Sustainable Built Environment Research Articles

Preface

This WSBE24 Conference Proceedings comprise the selected papers presented at the 2024 World Sustainable Built Environment Conference (WSBE24). The world conference, held on a triennial basis, is the premier event of the Sustainable Built Environment (SBE) Conference Series managed by the SBE Partners and Permanent Co-hosts – consisting of the International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment (iiSBE), the International Council of Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB), the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). WSBE24 was conducted online from 12-14 June 2024, under the overarching theme of “Innovation Pathways & Partnerships for Sustainable Built and Urban Environments”. This conference not only facilitated a diverse array of talks and discussions but also ensured wide accessibility by publishing its proceedings as an open access document, with both the whole proceedings and the individual papers available online. The video recordings of the presentations are also available online in another platform. This Proceedings include the articles that underpin the conference’s scientific program. Each submission underwent a double-blind peer-review process. A globally represented Scientific Committee and the Editors carefully reviewed initial abstracts and full paper submissions, ensuring that only those meeting the necessary scientific standards were presented at the conference and included in these proceedings. The breadth of topics covered in these papers is vast, spanning current trends and innovations, challenges and solutions, and empirical findings across the fields of science, industry, policy, and governance. A major focus was placed on reducing greenhouse gas emissions within the construction, building and real estate sector, reflecting discussions in line with those at the Buildings and Climate Global Forum held in Paris in March 2024, organized by UNEP and the French Government, amongst others. This collection reflects the field’s most pressing challenges and emerging solutions. Papers examine greenhouse gas reduction strategies, the integration of climate action and resource conservation, and the transition toward a circular economy. Tools for environmental performance assessment – including the expanding role of lifecycle assessment (LCA) in design and management workflows, especially in a digital environment (e.g., BIM) – feature prominently. Questions and innovative research and solutions range from specific materials and building physics in individual buildings to broad urban development strategies, always guided by the principles of sustainable development. The continuing needs for enhanced educational and capability development – which is also an emerging subject within the Global Alliance for Building and Construction (GlobalABC) – and expanded scope of SBE issues and impacts on people and communities and economics, and vice versa, in future editions are highlighted. The first principles concept of sustainability continues to be a suitable umbrella for topics such as circularity, resilience and regenerative design. List of Reviewers is available in this Pdf.

Assessing the impact of heat mitigation measures on thermal performance and energy demand at the community level: A pathway toward designing net-zero energy communities

AbstractIn the context of escalating global energy demands, urban areas, specifically the building sector, contribute to the largest energy consumption, with urban overheating exacerbating this issue. Utilizing urban modelling for heat-mitigation and reduction of energy demand is crucial steps towards a sustainable built-environment, complementing onsite energy generation in the design and development of Net-zero Energy (NZE) Settlement, especially in the context of Australian weather conditions. Addressing a significant gap in existing literature, this study offers empirical analysis on the climate and energy efficacy of integrated heat mitigation strategies applied in 14 neighbourhood typologies located in Sydney, Australia. Examining the application of cool materials on roads, pavements, and rooftops, alongside urban vegetation enhancement, the analysis demonstrates scenario effectiveness on heat mitigation that leads to reduce ambient temperature and energy demands along with CO2 emissions within the neighbourhoods. Considering building arrangement, built-area ratio, building height, and locations, ENVI-met and CitySim are utilized to assess the heat-mitigation and the energy demand of neighbourhoods, respectively. Results indicate that mitigation measures can lead up to a 2.71 °C reduction in ambient temperature and over 25% reduction in Cooling Degree Hours, with a 34.34% reduction in cooling energy demand and overall energy savings of up to 12.49%. In addition, the annual energy-saving yields a CO2 reduction of approximately 141.12 tonnes, where additional vegetation further amplifies these reductions by enhancing CO2 absorption. This study showcases the pathway towards achieving NZE goals in climates similar to that of Australia, highlighting significant benefits in heat-mitigation, environmental impact, and energy-savings.

