Building Owners Research Articles

Control of building safety through snow load monitoring

Climatic loading in the form of snow load is a significant factor for building structures. This is relevant during the design stage, the execution stage, and especially throughout the operational period. Building owners are legally required to ensure that their roofs are cleared of snow, often raising the question of whether such action is necessary in a particular situation. To address this, various devices have been developed to facilitate the systematic monitoring and measurement of snow load on roofs. These devices measure snow weight either indirectly or directly. The methods for monitoring snow weight and evaluating the effect of snow load on structural safety have been extensively discussed in the literature, considering aspects of structural integrity, operation under harsh conditions, and the economic implications of building management. In this paper, the authors propose an innovative approach to monitoring snow load using snow scales, supplemented by roof deflection measurements with tilt sensors (inclinometers). Such systems not only ensure the safety of the building and its occupants by providing reliable and verified results but also achieve this in a cost-effective manner.

Quadripartite Evolutionary Game of Incentives for Green Retrofitting of Historical Buildings

Green retrofitting is a potent strategy to improve energy efficiency and support the cultural conservation of historical buildings. China has many historical buildings with significant potential for green retrofitting. Nevertheless, the Chinese green retrofit industry remains in its early stages due to the lack of a comprehensive promotion mechanism. Drawing upon evolutionary game theory, an evolutionary game model was formulated to analyze the interplay among governmental regulators, Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), the owners of historical buildings, and tourists. At an extreme disturbance intensity of 100%, a striking decline is observed in the likelihood of ESCOs maintaining the “green retrofit” strategy, with the probability dropping to a minimum of 24.68%. Under specific conditions however this interplay attains an optimal equilibrium state, denoted as (1,1,1,1). It is concluded that governmental regulators exhibit a greater degree of stability compared to other stakeholders, as they maintain their strategies despite external disturbances. Therefore, it is recommended that effective incentives and regulatory frameworks should consider the sensitivities of non-regulatory stakeholders to enhance the success of green retrofitting projects for historical buildings.

Binding Sale and Purchase Agreement and Power of Attorney Over Land in the Perspective of the Principle of Horizontal Separation

This study explores the application of the horizontal separation principle in land ownership and transfer in Indonesia, focusing on the Binding Sale and Purchase Agreement (PPJB) and the power of attorney in land transactions. The horizontal separation principle, derived from customary law, ensures that land ownership does not automatically include ownership of buildings or plants on the land. This research examines how this principle affects legal processes related to land rights transfers and the challenges it poses in the context of sale and purchase agreements. By analyzing legal documents, court rulings, and relevant literature, the study identifies key issues such as ambiguous ownership rights and procedural complications that arise from the separation principle. The findings highlight the need for legal clarity and reform to enhance property rights protection and dispute resolution effectiveness in Indonesia's land law system.

집합건물 시공자의 하자담보책임 - 대법원 2023. 12. 7. 선고 2023다246600 판결을 중심으로

In our country, there is a lot of demand for condominium building such as apartments and commercial buildings that allow independent living within a single building, so there are many disputes between construction companies and unit owners due to building defects. In order to regulate the warranty liability for defects in such apartment buildings, Article 9 of the Condominium Building Act stipulates the warranty liability for unit owners of condominium building by the seller and the constructor. However, there have not been many decisions that have focused on the relationship of warranty liability for defects between the seller, the constructor, and unit owners in relation to the interpretation of the above legal provision. For this reason, recently, the Supreme Court, through the Supreme Court's decision 2023Da24660 Decided December 7, 2023(hereinafter referred as ‘the Judgement’), ruled that the constructor’s liability for damages in lieu of repairing a defect against a unit owner and the constructor’s liability for damages in lieu of repairing a defect against a unit seller are strictly separate obligations, and therefore, even if the statute of limitations for the constructor’s liability for damages against a unit seller has been completed, the constructor’s liability for damages against a unit owner cannot be said to be extinguished for this reason. The Judgement is significant in that it once again clarified the legal principle that, unless there are special circumstances, the expiration of the statute of limitations for a separate obligation does not extinguish other obligations. However, Article 9 Paragraph 2 of the Condominium Building Act is a matter of application of the scope that presupposes the existence of the constructor's security liability for the unit seller pursuant to special provisions, and it was necessary to clarify that the extinguishment reason that the constructor's security liability for the unit seller has been extinguished by the statute of limitations does not affect the constructor's security liability for the unit owners.

