992 to 2022). In evaluating 7200 cases across four climatic years and six climatic zones which include six Spanish cities, the analysis examines the construction characteristics of the building stock. The focus is on the thermal envelop properties under two scenarios: the current state and a renovated state that complies with the new Spanish building code (in agreement with the EPBD EU-Directive EU/2024/1275).The study’s findings reveal potentially significant changes in energy demand due to climate. The heating demand decreases significantly due to increasing temperatures ranging from 17% in Madrid up to 37% in Almería. This effect is contrasted by a substantial increase in cooling demand, which has surged 223% in Barcelona, a surge closely linked to higher summer temperatures.The paper concludes that the current energy certification scheme fails to provide a real overview of the energy performance and needs of buildings in Spain. In particular, it underestimates actual sensible cooling demand by 56% in Barcelona and 41% in Almería. Additionally, the failure of existing building regulations to address the issue of indoor overheating is proven.

Thermal Transmittance Limits Dataset for New and Existing Buildings Across EU Regulations

Building energy regulations are essential for reducing energy consumption in the European Union (EU) and achieving climate neutrality goals. This data article supplements the “Overview of EU Building Envelope Energy Requirement for Climate Neutrality” by presenting a detailed dataset on building regulations across all 27 EU member states, with a focus on building envelope efficiency. The data include thermal transmittance limits for windows, walls, floors, and roofs, offering insights into regulatory differences and potential opportunities for harmonization. Information was sourced from the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) database, national reports, and scientific literature to ensure comprehensive coverage. Key aspects of each country’s regulations are summarized in tables, covering both new constructions and renovations. The inclusion of Köppen–Geiger climate classifications allows for climate-specific analyses, providing valuable context for researchers, policymakers, and construction professionals. This dataset enables comparative studies, helping to identify best practices and inform policy interventions aimed at enhancing energy efficiency across Europe. It also supports the development of tailored strategies to improve building performance in different environmental conditions, ultimately contributing to the EU’s energy and climate targets.

The future of Approved Inspectors: liable or not liable?

This paper examines the liability of Approved Inspectors to their contracting parties and third parties under the Defective Premises Act 1972. It contends that Approved Inspectors owe a duty of care to a broader range of claimants, especially when providing design input for dwellings. This perspective contrasts with the ruling in Herons Court v Heronslea (2019), which indicated that Approved Inspectors do not owe a duty of care under section 1(1) of the 1972 Act, a decision that may be misinterpreted as exempting them from liability. The paper distinguishes between two types of contracts for Approved Inspectors: Type A contracts, which involve only statutory functions as per section 49(1)(b) of the Building Act 1984 and regulation 5 of the Building (Approved Inspectors, etc.) Regulations 2010, and Type B contracts, which include additional design and professional services. In both cases, the contract serves as a critical basis for claimants to establish a duty of care, potentially allowing for concurrent relief in tort and statute.

Assessment of dyna clue model for prediction of spatio-temporal dynamics of urbanisation and green space in Jaipur district, Rajasthan (India)

Urbanisation in Jaipur, Rajasthan’s capital, has significantly impacted land use and land cover (LULC) over the past four decades. This study addresses the pressing issue of how rapid urban expansion affects green spaces and environmental balance. Utilizing satellite imagery and a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm, LULC maps for 1993, 2003, 2013, and 2023 were generated to analyze changes in land cover, including agriculture, barren land, built-up areas, vegetation, wasteland, fallow land, and water bodies. The Dyna-CLUE model, incorporating variables such as elevation, slope, aspect, and proximity to streams and roads, was employed to forecast LULC changes for 2033 and 2043. The findings reveal a marked increase in built-up areas at the expense of vegetative cover, driven by urbanization, infrastructural development, agricultural expansion, climate change, and policy decisions. With Kappa coefficients indicating high agreement between classified land cover and ground truth data (84–90% accuracy), the study projects continued urban growth and further decline in vegetation. This underscores the urgent need for sustainable land use planning and environmental conservation in Jaipur. Proposed strategies to address these issues include establishing ecological zones, enforcing green building regulations, promoting mixed-use development, and implementing a 15-min green space policy. These measures aim to enhance green space distribution and support Jaipur’s transition towards a greener urban environment.

