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The effective communication of flood risk offers the opportunity to ensure communities can adapt and respond appropriately to changing local conditions. At a time of diminishing resources, such local responses, which can empower... more
The effective communication of flood risk offers the opportunity to ensure communities can adapt and respond appropriately to changing local conditions. At a time of diminishing resources, such local responses, which can empower communities and make them more resilient to uncertain future flood events, are vital. The most general and accessible type of flood communication are flood risk visualisations, i.e. pre-prepared emergency flood maps. However, evidence suggests there is much we can do to improve their ability to communicate the complexities of flood risk to a range of stakeholders. This paper considers the development of flood risk visualisation approaches in the UK, presenting findings from a series of targeted workshops over twelve months, where the needs and criteria of stakeholder groups for effective flood risk visualisation were assessed via co-creative processes. Key stakeholders included local authorities, emergency responders, vulnerable homeowners, Environment Agenc...
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Purpose This paper aims to identify a generic set of information requirements for facilities management (FM) systems, which should be included in BIM as-built models for efficient information exchange between BIM and FM systems, and to... more
Purpose This paper aims to identify a generic set of information requirements for facilities management (FM) systems, which should be included in BIM as-built models for efficient information exchange between BIM and FM systems, and to propose a process to identify, verify and collect the required information for use in FM systems during the project’s lifecycle. Design/methodology/approach Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied at different stages of the study’s sequential design. The collection and analysis of qualitative data was based on an extensive literature review of similar studies, standards, best practices and case study documentation. This was followed by a questionnaire survey of 191 FM practitioners in the UK. This formed the background of the third stage, which was the development of the information management process to streamline information exchange between building information models and FM systems. Findings The study identifies a generic list of...
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Purpose The purpose of this study is to address challenges in the current information exchange process between building information modelling (BIM) and facilities management (FM) systems and to propose a workable solution. This study’s... more
Purpose The purpose of this study is to address challenges in the current information exchange process between building information modelling (BIM) and facilities management (FM) systems and to propose a workable solution. This study’s objective is to identify the information exchange requirements and to develop methods for seamless information flow between building information models and FM systems. Design/methodology/approach Data collection and analysis was based on an extensive literature review of similar studies followed by a questionnaire survey with a total of 112 participants and 2 focus groups with a total of 12 participants to validate the conceptual framework. The outputs of the survey analysis formed the background of the proposed framework to streamline information exchange process between building information models and FM systems. Findings The study findings form a foundation for enabling the integration of various data sources including building information models. ...
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—The importance of using games for supporting behavioural and attitudinal change has been explored in the literature, most recently the games for change movement has promulgated the use of games for supporting altruistic changes that have... more
—The importance of using games for supporting behavioural and attitudinal change has been explored in the literature, most recently the games for change movement has promulgated the use of games for supporting altruistic changes that have a positive impact upon the environment. This paper presents a Serious Game designed for University students and its main aim is to educate them about environmental issues. In particular, the focus lies in the importance of saving energy. A user study with 42 participants assessed the feeling of presence of the whole virtual learning experience.
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Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an evolutionary idea designed to ensure performance is evaluated continuously over the whole life of a given asset. Over the last decade significant emphasis has been placed on the design and... more
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an evolutionary idea designed to ensure performance is evaluated continuously over the whole life of a given asset. Over the last decade significant emphasis has been placed on the design and management of construction projects by using the 7 layers, or dimensions (D), of BIM (3D Modeling, 4D Time, 5D Cost, 6D Procurement and 7D Sustainability). Moreover, it has been argued that the 7th dimension (7D) that is related to sustainability could impact the other six dimensions of the BIM concept. Sustainability indicates the relationship between economic, social and environmental considerations. The relative sustainability of any building will in part be dependent on the nature of these three considerations over its whole life. However, economic, social and environmental characteristics are likely to be subject to change over time, the precise nature of which cannot be predicted. Consequently, any such changes can introduce vulnerabilities in terms of performance. Hence, the hypothesis of this research is that the pre-identification of economic, social or environmental uncertainties within a BIM platform could help reduce performance vulnerabilities during the project management life cycle. This necessarily includes consideration of the post-occupancy phase. Therefore this study aims to explore uncertainties within the 7D of BIM that could influence and impact the other six dimensions of BIM and vice versa. The study uses secondary data to establish which social, economic and environmental data have to be mined using advanced techniques and technologies to identify key uncertainties that could help project stakeholders to make early, efficient decisions. In other words, project stakeholders could pre-identify those uncertainties in order to avoid vulnerable results during the project management life cycle (from the design phase to the post-occupancy phase) during the application of BIM philosophies.