Evaluation of the performance of different internal insulation systems in real-life conditions ‐ A case study

Thermal retrofitting of historic buildings is essential to reducing heat loss in all buildings. Although exterior insulation often is hygrothermally a better solution, internal insulation is the only option in facades worthy of preservation (e.g., solid masonry external walls). However, mold growth has frequently been discovered in buildings with internal insulation at the interface between the insulation and the original wall, while simulations and lab tests show minimum risk, and vice versa. Therefore, real-life testing is required so that the building owners are more likely to accept these measures.This paper presents a case study of an 1837-built typical historic building. The study focuses on the building's top floor, a residential area (commune). Eight different rooms have four different types of internal insulation installed. The performance of the insulation systems was determined by monitoring the interior and exterior climate and the temperature and relative humidity at the intersection of the insulation and the existing wall for 20 months. The risk of mold growth was estimated based on the measurements. In the wall interfaces, the Mold Index indicated that the risk for mold growth is not severe. Hygrothermal simulations for the measured period and ten years were also performed. To increase simulation accuracy, the original exterior masonry bricks underwent laboratory testing to determine their precise material properties. The main outcome from the simulations was that the three vapor-open systems were more susceptible to indoor moisture load changes and had an elevated risk of mold growth, whereas the vapor-tight system was more robust to variation in insulation thickness and internal moisture level changes, and in this case, demonstrated the best performance in respect to moisture safety.

Maintenance Procedure in Dealing with Defect on Shophouses Heritage Building at George Town: Insight from Building Owners and Heritage Experts

Maintenance Procedure in Dealing with Defect on Shophouses Heritage Building at George Town: Insight from Building Owners and Heritage Experts

Assessing and mitigating building fire risk based on the scenario clusters in Bangladesh

The increasing occurrence of fire hazards in residential buildings in Bangladesh has led to severe property damage, physical injuries, and fatalities, underscoring a critical research gap in effective fire risk management. This study aims to address this gap by identifying key fire risks and proposing mitigation strategies using BIM technology. The research employs a comprehensive survey and scenario clustering methodology to identify these risks and assess the efficacy of various fire-resistant materials. Data collection involved questionnaires distributed to 200 respondents, including building owners, occupants, engineers, and firefighters. These clusters are based on the metrics of fatality numbers and property damage to quantify fire risk. Findings highlight the significant role of wall and ceiling lining materials (RII = 0.919) in contributing to fire risk. Further analysis was conducted using a residential building model developed in Autodesk Revit and simulated in Pyrosim software, assessing various lining materials. Quantitative results demonstrated that fire brick is the most effective material, exhibiting the lowest heat release rate (968 kW/m2), minimum adiabatic surface temperature (28°C), minimum heat transfer coefficient (1.75 W/m2/K), and lowest surface burning rate (7.5e−08 Kg/m2/s). These results suggest that fire brick is the optimal choice for enhancing fire resistance in residential buildings.

Smart retrofitting for office buildings: Comparison of decision-making criteria between developing and developed regions

Given the constantly evolving nature of modern infrastructure, retrofitting existing buildings with state-of-the-art smart technologies presents a pivotal opportunity, enabling promising advancements in sustainability, efficiency and adaptability. Focusing on Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, which are developed and developing regions respectively, this study investigates the decision-making criteria for selecting smart systems as retrofits for office buildings. Using the analytic network process (ANP), 24 expert interviews were conducted in Hong Kong and Sri Lanka to determine the importance weights of the decision-making criteria. The findings show varied importance weights for each criterion between the two regions, with Hong Kong emphasizing upfront financial considerations, specifically 'investment cost' while Sri Lanka emphasizing long-term operational sustainability, specifically 'recurring operation, maintenance and repair cost.' Despite these differences, there are similarities in the importance of core criteria such as 'reliability of retrofit option' and 'ability to increase returns.' The lack of focus on user-centric issues in Hong Kong and implementation of retrofit projects in Sri Lanka underscore the need for decision-makers to prioritize these aspects in future projects. The principal contribution of this study is in offering insights from a thorough analysis of the importance weights of the essential criteria in making decisions regarding smart retrofitting (SR). It is also beneficial to various stakeholders, including building owners and facility managers. The cross-region study approach, enabling the investigation on both developed and developing regions, further serves as a foundation for future research aiming to explore and analyze the influence of regional difference in decision-making for SR.