Passive cooling and thermal comfort performance of Passive Downdraught Evaporative Cooling (PDEC) towers in a Saudi library: An on-site study

In the hot arid climate of Saudi Arabia, where air conditioning, primarily fueled by fossil fuels, accounts for a significant portion of energy consumption, the implementation of Passive Downdraught Evaporative Cooling (PDEC) towers presents a sustainable solution. This study conducts an extensive evaluation of PDEC towers in a public library, focusing on their effectiveness in reducing reliance on conventional cooling and enhancing thermal comfort. Through detailed field measurements, the study examines the influence of wind speed on the towers' cooling performance, correlating it with internal environmental conditions. The research extends to a comparative analysis of two prominent thermal comfort models: the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Adaptive Thermal Comfort (ATC) model. Findings indicate a notable interaction between wind speed and indoor air temperature, where increased wind speeds correspond to higher indoor temperatures. Despite this, the PDEC towers demonstrate a significant reduction in temperature, maintaining cooling effectiveness between 70 % and 75 %. The comparative study of thermal comfort models reveals that the ATC model provides a more relevant assessment of comfort levels in naturally ventilated spaces, with 71 % of the recorded temperatures falling within the comfortable range during the monitoring period. The research highlights the PDEC tower's potential in delivering effective passive cooling, adaptable to wind speed changes, and contributing to a sustainable and energy-efficient building environment in hot arid climates.

Sustainable Built Environments and the Water, Energy, and Food Nexus: Toward an Interdisciplinary Approach to Urban Resilience

Urban resilience has been a research focus, particularly with the pandemic impact on urban infrastructure, service provision and accessibility to core resources. This paper explores the need for interdisciplinary approaches to the built environment that integrate water, energy, and food resources. The study goes through articles on water, energy and food nexus and urban resilience in the past 10 years. It identifies the key research focus, gaps and needs for future research. Recommendations for future studies include the allocation of funds to ensure vulnerable communities have access to resources, sustainable operation of urban agriculture practices, circular economy and reuse, and engagement of experts, local authorities and communities in decision-making and training. The study recommends using quantitative assessment to identify the impact of urban agriculture and urban water management practices on the environment and include socio-economic aspects in assessment models. Finally, participatory approaches and integrating technology are recommended for promoting sustainable resilient communities.

Sustainable Built Environments: Building Information Modeling, Biomaterials, and Regenerative Practices in Mexico

This article explores how the construction sector can significantly contribute to minimizing its environmental impact through reuse and recycling practices, in rehabilitation or new construction projects. This research focuses on implementing BIM methodology alongside biomaterials, 3D modeling, and digitization in compliance with the Green Building Code. Two case studies located in Jalisco and Querétaro (Mexico) are examined through a comparative analysis. The simulations are carried out in different geographical areas with two construction systems that allow us to see the output similarities. The results show the clear advantages of biomaterials over traditional materials such as concrete. The construction materials are shown to determine their operational energy consumption. From an economic point of view, this study supports data regarding lower energy costs, and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions is observed. In conclusion, both the models and simulations, along with the Toolkit, highlight the benefits of biomaterials over conventional industrial materials.

Embodied water-energy nexus towards sustainable building construction: Case of conventional Indian houses

Amid global water concerns and understanding ferocious water consumption in building construction entails attending to the construction embodied water (EW)- an infant realised domain. Let alone the practised embodied energy (EE); the study attempts to unleash a pragmatic guide to building construction sustainability through the EW-EE nexus. The cradle-to-gate study covers three conventional Indian houses in Jammu. It complies with general ISO-14044 and 14046 frameworks while consulting both-Indian and global material-wise EE and EW consumption databases. The hybrid approach adopted involves quota sampling, field-based investigations, descriptive statistics, and regression plots. The comprehensive system loop analysis seeks disaggregated (house-wise) and aggregated results. The Indian constructions reflect improved 7158 MJ/m2 EE but severe 16.7 kL/m2 EW vis-à-vis global scientific studies. Steel is no-longer the topmost EW-impacting material for Indian conventional houses, while stone aggregates, finishing, and decoration materials stand apart in elevating EW. Unearthing the weak EW-EE relationship underlines the incapability of EE-driven research to address EW effectively in the houses. As it stands, Architectural plus design (A + D) decision-making aiming to reduce EW also checks EE. Thus, EW deserves contemplation rather than EE alone in realising a holistic, sustainable built environment (SBE). Alongside consolidating EE research, the scarce EW domain receives much-needed dissemination. Besides striving to stimulate the scientific community, outcomes like the identified materials template are valuable for devising policy and A + D advocacy vis-à-vis EW-EE conservation. Seeking conventional building construction and design solutions through the EW-EE nexus is novel and meets multiple 2030 sustainable development goals.