Experimental analysis of the influence of PCM on the thermal behavior of lightweight buildings in different natural environments

Phase-change materials (PCM) can effectively improve the thermal performance of lightweight buildings, but their heat storage and release capacity are highly dependent on the heat exchange between the wall surface and the ambient environments. However, the current research mostly focuses on numerical simulation in a specific climate environment, and the effectiveness of PCM on the thermal regulation of lightweight buildings under a long-period natural environment is insufficient. Therefore, two experimental rooms (with and without PCM) of the same size were built and conducted in this paper to compare the changing rules of wall surface temperature, heat flux, and indoor temperature in different seasons without mechanical equipment. The results show that: (1) The effect of PCM on the thermal performance of lightweight buildings is highly correlated with seasons, and its contribution efficiency varies in different seasons; (2) The attenuation rate of the internal surface temperature in different seasons can be reduced by 18.08%–42.90 %, the delay time can be improved to 2.67–4 h compared with the reference wall; (3) PCM can effectively inhibit the fluctuation and rise of indoor temperature, which can reduce the maximum indoor temperature by 4.9–12.0 °C, increase the minimum temperature by 1.1–2.8 °C, and the thermal comfort hours added by 2–5 h; (4) Lightweight buildings incorporating PCM can saves 18.69 % and 49.63 % for the peak cooling in summer and transition seasons, and 15.9 % for the heating in winter. The research results can provide the theoretical basis and experimental support for the efficient application of PCM in lightweight buildings.

Mitigation strategies and policies recommendation for the economic impact of the Sunda Strait Megathrust: Seismic risk probability assessment and cost loss estimates

This study investigates seismic risk and potential impacts of future earthquakes in the Sunda Strait region, known for its susceptibility to significant seismic events due to the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate. The aim is to assess the likelihood of major earthquakes, estimate their impact, and propose strategies to mitigate associated risks. The research uses historical seismic data and probabilistic models to forecast earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 6.0 to 8.2 Mw. The Gutenberg-Richter model helps project potential earthquake occurrences and their impacts. The findings suggest that the probability of a major earthquake could occur as early as 2026–2027, with a more significant event estimated to likely occur around 2031. Economic estimates for a 7.8–8.2 Mw earthquake suggest potential damage of up to USD 1.255 billion with significant loss of life. The study identifies key vulnerabilities, such as inadequate building foundations and ineffective disaster management infrastructure, which could worsen the impact of future seismic events. In conclusion, the research highlights the urgent need for comprehensive seismic risk mitigation strategies. Recommendations include reinforcing infrastructure to comply with seismic standards, implementing advanced early warning systems, and enhancing public education on earthquake preparedness. Additionally, government policies must address these issues by increasing funding for disaster management, enforcing building regulations, and incorporating traditional knowledge into construction practices. These measures are essential to reducing future earthquake impacts and improving community resilience.

Strategic easing of height restrictions: Unveiling the intersection of free market principles and colonial mentality in Hong Kong’s urban densification

ABSTRACT High-density housing development is considered a pragmatic response to the conflicts between land scarcity and population growth. Under the rhetoric of (neo)liberalism, the flourishing private housing market narrative was anchored throughout the last century, along with significant contributions from government regulations. The 1955 Buildings Ordinance, which eased height limits, laid the groundwork for Hong Kong’s high-density foundations. The existing historiographical literature examines this from a technical perspective. However, it overlooks the decision-making processes behind these regulations and their alignment with or deviation from free market principles. This study examines colonial archives to scrutinize the colonial government’s approach to building regulations, revealing that easing height restrictions was not merely a technical adjustment but a calculated response to broader economic and demographic challenges. It was a strategy to stimulate private housing development and manage population growth without significantly increasing government spending. This raises concerns regarding prevailing assumptions that the colonial government supported a free-market approach to housing rather than exploring the debates and deliberations that shaped these policies. By comparing colonial experiences in Hong Kong and London, historical analysis challenges the conventional understanding of Hong Kong’s urban development, thereby highlighting the contentious relationship between liberal economic policies and the colonial administrative framework.

Assessment of the acoustic environments in dementia care units: a case study

Dementia patients represent a particularly vulnerable group of people that are easily affected by their surroundings. Minor disturbances can lead to challenging behavior for the caregiving staff. Sensory stimulation is a critical factor in the treatment of these patients. At the same time, there is a challenge associated with it overstimulation as this can lead to social isolation, known as a factor that increases the risk of developing a dementia diagnosis. Therefore, a tailored sound environments is important to promote an inclusive environment for the patients to increase their well being and life quality. This study aims to discover the acoustical conditions at dementia care units in two hospitals, examine the impact of acoustic environment on patients and provide feedback about the existing standards and regulations for such buildings. In-depth interviews and measurements are combined to conduct both qualitative and quantitative feedback from the actual environment and users. The results can be used to develop acoustical design criteria for dementia units in the future.