Experimental investigation and numerical modeling of an innovative horizontal coaxial ground heat exchanger (HCGHE) for geothermal heat pump applications

Geothermal is an ideal renewable energy source for building heating and cooling via a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system. However, the high initial cost of installing the ground heat exchanger limits its adoption, especially among owners of residential and smaller non-residential buildings. This study aims to develop a new methodology for installing an innovative horizontal coaxial ground heat exchanger (HCGHE) and to investigate its thermal performance in GSHP applications through field testing and numerical simulation. Horizontal directional drilling and a new manifold design were used to install the new HCGHE, significantly reducing costs by minimizing time, materials, labor, and landscape disruption. The transient numerical model, developed in Ansys Fluent using the finite volume method, was validated against experimental data and employed to predict temperature distributions in the supply pipe, return pipe, and surrounding soil. The study determined the heat transfer rate per unit borehole length and entire thermal resistance of the HCGHE to vary from 23.0 to 35.7 W/m and 0.28 to 0.74 K·m/W in winter, and from 24.3 to 37.4 W/m and 0.12 to 0.52 K·m/W in summer. The short-term soil temperature distributions in both the radial and longitudinal directions of the HCGHE are modeled using second-order polynomial equations, with R2 values ranging from 0.994 to near unity, while the long-term soil temperature distributions follow a power law. This research not only confirmed that the innovative HCGHE design and installation can achieve good thermal performance but also provided valuable insights into continual design improvement. The innovative HCGHE-based GSHP system provides an efficient and sustainable solution for heating and cooling buildings by harnessing the earth’s natural heat, offering the advantages of simplified installation and reduced initial investment.

Envisioning the Beloved Community: Racial Justice, Property Law, and the Social Mortgage

Abstract The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was concerned about both poverty and race, inextricably linked because of the long and brutal history of racial injustice in housing, employment, and education. What Dr. King called the beloved community reflected a vision of a world built on peace, human dignity, and shared material abundance for all people. To explore this linkage of poverty and race, I employ two related Christian theological concepts: the universal destiny of the goods of the earth and the social mortgage that encumbers all private property to ensure the equitable provision of those goods to all and for all generations. I analyze the ways in which the universal destiny of goods can be mediated through U.S. property law by structuring the ownership and use of land and buildings within the context of social obligation. But while the law has the capacity to ensure ownership, security, and infrastructure for all, U.S. society has failed to make the necessary payments on the social mortgage that would create this reality—a failure due primarily to severe racial and economic injustices, both historical and contemporary. Yet there is hope: I present examples that offer glimpses of the beloved community.

A Review of Three-Dimensional RGB Images and Drone Thermal Camera Images Merged for Building Information Modeling for Energy Audit

The site visit is the core of the energy audit, where you inspect, measure, and document the building's energy performance and efficiency. Various tools and techniques may be used for this purpose, such as a walk-through survey to observe the building's condition, a blower door test to measure air tightness and infiltration, a thermographic scan to detect heat loss and gain, a lighting audit to assess lighting quality, quantity, and controls, a plug load audit to quantify appliance and equipment energy consumption, a submetering or data logging system to monitor specific systems or zones, and a power quality analyzer to measure electrical parameters and harmonics. Additionally, it is important to interview the building's owner, manager, and occupants in order to gain their feedback and suggestions on energy performance and issues. This paper review of how a drone can help in the energy audit of a building using thermal images and RGB images from thermal camera which will be use in Building Information Modelling (BIM). There are a variety of relevant literatures that serve as sources of inspiration for the conduct of this study. One example is the utilization of teleoperated helicopters that are equipped with an infrared thermal camera. These helicopters are intended to be investigated for energy audits in order to readily assess the conditions of the structure. More improvements will be made to the collected photographs, such as merging them with three-dimensional RGB images. This will allow for an exact determination of which area of the building need upgrading in order to reduce the amount of energy that is emitted; this notion is similar to that of finite element analysis.

