Dear Colleagues,

This Special Edition focuses on buildings that integrate new technologies to improve their sustainability conditions, whether they are new or existing buildings. New information technologies and the use of specialized work equipment (multiagent systems, Internet of Things (IoT), intelligent sensors, building information modeling (BIM) models) allow optimizing both construction processes and the costs of the building’s useful life. The monitoring systems make it possible to know the real energy behavior of the building which, after processing and analyzing the data, can establish management guidelines to achieve greater energy efficiency.

Site management processes such as Lean or the BIM methodology allow proactive site management, in addition to facilitating transparency in the process and ubiquity of information. The drones are also elements that are increasingly being introduced in the construction and control processes to simplify construction tasks and have an accurate control of each unit. The 2.0 tools of this new wave of construction allow not only developing the most efficient buildings or those with almost no energy consumption but also saving costs, since they can compare different options of materiality, useful life or labor. These new technologies enable better decisions to reduce environmental impacts and energy consumption in the analysis of the buildings’ full life cycle.

The use of all these tools turns buildings into multiagent systems that can be controlled and optimized from their conception to their complete life cycle, improving energy consumption, impacts, and even improving their habitability by controlling temperatures and ventilation (air quality), among others. This Special Edition aims to compile articles that advance sustainability as a fundamental factor for construction.

References:

Feijó-Muñoz, J.; Pardal, C.; Echarri, V.; Fernández-Agüera, J.; Assiego de Larriva, R.; Montesdeoca Calderín, M.; Poza-Casado, I.; Padilla-Marcos, M.A.; Meiss, A. Energy impact of the air infiltration in residential buildings in the Mediterranean area of Spain and the Canary islands. Energy Build. 2019, 188–189, 226–238.

Echarri Iribarren, V.; Galiano Garrigós, A.L.; González Avilés, A.B. Ceramics and healthy heating and cooling systems: Thermal ceramic panels in buildings. Conditions of comfort and energy demand versus convective systems. Informes de la Construcción 2016, 68, 19–32.

Koller, C.; Talmon-Gros, M.J.; Junge, R.; Schuetze, T. Energy Toolbox—Framework for the Development of a Tool for the Primary Design of Zero Emission Buildings in European and Asian Cities. Sustainability 2017, 9, 2244.

Rizo Maestre, C.; Echarri Iribarren, V. The importance of checking indoor air quality in underground historic buildings intended for tourist use. Sustainability 2019, 11, 689.

Rizo Maestre, C.; Chinchón Yepes, S. Detection and importance of the presence of Radon Gas in buildings. Int. J. Eng. Tech. Res. 2016, 4, 67–70.

Dr. Carlos Rizo-Maestre
Dr. Victor Echarri-Iribarren
Dr. Fidel Aznar-Gregori
Dr. María Dolores Andújar-Montoya
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• BIM
• energy efficiency
• lean
• drone
• intelligent buildings
• new technologies
• life cycle assessment