Room acoustic survey of open and enclosed learning spaces in Finland

Use of open learning spaces for education has increased in schools while enclosed learning spaces are still used in most schools in overall. There is some debate that these two learning space types might differ in acoustic perceptions. If they do, room acoustic quality might be one explaining factor. Therefore, our purpose was to determine, whether these learning space types differ in room acoustic properties. We studied 10 schools with mostly enclosed and another 10 schools with open or flexible learning spaces in Finland. Altogether 73 learning spaces were investigated among the 20 schools. Measurements concerned reverberation time, Speech Transmission Index, and background noise level. Most of enclosed learning spaces (63%) met the new requirements of Finnish building regulations for enclosed learning spaces. Opposite to that, most of open learning spaces (91%) did not meet the regulations for open learning spaces. The results can be used in the root cause analysis of a teacher survey conducted in the same 20 schools. Teacher survey will be reported in another study. Parallel analysis of objective and subjective results is necessary to judge whether the current regulations are justified.

Could mandatory open access to sound insulation performance in housing promote "visibility" of acoustic quality?

Danish Health and Morbidity Surveys representing the population show that ~36% of people in multi-storey housing are annoyed by neighbour noise. National building regulations have existed since 1961 and included sound insulation limits, but complaints to housing organizations and builders appear for both old and new housing. A detailed analysis of national survey results shows that for occupants in multi-storey housing, a strong association exists between self-reported neighbour noise annoyance and various health issues. Building constructions have changed over time and consequently acoustic performance. The Danish standard DS 490 has six acoustic quality classes A-F representing housing built from before year 1900 until now, class C being minimum for new housing. Acoustic quality is invisible. However, the purpose of classification is enabling "visibility", but such information is typically unavailable. With mandatory acoustic classification for new and renovated dwellings, negative "surprises", when moving into new/renovated apartments could be foreseen. While prospective buyers and tenant organizations support acoustic labelling, strong resistance appears from e.g. real estate agents, and contractors. The paper presents advantages of acoustic quality transparency as well as resistance and also provides suggested steps towards implementation to the benefit of people moving to new places or understanding their current situation.

Resonant frequencies of multi-layer building constructions: Estimation by measurement of acceleration amplitudes

The Austrian building regulation requirements for impact sound insulation are based on the weighted standardized impact sound pressure level as single-number specification. In recent years, it has become apparent that not only the single-number specification, but the extended frequency range and frequency characteristics of impact sound insulation of constructions can have noticeable influence on the perceived acoustic performance of a construction. Therefore, the Austrian Classification Standard ÖNORM B 8115-5: 2021-04 includes extended requirements on impact sound insulation. It provides two ways for verification of the sound insulation classes A to C. One way is the verification via the resonance frequency of multi-layer constructions. However, there exist as yet no standardized measurement methods for the estimation of the resonance frequency of multi-layer building constructions. In response, in course of this study a new measurement method for the estimation of the resonance frequencies of multi-layer constructions was developed. For this development acceleration measurements were carried out on both surfaces of particularly double-layer building constructions, that were excited with a rubber hammer. From these measurement results, in conjunction with an analytical model, it was possible to derive a measurement method for estimating the resonant frequency via the frequency characteristics of the acceleration amplitudes.

A platform-based Natural Language processing-driven strategy for digitalising regulatory compliance processes for the built environment

The digitalisation of the regulatory compliance process has been an active area of research for several decades. However, more recently the level of activities in this area has increased considerably. In the UK, the tragic incident of Grenfell fire in 2017 has been a major catalyst for this as a result of the Hackitt report’s recommendations pointing a lot of the blame on the broken regulatory regime in the country. The Hackitt report emphasises the need to overhaul the building regulations, but the approach to do so remains an open research question. Existing work in this space tends to overlook the processing of actual regulatory documents, or limits their scope to solving a relatively small subtask. This paper presents a new comprehensive platform approach to the digitalisation of the regulatory compliance processing. We present i-ReC (intelligent Regulatory Compliance), a platform approach to digitalisation of regulatory compliance that takes into consideration the enormous diversity of all the stakeholders’ activities. A historical perspective on research in this area is first presented to put things in perspective which identifies the challenges in such an endeavour and identifies the gaps in state-of-the-art. After enumerating all the challenges in implementing a platform-based approach to digitalising the regulatory compliance process, the implementation of some parts of the platform is described. Our research demonstrates that the identification and extraction of all relevant requirements from the corpus of several hundred regulatory documents is a key part of the whole process which underlies the entire process from authoring to eventually compliance checking of designs. Some of the issues that need addressing in this endeavour include ambiguous language, inconsistent use of terms, contradicting requirements and handling multi-word expressions. The implementation of these tools is driven by NLP, ML and Semantic Web technologies. A semantic search engine was developed and validated against other popular and comparable engines with a corpus of 420 (out of about 800) documents used in the UK for compliance checking of building designs. In every search scenario, our search engine performed better on all objective criteria. Limitations of the approach are discussed which includes the challenges around licensing for all the documents in the corpus. Further work includes improving the performance of SPaR.txt (the tool created to identify multi-word expressions) as well as the information retrieval engine by increasing the dataset and providing the model with examples from more diverse formats of regulations. There is also a need to develop and align strategies to collect a comprehensive set of domain vocabularies to be combined in a Knowledge Graph.

