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Sustainable Development of the Buildings and Construction Sector—Status, Challenges and Opportunities

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 14906

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Amos Darko

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Guest Editor

Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Interests: sustainability and sustainable development; sustainable built environment; green building; sustainable construction; modular and offsite construction; building information modelling; machine learning and artificial intelligence

Prof. Dr. Albert P. C. Chan

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Guest Editor

Shenzhen Research Institute, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Shenzhen 518057, China
Interests: construction engineering; project management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Lei Zhu

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Guest Editor

Department of Construction and Real Estate, School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Interests: infrastructure externalities; high-quality rural construction and management; project management strategies and innovations for green construction projects; project finance of public private partnership; project cost management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, science faces great challenges related to actions undertaken in the frameworks of the sustainable development of the buildings and construction sector (the sector), from environmental, economic and social perspectives. It seems that the greatest challenge of our time is to increase the sustainability, efficiency, resiliency, safety and inclusiveness of the sector in order to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The sustainable development of the sector is not only a prerequisite for addressing climate change, but it also leads to the enhancement of the quality of life for all. In the sustainable development of the sector model, extremely important roles are ascribed to green building, sustainable construction, modular and offsite construction, zero carbon building, zero energy building, resilient construction, circular economy, lean construction, and digital technologies such as building information modelling (BIM), machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, cloud computing, automation, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), cyber-physical systems, cybersecurity, sensors, 3D printing, RFID, GIS, big data, simulation, augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, blockchain, drones, digital twin, laser scanning, photogrammetry, and so on.

For this Special Issue, we would like to invite researchers and professionals from universities, research and development centres, enterprises and governmental units to share new ideas, innovations, trends, research findings and experiences concerning any issues related to the sustainable development of the sector. Both original research papers and review papers are welcome. In this Special Issue, the subtopics may include but are not limited to the following:

Status of the sustainable development of the sector
Challenges and benefits of the sustainable development of the sector
Opportunities in the sustainable development of the sector
COVID-19 pandemic impact on the sustainable development of the sector
Progress made towards the SDGs in the sector
Innovations for the sustainable development of the sector – digital and technological aspects
Environmental, economic and social aspects of the sustainable development of the sector
Productivity, safety, quality, prosperity, efficiency, resiliency and inclusiveness aspects
Partnerships aspect of the sustainable development of the sector
Renewable energy and energy efficiency in the sector
Decarbonising the sector
Sustainability issues in the sector
Digital solutions, innovations and technologies for sustainability in the sector
Modelling in sustainable development
Sustainable management of buildings and construction
Sustainable practices in operations and maintenance
Sustainable supply chain and supply chain integration
Sustainable procurement
Sustainable and affordable housing
Sustainable and responsible consumption and production
Waste management and reduction
Recycling
Pollution prevention and control
Integrated digital delivery
Smart and sustainable building and construction
Design for manufacture and assembly
Sustainability transformation of existing buildings
Innovative and sustainable building solutions
Sustainable building materials, technologies and methodologies
Prefabrication and modular and offsite construction
Green building and sustainable construction
Circular economy and lean construction
Life-cycle assessment and life-cycle cost assessment
Corporate social responsibility and corporate social responsibility reporting
Urban heat island
Health and wellbeing
Resilient buildings and construction
Green finance and sustainable investments
Sustainability policies, standards, codes, guidelines and regulations
Ethical issues in the sustainable development of the sector
Externalities of infrastructure projects
Sustainable built environment

Dr. Amos Darko
Prof. Dr. Albert P. C. Chan
Dr. Lei Zhu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.

Keywords

sustainability and sustainable development
sustainable development of the buildings and construction sector
status, challenges, opportunities and benefits
climate change and greenhouse gas emissions
COVID-19 pandemic
digital technologies and innovations
green building
energy efficiency
renewable energy
environmental protection
decarbonisation
modular and offsite construction
circular economy initiatives
lean construction
sustainable buildings and construction
policies and regulations
construction healthy and safety
productivity
efficiency and resiliency
quality
inclusiveness
prosperity
waste and pollution
responsible consumption and production
ethics and partnerships
financing for sustainability initiatives in the sector
externalities
recycling
nature-based solutions
health and wellbeing

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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32 pages, 4461 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring Factors Influencing Renewable Energy Diffusion in Commercial Buildings in Nigeria: A Grounded Theory Approach

by Maria Unuigbe, Sambo Lyson Zulu and David Johnston

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9726; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14159726 - 07 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2322

Abstract

The adoption and integration of renewable energy technologies (RETs) into buildings is key to making the necessary transition to low-carbon and resilient built environments. However, such technologies have struggled to gain a firm foothold in countries within the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region. This is particularly the case in Nigeria, which suffers from severe energy poverty, despite its significant RE and conventional energy potential. In Nigeria, a significant proportion of the energy demand for offices is provided by self-powered off-grid fossil-fuel generators. The country is also one of the primary settings for increased construction activity. This, combined with its susceptibility to the effects of climate change, presents significant concerns relating to the resilience of its built environment. However, there has not yet been a comprehensive empirical study addressing this, as previous studies have been limited in their insight and perspectives. This study adopted a grounded theory method (GTM) aligned with Charmaz’s approach, to gain in-depth participant-driven insights into factors influencing sustainable energy use in commercial buildings, focusing on solar photovoltaics (PVs). This led to the development of a theory of the sustainability transition process of construction professionals (CPs). It provides relevant, reliable, and relatable points of reference that would be beneficial to policymakers in developing plans for actionable interventions for PV and broader sustainable measures toward green energy transition. Furthermore, it highlights the value of employing GTMs in construction management research beyond the developing context. This paper contributes theoretically, empirically, and methodologically to facilitate a better understanding of the situations (context) grounded in empirical data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of the Buildings and Construction Sector—Status, Challenges and Opportunities)

