Building Strategies Research Articles

Managing Facilities in Historic Buildings: A Stewardship-Based Strategy for Long-Term Socio-economic Value

The challenges of historic building adaption for reuse are well documented and often refer to building fabric, listed status, historical significance, environmental sustainability, and structural layout as limitations to their successful re-development. However, few studies have explored how such issues manifest in the operational use of historic buildings developed for reuse, the significance on cities, and the long-term socioeconomic value. This study proposes a stewardship-based strategy to manage facilities to improve the socioeconomic value of historic buildings and support the socioeconomic demand in cities and territories. Within the context of a selected case study in the UK, a mixed-method approach was used to attain the data. Quantitative evidence, using a questionnaire survey with building users, and qualitative evidence, using semi-structured interviews with the facility management team, are presented. The results suggest that historic buildings are empowered by an organisational stewardship strategy, resulting in an acceptable operational compromise that involves an acceptance of building issues and their impact on the building users’ experience, and this can support the more operational adaption of facilities by the facility management team. The research proposes a stewardship-based strategy to support an improved socioeconomic value by incorporating user perspectives while ensuring a less preservation-centred and a more flexible-oriented approach towards managing facilities in historic buildings. This study constructively forms a base for further research into facility management strategies in historic buildings and their impact on cities’ needs.

Multi-objective optimization of mitigation strategies for buildings subject to multiple hazards

Natural hazards can have a devastating impact on communities, leading to social and economic losses. These effects are particularly severe in multi-hazard contexts, where multiple disruptive events occur simultaneously or consecutively (such as earthquakes and tsunamis). To reduce the impact of such events, it is critical to enhance community resilience and make it more capable of withstanding and recovering from diverse types of damage. In this study, we propose a multi-objective optimization model to determine optimal retrofitting strategies to enhance community resilience under multiple hazards. We used the proposed model to analyze the impact of earthquake and tsunami hazards on the community of Seaside, Oregon. It assesses the effectiveness of different retrofitting strategies at the individual building level, considering the conflicting objectives of reducing overall economic loss, population dislocation, and building repair times. Our results demonstrate that retrofitting buildings to achieve higher seismic codes can significantly reduce the impact of natural hazards on structural damage, population dislocation, and building repair times. Additionally, our findings reveal the importance of considering geographical location and mitigation measures when optimizing retrofitting strategies. By considering budget constraints and community resilience metrics, our model identifies the most effective retrofitting strategies for individual buildings of Seaside, which ultimately helps the community make informed decisions about investments to reduce the impact of natural hazards. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the importance of enhancing community resilience in multi-hazard contexts and showcases the use of a multi-objective optimization model to identify optimal retrofitting strategies.

Maintenance of Public Buildings in the Central Region of Ghana

Building maintenance ensures functionality, stability, and appearance and extends the structure’s lifespan. This study examined suitable maintenance strategies for public buildings in the Central Region of Ghana. Out of four hundred (400) questionnaires administered to maintenance officers and personnel of public buildings in the Central Region, two hundred and ninety-six (296) were returned, representing 74%. The findings showed that the respondents considered the deterioration of buildings and the maintenance quality as very important factors. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sample adequacy for p-values varies from 0.914 to 0.971, indicating that the constructs or factors strongly impact the prediction of building maintenance management. Further findings show that all the constructs or factors have strong (0.700 – 0.800) factor loadings, indicating a strong influence in predicting building maintenance management. Only one construct or factor (maintenance budgeting and auditing) with one variable (end-of-job documentation) had strong (0.940) factor loadings. Three constructs/factors (maintenance techniques, maintenance culture, and maintenance management) were found to have strong (7.00 - 8.00) factor loadings, which strongly influence predicting building maintenance management. It is concluded that attention should be paid to the developed constructs or factors in any future work in the Central Region and should involve Development Officers.