CIGS박막전지를 이용한 컬러BIPV 디자인 현황 및 사례고찰

This study examines the development status of domestic color solar cells and eight domestic and international application sites to overcome the limitations of early-stage BIPV modules that focus only on expanding and distributing power generation and do not meet various building regulations and rules, and to solve somewhat neglected building and cityscape problems. In addition, it analyzes its characteristics to improve the misconceptions and limitations of existing BIPV and to contribute to improving domestic architectural application conditions and future energy policies by reborn as a true product with the function of building exterior materials. In this study, it was found through domestic and international cases that the common feature of BIPV installation cases using CIGS thin-film cells is that BIPV is installed on the entire exterior of a building to meet power generation while pursuing consistency in the design of the exterior, and that CIGS modules satisfy most of the architectural functions that BIPV should have. In addition, although the inevitable efficiency reduction occurs when PV modules have color, it was confirmed that this is a part that must be tolerated to some extent in the comprehensive and combined sense that the ultimate goal of BIPV is to realize sustainable architecture by replacing existing building materials while generating energy. However, there are still many shortcomings in satisfying the color and size required in architecture, and the color that takes into account regional characteristics, so further technological development and advancement are needed.

Diseño y análisis dinámico de un edificio multifamiliar de 4 niveles sin sótano en la Provincia de Chanchamayo

In the present investigation, the design of a 4-story building without a basement located in the Province of Chanchamayo of Peru was carried out, intended for a multi-family home made up of structural elements such as columns, beams, and plates, which each one was designed and modeled under the Peruvian Load Regulations E. 020, Earthquake-resistant Design E. 030, Reinforced Concrete E. 060, Masonry E. 070 and General Design Conditions A. 010. The use of these Standards is established in the National Building Regulations that allowed compliance with the objective of designing and carrying out the Dynamic Analysis of the Building under the Earthquake methodology, which is based on the Load factor and resistance design method. Modeling was carried out with the help of ETABS software to obtain results necessary for the design and analysis of the structure. Finally, it was obtained that the building will use the structural system for structural walls, which has a basic reduction coefficient equal to 6 and it is concluded that the methodology used allows guaranteeing the safety, functionality and quality service of a building.

Analyzing the influence of the sustainability shift in European building codes on the alignment of identity, practice, and knowledge in commercial real estate firms

Sustainability has become a key concern across multiple sectors, including commercial real estate. Due to environmental challenges, numerous new European building regulations emphasize sustainability, pushing businesses to adapt. This research examines the effect of these sustainability-driven changes in European building codes on commercial real estate companies by utilizing the identity-practice-knowledge framework. Existing studies highlight external pressures and catalysts for change, while insights from seven interviews with industry experts reveal internal challenges, such as the need for additional expertise, and opportunities, such as enhancing sustainable practices. This paper explores how the shift in European building regulations impacts the alignment of identity, practice, and knowledge within commercial real estate firms and identifies the priorities these companies must address. The findings aim to assist these firms in preparing for the sustainability transition and in designing effective change processes for a seamless transformation.

Do planning practices hinder on-farm diversification in peri-urban Mediterranean France?

At the crossroads of spatial planning and agriculture, this article explores how planning practices impact on-farm diversification strategies in peri-urban Mediterranean France. It focuses on farm building permit applications, statistically analyzing a database of 860 buildings applied for and interviewing local authorities and farmers’ representatives. Results show the large proportion of applications related to reterritorialization of food systems, development of recreational activities, and production of green energy. These on-farm diversification trends highlight the transformation of peri-urban areas from a natural or agricultural landscape into a multifunctional landscape, posing several planning challenges. Planners don’t know how to assess whether a new building is really essential for farming, or to find the right trade-offs to support farming dynamics while limiting soil sealing. Their assessment criteria generally favor large, full-time, and economically viable farms. Comparing two provinces’ planning practices, we observe significant differences in interpretation of national law, with incoherent or unharmonized criteria applied especially when assessing professional farming activities, new dwellings, and solar energy projects. We also highlight two potential obstacles to farmers’ generational renewal and agroecological or food transitions: i) lack of transparency regarding the rules and the decision-making processes behind building permit assessment, and ii) the frequent rejection of applications for multi-purpose premises and lightweight, mobile, or dismantlable structures. Such results point to the role of planners in transforming peri-urban landscapes and the need for more consistent regulation of new farm buildings, supporting and not hindering farm adaptation strategies and the multifunctionality of peri-urban areas.