Content uploaded by Luca Mora
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Luca Mora on Jan 28, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Increasing offsite housing construction in Scotland: An evidence base to support new policy and systems
... This research focuses on the residential BE as a product. The so-called 'industrial house' [59] has been present since the early 20th century [60] and has become an alternative to an increased housing shortage in several countries [61,62]. The industrial house concept is related to the Offsite Manufacturing (OSM) process, which refers to producing construction elements in a factory facility or other controlled environment [63]. ...
Ageing in place is one of the answers to the changing needs of older global demographics. After evaluating alternatives for ageing in place, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and the challenges of living in remote contexts, the need to integrate a Human-Centered Design approach to increase the usability of the Built Environment became evident. This literature review describes different methods and instruments that can be used for data collection in the context of a Human-Centered Design process for the built environment. Contributions of this research include the application of a user-centered theory of the built environment focused on the user experience.
Urbanization is India had been accelerating since independence due to the adoption of mixed economy that triggered the growth and development of private sectors. As per the UN prediction, 64.1 % of developing countries and 85.9% of developed countries are expected to be urbanized by 2050. Within the limited resources of finance, labor and time, urban housing has become an unenviable situation which had resulted in slum development providing an inhabitable condition for the humans to survive and hence seeks a prior concern from the Government as well as private sectors. To satisfy the housing needs in urban cities, a technique of building construction, referred to as pre-fab architecture is gaining potential in today’s context which encompasses off-site fabrication of building components to a higher degree of finish with their assembly on site. In this context of demand for affordable housing for all, pre-fab improves the ease of construction, with quality of architecture and material efficiency as well as workers safety and limiting environmental impacts of construction as compared to the onsite conventional construction practices. The paper envisages the advantages of pre-fab construction technique to achieve efficiency in terms of economy and flexibility in design when compared to conventional methods. The design of any built up structure, irrespective of the type or method of construction system followed, should satisfy the basic needs of human within the guiding parameters of sustainability. The approach of how modular housing could also be a solution for a dream home satisfying the requirements of user groups irrespective of income and age is the intended outcome of the paper.
Off-site construction methods have been suggested as a necessity for improving the efficiency and productivity of the construction industry through implementation of automation and lean principles in a controlled factory environment, known as modern methods of construction (MMC). The products and the project delivery and management strategies of off-site construction were studied through a multifaceted qualitative exploration of the off-site timber management strategies of 10 manufacturers, including three UK panel, three UK volumetric, and four European (EU) volumetric timber manufacturers. A comparative productivity analysis was carried out and its sensitivities were analyzed, which led to the conclusion that the labor productivity of the surveyed UK panelized and EU volumetric manufacturers was comparable, but the UK volumetric manufacturers’ productivity was lower. As a result, the level of automation and the lean and Design for risassembly (DfD) applications of the manufacturers were all explored to understand these productivity differences within the context of current market trends.
Australian housing supply has not been responded at a rate commensurate with its growing demand. Residential housing sector is facing this serious shortage issue by actively developing and effectively using new construction material, processes and practices for sustaining its competitive advantage over other construction sectors in the Australian context. The Construction 2020 report confirmed prefabrication/off-site manufacturing (OSM) as a critical vision for the Australian construction industry’s future, as OSM provides opportunities for not only increased productivity and safety, but also decreased cost. It also has the capability of meeting the growing housing demand within the extant level of skilled labour. By combining lean and agile concepts, OSM’s supply responsiveness and efficiency can be intensified. The current research studies the association between demand–supply housing imbalance factors using mixed methods from literature and interviews. Literature has documented four main factors that drive this imbalance: (1) housing completion time; (2) cost of a finished house; (3) customer preferences and (4) level of skilled labour. Interviews with 13 industry professionals identified the four main leagile strategies used to deliver prefabricated building projects. Literature and interview findings supported the development and validation of multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) model comprising and incorporating these factors (and subfactors) and the four leagile strategies. The choice of the appropriate strategy to address the studied factors within the Australian context was optimized using analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The results from the AHP model show the suitability of applying each strategy at different degrees as influenced by the tested factors.
