Poorang Piroozfar

University of Brighton · School of Architecture Technology and Engineering

Sustainable practices can only be successful when key stakeholders (e.g. client, designer, main contractor, subcontractors, etc) are in support of achieving them as shared values. The common goal of improving sustainable practices can be embedded in all aspects of projects ranging from conception to completion and in operation phase through to refu...

In buildings with double skin façades (DSF), the amount of light entering the internal spaces depends on the properties of the outer surface, the build-up of the layers of the façade, as well as their architectural features and shading devices (if any). However, studies focusing on the incidence of daylighting in buildings with DSF are still few an...

Buildings have become the primary energy consumer due to the rise in outdoor temperature rates as a result of global warming and climate change. Building Management Systems (BMS) are considered a key tool in improving energy management through automation, which relies on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) applications, leading to the e...

This paper presents an experimental study aimed to investigate the mechanical and thermal properties of a traditional rubble stone construction, namely Bungaroosh. Bungaroosh was often used in the South-East coast of England during the early 19th century; it can be found prevalently in the city of Brighton and Hove, nestled in the center of this ge...

The operational life of a building is directly related to its value, which is influenced by its function, the integrity of the structure and enclosure, its location, and the logistical significance of the place. However, of growing importance, are the energy efficiency and sustainable credentials. Most developed countries have legislated for change...

Literature on mass customization elaborates on methods and experiences of applying product configurators based on case studies while there are few examples from the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. Attempts have already been made on the application of expert systems in the AEC industry to achieve higher customer satisfact...

Purpose The inclusion of heritage dwellings in the UK decarbonization policies can contribute to cut operational carbon emissions from the building stock; this needs to be made a priority if net zero carbon targets are to be achieved. However, the energy and carbon savings potential of suitable retrofit interventions on this part of the stock is ex...

The purpose of Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) is to assess a building’s performance at key stages and throughout the entire life cycle of the building. BPE takes a holistic approach towards building operation. It is used to evaluate designs, test buildings prior to occupation, during occupation and post occupation. How BPE is used Where rel...

Purpose As a strand in industrialization movement in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, prefabricated construction (PC) has gained widespread popularity due to high efficiency, energy saving, low environmental impacts, safety and other advantages of PC. Well-managed supply chain can further leverage the advantages of PC. How...

Architectural design competitions have been used as a means of commissioning important and public projects for centuries. Judgement process forms the core process of architectural design competitions. Highlighting the importance of this process, this paper takes a 'narrative review' approach to help articulate the gaps and recommend new research ar...

Delay in construction projects, especially in road and highway projects, is a universal phenomenon. Afghanistan construction industry is no exception. There are factors causing delays in the Afghanistan construction industry which have negative effects on the key project stakeholders and the project's deliverables and outcomes. This research aims t...

Improving energy performance of traditional listed dwellings (TLDs) in the UK is much needed. However, there are issues to overcome due to their heritage value and to the complexity of their thermo-hygrometric behaviour. This on-going research project aims to propose a framework for interventions in TLDs in South East England to improve their energ...

The process and product development phase of the research instrument for experiential action research is crucial in the success of the research. Due to time, space and resource limitations, fewer studies have concentrated on this development process. In this respect, research on Augmented Reality (AR) in the Architecture, Engineering and Constructi...

Research on Augmented Reality (AR) in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry is still new. As part of a comprehensive study on the application of AR technologies for urban utility infrastructure, this paper sets out to contribute to the state-of-the-art in this area by presenting the results of an industry survey in the UK. T...

The need for more responsive built environment in the age of climate change has led building professionals to resort to integrated design solutions where a combination of different technologies is utilized to improve what traditionally the tectonics of a building were expected to fulfill rather independently. One of such solutions are Integrated Fa...

Many industries have benefited from modularisation; while in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, the concept of modularisation is associated with dimensional coordination. This has added to an already extensive list of challenges due to market size and the concept of economies of scale in AEC industry, to name but a few....

Purpose –University students are the future driving forces in and leaders ofthe AEC industry advancement. Although BIM pedagogical studies have been performed in different institutions, there has not been sufficient research providing a global perspective of BIM education and students’ perceptions towards BIM practice and application following thei...

Research on Augmented Reality (AR) in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is still new. As part of a comprehensive study on the application of AR technologies for urban utility infrastructure, this paper sets out to contribute to the state-of-the-art in this area by presenting the results of an industry survey in the UK. T...