Igniting University Communities: Building Strategies that Empower an Energy Transition through Solar Energy Communities

Universities as centers for innovation by nature can play a relevant role in serving as education hubs for citizens in energy, promoting individual and collective behavioral changes among community members. By collaborating with their own communities on the energy transition, universities can become more sustainable while providing firsthand experiences that can trigger new attitudes in their students and employees. In this framework, this article explores ways to create partnerships to establish energy communities and promote shared photovoltaic energy facilities in an inclusive manner, emphasizing the social impact of such actions. Four public universities in Aarhus, Évora, Ljubljana, and Madrid are challenged to explore the avenues for turning this vision into reality. In this article, the entire exploratory process is described and the various barriers encountered are highlighted.

A multi-criteria decision model to support sustainable building energy management system with intelligent automation

With rising energy consumption in buildings, optimizing energy management is crucial for sustainability. This research pioneers the application of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques for real-time operational optimization of energy systems in buildings. A multicriteria decision analysis framework is used in this study to provide a model for decision making of generation and load balance. To assess the selection criteria, a thorough investigation is undertaken. The decision-based sustainable framework across conflicting criteria (encapsulating equal and objective weights) and aims towards the suitable trade-off solution. The framework is applied on workshop building across load-generation balance and is benchmarked with hardware. The research endeavor relies heavily on the deployment of sensor systems to prevent power wastage. By incorporating sensor systems, solar power usage control becomes smarter and more adaptable, enabling real-time modifications according to environmental conditions and energy requirements. This maximizes the overall efficiency and effectiveness of solar energy systems. Furthermore, the integration of sensor systems in solar power usage control improves reliability and maintenance through the identification and alerting of potential problems. TOPSIS and MCE are two methodologies that can be used in the field of multi-criteria decision model (MCDM). The originality of this study lies in the development of a MCDM framework to assist consumers in identifying resilient and optimal combinations of energy efficiency, cost-saving, and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) improvement strategies for buildings in Pakistan.

Regulation of dimensional errors and surface quality of thin-walled components fabricated by blue laser directed energy deposition

The utilization of components fabricated by directed energy deposition (DED) faces certain limitations that hinder its widespread application. These critical challenges primarily include significant errors in dimension accuracy caused by the unreliable build-up of flowing powder and low surface quality arising from the interlayer cumulative effect and powder adhesion. The present study aims to comprehensively investigate the impact of process parameters and deposition height on the geometrical errors observed in the thin-walled structures fabricated by DED. By establishing a rational relationship between the dimensional error and the sample height, the mechanism underlying the influence of deposition height on printing stability and sustainability is elucidated. Furthermore, an innovative building strategy incorporating a variable speed is proposed to eliminate protrusions at the end of the components. The study also examines the surface roughness of inclined thin walls, revealing a correlation between roughness and both position and angle. The presence of adhering powder on the front side of the parts and the formation of a molten oxide layer on the backside result in a diminished impact of angle on roughness. Ultimately, the findings of this study are validated through the fabrication of a thin-walled axisymmetric curved structure, providing a guide for the printing of large special-shaped parts.

Disabled student ambassadors promote inclusion in Norwegian higher education: building competencies and strategies for the future

Disabled students encounter complex barriers to participation and inclusion throughout higher education and face challenges transitioning into employment. This study has engaged eight disabled university students in participatory action research. The students, in collaboration with university researchers and staff, have developed and implemented actions at a Norwegian university. The study aimed to explore the students’ experiences of being ambassadors to promote inclusion. Data were generated through participatory observation with field notes during actions, sound recordings of reflection meetings, and a focus group dis­cussion. A reflexive thematic analysis resulted in the construction of four themes: confronting and overcoming the challenges, adding value and being a resource, building strategies to control stigma, and translating knowledge and actions towards inclusion. The results demonstrate the individual and societal value of including student voices to change for more inclusive practices, where disabled students are empowered and build competencies and strategies for the future.