Advances in building data management for building performance standards using the SEED platform

Reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment is a critical step in achieving emission goals to mitigate climate change impacts. Local, federal, and international jurisdictions are deploying several methods to reduce energy and emissions such as voluntary and mandatory benchmarking and building performance standards, requiring building owners to reach energy and emission targets.Jurisdictions leveraging benchmarking and building performance standards require knowledge of the buildings covered; which is a large task due to staffing constraints, limited information on building characteristics and tax parcel data, and the need for advanced data management techniques to align datasets. This paper describes an open-source platform's recent advances to create consistent taxonomies, identify erroneous data, enable auditability, and track building performance. The paper concludes with two use cases on how the platform has been used by jurisdictions.

Kajian Eksistensi Bangunan Cagar Budaya Di Jl. Dr. Cipto Kota Semarang

The city of Semarang is rich in a multitude of cultural heritage. In accordance with the Decree of the Mayor of the Regional Head of Level II Semarang No. 646/50/TAHUN/1992 concerning Building Conservation, Ancient/Historic Buildings in the Semarang Level II Regional Municipality Area, several Cultural Heritage Buildings have been designated. The types of buildings determined consist of socio-cultural buildings, religious buildings and business buildings. Jl. Dr. Cipto was the development of the Dutch city area after the Old City was full so that Dutch and Chinese people living in Semarang began to occupy this area along with the emergence of supporting buildings. Research related to the existence of cultural heritage buildings cannot be separated from the role of trusted sources who understand or understand the object being studied. This research aims to obtain comprehensive facts, data and information related to the existence of Cultural Heritage Buildings which are the object of research. The primary survey in this research was carried out to obtain primary data or information, namely data or information obtained directly from the field. Field survey with an argumentative and persuasive approach to dig up information to strengthen institutional data and complement existing data. The technique for obtaining this data is observation, measurement and interviews. Apart from that, the survey was carried out using literature studies, reports related to previous Cultural Heritage Building data. The analysis results show that the Cultural Heritage Building on Jalan Dr. Most of this Cipto has strong characteristics of modern architecture, a style that was popular at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the buildings are not multi-storey, and there are parts of the core building that resemble multi-storey towers. The building orientation tends to be west. The foundation of a building made of stone that supports the main structure. Until now, the building still looks sturdy and well maintained. The existence of cultural heritage buildings in the Old City area, especially on Jl. Dr. Cipto Semarang has an important meaning in supporting the existence of the region from its inception until today. The existence of a cultural heritage building on Jl. Dr. Cipto demonstrated the consistency of function and transformation of the building's function according to the needs of the time but did not change the shape/facade of the existing building. The role of building managers needs to continue to be improved by increasing cooperation between the Government, Building Management Organizations, Building Owners and Investors. The Semarang City Government needs to continue to play an active role in efforts to maintain the existence of cultural heritage buildings in the Jl. Dr. Cipto is mainly related to policies to support the existence of cultural heritage buildings so that they continue to exist.

New robust multi-criteria decision-making framework for thermal insulation of buildings under conflicting stakeholder interests

The choice of thermal insulation technology for existing building retrofit can be a complex multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem characterized by multiple stakeholders with conflicting interests. The conflicting interests of the building owners and the policymakers could negatively influence the adoption of low-carbon energy retrofit measures by building possessors, slowing down the progress toward sustainable development. The investigation of this issue is, therefore, crucial to support more informed decisions and offer policymakers useful insights to develop future economic incentives for energy refurbishment of buildings. Most of the existing MCDM studies on the subject do not emphasize the differences among different stakeholders nor consider the outcomes' robustness. To overcome this gap, this paper integrates multi-stakeholder analyses and robustness assessments to provide broad-spectrum and reliable results. An innovative robust MCDM framework for building thermal insulation under conflicting stakeholder interests is proposed and tested on a real case study building (located in Southern Italy) using building dynamic energy simulation. Several alternatives of thermal insulation are evaluated under environmental, energy, and economic key performance indicators (KPIs). The Analytic Hierarchy Process is used to define criteria weights for conflicting decision-makers representing collectivity (policymakers) and private interests. TOPSIS, VIKOR, WASPAS, and MULTIMOORA methods are integrated to perform initial rankings of the alternatives. A rank similarity analysis is performed to evaluate the consensus between MCDM methods, and an ensemble ranking is obtained for each decision-maker using an approach based on the half-quadratic theory. A Confidence Index and a Trust Level are used to evaluate the agreement among the MCDM approaches, verifying the reliability of the final ensemble ranking. The robustness of the framework is attained by complying with well-established literature guidance. The hybrid MCDM analysis showed that porous materials like expanded clay and expanded perlite lead to better results under the KPIs investigated. The worst performances are attained by vacuum insulation panels and aerogel, mainly due to high values of embodied CO2 emissions and long payback periods. Insights upon the performance of different thermal insulating alternatives are also highlighted by the study and a stakeholder comparative analysis demonstrates that global rankings obtained for the different decision-makers show some similarities, but also important deviations, and a full compromise solution is not achieved.

