Building Site Research Articles

Monitoring checklist for the construction of light-woodframe houses

Light-woodframe emerges as a modern construction solution to compete with the masonry houses, due to similarities in competitive costs and low-trained labor. This informality contributes to troubles and problems, being identified as perceptible challenges for the building planning and management. A good tool to solve these difficulties consists in the use of a standard checklist during construction process activities, avoiding the negligence of necessary steps to complete the building project. This checklist indicates the systemic view of the complete process, acting as a facilitating and standardizing tool for the progress of on-site building works. To meet these demands, the present paper developed and proposed an organizational tool, materialized by a checklist presented in Appendix section of this paper, in order to monitor the construction process of wood-based houses through light-woodframe system. Due to detailed knowledge of each building phase, this user-friendly checklist adds values and offers organization routines for developers and suppliers. Printed checklists exclude the need of electronic devices on site, allowing copies for all workers. On building site, it allows controlling the systematization and progress of activities, providing a comprehensive systemic view of the work.

Reasons and Possible Countermeasures for the Imperfection of Pre-sale System in China

Ever since the presale mechanism was invented in 1953, it has been welcomed all over the world, especially in real estate purchases. In recent years, the real estate industry in China has been developing since the reform and opening-up policy made by Deng. As it developed, problems also arose as huge numbers of uncomplete building sites started to emerge throughout China's mainland, causing millions of people to end up in poverty or bankruptcy. The research is conducted to seek what actually caused the mentioned situations as well as find possible countermeasures to help avoid them to some extent. This passage lists several main existing problems including flaws in the system, vulnerable reaction systems, and the lack of government management. and to each of them, a correspondent measurement is given as a better solution or a tip for not repeating the same mistake. There are mature systems of presale in regions from Hong Kong to the USA.

Bottom-up LCA building stock model: Tool for future building-management scenarios

Residential buildings have a substantial impact on global environmental impacts. In this paper we present a model that assesses impacts from materials (embodied impacts) as well as from heating (operational impacts) for all residential buildings in Switzerland. Our model builds on an existing high-resolution spatio-temporal building stock model, which estimates the space heating demand of buildings, based on building property and site data. In this work we additionally include the impacts of materials extraction, production, transportation, and disposal of building components (floors, roofs, walls, ceilings and windows). Our model comes with a site- and building-specific default parametrization for all buildings, but it is developed as a tool that allows architects and planners to adapt building and site data with specific information to increase the accuracy of the environmental assessment of the current buildings and future building-management scenarios. We applied the model to ten Swiss buildings and assessed a selection of building-management scenarios to illustrate the application of the tool. The results show that our model estimates fairly accurate values of thermal and ventilation heat transmittance, operational space heating demand, and operational and embodied climate-change impacts for the considered buildings. The detailed modeling results for the ten case study buildings outperformed the simplified version of the model with generic default values for material building composition (using age-grouped building archetypes), emphasizing the importance of adding detailed material information in building life cycle assessments. Therefore, a focus should be placed on obtaining accurate material inventories of buildings in future research. The here-developed model allows for integration of such detailed material inventories, overwriting the provided default values.

Research on Construction Safety Management Measures for Building Site

With the rapid development of Chinese construction industry, the scale of construction engineering is more and more large, and the degree of specialization is constantly improving. In order to gain competitive advantage in the market, construction enterprises must pay attention to construction safety management and optimization of construction technology. In addition, in order to promote the long-term and stable development of the project, the project contractor must also pay attention to the quality, efficiency and safety of the construction environment to ensure the safety of workers' lives and property. Therefore, construction safety management has become an important part of construction. It is an important strategy to conduct a comprehensive analysis of construction safety hazards, strengthen the construction of safety management system, improve workers' safety awareness and skill level, and adopt scientific construction technology and equipment.