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20 pages, 3403 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Emissions and Energy Consumption for Construction Machinery in Earthwork Activities by Incorporating Real-World Measurement and Discrete-Event Simulation

by Beichuan Hong and Lin Lü

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5326; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14095326 - 28 Apr 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2458

Abstract

Earthwork, an essential activity in most construction projects, consumes large quantities of fossil fuel and produces substantial air pollution with adverse environmental impacts. To achieve more sustainable construction processes, novel methodologies to evaluate and improve the performance of earthwork operations are required. This study quantifies the real-world emissions and fuel consumption of construction equipment within an earthwork project in China. Two wheel loaders and two dump trucks are examined through on-board measurements and in-lab engine tests. The duty cycles of construction equipment are categorized with respect to their power efficiency and working patterns. Moreover, the power-specific and time-based emission factors for these duty cycles are computed and compared with relevant legislative emission limits. Significant emission variations among different duty cycles were found, and the real-world emission measurements exceeded the results from the in-lab test required for emission certification. In addition, a discrete-event simulation (DES) framework was developed, validated, and integrated with the computed emission factors to analyze the environmental and energy impacts of the earthwork project. Furthermore, the equipment fleet schedule was optimized in the DES framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption by 8.1% and 6.6%, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of the Buildings and Construction Sector—Status, Challenges and Opportunities)

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41 pages, 9234 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simulation-Optimization for the Planning of Off-Site Construction Projects: A Comparative Study of Recent Swarm Intelligence Metaheuristics

by Mohamed Hussein, Abdelrahman E. E. Eltoukhy, Amos Darko and Amr Eltawil

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13551; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132413551 - 07 Dec 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3332

Abstract

Off-site construction is a modern construction method that brings many sustainability merits to the built environment. However, the sub-optimal planning decisions (e.g., resource allocation, logistics and overtime planning decisions) of off-site construction projects can easily wipe away their sustainability merits. Therefore, simulation modelling—an efficient tool to consider the complexity and uncertainty of these projects—is integrated with metaheuristics, developing a simulation-optimization model to find the best possible planning decisions. Recent swarm intelligence metaheuristics have been used to solve various complex optimization problems. However, their potential for solving the simulation-optimization problems of construction projects has not been investigated. This research contributes by investigating the status-quo of simulation-optimization models in the construction field and comparing the performance of five recent swarm intelligence metaheuristics to solve the stochastic time–cost trade-off problem with the aid of parallel computing and a variance reduction technique to reduce the computation time. These five metaheuristics include the firefly algorithm, grey wolf optimization, the whale optimization algorithm, the salp swarm algorithm, and one improved version of the well-known bat algorithm. The literature analysis of the simulation-optimization models in the construction field shows that: (1) discrete-event simulation is the most-used simulation method in these models, (2) most studies applied genetic algorithms, and (3) very few studies used computation time reduction techniques, although the simulation-optimization models are computationally expensive. The five selected swarm intelligence metaheuristics were applied to a case study of a bridge deck construction project using the off-site construction method. The results further show that grey wolf optimization and the improved bat algorithm are superior to the firefly, whale optimization, and salp swarm algorithms in terms of the obtained solutions’ quality and convergence behaviour. Finally, the use of parallel computing and a variance reduction technique reduces the average computation time of the simulation-optimization models by about 87.0%. This study is a step towards the optimum planning of off-site construction projects in order to maintain their sustainability advantages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of the Buildings and Construction Sector—Status, Challenges and Opportunities)

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Review

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24 pages, 5214 KiB

Open AccessReview

How Different Tools Contribute to Climate Change Mitigation in a Circular Building Environment?—A Systematic Literature Review

by Lucas Rosse Caldas, Maykon Vieira Silva, Vítor Pereira Silva, Michele Tereza Marques Carvalho and Romildo Dias Toledo Filho

Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 3759; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14073759 - 22 Mar 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3920

Abstract

The circular economy (CE) has become a trend because concern has arisen regarding the end of life of several products and the reduction of CO₂ emissions in many processes. Since the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is one of the biggest generators of environmental impacts, there is a need to apply the CE concept to the industry in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the role of different tools that are used to integrate CE strategies to reduce GHG emissions by the AEC industry is still unknown in the scientific literature. The purpose of this paper is to carry out a systematic literature review on the theme and analyze the following seven tools: (1) life cycle assessment—LCA; (2) building information modeling—BIM; (3) building environmental certifications—BEC; (4) building materials passports—BMP; (5) waste management plan—WMP; (6) augmented reality—AR; and (7) virtual reality—VR. A total of 30 papers were reviewed, and it was observed that, in terms of CE strategies and climate change mitigation, the vast majority can be classified as closing loops and are mainly related to recycling and reuse at the end of life and the use of recycled materials. Considering the building’s stakeholders, constructors, researchers, and designers can be the main users and, consequently, those that most benefit from the use of the evaluated tools. The integration between LCA, BIM, and BMP was also observed. Finally, as one of the main contributions of this research, other types of integration among the analyzed tools are proposed. These proposals seek to improve and update the tools and also address the need to reduce GHG emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of the Buildings and Construction Sector—Status, Challenges and Opportunities)

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