Evaluation of Fire Protection System in Library Building Universitas Negeri Padang

The fire of a building will have a major impact on the building owner, both in the form of material, moral and environmental losses. In residential areas, offices and other public facilities often cause casualties. Therefore, a building needs to take into account the risk of fire so that building users can carry out activities safely and comfortably. One of the causes of fires is the fire suppression system that has not received full attention, where there is often an inadequate building fire protection system. The UNP Library Building is one of the public facilities buildings that are always crowded with students. It is necessary to evaluate the availability of the fire protection system to ensure the safety and comfort of its users. This research is in the form of an evaluation of the availability and completeness of the available fire protection systems and their remedies against the threat of fire. The data was taken through direct observation and question and answer and the distribution of questionnaires with the library. From the results of the analysis of the fire protection system inspection of the UNP Library building, it is known that on the 1st floor the lowest rediness value is 18.9%, for the 2nd and 3rd floors is 44.1%, the 4th and 5th floors are 45.9% and 45.6 % fulfilled the requirements based on the Minister of Public Works Regulation No. 26/PRT/M/2008.

Dutch municipalities tackling climate change adaptation to heat stress through mainstreaming across sectors

As climate change accelerates, adapting to heat stress means preventing excess deaths, increased healthcare costs, reduced productivity, and damaged infrastructure and buildings. In cities, the urban heat island effect exacerbates these impacts. Adapting to heat stress requires action by a multitude of actors in different domains, including infrastructure and building owners, health care and social workers, and vulnerable inhabitants. While there is research on heat stress adaptation by single sectors, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding heat adaptation across sectors. To contribute to bridging this knowledge gap, we answer the following research question: To what extent and how are municipalities in the Dutch Province of Overijssel mainstreaming heat stress as part of their adaptation efforts? To answer this question, we combine action-oriented research employing the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework in a Dutch municipality, with a survey conducted among 15 municipalities located in the same province. Our research identifies two major challenges. First, the implementation of heat adaptation remains limited. Second, we identified two challenges regarding mainstreaming, namely a mismatch between the responsibility of heat adaptation in the built environment vis-à-vis the health care sector, and a lack of information on vulnerable groups that makes cross-sectoral collaboration more difficult. Thus, the extent to which heat adaptation is being mainstreamed as part of municipalities’ efforts to adapt the built environment is still quite limited and heat stress management at the intersection with the health care sector remains mostly absent, leaving vulnerable groups exposed.

Analysis of Forms on Pediments of Domestic Buildings in Osogbo, South-Western Nigeria

Pediments of domestic building are spaces for ornamentation inspired by the modern Yoruba culture of sealing up domestic buildings with gated fences. The erected fences often conceal ornamented buildings, thus preventing the showcasing of the beautiful embellishments on lower walls, in line with the institutionalized ostentation in Yoruba culture. The embellishment of pediments in Yorubaland, has not been treated with deserved importance despite the uniqueness of the forms, which leaves a gap in literature on this topic. This discourse examines and analyses the images on the pediments of domestic buildings, with the view to documenting the artistic embellishments and revealing the social-cultural significances of the presented forms. The study carried out in Osogbo metropolis, South-western Nigeria, utilized the ethnographic approach, with data derived mostly from primary sources. The paper submits that images on pediments send out information about the philosophies, religious and the socio-cultural affiliations of the owners of these sealed-up buildings to passers-by. It is also observed that although ornamented pediments beautify buildings, they are more of status symbols and are better appreciated from afar, thus enhancing the urban fabric in general.