Site-Specific Aseismic Design of Multi-Storeyed Buildings Using Optimum Tuned Mass Damper Inerter

ABSTRACT The effectiveness of the tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) in reducing the vibration of building structures under site-specific earthquake excitation is investigated. The site is Guwahati, Assam, which lies in the most severe seismic intensity zone in India. In this paper, the optimization of the TMDI design parameters is carried out for the site-specific input derived for the building site by a modulated Clough-Penzien (C-P) spectrum fitted to the power spectral density function obtained from a strong motion model of the site. All possible topologies of the TMDI, with one terminal of the inerter being connected to the damper mass attached to the top storey of the example buildings, and the other terminal being connected to any other floor, are investigated. The structure-TMDI system is analyzed both in the frequency-domain and in the time-domain. A numerical study is conducted with two example building structures. Optimization of design parameters of the TMDI is carried out using the technique of simulated annealing in the frequency-domain using the site-specific modulated Clough-Penzien spectrum as input. The performance of the optimal TMDI cases is evaluated by subjecting the example structures to 10 site-specific synthetically generated accelerograms. Results indicate that the TMDI is superior to the TMD for all topologies of the TMDI in case of the 3-storieed structure; and for topologies of the TMDI in which the inerter spans more than 4 floors for the 8-storied structure, with improved reductions in top-floor displacement, acceleration, and stroke length.

Theorizing virtual counterspaces: how Latina graduate students build community online

ABSTRACT In this article we extend the concept of counterspaces by theorizing an emerging form of counterspace – virtual counterspace. We employ Latine Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) and racial microaggressions to understand how Latina graduate students utilize Instagram to cultivate community online. Latina graduate students encounter unique barriers to degree attainment including lack of cultural affirmation, isolation, microaggressions, and hostile campus racial climates. Drawing on the experience of developing virtual counterspaces, we argue that virtual counterspaces are sites of cultural affirmation, community building, knowledge sharing, and empowerment that enable the academic success of Latina graduate students. Given the power of social media, we urge colleges and universities to leverage these platforms to engage and support Latinas and other Students of Color.

Factors Affecting the Cost Management of Iraqi Construction Firms

Cost management refers to the procedures that must be followed to ensure that the project is accomplished on time and on budget. The goal of this study is to identify the main factors that affect cost compliance and to assess how relevant these factors are from the perspectives of clients, contractors, and consultants in construction firms in Iraq. For the purpose of this study, 100 structured questionnaires were distributed to clients, contractors, and consultants on building sites throughout the study area by using the survey approach. The Relative Importance Index (RII) technique was used for the analysis. It has been determined that the factors potentially affecting cost management in construction firms should be taken into consideration during the planning, design, tendering, and construction stages to accomplish the project within the specified time and cost. Twenty factors that affected the performance of construction firms in Iraq were identified. The results revealed the most affecting factor was poor management/poor coordination between the contracting company and the authorities involved, followed by the nationality of workers, structural materials damaged during storage, the absence of places designated for storing materials, lack of personnel specializing in devices and equipment, changing labor and material prices as a result of political changes, lack of technical staff, length of the project period, mismatch designs with execution works in site, and changes in orders. The study concludes by stating that there is not an efficient procedure in Iraq to control cost management.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BORED PILES ACCORDING TO THEIR GEOMETRICAL VARIATIONS

Nowadays, highly efficient construction materials such as bored piles have various benefits for use in civil and foundation engineering. The technology of drilling piles has applications for heavy, concentrated vertical and horizontal loads, on building sites with complicated geological and engineering conditions, in densely populated urban areas, and close to existing buildings and structures where deformations may occur from hammering or vibration loading effects. The study is devoted to the investigation of the properties and application of bored piles as a foundation and the significance of their use in the current civil engineering conditions, as well as conducting a comparative analysis of the dependence of the bearing capacity of a bored pile on the change in its diameter and depth of laying.

Airtightness of Estonian dwellings – median and base-values for heat loss estimation.

The field measurements of airtightness in Estonian detached houses and apartment buildings, conducted between 2003 – 2022, were combined into a large dataset for statistical analysis. The buildings (539 in total) constructed between 1810 and 2022 were classified based on dwelling type, building structure, number of storeys, year of construction, energy classification and compactness factors. The data was statistically analysed to determine the mean and median air leakage rates at 50 Pa and tested (Kruskal-Wallis test with post-hoc Conover test) for significant differences within the grouping factors. Buildings constructed after the enforcement of the compulsory Energy Performance certification have on average across all building structure types significantly lower mean air leakage rate (1.6 m3/(h·m2)) than older buildings (6.9 m3/(h·m2)), although log-wood and brick construction types feature slightly higher average air leakage rate. Previous experience with air leakage measurements help to achieve better airtightness on building site. A systematic and recurring measurement practice within a single construction company leads to significantly lower air leakage also for new concrete buildings. Detailed assessment of older buildings showed that all timber-based construction types had significantly higher air leakage rate along with higher variability compared to precast large concrete panel stone and small block wall and brick buildings. All apartment buildings built before 2010 had significantly lower air leakage rate compared to detached houses while there was no difference in new buildings. Along with the mean and median value a base value of air leakage rate q E50,base was calculated for all construction types and age groups including 50% of measured buildings around the mean within each group with 84 % confidence interval. The calculated mean, median and base values of air leakage rate provide a way for more accurate heat loss estimation at the district-level or building-level modelling of energy saving potential of different retrofitting strategies based on building age, construction type and other building information data.

