Spacial Survey
Asynchronous Session
Featured Systematic Review of Technical and Process Frameworks Integrating Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Building Deconstruction View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Chukwumaobi Ibe, Md Mohataz Hossain, Andreea Serbescu
This study evaluates the integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) into building deconstruction processes to improve planning, execution, and material recovery, ultimately contributing to sustainable construction. A systematic review was conducted by examining academic databases, including Web of Science, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, and Google Scholar. A comprehensive set of keywords and Boolean operators were used to identify frameworks that incorporate BIM in deconstruction processes. Data were extracted and analysed thematically, supported by a quality assessment using a modified Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. The review identified 48 frameworks that demonstrated BIM’s potential to optimize various aspects of deconstruction. Four key themes emerged: Materials Passports, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Integration, Reverse Logistics, and Automated Deconstruction. BIM was found to significantly improve material recovery efficiency, reduce environmental impacts, and enhance planning and coordination among project stakeholders. However, challenges related to the complexity of BIM implementation, as well as the need for comprehensive data integration, were noted. From a practical perspective, this study suggests that while BIM offers considerable benefits, its adoption in deconstruction requires overcoming challenges such as complexity, adequate training, and effective data management. The insights gained can help practitioners and industry stakeholders to implement BIM-based deconstruction strategies more efficiently. This review also contributes to the broader knowledge on BIM and deconstruction by providing a critical evaluation of existing frameworks, offering recommendations for both future research and practical applications.
Featured Construction Industry Safeguarding: How to Improve Tomorrow by Protecting Today View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Thomas Gibbs
This study found that applying the theories to local industry problems can improve health, wellness, and safety standards. We can improve industry effectiveness and durability by aligning industry practices with employee, supervisor, and stakeholder needs. This alignment benefits and is necessary for everyone. This is a call for collaboration to change industry protocols. Multiple theories show that organizational practices affect performance. This research discusses a crucial opportunity to protect minority construction workers and improve safety, health, and well-being. This study enhances industry knowledge of health, fitness, and safety by examining Schein's theory of organizational culture, Denison's model, the Theory of managerial excellence, Cameron and Quinn's Competing Values Framework, Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, Resilience Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Equity Theory.
The Apartment Block as a Flexible Design Model that Combines Three Kinds of Programmes: Housing Units, Circulation and Communal Spaces View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Simos Vamvakidis
Everything relating to dense, urban living is constantly changing; we need to rethink housing and have a second look to past and present urban housing projects, in order to invent a more flexible design approach for now and tomorrow. For example, by designing more communal spaces in apartment blocks, and making socially resilient projects. This paper focuses on massing design for apartment blocks, seeing as a flexible design framework. It examines the first contemporary apartment block, Unite d’ Habitation, under the light of spatial relationships between three basic programmatic areas / elements: Units, Circulation and Communal Spaces. The spatial relationships of the three elements (and impact on human cohabitation) are discussed and connected with theory. For example, the paper examines Communal Spaces in apartment blocks, as Third Places, a term coined by urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg (1982). Oldenburg analyses the benefits that accrue from the utilization and personalization of places outside the workplace and the home. Through these three programmatic areas, found in almost every apartment block, the paper outlines a flexible design model for the massing design phase of any apartment block. The conclusions discuss the spatial qualities of Unite, and pin points why it is a flexible design model.
Everyday Urban Objects Overflowing with Design: Manhole Lids as Representation of Multifaceted Communities Across the World View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Alice Araujo Marques De Sá, Pedro Cortesão Monteiro
The field of Design Criticism clarifies that usually overlooked everyday objects, such as manhole covers, also reflect the intense complexity of contemporary society – the straightforward design of such urban infrastructure includes both multifunctionality and socio-environmental issues. Descriptive and exploratory research was undertaken to identify and describe: functions; materiality; cultural, and social significance of manhole lids, given the scarcity of studies on the subject. The qualitative research was supported by a literature review and 'case studies'. Findings suggest that the geographical placement, the slip-resistant patterns, and the overall shape of manholes provide insights into social settings, cultural diversity, and site-specific artistic expressions. Manholes play a vital role in urban safety, and their absence highlights underlying issues such as social inequalities and the risk of floods and accidents, ultimately affecting circulation and quality of life. The lids complement urban wayfinding systems, enhancing the walking experience, and, when site-specific, they may preserve collective memory of landmarks and commemorations. Manholes can also be associated with new artistic interventions, such as the screen-printing fashion performances in Europe and the Japanese 'Manhōru Mania,' which fosters tourism, engaging communities in designing infrastructure that reflects cultural heritage and local symbolism. Manholes are at the core of scientific and technological experiments, integrating IoT and AI for real-time monitoring of smart urban systems, and improving urban infrastructure management and safety. In conclusion, manhole lids encompass narratives of social, cultural, historical, and technological relevance. Further studies could assess the co-creation process of commemorative site-specific manholes in European and Japanese scenarios.