Residual Stress and Dimensional Deviation in a Commercially Pure Titanium Thin Bipolar Plate for a Fuel Cell Using Laser Power Bed Fusion

In this study, the feasibility of commercially pure (CP)-Ti bipolar plates for fuel cells were assessed by designing, manufacturing, and evaluating thin plates fabricated through the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) technique. The width, height, and thickness of thin CP-Ti plates were carefully considered in its design to ensure comprehensive evaluation. The maximum displacement was measured through blue light scanning in accordance with the building direction. The finite element model and experimental results showed that the building layer per volume has a linear relationship with the maximum displacement and maximum residual tensile stress along the building direction. Thin plates with a high aspect ratio (198 × 53 × 1.5 mm) had the lowest maximum displacement (0.205 mm) when building in the height direction and had a high correlation coefficient with the finite element model (0.936). Proper aspect ratio design and building strategy enable highly accurate manufacturing of CP-Ti thin plates for fuel cell systems.

Building archetype characterization for mass-housing energy efficiency through a UBEM approach

Building archetypes characterization is one of the main sources of inaccuracy in Urban Building Energy Modelling (UBEM). This study aims to implement an effective approach to developing a building archetype for estimating energy efficiency in social housing districts. The goal is to support researchers and decision-makers analyzing strategies for similar buildings, evaluate energy use in buildings, and design different retrofit scenarios. UBEM is a practical approach in large-scale building energy modeling used by researchers and stakeholders to analyze and develop different design and retrofit scenarios for buildings with similar construction features and occupancy. The archetype approach requires a subset of buildings representing a cluster with similar properties (e.g., building type, construction features, occupancy, and age), which is used to extrapolate the total energy consumption at the urban scale. The research focused on clusters of four in-line multi-story building types in Rome to conceptualize the study, characterized by reinforced concrete structures. The most diffused systems are the traditional building systems using a gas boiler and radiators for domestic hot water and heating. The model was implemented following a UBEM approach, relying on Urban Modeling Interface (UMI), a tool allowing the creation of building templates to evaluate their energy use at neighbourhood and city-scale. The overall results obtained in this study are described to characterize the archetype for the mass-housing building that researchers and administrations can use to evaluate different strategies for buildings with similar characteristics.

Passive Design Strategies in Focus: Implications of Climate Change on New Buildings and Renovations

Abstract Climate change is happening, and there is a general consensus that measures to drastically reduce emissions must be taken. Nevertheless, its implications on new buildings and renovations are not fully understood yet. Bioclimatic building design is based on the knowledge of passive design strategies potential for a location. However, traditionally used passive strategies may no longer be the correct design approach in the future. A methodological contribution for the assessment of the influence of climate change on passive building strategies in temperate climates is presented. Based on the top priority Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios of the 6th assessment report (AR6) the shared socio-economic pathways (SSP) and their equivalences with the prior representative concentration pathways (RCP), the effects of climate change on different cooling and heating strategies are examined for a continental temperate-cold desert climate with significant daily and annual variation. The results are integrated directly into a selected case study with the intention of exemplifying a concrete application. The findings of this study showed that the shading season is expanding even toward the transitional months, such as April and October. Future climate-adapted buildings in temperate climatic zones will have to confront overheating. Moreover, in the particular studied case, present and future total energy requirements seem similar and variations are perceived as low between scenarios. The main discussion focuses on the type of energy required that will turn from natural gas (net to primary energy conversion factor = 1.25) to electricity (net to primary energy conversion factor = 3.30).

Zero Energy Building Strategy in New Cities Using Revit software powered by an AI feature (Case Study: Coastal Villa in New Damietta)

Zero Energy Building Strategy in New Cities Using Revit software powered by an AI feature (Case Study: Coastal Villa in New Damietta)

Smart Building Thermal Management: A Data-Driven Approach Based on Dynamic and Consensus Clustering

A customized and cost-effective building thermal control system is critical for accommodating thermal performance differences within the building, as well as satisfying the individual thermal comfort needs of occupants. Moreover, incorporating a building indoor thermal simulation procedure into the thermal control system can reduce the necessity of installing various expensive sensors (e.g., wearable sensors for personal thermal comfort management) in individual offices, as well as the requirement of extensive computing facilities without rendering the control performance, resulting into more sustainable building operations. An important step in achieving the above-mentioned goal is understanding how different offices/rooms behave differently given the same outdoor weather conditions. This study proposes a smart building indoor thermal profiling system to identify underlying physical factors that affect thermal performance in different seasons and to track dynamic cluster trajectories of considered offices to suggest indoor thermal optimization strategies. A consensus-based clustering approach is adopted to robustly cluster offices into different groups based on their hourly indoor temperature profiles for different seasons. Experimental results showed that our proposed approach could effectively discover more indoor thermal patterns in the buildings and is able to identify distinct dynamic cluster trajectories across four seasons (i.e., eight distinct dynamic trajectories in our case study). The data-driven analysis conducted in this study also indicated promising applications of the proposed smart building indoor thermal profiling system in effectively guiding the design of customized thermal control strategies for buildings. It also suggested that the proposed approach could be applied to a wide range of other applications, such as customized building energy management, energy pricing, as well as the economic benefit analysis of building retrofits and design.