Design of community creative industry building: A green building approach

Plastic waste remains the top crucial problem besides energy security in today’s life. It takes tens to hundreds of years to decompose, harming living things and the environment. Recycling activities can help reduce plastic waste and enhance the creativity of young people, students, and the community by producing new products from plastic waste. A community creative industry building design is proposed in this study by highlighting plastic recycling activities considering three principles: reduce, reuse and recycle. The Green Building approach was used in this study as a design form generator for it conforms to an environmentally friendly approach. The case study of this research is in Palu City, Indonesia. The Greenship for New Building Assessment version 1.2 by the Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI) was implemented by utilising the logical argumentation method in the early design stage. The green building approach was implemented in the building site design, building form and envelope, and building interior. For active clean energy production, photovoltaics were installed on the rooftop with a tilt angle of 5°. From the conceptual analysis result, the proposed design can achieve a gold rating by obtaining 51 points in the Greenship assessment list for New Building version 2.1.

The Armenian-Italian Joint Expedition to Dvin Report of 2022 Activities

This report aims to show the results of the second excavation campaign at Dvin/Dabīl (Armenia), conducted by the Italian-Armenian research group in Autumn 2022. The excavations involved three areas in distinct sectors of the city: the southern portion of the Lower Fortress, where the 2021 square was deepened and enlarged; the so-called ‘Market’ area, where the 2021 excavations were expanded and a micro-stratigraphic trench was opened; the area southeast of the central district, where an exploratory trench was dug to investigate the archaeological evidence at the site of the future building of the Dvin Museum. Additionally, the last paragraph shows the chemical analysis of pottery samples carried out between 2021 and 2022.

Energy simulation and heat absorption of 3R cement in multivariable resource optimization to reduce temperature calefaction

In recent years, most developing countries, the construction sector has been aware of sustainable building combinations of thermal comfort, low energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the environment. About 90% of CO2 is released in construction building materials, in that cement plays an important role in releasing the large amount of carbon dioxide in the manufacturing process. Many researchers have focused on alternative materials in cement to reduce the raw material demand and sustainable building materials. A 3RC was developed by (aquamarine + industrial) waste materials introduced in cement to identify the performance. The study describes the thermal behavior of newly invented 3RC in concrete with different elements in the physical models to observe the temperature, sensible heat and relative humidity at 12-months using thermal sensors. The validated results are computationally evaluated using Design Builder software to prove that less than 2°C error from the observed data is similar. The results of the analysis showed that the thermal comfort, energy consumption and greenhouse gas satisfy the manufacturing of cement and had good adaptability in the overall performance of the building. The simulation models were observed for 12 months, and the energy consumption in future developing building sites was predicted.

Thin shell foundations: Quantification of embodied carbon reduction through materially efficient geometry

AbstractBuilding foundation systems are a significant but understudied contributor to embodied carbon emissions of the built environment, and typically use excess material in prismatic, bending-dominated typologies. This paper identifies and characterizes a promising pathway for reducing the embodied carbon associated with reinforced concrete shallow foundations through an alternative typology, thin shell foundations. The main focus is a quantification and comparison of the environmental impact of typical spread footings and materially efficient shell foundations. Validated analytical engineering equations are applied in a parametric design workflow for the same design load and soil bearing capacity. By iterating through this workflow systematically, insights are gained regarding the applicability of shell foundations to various building typologies and site conditions. Results show that for small column loads and weak soils, shells reduce embodied carbon by about half compared to spread footings. For high applied loads, shells significantly outperform their prismatic counterparts, reducing the environmental impact by almost two-thirds. Foundations are then considered within the context of a whole building structural frame to determine the potential downstream savings when multiple systems are optimized to reduce material use and mass. When floor slabs are shape-optimized in addition to using shell foundations, a building structural system can be constructed for nearly one-quarter of the embodied carbon of a typical system. To take advantage of these potential savings, a method for fabricating thin shell foundations, where earth is compacted and milled to create the formwork, is presented following a review of digital fabrication methods.