The last decades have witness the rapid urbanization in China, which cause the growing demand for affordable housing. Meanwhile, many social and environmental problems arise due to the large-scale rural-urban migration, which attract attention of the government and the public. Comparing with traditional one-site construction, prefabricated construction is more environmentally friendly and labor-saving, exactly meeting the current demand in China. To promote the application of prefabricated construction in the field of affordable housing construction and the sustainable degree of affordable housing construction, this paper first analyzes the relevance and similar characters between prefabricated buildings and affordable housing construction. We further states that prefabricated buildings play a facilitative role in the construction of affordable housing and how affordable housing construction feeds back prefabricated buildings. On this basis, we analyze how to realize the sustainability of affordable housing and put forward a conceptual framework of sustainable affordable housing.
With the rapid development of computer technology and network technology, the informatization of the architecture engineering construction (AEC) industry is continuously improving. Meanwhile, BIM technology has brought a strong impetus to the development of the construction industry. However, for our country, BIM technology is still in its infancy. The application of BIM technology in the construction industry is still an important issue. Recently, the assembly construction has become the trend of the modern construction industry. By summarizing recent researches on the application of BIM technology in prefabricated building, this paper analyzes the advantages of assembly architecture and BIM technology, then explores the application of BIM technology in fabricated architecture.
Prefabricated building is the inevitable trend of development of China construction industry. And it becomes a hot spot of the construction research at present with its obvious advantages such as mass building production, less environmental pollution, and guaranteed quality. However, prefabricated building is still in the government-led promotion stage at present and few companies take the initiative to implement prefabricated building. This paper studies the evolutionary games among the property developers, precast manufacturers, and government in the period of prefabricated building promotion, with the aim to reveal the reason that players make their choices in different situation and give some suggestions for the development of fabricated building. By doing this, the result of evolutionary game can maximize the benefits of relevant stakeholders, promoting the development of prefabricated building.
The technology of prefabricated construction (PC) has been partly used in undeveloped countries for many years, such as China. But there are still many obstacles which affect the utilization of PC. Seventeen factors influencing the use of PC were identified through a literature review, questionnaire survey, and face-to-face interview with professionals in the construction industry. 200 questionnaires had been sent out to contractors in China, 122 were returned with valid responses. Ranking analysis was used to identify critical factors. The top obstacles has been found after the questionnaire investigation. These findings provide a valuable reference for the contractors to understand the major barriers to their decision making.
Based on the application of ALLPLAN software under BIM platform, focusing on ALLPLAN outline dimension, reservation and pre-burying of rebar, and collision detection design application, analyze document data and logistics list, obtained advantages and disadvantages of ALLPLAN design platform, to provide support and further promotion of BIM platform application in prefabricated buildings.
As a development trend of the modern construction industry, prefabricated building has the advantages of short construction period, high quality, energy saving, and environmental protection. However, the high cost of prefabricated building has hindered its implementation and popularization in China. To explore the factors affecting the life-circle cost of prefabricated building, the building circle was divided into five phases, including design, manufacture, transportation, assembly, and operation. After analyzing the cost of the prefabricated building during the whole life cycle, this paper selected 23 factors affecting the life-cycle cost of prefabricated building, and find the key factors through questionnaire survey and factor analysis method. The findings can provide the basis for cost control, so as to promote the development of prefabricated buildings.
Design for Deconstruction (DfD) is a design approach that enables reuse of durable building components, including structural materials, across multiple building projects. An important DfD strategy is the use of pre-fabricated modular building assemblies and reversible connections, in contrast to cast-in-place composite systems that must be demolished at building end-of-life. In this paper we evaluate a novel DfD flooring system consisting of pre-cast concrete planks and clamped connections. Life cycle energy and environmental benefits of using this DfD system are evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA) across four impact categories of interest to the building and construction sector including fossil fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions, respiratory effects, and photochemical smog formation. Eight different DfD building designs are tested for 0–3 reuses compared with a traditional structural design, with energy and environmental benefits accruing from substitution of avoided structural materials. Designs reflect expected loads and current code requirements, while the additional time required for deconstruction of DfD buildings is accounted for in the construction schedules. Monte Carlo simulation is used to generate 95% confidence intervals for the results. In general, DfD designs result in higher initial (original building) energy use and environmental impacts, but have statistically lower impacts than traditional designs if flooring planks are used at least once. Reusing planks three times as designed decreases impacts by a mean value of of 60–70%, depending on the building configuration and impact category. Energy use and environmental impacts from eventual recycling and/or disposal of the reusable components are significant, and emphasize the relative benefits of reuse over recycling.