〈카〉의 트랜스미디어 스토리월드 구축 전략 연구 - Disney+ PIXAR 채널을 중심으로

〈카〉의 트랜스미디어 스토리월드 구축 전략 연구 - Disney+ PIXAR 채널을 중심으로

Segmenting and Targeting Fashion Consumers Using Social Media: A Study of Consumer Behaviour

The review of this research study segments online consumers into different consumer categories based on how they perceive and relate to the fashion business through social media. Therefore, the diversified nuances of consumer behaviour have been studied in this paper. The study focuses on two crucial stages that have a significant influence on social media usage in the world of fashion. This study categorises consumers into groups based on their perceptions and relationships they have with the fashion brands, using K-means cluster analysis. It is a ground-breaking study in the fashion world because it adopts the fashion consumer–brand relationship index and fashion consumer brand perception index with the aid of social media, laying a solid foundation for similar studies to be conducted in other fashion industry verticals. Policymakers might use the study’s results to build strategies to enhance consumer behaviour of marketers in the world of fashion.

Rebuilding ministry in UK state schools: investigating how pandemic disruption may effect positive change

ABSTRACT This exploratory study investigated the disruption to schools ministry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Perspectives of church leaders, Christian parents, Christian teachers and organisations involved in schools ministry were consulted using online surveys, interviews and focus groups, to examine how schools ministry could be rebuilt, incorporating reflective practice and hence bringing positive change. The severe impact of extensive school closures and restrictions strongly solidified the move from being largely provision of RE, lunchtime events and collective worship, to much broader methods in response to listening to the needs of the school (both staff and pupils in a secular/mainstream setting). A striking observation was that schools ministry was viewed in many of these case study settings as a peripheral aspect of local church ministry and often devolved to specialist organisations. Arising needs and models of ministry have emphasised the value and effectiveness of relational approaches and listening to the needs of schools and responding accordingly. This reinforces the need for collaborative approaches and long-term development of relationships between church and school. Training needs identified concerned relationship building and vision and strategy development, with many stakeholders perceiving this as the way forward to more effective ministry activity.

Demand-Oriented Review of a Dynamic Energy-Loss Monitoring System for Primary School Buildings through Micro-Environmental Data Monitoring and Occupant Behavior Analysis

The utilization of primary school buildings is multifaceted, primarily due to the high occupancy density, varying thermal preferences among occupants, diverse indoor activities (such as walking, sports, and conversation), and a constant flow of individuals entering and exiting the building. This results in the frequent opening and closing of external windows and doors and fluctuations in internal heat gain. Consequently, frequent interactions between the indoor and outdoor microenvironments lead to energy losses. This study conducts a comprehensive literature review on building energy loss stemming from occupant behavior and the interactions between indoor and outdoor microenvironments. Furthermore, it proposes a dynamic real-time monitoring system based on a foundation of computer data capture and a visualization platform for building energy loss. The research methods include data crawling, data association rule mining, and data association analysis. The research findings yield a universally applicable and informative building energy-saving design system based on extensive data analysis. Additionally, the system presents information on occupants’ behavior and the microclimate data of indoor and outdoor environments on a computer screen, facilitating human–machine communication and enabling timely adjustments to be made, thus facilitating the construction of design strategies for new buildings and operation and maintenance strategies for existing buildings.