Modelling of multi-energy systems of residential buildings with Calliope and validation of results

Given the current and future importance of energy availability in the residential sector, there is great interest in reducing and optimising the energy consumption of single and multi-family houses. An energy system consisting of solar PV, heat pump, and battery and thermal storage can reduce electricity grid dependence by maximising the use of renewable energy. However, creating a model for such a multi-energy system can be challenging due to the need for detailed input data and high computational cost. This study aimed to develop a simpler model with short computation times and sufficient accuracy by employing a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) method based on the modelling framework Calliope, allowing the investigation of optimal operation regarding energy consumption and autarky. The results of a model simulation were compared to measurements acquired at a pilot site of a residential building in an alpine region of Switzerland. The results show good agreement between the model and pilot site for PV self-consumption (-5%), grid-export (+3%), and battery usage (-2%), whereas larger discrepancies were observed for the utilisation of the thermal storage (-78%). With the necessary modifications the developed model will be useful in estimating the feasibility and impact of multi-energy systems in residential buildings.

백제 웅진기 건물지의 구조분석

Since the building site during the Ungjin period of Baekje is different from the Hanseong period pit-house building site in that it has an above-ground structure, it is very important data in understanding the form and changes of the Baekje building site and the changes in the cultural base. The shape of the building site can be examined focusing on Gongsanseong Castle, a royal castle during the Ungjin period, and the ruins of Jeongjisan Mountain, a national ceremonial site, and most of the building site shows the structure of a Byeokju-building site.
 In order to analyze the structure of the building sites during the Ungjin period of Baekje, an attempt was made to analyze the floor plan, scale, entrance facilities, windows, pillar arrangement, walls, roof type, and living aspects of the building sites identified at the Gongsanseong Castle and Jeongjisan Mountain ruins.
 The structure of the building site during the Ungjin period of Baekje shows a square and rectangular plane, and is judged to be a single-room building composed of a single room with a wall made of mixed mud & wood. The scale is about 6m in both length and width, and the concept of a compartment is believed to be expressed through side expansion, which is believed to be due to the development of wooden furniture technology and thus the stabilization of above-ground building site.
 Therefore, the structural characteristics of building site during the Ungjin period of Baekje, can be understood as the above-ground of the living plane of the building site and the standardization of the scale, as well as the spatial composition of the building with compartments based on wooden structures.

백제 사비기 익산지역의 건물 구조복원 연구

In this paper, the structural elements of the building identified in Iksan during the Sabi period of Baekje were reviewed from the perspective of archaeology and architecture, and the factors that could estimate the appearance of the building at that time were examined.
 First, it was confirmed that there are differences in size, structure, and form depending on the hierarchy and characteristics of the building through a review of the site creation and substructure of buildings in Wanggung-ri, Mireuk Temple Site, and Jeseok Temple Site. In addition, the structural combination and stability of the building were estimated based on the location and shape of the substructure. In particular, in the case of the cornerstone building site, through the review of auxiliary facilities and excavated tiles, implications for the length of the eaves and the angle of the eaves to be considered when restoring the superstructure were presented.
 Next, in order to restore the superstructure in terms of architecture, theoretical reviews such as normative documents and cases from China and Japan were conducted. In particular, the basis for restoring the superstructure was identified by reviewing the estimation of the size through the foundation, the proportional relationship through the main compartment and the relationship with the upper part, the proportional system of the elevation, and the relationship between the length of the eaves and the structure. The main focus of future historical research was examined by organizing and reviewing the historical evidence of major buildings in Mireuk Temple Site in Iksan through this series of processes.