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ABSTRACT This paper uses two diverging interpretations of resilience to review and assess current UK policies and guidelines for urban resilience, a term generally associated with the strength of key systems and cities and their... more
ABSTRACT This paper uses two diverging interpretations of resilience to review and assess current UK policies and guidelines for urban resilience, a term generally associated with the strength of key systems and cities and their capability to maintain functionality in the face of external shocks. Both developed in scientific studies, the first interpretation (engineering resilience) is based on a mechanistic model of systems that can recover their original state aftershocks, and the second (ecological resilience) is based on an evolutionary model enabling adaptation to disturbances. Through a literature review, practical applications to planning are discussed for each model in terms of long-term efficacy. The contribution of this paper to an understanding of urban resilience is therefore twofold. First, an identification of the long-term consequences on the built environment of the policies associated with each model is provided, with the mechanical model ultimately hindering, and the ecological model favouring, adaptation. Second, some approaches to generate effective responses to environmental and societal change are identified, together with enabling tools. Ultimately, this paper emphasizes that the idea of a resilient city is fit for this age characterized by uncertainty, although it requires the recognition within planning practice that urban adaptation cannot be attained with current methodologies, and that much can be learned from theories on the resilience of ecosystems.
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Rogers, C.D.F., Thomas, A.M., Jefferson, I., Gaterell, M. (2009) "Factors Affecting Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Highway Subgrade Improvements Involving Stone Capping and Lime Stabilization", Transportation Research Board 88th... more
Rogers, C.D.F., Thomas, A.M., Jefferson, I., Gaterell, M. (2009) "Factors Affecting Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Highway Subgrade Improvements Involving Stone Capping and Lime Stabilization", Transportation Research Board 88th Annual meeting, Washington D.C., January 11-15.
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The challenges facing urban growth and society will require comprehensive understanding of the vulnerabilities facing urban environment with a view to implementing adaptation measures to enhance resilience. There is a lot of ambiguity... more
The challenges facing urban growth and society will require comprehensive understanding of the vulnerabilities facing urban environment with a view to implementing adaptation measures to enhance resilience. There is a lot of ambiguity surrounding the meaning of resilience which could be a real challenge for the planners who are trying to apply this concept in future policies. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationships between resilience and sustainability as applied to the assessment building and urban environment. A qualitative analysis was carried out to map the inter-relationships and differences between the range of definitions of sustainability and resilience from various socio-economic and environmental contexts in the literature. The paper finds a very strong relationship between resilience and sustainability in the way various group of researchers define them within different disciplines. The paper also identified the possible approach to make the transition i...
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ABSTRACT The health and performance of students and teachers are influenced by the internal environment of school buildings such as noise levels, indoor temperature, air quality and light. Providing good internal environmental conditions... more
ABSTRACT The health and performance of students and teachers are influenced by the internal environment of school buildings such as noise levels, indoor temperature, air quality and light. Providing good internal environmental conditions with minimum energy for schools has long been a concern in school design guidelines around the world. The growing necessity to save energy in an uncertain future and to provide a good indoor environment in schools suggests that school designers should approach design more holistically in order to offer a better internal environment and to reduce the gap between design and performance. This paper investigates design issues in UK schools through case study analysis and a review of the literature. The main reasons for these design issues can be attributed to the lack of optimisation of different internal environment factors and their relation with energy consumption; the lack of understanding occupants’ response to the environment; the lack of building adaptability and the inappropriate application or use technology. This paper urges school designers to look at these factors holistically in order to overcome these problems in the future design of UK schools. This study also suggests an Environmental Circle to look at the interrelation between comfort factors through their sub factors in a holistic manner in order to prevent any conflict between.
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Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Engineering Sustainability 162 June 2009 Issue ES2 Pages 6779 doi: 10.1680/ensu.2009.162 .2.67 Paper 800022 Received 11/12/2008 Accepted 26/02/2009 Keywords: embankments/field testing... more
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Engineering Sustainability 162 June 2009 Issue ES2 Pages 6779 doi: 10.1680/ensu.2009.162 .2.67 Paper 800022 Received 11/12/2008 Accepted 26/02/2009 Keywords: embankments/field testing & monitoring/research & development
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In the aquatic environment, a number of techniques are available to evaluate environmental benefits arising from improvements in water quality. However, such techniques do not account for the environmental costs of implementing a given... more
In the aquatic environment, a number of techniques are available to evaluate environmental benefits arising from improvements in water quality. However, such techniques do not account for the environmental costs of implementing a given quality change, for example those associated with the construction and operation of necessary treatment processes. Life cycle assessment is a technique that enables the nature of environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of processes to be established. Although comprehensive assessment of all options is likely to be uneconomic, focusing on a number of key system inputs and outputs offers the possibility to include such impacts cost effectively in investment appraisal.