The process and product development phase of the research instrument for experiential action research is crucial in the success of the research. Due to time, space and resource limitations, fewer studies have concentrated on this development process. In this respect, research on Augmented Reality (AR) in the architecture, engineering and constructi...

Energy and carbon retrofitting of traditional listed dwellings (TLDs) in the SouthEast England is much required but faces a multi-faceted and complex suite of issues and problems. A research project has been designed to specifically address those problems which utilises a mixed methods approach centred on multi-staged dynamic Building Energy Simula...

Product configuration systems are among the most popular expert systems for automating sales and manufacturing processes. Therefore, there are numerous studies on the qualitative benefits and quantitative profitability of configurators considering the required investments. This paper uses real case company data to demonstrate the most cost efficien...

The Construction industry is a major player in the UK economy and is in need of continuous improvement. In an attempt to do so, in 2011 the UK government made Building Information Modelling (BIM) level 2 a mandate for all public projects by 2016. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a project delivery approach closely attributed to BIM. However, it...

Residential buildings consume a vast amount of energy throughout their whole-life cycles with the sub- sequent greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted in the atmosphere. This phenomenon will only be exacerbated by projected trends in excessive urbanisation and global population. It is therefore imperative to inves- tigate and quantiatively evaluate the envi...

Literature on BIM reports case studies and challenges observed when applying BIM in the construction industry. Literature on mass customisation elaborates on methods and experiences of applying modularisation and product configuration including examples from the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. However, only limited litera...

The occurrence of crime is widely accepted to be context-specific. Some explanatory theories have focused on social disorder, alluding to the notion that if such disorders are eliminated from society, serious crime would be eradicated. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) has been adopted to enable the effective use of the built en...

The need for improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions has made retrofitting existing homes a priority today. A research project has been designed with one of its aims to propose a framework to intervene in traditional listed dwellings (TLDs) to reduce their environmental impact in Eng-land, with a special focus on South East region...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology to test the robustness of energy performance of highly to fully glazed office buildings in hot and arid climates using the net energy figures. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a methodology to develop a base-case model for building energy simulation (BES) of highly to fully gl...

This study adopted a three-step holistic review approach consisting of bibliometric review, scientometric analysis, and in-depth discussion to gain a deeper understanding of the research development in construction safety. Focusing on a total of 513 journal articles published in Scopus, the influential journals, keywords, scholars, and articles in...

This study adopted a three-step holistic review approach consisting of bibliometric review, scientometric analysis, and in-depth discussion to gain a deeper understanding of the research development in construction safety. Focusing on a total of 513 journal articles published in Scopus, the influential journals, keywords, scholars, and articles in...

Purpose – This study aims to present a pedagogical practice in the project-based assessment of AEC students’ interdisciplinary building design work adopting BIM. This pedagogical practice emphasizes the impacts of BIM, as the digital collaboration platform, on the cross-disciplinary teamwork design through information sharing. This study also focu...

Emerging construction practices such as building information modelling (BIM), prefabrication construction, green building, and integrated project delivery methods are gaining momentum in China, with great potential due to the size of its construction market. Through this, the sustainability level of China’s construction industry is expected to be e...

Companies’ reports indicate a mixture of success and failure in Product Configuration Systems (PCS) projects. Moreover, the attention paid to PCS across different industries is increasing. Therefore, more studies are needed to analyze risks, costs, and benefits of PCS. This paper uses real case projects to demonstrate the cost-benefit analysis of P...

Across all industries companies benefit from product standardization and product modularization in order to automate sales and production processes, and construction industry is no exception. Product modularization is normally the pre-requirement to the automation in both sales and production. The literature is lacking guidelines and examples to di...

BIM has been undergoing continuous growth in the global architecture, engineering, and construction (i.e., AEC) industry. However, the knowledge development within BIM management is lagging behind its implementation. This study aimed to initiate the BIM management-based framework involving BIM climate, which was measured by individual BIM practitio...

Buildings Energy Simulation (BES) has been used as a substitute for more time-and cost-intensive physical modelling methods such as test cells, environmental chambers and real building monitoring. Their flexibility, ease of use and broader coverage are also very strong advantages they have over mathematical modelling for energy studies. Development...