Transition in Architecture Education? Exploring Socio-Technical Factors of Curricular Changes for a Sustainable Built Environment

Curricular changes in architecture can support to meet the increased demand for sustainability in higher education (HE). Identifying their associated factors is necessary to understand ongoing and future transitions in architecture education. Transition management (TM) frameworks have been frequently used to analyze structural changes in various institutions but have received little attention in architecture education. This study explores the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) as a case study, focusing on its architecture curricula within 32 years from 1990 to 2022, corresponding to multiple generations of academic careers. A multiple-level perspective (MLP) document analysis on curricular changes is conducted in three steps, drawing on a specific perspective on sustainability in architecture. First, generic characteristics that may influence curricular changes are identified from the literature. Second, shifts in the undergraduate curriculum of ETH Zurich are systematically mapped. Third, a classification of implemented curricular shifts results in seven nuanced variations in generic factors. These socio-technical factors involve the development and dissemination of new disciplinary (1) and interdisciplinary (2) approaches to a sustainable built environment (SBE), a relocation of the viewpoint on sustainability from physiology/hygiene to building physics (3), experimentation with inquiry-based learning in niches (4), extended spheres of influence in teaching (5), early committed intra-faculty opinion leaders (6), and the formation of educational networks (7). The proposed approach based on longitudinal curriculum mapping offers a way to locate structural curricular changes, identify hidden educational trends, and inform institutional changes.

Design thinking for innovation in sustainable built environments: a systematic literature review

PurposeThis systematic literature review investigates the contribution of design thinking (DT) as a process and tool to drive innovation in a sustainable built environment (SBE) and develops a new model for sustainability research integrating DT and future thinking approaches toward achieving a unified DT and foresight notion for future research and applications.Design/methodology/approachThis review was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Open-access English articles published between 2000 and 2022 identified using the EBSCOhost, Emerald Insight, DOJA, JSTOR, Scopus and Taylor and Francis database searches were reviewed. The review framework deploys a previously proposed modified Ansoff matrix with an integrated innovation matrix to identify and analyze the challenges and opportunities for innovation growth in SBE. Additionally, a citation analysis was conducted to explore the impact of DT for innovation in SBE, and a proposed framework based on design by drawing on foresight theory was developed.FindingsResearch on DT for innovation in SBE faces the challenge of unanticipated impacts. According to the average number of citations per document, innovation associated with new solutions within a new context seems to become highly influential. Additionally, research gaps exist in the integration of foresight and DT into sustainability research to identify new contexts and solutions to SBE. A model of foresight design thinking (FDT) is proposed to guide future research and support the practical application of DT in sustainability.Research limitations/implicationsThis analysis was limited by the selection criteria as only certain keywords were used and English-only articles were selected. Future research should consider the use of DT for innovation in SBE using various important keywords, which would improve research findings and expand the contribution of DT to SBE.Practical implicationsThe FDT model offers a new holistic framework for the iterative process of reframing and reperception, focusing on divergent and convergent thinking with the goal of contributing to SBE practices.Social implicationsThe integrated framework of DT and foresight can contribute to the study and development of sustainable innovation and a strategic shift toward a sustainable society.Originality/valueThe integration of DT, foresight and sustainability can broaden the horizons of sustainability research by systematically addressing future challenges related to SBE, which can be translated into feasible and innovative solutions. Thus, the FDT model complements the application of DT in sustainable innovation in this research field.

A Toward Sustainable Built Environment: A Gender-Eco Friendly Master Plan of A Sinking Village for Climate Change Adaptation

A Toward Sustainable Built Environment: A Gender-Eco Friendly Master Plan of A Sinking Village for Climate Change Adaptation

Design Thinking for Innovation in Sustainable Built Environments and the Integration of an Inclusive Foresight and Design Thinking Framework

Design Thinking for Innovation in Sustainable Built Environments and the Integration of an Inclusive Foresight and Design Thinking Framework