Examination of Urban Transformation Implementation Legislation: Elazığ Example

In this study, it was aimed to examine and reveal the general results of the models applied in urban transformation works in Elazığ province after the 6.8 Mw Sivrice earthquake on January 24, 2020. The population of the research, Elazığ province sample, is Karşıyaka, Cumhuriyet, Abdullahpaşa, Mustafapaşa, Rüstempaşa, Sürsürü, Kızılay and Sivrice Country Gölbaşı Neighborhoods. The study is qualitative research in the form of a field study in terms of revealing the results of urban transformation implementation at the sample points. In this context, observation technique, interview technique, and documentary scanning technique were used in the descriptive analysis. General physical-structural characteristics of buildings in the observation technique; in the interview technique, 100 building owners and users' opinions about the buildings; In the documentary scanning technique, the reflections of literature information in practice are interpreted as a whole. In comparing the literature information, project technical documents obtained from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and Elazığ Municipality were used. As a result, the model to be chosen in the urban transformation process is an important parameter in the success of the application and reaching the desired goal. More qualified urban transformation applications will be achieved by reducing the problems that arise in public transformation projects, especially in determining the legislation, and by choosing the appropriate model for comprehensive transformation.

Risk-Targeted Seismic Design Maps with Aleatory and Epistemic Uncertainty in Tehran and Surrounding Areas

ABSTRACT This study aims to introduce a risk-targeted probabilistic model that facilitates seismic design hazard mapping. Here, we investigate how to incorporate hazard regional variations and different structural fragility typologies so as to achieve a uniform target risk across the map. This paper takes Tehran, the capital city, and its surrounding area as a case study and explores the highly digitized hazard curves conditioned on the time-dependent occurrence of an earthquake at a 50-year exposure time. We introduce a new set of parameterized quantile functions for Risk-targeted design Intensity Measure (IMR) as the seismic design hazard. A group of IMR maps is subsequently prepared based on a 1% collapse probability during the next 50-year lifetime. Furthermore, the quantile function corresponding to each fragility type is able to show the aleatory uncertainty at each site on the region map. The uncertainty maps illustrate relatively less inherent variability than what exists in the hazard curves themselves. Then, we tackle the source of uncertainty arising from percentile hazard curves into IMR, known as epistemic uncertainty, by deriving a new closed-form expression, which allows for a sampling-free estimation of the epistemic uncertainty. The risk-targeted seismic design hazard with its accompanying uncertainties can lead to a promising seismic design hazard with potential applications for the insurance industry, urban planners, and risk-aware building owners.

Penerapan Sertifikasi Laik Fungsi Terhadap Bangunan Publik di Kota Banda Aceh

Certificate of Occupancy (CO) is a certificate issued by the Regional Government for a building that has been completed and has met the requirements for the proper occupancy of the building, which is also applied to public buildings in Banda Aceh. The problem of this research is whether the building owner/user knows about CO and whether the building owner/user already knows about the implementation of CO in accordance with the law. This study aims to investigate the owner/users knowledge on CO and to determine the owner/users of the building knowledge about the application of CO in accordance with the law. The data collection technique was carried out by distributing questionnaires to 100 respondents, namely owners/users of public buildings in Banda Aceh. The variables used in this study are architectural components, structural, mechanical, electrical, outdoor layout, and the reliability of buildings to public buildings. The results of the factor analysis show that the correlation between a variable and the factors formed is > 0.5, so the factors formed have a relationship to summarize the six variables which has been analyzed. The results of the validity test of the r-table value of 0.197 meet the requirements of rcount > r table. The reliability test results qualify with Cronbach's Alpha value greater than 0.6. The results of descriptive analysis show that the frequency of building owners who know about CO is 6% and building users who know about CO is 2%, while the frequency of owners who know about the application of CO in accordance with the law is 2% and users who know about the application of CO are in accordance with the law is 1%. This indicates that there are still many users/owners of public buildings in Banda Aceh who do not know about CO and do not understand about the application of CO in accordance with the law. Therefore, the Banda Aceh Government needs to disseminate information about the implementation of CO, especially to owners of public buildings.