Mitigating environmental impacts has been a centre of attention for international commissions, legislative bodies and policy makers. The UK has signed up to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by the year 2050 compared to 1990 baseline to meet this target at a national level. Energy used (primarily for heating) in the housing sector contributes 27...

All industries benefit from product standardization and modularization in order to automate the sales and production processes. The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry is lagging behind due to the challenges it is faces with compared to other industries. The literature discusses how to apply modularization in construction indu...

Augmented Reality (AR) as a concept has been in use for many years and prevalence of new mobile technologies, such as smartphones and handheld devices, have facilitated the concept of AR becoming fully realized. Various fields are exploiting the increasing feasibilities the concept of AR can offer; one of these being the Architecture, Engineering a...

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry have a sustained track record of research and development proving both technologies to be beneficial to various stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of buildings. Previous research in different areas of AR/VR in the AEC industry is not...

This report serves as the University of Brighton, School of Environment and Technology response to the Call for Evidence launched by The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee as a part of The House’s inquiry into off-site manufacture for construction. It sets out to answer some of the challenges put forward within the call and to draw att...

As an alternative to the traditional structural analysis adopting computer-aided modeling and evaluation, this pedagogical research provided an integrated teaching and learning approach by mapping cognitive domains defined in Bloom's Taxonomy Theory in the newly launched course named Woodwork Fabrication and Analysis for second-year students. The c...

This study was designed to investigate the recent movement and current stage of China’s construction and demolition (C&D) waste recycling and reuse. Specifically, the research aimed to provide the big picture of recent C&D waste diversion practice in China, as well as to offer insights from Chinese field practitioners’ perceptions towards benefits,...

High solar gain in hot and arid climates, causes overheating in summer and increases the demand for air-conditioning, energy and carbon footprints of buildings. There are different strategies, tools, and solutions to address this problem, but Integrated Façade Systems (IFS) where different technological solutions are integrated to improve performan...

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have been implemented in many industries including the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. Confusion between AR and VR exists, despite several researchers seeking to clarify the differences. As context-specifics have significant influence on the AEC industry, testing AR/VR appli...

Double Skin Façades (DSFs) are applied in both new and existing buildings, and most of such applications are found in temperate climates. Although research in this area is growing steadily, comparative analyses of DSF applications in different climates are still few and far between. This paper addresses such a gap by means of a comparative thermal...

Façades represent both a physical barrier between inside and out, and a phenomenological medium to manifest architecture in terms of style, impression, school of thought or personal statement of their designers. With recent advancement in technology, facades are presenting themselves more and more as a canvas to put the idea of integrated design in...

The body of scientific research corroborates that reducing energy consumption alongside other environmental impacts can help reduce climate change effects. Existing buildings are major contributors to energy consumption and carbon/GHG emissions. Even more so is the housing stock, and more specifically, the dwellings of some cultural value or herita...

Burglary security for households has been an important discussion topic for societies for many generations. Law enforcers, policymakers, academics, politicians and industry practitioners all debate on the most effective means of securing homes. Although individual homeowners can determine how secure and sophisticated their home security systems may...

The judgment process in architectural competitions has long been considered as one of the most complex and controversial practices. This, on one hand, is because of architecture itself and the multi-faceted nature of the architectural design, and on the other, for the complexion of the judgment process and the diversity of stakeholders involved in...

The ever increasing awareness of climate change is driving homeowners and property users to adopt essential measures when dealing with energy consumption. The Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) scheme for domestic properties in England and Wales requires homes to undergo energy surveys in order to be issued an EPC, thereby certifying their prope...

High solar gain in hot and arid climates, causes overheating in summer and increases the demand for airconditioning , energy and carbon footprints of buildings. There are different strategies, tools, and solutions to address this problem, but Integrated Façade Systems (IFS) – façade systems where different technological solutions are integrated to...

Façades represent both a physical barrier between inside and out, and a phenomenological medium to manifest architecture in terms of style, impression, school of thought or personal statement of their designers. With recent advancement in technology, facades are presenting themselves more and more as a canvas to put the idea of integrated design in...

Cities and towns in post-war periods tend to sustain a situation that remains tense for years or decades, where open warfare has come to an end but there is no established peace; what is commonly known as post-conflict settings. It is argued that urban management in such settings involves addressing complex challenges of regulating urban systems in...