호서지역 마한·백제 주거와 유물 변천양상

The objective of this article is to examine the transformations in dwellings and relics in Hoseo area based on data spanning from the 2nd century to the Ungjin period. Residential areas in the Hoseo region have a lack of historical data dating back to the third century. However, relics from the 2nd century were excavated from the Miho River to identify the characteristics of residential structures during that period. It was discovered that the residential structure, and Byeokju-style, which was recognized by the influence of Hansung Baekje, was found to have been a re-intellectual residential culture.
 Clay + stone furnaces and handicrafts have been in use since the mid-fourth century. This shows that it is possible to distinguish between Mahan and Baekje's residential culture by analyzing relics rather than the internal structure of the residential site, and at the same time, furnaces may be more related to rich culture like Byeokju-style. However, in some areas during the same period, residential forms that combine local four-column and external Yeo-cheol's CHARACTER SHAPED DWELLING were identified, which can be seen as the result of Mahan forces' acceptance of Baekje's residential culture before the mid-4th century. Since the mid-4th century, the number of the rectangular dwellings and Yeo-cheol's Character Shaped Dwelling where clay + stone and Baekje earthenware are identified has gradually increased, and at the same time, common-sense building sites such as general ground buildings and compartmental houses have also increased. This can be understood as a change in residential culture caused by moving from the central village of Mahan to the central village related to Baekje, and at the same time, it was also linked to the background of Ungjincheondo.
 From the relics, the appearance before the lattice-patterned long-range earthenware has been observed, and it may have appeared a little earlier than previously thought. Before the mid-to-late 4th century, traces of exchanges between regions in Hoseo region or Honam region, the central region, and the Yeongnam region were observed. After that, it can be seen that Baekje and Yeongnam region were more important than exchange occurring within the Hoseo region.

Digitalization of Building Site Management in the Construction Industry

With Industry 4.0, a digital transformation has started in the construction industry. However, 4.0 technologies have difficulties in the integrationof digital systems due to the diversity and complexity of the processes in the construction industry. Multidisciplinary work in architectural projects and the need for high productivity require digital renovation planning in the construction industry. Theapplication of the technologies that emerged because of digital transformation on the building site has revealed the concept of the smart building site. Within the framework of many current issues such as the smart building site, the digital transformation on the building sites needs to be explored and defined. In this study, a bibliometric analysis was carried out on the publications in this field by evaluating the transformation potentials of the digitalized building sites of the future. Academic publications that will raise awareness in the improvement of building site management and the development of digital systems have been determined. Conceptual integrity was created by seeing the research gap for digitalization in building site management and it was aimed to guide researchers in future studies. As a result, based on the research area analysis and the diversity of academic publications, it was seen that the studies in the field of architecture were insufficient compared to the engineering fields.

Daylight Analysis in Terms of Building Direction and One-Way Roof

The location of the buildings in the residential area is very important in protecting or benefiting from sunlight. The dynamic structure of the sun, which constantly changes according to time and seasons, directly affects the building's architecture and urban formation. Ignoring the sun's use of the structures during the construction of the buildings can cause significant disturbances to the residents. Daylight strategies, which are also influenced by climate, depend on the availability of natural light, determined by the latitude of the building site and the instantaneous conditions around the building. High latitudes have different summer and winter conditions, with lower daylight levels in winter. At these latitudes, designers often aim to maximize daylight penetration in buildings. In the tropics, where daylight levels are high throughout the year, the design emphasis is often on preventing overheating by limiting the amount of sunlight entering the building. Daylight availability depends not only on latitude, but also on the orientation of a building, and each facade and material of the building requires a different design importance. Therefore, daylight and architectural design strategies are two inseparable phenomena. In this respect, examining traditional architecture and successful natural lighting designs in the past is very useful for understanding climate-balanced building design. For this purpose, determining the roof slope according to the sun angle in architectural structures by calculating according to the location provides efficiency in many issues from energy efficiency to human health.

How far I’ll go: Social infrastructure accessibility and proximity in urban neighborhoods

Recent studies have shown that social infrastructure – community spaces, places of worship, social businesses, and parks – help build social ties, mitigate political polarization, and improve our health. This exploratory study examines why some areas in American cities see greater access to social infrastructure than others, applying geospatial models and city block analyses to the case of Boston. We hypothesize that neighborhoods of color and lower-income neighborhoods might see lower levels of access to social infrastructure, which have significant implications for the health and resilience of these neighborhoods. Using analyses of proximity on a large-N dataset of (1) all social infrastructure sites in Boston and (2) every building in Boston, we measure the distance between every building and social infrastructure site in the city, and model the associations of neighborhood demographics, socioeconomic status, and urban design factors on median distance from social infrastructure. Finally, we demonstrate findings using hyperlocal case studies of 3 iconic city blocks in Boston, examining Back Bay, Nubian Square, and Mount Bowdoin. We find evidence of strong race- and income-related gaps in access to social infrastructure, consistent even after extended controls for demographics and physical infrastructure traits, highlighting major inequities in social policy.