Authors:Shin H; Lee J, Jung C, et al. Pages: 3 - 35 Abstract: ABSTRACTModular methods based on the use of prefabricated structures are increasingly popular for construction projects as they contribute to sustainability by reducing waste and maintenance costs as well as improving time efficiency. For short-term international events, the use of relocatable modular buildings is a potential solution to the problem of “White Elephant” structures built specially for the events that serve no useful purpose once the event is over. This paper focuses on a representative relocatable modular project created for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea using a single case study approach to develop an in-depth understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of relocatable modular construction from a practitioner’s perspective and examine how this approach supports sustainability and the Olympic legacy. Important considerations are identified for each of the five main stages: 1) planning, 2) design and engineering, 3) manufacturing, 4) construction and 5) disassembly and reconstruction. These findings show how the use of relocatable modular facilities can be a useful approach for international events. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.3 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Becker AK; Ross BE, Albright D. Pages: 37 - 54 Abstract: ABSTRACTAs urban populations increase worldwide and more demands are placed on infrastructure and buildings, the topic of adaptable building design has experienced increased interest as a way to embed adaptability into the urban building stock and avoid unnecessary demolition and waste. Evaluation tools for judging building adaptability based on physical characteristics have recently been proposed. The most common approach for these tools is to use a weighted-sum of scores for different criteria. The primary purpose of this paper was to compare a weighted-sum measurement approach against a more rigorous, less abstract measurement that involved judgements about simulated adaptation projects (called an example-based approach). These measurements were performed through expert elicitation and an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) survey, where participants evaluated the relative adaptability of four case study buildings from the Clemson University campus. The results showed significant correlation between the weighted-sum approach and the example-based approach, supporting the reasonableness of using weighted-sum approaches to evaluate the adaptive potential of building designs. In addition, a separate group of experts rated adaptability of the case study buildings by providing qualitative reasons for their rankings. Unlike the other approaches, this group was not given a specific tool to guide their ratings. The qualitative data provided additional context for understanding results from the quantitative approaches. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.37 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Phillips H; Handy R, Sleeth D, et al. Pages: 55 - 66 Abstract: ABSTRACTIndoor Air Quality (IAQ) has been an area of growing concern with the increasing knowledge of health hazards associated with contaminants, particularly in high occupancy buildings where residents may be exposed to high levels of nuisance dust and other contaminants. Leadership and Energy in Environmental Design (LEED®) certification, which is awarded to buildings that prioritize sustainability and efficient resource use, has been increasingly sought in new construction. As LEED-certified buildings become more commonplace, it is worthwhile to consider whether these new building practices improve IAQ for its occupants. This study compares particulate matter (PM) concentrations in 12 LEED-certified buildings to 12 analogous non-LEED certified buildings on the University of Utah campus. Real-time air sampling was conducted in each building for PM measurements and a Wilcoxon signed rank test was conducted to compare PM levels. A statistically significant difference was found between LEED certification and PM concentrations, with LEED-certified buildings containing, on average, approximately half the PM of their non-LEED counterparts. These findings suggest that LEED certification is worth the financial investment, as it may lead to improved IAQ for residents. However, further research on other contaminants is warranted, including the characterization and comparison of formaldehyde and carbon dioxide levels. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.55 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Ness DA; Xing K. Pages: 67 - 82 Abstract: ABSTRACTIn accordance with international protocols and directions, the APEC Energy Working Group has concentrated on constraining operational energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in cities across the Asia Pacific, especially from the widespread consumption of fossil fuels. In addition to economy level policies and recognising the different characteristics within the region, APEC has sought to take action at the town/city level via the Low-Carbon Model Town (LCMT) project, including the development of self-assessment tools and indicator systems. However, the “low carbon” landscape is changing. There is increasing recognition of embodied carbon, accompanied by the emergence of methods for its measurement, while the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group has recently highlighted the significance of consumption-based carbon. Similarly, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for Cities (GPC) is likely to extend its ambit from Scope 1 GHG emissions, derived from energy use within a city boundaries, and Scope 2 emissions from grid-supplied electricity, heating and / or cooling, to Scope 3 emissions derived from materials and goods produced outside the boundaries of a city but associated with construction within that city. After describing these emerging approaches and the current landscape, the paper examines the significance and implications of these changes for APEC approaches, especially in relation to the LCMT project, its indicators and the varying characteristics of towns and cities within the Asia-Pacific region. Special attention is given to the built environment, which is known to be a major contributor to operational and embodied emissions. Consistent with the theme of the Asia-Pacific Energy Sustainable Development Forum covering “sustainable development of energy and the city,” a case is put forward for the current APEC approach to be extended to encompass both embodied and consumption-based emissions. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.67 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Tian W; Zhu C, Liu Y, et al. Pages: 83 - 93 Abstract: ABSTRACTUrban building energy analysis has attracted more attention as the population living in cities increases as does the associated energy consumption in urban environments. This paper proposes a systematic bottom-up method to conduct energy analysis and assess energy saving potentials by combining dynamic engineering-based energy models, machine learning models, and global sensitivity analysis within the GIS (Geographic Information System) environment for large-scale urban buildings. This method includes five steps: database construction of building parameters, automation of creating building models at the GIS environment, construction of machine learning models for building energy assessment, sensitivity analysis for choosing energy saving measures, and GIS visual evaluation of energy saving schemes. Campus buildings in Tianjin (China) are used as a case study to demonstrate the application of the method proposed in this research. The results indicate that the method proposed here can provide reliable and fast analysis to evaluate the energy performance of urban buildings and determine effective energy saving measures to reduce energy consumption of urban buildings. Moreover, the GIS-based analysis is very useful to both create energy models of buildings and display energy analysis results for urban buildings. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.83 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Ahmed Shaikh F; Hosan A, Biswas WK. Pages: 95 - 119 Abstract: ABSTRACTA vast amount of construction and demolition (C&D) wastes are generated in Western Australia (WA) of which a major portion goes to landfills. The diversion of C&D waste from landfills would be the single most significant opportunity for WA to improve its recovery performance. C&D waste materials have already been investigated for their appropriateness and use in pavement and concrete. This work is the continuation of the authors’ previous work involving further experimental tests to prove the structural suitability of a building’s structural member (i.e., beam) made of recycled aggregates and industrial by-products. The concrete mixes considered in this study are 100NA+100 OPC (Control), 100RA+100OPC, 50RA+50NA+90OPC+10SF and 50RA+50NA+60OPC+30FA+10SF. The Reinforced Concrete (RC) beam made of 50RA+50NA+60OPC+30FA+10SF concrete mix was found to be the only eco-efficient option. This option has reduced the level of environmental impacts in a cost-competitive manner. The use of this eco-efficient option could also provide new employment opportunities and significant improvements in terms of land and energy resources conservation and bio-diversity enhancement. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.95 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Lin Z; Xie Q, Feng Y, et al. Pages: 121 - 137 Abstract: ABSTRACTThe construction industry is one of the major producers of municipal solid waste. Although there are many studies in municipal solid waste management, the research on the recovery of recyclable building material from construction sites remains limited. This paper addresses the optimal design issue of the construction and demolition (C&D) waste logistics network based on the features of the construction industry from the contractors’ perspective. The purpose of this paper is to provide an optimal C&D waste recycling network decision (RND) model considering the change of construction sites location over time. A multi-period and multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model was developed to minimize the cost of C&D waste disposal for contractors, and to minimize the carbon emissions from C&D waste transportation. An application study was conducted to assess the performance of the RND model. Through some sensitivity analysis experiments based on an immune genetic algorithm, the influences of environmental policies and carbon tax policy on improving the recycling rate of C&D waste and reduce the carbon emission were explored. The findings of this research suggest that: (1) a RND model with the feature of the construction industry developed in this paper can effectively optimize the C&D waste logistics network; (2) government policies and laws are valid political instruments to improve the recycling rate of C&D waste; (3) the carbon-tax analyses demonstrate that a carbon tax policy can effectively reduce carbon emissions. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.121 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Liang X; Lu W, Wu Z. Pages: 139 - 157 Abstract: ABSTRACTEfficient use of energy is an essential aspect of green building development. In order to achieve a more energy efficient society, innovation of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies is a necessity. Collaboration between innovators is regarded as important for innovation; however, the existing literature has made few attempts to investigate how a collaboration network can affect technology innovation in the context of the solar PV sector. This study aims to fill this research gap. In this study, innovation activities are categorized as exploratory innovation and exploitative innovation. A conceptual framework and a series of hypotheses are proposed from the perspectives of network structure (including direct ties, indirect ties, and network efficiency) and network composition (such as geographical proximity, institutional proximity, and technological proximity). The empirical results show that in the solar PV sector of China, collaboration networks with different kinds of structure and composition can imply diverse effects on exploratory innovation and exploitative innovation. Followed with the derived results, it can be concluded that network collaboration is not always beneficial for PV technology innovation. The research findings could convey useful information to both practitioners and policy-makers to adopt appropriate strategies for promoting effective innovation collaboration. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.139 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Tuna Kayili M; Çelebi G, Guldas A. Pages: 159 - 175 Abstract: ABSTRACTThis study focused on developing a sustainable composite material using metallic wastes of the iron-steel industry and plastic wastes of the plastic industry in order to reduce resultant waste from the production processes of various industrial products and to sustain waste management of these industries. In this study, different amounts of blast furnace dust (BFD), which is the major iron-steel industry waste and is used as filler for recycled low-density polyethylene (LDPE), was mixed with LDPE to produce the composite material. The morphology, mechanical, vicat softening temperature thermal conductivity, hardness and wear resistance properties of BFD filled LDPE composites were assessed. The increasing of BFD in recycled LDPE improved the heat resistance, increased thermal conductivity and wear resistance of composite materials. In addition, it was found that the composite materials had sufficient mechanical properties, when mechanical tests were evaluated. These results showed that the produced composite material could be used in buildings as a floor coating material and thereby saving raw materials and resources, as well as potentially reducing environmental problems. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.159 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Hatungimana D; Yazıcı Ş, Mardani-Aghabaglou A. Pages: 177 - 193 Abstract: ABSTRACTCement is the most consumed building material in the world. However, cement manufacture is responsible for 5–7% of the world CO2 emissions. In this paper, cement was partially replaced by styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) polymeric latex in order to reduce cement consumption. Besides, effects of SBR addition on the strength and physical properties of plain mortar exposed to three different curing regimes are presented. Three different curing regimes were applied to the 40 × 40 × 160 mm prismatic mortar specimens: (I): Specimens were cured in water until the test age (CW), (II): after demoulding, specimens were immersed in water for 2 days and kept in ambient temperature until the time of the test (2DWA) and (III) involved 2 days of water curing followed by 1 day in an oven at 50°C and subsequentely placing in ambient temperature until the test time (2W1OA). Results showed that combining 2 days of water curing followed by ambient temperature curing (2DWA) along with 3% SBR polymer content showed good performance in terms of compressive strength, water absorption and void content. Moreover, a good performance in terms of flexural strength was observed by combining 2W1OA curing regime with 2% SBR content. However, the detrimental effect of water curing regime (CW) in terms of compressive and flexural strength was also observed with the increase of SBR ratio. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.177 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Butters C; Cheshmehzangi A, Sassi P. Pages: 197 - 214 Abstract: ABSTRACTDense high-rise cities offer some advantages in terms of sustainability but have considerable downsides. Low-dense and medium-rise typologies have been shown to offer good social qualities; their potential energy and carbon advantages have received less attention. As the energy consumption, emissions of cities and heat island effects increase; we question whether dense, high-rise cities offer optimal sustainability. We discuss seven areas where medium density and lower rise typologies offer advantages in terms of energy and climate including: land use/density; microclimate/green space; energy supply; transports; operational energy/carbon; embodied energy/carbon; and resilience.The aim is to discuss the cumulative importance of these areas in the context of sustainable energy use and climate emissions. These areas are subject to ongoing research and are only discussed briefly, since the overarching synthesis perspective for urban planning is our focus. The picture that emerges when these points are seen together, suggests that medium density and lower rise options—like traditional European typologies—may offer, in addition to social qualities, very significant advantages in terms of energy, carbon and climate emissions. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.197 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)
Authors:Wang Y; Chun Q. Pages: 215 - 234 Abstract: ABSTRACTDespite the abundance of highly sustainable bamboo, people tend to overlook its structural performance for construction purposes. This paper therefore explores the potential of bamboo architecture to develop light-weight building systems and also to create an effect of lightness. Developed by a team at the School of Architecture of Southeast University, Bamboo Canopy is an outdoor stage canopy in Anji, China, that pushes the boundaries of bamboo as a material for building woven gridshell structure. The work is designed as a long-lifespan bamboo structure, with the design team and locals participating in its construction. Positioned on a public stage, Bamboo Canopy experiments with the combination of sustainable construction and local craftsmanship to produce a highly engaging architectural intervention that activates the existing place. With its wing-like form, it invites visitors to join the performance scene—as they approach the shell, the structure reveals itself—with a 12.4-metre span and 6-metre roof overhang, the canopy covers more than 150 square metres with only 1.2 square metres touching the ground. Through analysing the form, structure and details of this experimental project, this paper clarifies not only the potentiality but also the feasibilities in using bamboo for light construction. PubDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT DOI: 10.3992/jgb.15.3.215 Issue No:Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020)