On average, hot water is responsible for 18% of residential energy consumption and corresponding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Several domestic hot water systems (DHWSs) are commonly used but their life cycle impacts are yet to be established comprehensively. This is due to those impacts varying significantly within the context and the system bou...

In developed countries, existing buildings have the biggest share in the building stock. Given the age of construction, the property versus land values, and their slow replacement rate, low-carbon refurbishments are arguably one of the most sensible ways to mitigate environmental impacts (EIs) in the construction sector and meet the greenhouse gas...

Double Skin Façades (DSFs) are applied in both new and existing buildings, especially in temperate climates. Research in this area is steadily growing; however, there is a lack of conclusive results in available literature about energy performances related to the DSF, thus limiting a better and more informed application of this technology in the Ar...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish how UK offices and double skin façade (DSF) technologies can be best matched for refurbishment purposes. Design/methodology/approach – This research uses a mixed methodology including primary and secondary data collection, analysis and interpolation through document analysis, comprehensive critic...

Design as a human endeavour is inherently imbued with social implications and outcomes. In the built environment good design is a proven mechanism for positive change on many levels. Despite the positive benefits of good built environment design, research indicates that cities continue to contribute 70% of global CO2 emissions and 75% of energy con...

The building sector is a major contributor to energy consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and depletion of natural resources. In developed countries, existing buildings represent the majority of the stock, their low-carbon refurbishment hence being one of the most sensible ways to mitigate GHG emissions and reduce environmental impacts of t...

In the UK, 75 % of non-domestic buildings will still exist in 2050, and the reduction of their emissions represents a major challenge for the UK government to meet the greenhouse gases (GHG) target. There is a growing tendency towards the use of double-skin façades (DSFs) for office refurbishments in Europe. In renovations, a DSF consists of an ext...

Delivering projects to minimum requirements in the UK construction industry can come at the expense of longer-term sustainability goals and unseen impacts. Without measurement, such trade-offs often remain unaccounted for. Therefore, managing sustainability becomes a significant challenge, with subsequent downgrading to a ‘box-ticking’ exercise—its...

Over the years, researchers and practitioners have argued that the integration of value Management (VM) and Risk Management (RM) in construction projects would help avoid duplication of work and deliver better value for money thereby leading to better project outcomes. Others have integrated the VM and Environmental Management (EM) to achieve the s...

Traditional procurement methods have repeatedly failed to deliver projects on time and to budget in Afghanistan, and there are serious concerns about quality, cost, time and sustainability. The Afghan government has no choice but to partner with the private sector in order to meet the increasing demands on delivery of public projects. Therefore, Pu...

Associating cities with living organisms is not unprecedented in theory and practice of urban design and urban planning. The epistemology of such ontologically abstract theoretical frame of reference for such suppositions however varies vastly from one school of thought, time, socio-eco-geo-political context to the other. Using a comparative analys...

Prefabricated building systems can offer benefits in many different respects, including but not limited to cost control of a project. However, there are also some restrictions that, if not understood properly and adopted accordingly, may have some adverse effects on design, construction and post-occupancy stages of buildings. As limited as any syst...

Cities are major sources of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and the effects of mass urbanization upon the environment have now become clear. Great opportunities exist within cities for tackling climate change. Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect is a phenomenon where significant temperature difference between inner micro-climates of a city and their nei...

There is now a substantial body of evidence suggesting that climate change is occurring as a result of human activities. Bottom-up approaches have been encouraged to enhance sustainability agenda. Assessment methods have been developed to ensure an incessant decrease in carbon footprint of buildings. It has long been discussed that many of such ass...

One of the long-lasting challenges of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry has been addressing personalised solutions as nearly affordable as possible to what could be offered by mass production in the post industrialisation era. Ever since its gestation, BIM has promised endless prospects for people, organisations, product...

Complexity is not an under-researched concept within the construction industry. However, because of the nature and characteristics of this concept, most of the works have traditionally tended to approach it in a reductionist manner, concentrating on project complexity above all others. Therefore a more comprehensive understanding aimed at being abl...

In spite of various initiatives, much of the UK university building stock is ageing and in need of modernisation both in terms of environmental performance and to respond to the changing landscape of pedagogy and andragogy. Higher educational establishments like to portray themselves as pioneers of a green campaign however decision processes may no...