Team Building and Sustainability of Lubricant Firms in Anambra State

In the dynamic landscape of the global economy, traditional hierarchical organizational structures are facing challenges in maintaining competitiveness, adaptability, and sustainability. This study delves into the crucial role of team building in nurturing sustainability, productivity, and cohesive relationships among employees, particularly within fiercely competitive industries like the lubricant sector in Anambra State, Nigeria. The research explored the historical roots of team building, tracing its origins to the industrial revolution, and highlights its contemporary relevance in the context of modern organizations. Despite the acknowledged importance of team building, this study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of its specific impacts on employee relations, creativity, and performance within the Anambra lubricant sector. By examining empirical data and case studies, the paper aimed to shed light on how effective team building strategies can be implemented to achieve sustainable productivity in such highly competitive industries. The objectives include investigating the effects of team trust and team training on the environmental sustainability of lubricant firms in Anambra State. The study's findings revealed that team trust and team training significantly enhance the environmental sustainability of lubricant companies. These results emphasize the critical role of team building practices in improving sustainability and performance within the sector. The recommendations put forth include promoting impactful interactions among team members to foster trust, support, and understanding, as well as continuous evaluation of coaching-based training and development programs to enhance employee learning outcomes. This research contributes valuable insights to organizations seeking to optimize resources and achieve sustainable growth in competitive industries Keywords: Team building, Sustainability, Lubricant firms, Organizational performance, Employee relations, Productivity, Team trust, Team training

Online Reputation Management: Strategies for Building and Protecting Brand Image

Online Reputation Management: Strategies for Building and Protecting Brand Image

Optimizing automated shading systems for enhanced energy performance in cold climate zones: Strategies, savings, and comfort

Enhancing urban sustainability requires innovative strategies to improve energy performance while maintaining occupant comfort in new and existing buildings. Buildings located in cold climate zones with high glazing-to-wall ratios often face unwanted solar gain and heat loss that, in turn, negatively impact building energy performance. Though automated shading systems effectively reduce excessive indoor solar gain in warm climates, a research gap exists regarding their ability to enhance building energy performance in heating-dominant climates. This paper investigates automated shading implementation for cold climate zones and develops a novel cold climate optimized sensorless control strategy for interior roller shades. A field study was conducted to assess the impact of roller shade operation on indoor thermal conditions. Results from the field study showed that the prototype roller shades operating on the developed control strategy reduced daytime indoor peak temperatures during the summer season to 26.4 °C ± 0.5 °C from 30.0 °C ± 1.9 °C and 28.5 °C ± 1.2 °C for the unshaded and shaded static operation baseline scenarios, respectively. During winter season tests, shade deployment reduced the overnight indoor cooling rate from 0.60 °C/hr ± 0.30 °C/hr and 0.42 °C/hr ± 0.18 °C/hr. A mathematical model was also developed to estimate shading system energy performance based on user-defined building specifications and weather-related variables. It was found that automated shading systems are suitable for use as a green retrofit strategy for cold climate zone buildings. The technology exhibited a payback period range of approximately 5–15 years, depending on factors such as glazing type, glazing orientation, solar exposure, and local climate conditions. Findings from both the simulation and prototype field study support the use of cold climate-optimized automated shading systems to improve overall building energy performance - reducing both building heating and cooling-related energy consumption.

Character Building Strategy In Early Children

Character building in early childhood requires a strategy. Without the right strategy, character building will be difficult to realize. This descriptive qualitative research with literature study examines the strategy of character building in early childhood. The data analysis technique uses analysis content by sorting out data according to the objectives and research problems. This paper produces the following things. First, the character development strategy in early childhood can be done in two ways, namely: (1) integration in daily activities, can be done by example, spontaneous activities, reprimand, environmental conditioning, and routine activities; (2) integration in programmed activities, which is carried out after the teacher first makes a plan for the values ​​that will be integrated in certain activities. Second, other strategies to develop character education include: applying learning methods that involve the active participation of students; create a conducive learning environment; provide explicit, systematic, and continuous character education; using teaching methods that take into account the uniqueness of each child; build supportive and caring relationships in the classroom and throughout the school; build positive behavior models; create opportunities for students to be active and meaningful, including in classroom and school life; and others