Evaluation of Digital’s Role in Sustainable Built Environment

The construction industry has been evolving, embracing the delicate balance between the Fourth Industry Revolution and sustainable construction to create a sustainable and resilient built environment. Integrating digital tools and technologies in a renowned conventional construction industry is challenging, mainly due to the complex interaction between heterogeneous but heuristic construction processes, building systems, and workflows in achieving a common goal. This study took the initiative to review digital tool adoption and its role in the sustainable built environment by examining the impact of digital adoption in a sustainable built environment in terms of societal and industry impacts. A quantitative analysis is conducted, collecting 63 industry practitioners analysed through regression analysis. The result reveals that energy conservation is the most significant element in the sustainable built environment, which brought the greatest impact on both society and industry in Malaysia. Based on the results, it is found that the digital adoption level in the Malaysian construction industry is still at a minimal level. Through the introduction of Indutry4wrd, National 4IR and Construction 4.0 Strategic Plan (2021–2025), the importance of digital tools and technologies is slowly being acknowledged. The result of the study is significant to benchmark the current digital tools adoption in the Malaysian sustainable built environment. Moreover, the contribution could be made in terms of better understanding and facilitating, where relevant, greater usage of digital tools in the construction industry to promote efficiency.

Aesthetically Appealing Building Integrated Photovoltaic Systems for Net-Zero Energy Buildings. Current Status, Challenges, and Future Developments—A Review

With the sharp increase in global energy demand, industrial and residential buildings are responsible for around 40% of the energy consumed with most of this energy portion being generated by non-renewable sources, which significantly contribute to global warming and environmental hazards. The net-zero energy building (NZEB) concept attempts to solve the global warming issue, whereby a building will produce, on-site, its required energy demand throughout the year from renewable energy sources. This can be achieved by integrating photovoltaic (PV) building materials, called building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules, throughout the building skin, which simultaneously act as construction materials and energy generators. Currently, architects and builders are inclined to design a building using BIPV modules due to the limited colors available, namely, black or blue, which result in a monotonous building appearance. Therefore, there is an increasing demand/need to develop modern, aesthetically pleasing BIPV green energy products for the use of architects and the construction industry. This review article presents the current stage and future goal of advanced building integrated photovoltaic systems, focusing on the aesthetically appealing BIPV systems, and their applications towards overcoming global challenges and stepping forward to achieve a sustainable green energy building environment. Additionally, we present the summary and outlook for the future development of aesthetically appealing building integrated photovoltaic systems.

Role of Building Automation Technology in Creating a Smart and Sustainable Built Environment

Role of Building Automation Technology in Creating a Smart and Sustainable Built Environment

Opportunities in the Sustainable Built Environment: Perspectives on Human-Centric Approaches

Climate change and natural disasters have brought threats to humanity greater than ever. The built environment is a critical part of the climate action plan in terms of its resilience and sustainability. The growing awareness of sustainability in the built environment has led to the increased uptake of sustainable buildings and infrastructure projects. However, a growing number of studies reported some forms of performance gaps in achieving sustainability, in which the actual outcomes and performance of buildings were far from the expected goals. Researchers started to question the alleged benefits of the sustainable built environment. Apart from being overoptimistic in setting the environmental goals, some studies suggested that the gaps could arise from a negligence of the interplay between humans and the environment for delivering the sustainability goals. Hence, this paper intends to highlight opportunities in optimizing sustainability performance in the built environment via human-centric approaches. By placing human needs at the focal point, human-centric solutions would empower stakeholders to harness sustainable goals in the built environment effectively. A conceptual framework has been proposed to consolidate the findings and highlight human-centric solutions in between research gaps and opportunities in sustainable built environment research.

Unlocking Human Factors for More Resilient and Sustainable Built Environments: Human Centric Solutions

Sustainable buildings are designed to provide a better built environment that reduces environmental impacts, supports communities for social needs, and preserves economic gains. Despite a growing interest in sustainable development over the past few decades, there has been surprisingly little research focusing on the implications of human factors to a sustainable built environment. Sustainable building solutions shall be informed by the needs of building occupants and made in adaptive response to environmental, economic and socio-cultural changes. Interactions between users and buildings are of great importance to determine how successful a sustainable building is. Literature revealed that a failure of putting users at the pinnacle of designing sustainable solutions could be one of the main underlying reasons of underperformance of sustainable buildings. This paper presents a conceptual framework to demonstrate how human centric solutions contribute to improving user-environment interactions in sustainable buildings. By considering human centric solutions, sustainable building performance can be optimised by integrating users’ needs and aspirations into the design and development process. This paper helps increase the understanding of the roles of human factors in sustainable buildings, hence supporting the development of social sustainability which has been greatly overlooked in the pursuit of sustainable development.

Preface

The 5th International Conference on Research Methodology for Built Environment and Engineering (ICRMBEE 2021)Faculty of Architecture Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam Selangor Malaysia, November 10th, 2021(Wednesday)The 5th International Conference on Research Methodology for Built Environment and Engineering (ICRMBEE 2021) was held virtually on 11th November 2021 at the Faculty of Architecture Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia.The Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA (FSPU-UiTM), Shah Alam, Malaysia was the organizer and the School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung (SBM-ITB), Indonesia was the co-organizer for the conference. This conference was the fifth series of the first conference in Asia that focuses on the research methodology for Built Environment and Engineering. The theme for the conference was ‘Synergizing Creativity and Innovation Towards Sustainable Built Environment and Engineering Research’ with five sub-themes were project management and construction engineering, property and facilities management, urban biodiversity and environment, innovation sustainable design and planning and geospatial technology and engineering.List of Committee is available in this pdf.

A Machine Learning Approach for Improved Thermal Comfort Prediction in Sustainable Built Environments

Thermal comfort prediction within sustainable built environments stands as a pivotal challenge intertwining human well-being and environmental sustainability. This paper presents a pioneering framework leveraging machine learning methodologies to advance predictive models for thermal comfort. Drawing upon a comprehensive dataset sourced from ASHRAE field studies and the RP-884 database, comprising 107,463 entries, our study unfolds a novel approach to enhancing thermal comfort predictions. The integration of diverse physiological parameters, environmental data, and occupant preferences forms the foundation of our machine learning-driven framework. Through meticulous analysis and model development, our approach not only refines predictive accuracy but also underscores adaptability across varying environmental contexts. The study contributes not only to the discourse on thermal comfort prediction but also emphasizes the crucial nexus between sustainable design, occupant well-being, and energy efficiency.

Multidisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Collaboration in Nature-Based Design of Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism

Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary collaboration (TDC) continue to address complex societal problems such as sustainable development, global environmental change, and public health challenges. Nature-based design (NBD) methods including biomimicry, biomorphism, biophilia, bio-utilization and zoomorphism are essential for the design of the sustainable built environment (SBE). Currently, there is no transdisciplinary collaboration framework (TCF) to support the NBD of the SBE. The first step to fill this gap is through systematically exploring the applications of multidisciplinary research (MDR) in building design and by conducting a case study on the challenges to the MDR in the application of NBD methods for the SBE in the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Science at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. The systematic literature review and the survey results of academics on MDR collaboration showed a lack of transdisciplinary research (TDR) due to limited communication between disciplines. The research findings showed a lack of communication between academia and the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry to advance NBD innovations for the SBE. The findings indicated that a TCF for research on NBD is needed to support knowledge exchange within academia and with industry for reducing the negative impacts of the building industry. Findings from the current research and future research will be used to develop and test a general TCF and then to develop a TCF for the NBD of the SBE aligned with the RIBA Plan of Work.

Sustainable Built-Environment: Appraisal of the Effects of Environmental Degradation and Construction Hazards Nigeria

Environmental challenges including degradation and construction hazards have been on the increase in Nigeria particularly in Niger Delta States resulting from continuous oil exploration and construction activities in the quest for economic growth and development. Thus, increased urbanization and industrialization has led to environmental degradation with its attendant effects on both humans and ecology of the Nigerian environment which is unsustainable. This paper critically examined the effects of environmental degradation and construction hazards on the built environment in Nigeria. Methodology of study include the use of structured questionnaires distributed to stakeholders in the environment namely environmental scientists, Surveyors, Engineers, Architects, project managers and farmers selected from Niger Delta States of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers using purposive random technique. The 145 completed questionnaires were analysed using the Relative Importance Index (R.I.I.). Findings showed that several effects of environmental degradation and construction hazards abound, but categorized into 14 namely; health & safety impairment; local issues (noise, odour, vibration); accident & fire outbreaks; loss of genetic resources; landscape alteration; climate change/emissions; poverty on communities; loss of farming/fishing jobs; bio-diversity loss; distortion of ecosystem; flooding/erosion; pollution (air, land, water); dust & waste generation and traffic & visual issues. The study recommended sustainable construction techniques, enforcement of environmental protection policies for sustainable built environment in Nigeria.

Life Cycle Thinking a Sustainable Built Environment

Life Cycle Assessment is widely utilized to investigate the influences on global greenhouse gas emissions of various humankind activities and products [...]