Journal of Architectural Engineering

Evidence-Based Design (EBD) principles are researched and published widely throughout the design, engineering, and construction industry. However, few studies show the extent of the implementation of the principles on actual projects. This paper documents the implementation of EBD elements relating to patient privacy and comfort in hospital renovation projects. The goal of Evidence-Based Design is to make design and construction decisions based on the best possible outcome for the user of a given space. In healthcare, this outcome may be critical to the health, comfort, privacy, and overall well-being of hospital patients and staff. This paper compiles the list of design recommendations relating to privacy and comfort. These recommendations come from a review of existing EBD literature. To assess the implementation of these elements into actual projects, construction documents from 30 recent healthcare facility renovation projects across the United States were obtained and analyzed. This paper provides results for the levels of implantation in the EBD categories of privacy and comfort. EBD elements related to privacy and comfort are shown to have a high level of adoption into actual projects. This may demonstrate the effectiveness of EBD in influencing design decisions. The report does show that there are still areas of potential improvement. Suggestions are given to improve building design, codes, standards, and guidelines. The information found in this study will be helpful to owners, building contractors, and design professionals by providing insight into how well the industry is recognizing and implementing the known best practices of EBD. These findings likewise introduce new opportunities for further research which could lead to additional improvements in healthcare facilities of the future.

Industrialized construction has garnered attention in the construction industry owing to the economic benefits resulting from the reduction in time of project delivery, the enhancement of quality control, and an increase in labor productivity. The adoption of industrialized construction might require a change in the business processes and delivery methods. These changes are often costly and could be unsuccessful without careful instruction. The objective of this study is to provide a practical framework for shifting the operational model from conventional construction to industrialized construction. A structured case survey was designed to collect data from companies with high utilization of offsite strategies. The results were used to design a maturity framework for adopting industrialized construction technology. The proposed framework evaluates industrialized construction capability in technological, functional, and organizational components, and provides strategies to improve the technology adoptions in four stages of explore, initiate, control, and optimize. The outcome of this study addresses the problem of immature process models in construction companies and facilitates the employment of industrialized construction practices.

The glulam knee-braced frame structure is a type of the post-and-beam construction and has extensive application in real projects. The mechanical performance of the beam-to-column connection reinforced with knee brace has significant influence on the lateral behavior of the whole structure. However, there are limited studies on the mechanical behavior of the beam-to-column connections reinforced with knee braces. In this article, the analytical approach to calculating the load-carrying capacity of the connection with knee brace and its application to parameter study are presented and discussed. A good agreement between the experimental data and theoretical results can be achieved, but the theoretical results show some conservatism. Parameter study based on the analytical approach shows that the ultimate capacity of the connection is approximately proportional to the thickness of the knee brace. However, when the thickness of the knee brace is too large, the ultimate capacity of the connection is governed by the resistance of the glulam beam. Moreover, the ultimate capacity of the connection decreases with the decrease of the angle α (α = angle between the column and the knee brace) and the end distance of the knee brace s (s = distance between the centerline of the beam and the contact point of knee brace to column).

Understanding moisture behavior in cross-laminated timber (CLT) is critical to the widespread use of CLT in construction in the United States. Currently, very little data exist on the long-term impact of moisture on CLT in real structures. The objective of this research was to collect data regarding the long-term moisture variation in the CLT panels at the University of Arkansas student residential building, named Adohi Hall. The climate of Northwest Arkansas is different from those of previously monitored buildings, mostly located in the Pacific Northwest. Comparatively, Northwest Arkansas has a warmer climate with higher average annual precipitation. Moisture sensors were installed in 45 locations throughout the building to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the building. Results indicate that for the interior floors of the building, i.e., not the roof, CLT panels have not encountered moisture intrusions. At the roof level, moisture intrusions during construction were trapped in the CLT panels by waterproofing. This trapped moisture resulted in slower drying to below acceptable levels of moisture.

The lack of standardized design quality indicators (DQIs) has hindered the proliferation of Post-Occupancy Evaluations (POEs) as a standard process in the property sector. This research aims to develop a standardized set of DQIs and further propose a DQI toolkit to facilitate its implementation. This research will use an in-depth review of the extant literature and will consult campus facility maintenance records at a case study university. Therefore, the identified DQIs will be consolidated and formulated to be representative of various campus facilities that include academic, research, and residential buildings. Subsequently, the DQIs will be standardized through three rounds of a Delphi survey, where 23 professionals will participate in the first round, and 19 and 18 will participate in the second and third rounds, respectively. The results of the Delphi survey will be analyzed based on the Relative Importance Index (RII), where an RII of 3.0 will be used to determine the experts’ agreement on the DQI’s significance. Finally, the standardized DQIs will be presented in the form of a survey toolkit. The implication of this research is to fulfill the need for standardized forms of POEs in the property sector and to enhance the design quality of campus facilities that are required by the higher-education sector. The value of the proposed toolkit is characterized by the ease of use, comparison between various facilities, inclusion in the procurement process for contractors, and promoting the designer’s review as a standard process in the delivery of facilities.

As advanced control sequences are developed to improve the operational efficiency of buildings, it is important to better understand the implications of uncertainty on system design and specification, and its propagation through system components to various performance measures. This paper describes the detailed development of a testbed for performing uncertainty quantification in heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system operational parameters, which includes local loop controller dynamics and detailed control sequences at small time scales. The testbed was developed using a Modelica-based building model that allows controllers to be accurately simulated along with the building heat transfer physics. The model is demonstrated by applying it to uncertainty quantification in annual site electricity use and internal zone conditions, due to the inherent inaccuracies in system sensors and actuators. The results and the testbed are intended to aid others in the research community who may need a similar HVAC controls simulation testbed.

Cooling buildings represent a major environmental issue, especially during summers. Although thermal insulation can decrease cooling loads, the presence of thermal bridges, infiltrations, windows, and other openings pose a continuous challenge. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, for instance, most windows are made of aluminum, a thermal conductor. This paper uses two methods to evaluate the alternative solution of enveloping buildings, including windows, with a secondary layer. The first method involved small-scale models; two test rooms were built, with one (the reference room) being based on regular municipal thermal guidelines and the other (the enveloped room) including an extra, secondary surrounding layer. The second test staged a similar scenario via software simulation. Both sets of results showed a significant reduction in electricity consumption in the enveloped room, which became more notable as the weather grew hotter. At the high end of the temperature scale, the power consumption of the enveloped room was 47%–54% lower than that of the reference room. However, such a secondary building envelope would increase the width of the wall structure and present the downside of adding to construction costs. While adopting this system in Dubai may save the city an estimated 16.6% in electrical energy, based on current prices, a house would likely need between 10 and 15 years to recuperate the associated capital investment.

The design of origami structures typically requires the folding/deployment kinematics to be solved and the internal forces induced by applied loads to be determined. The case of rigid origami structures is considered here by adopting an extended panel–hinge model, in which all panels are rigid and are connected by door hinges and sliding hinges. The differences between currently available stick-and-spring models, suitable for the analysis of thin origami structures, and panel–hinge models, suitable for treating the case of thick origami structures, are highlighted. After reviewing basic results which aid in the determination of the number of independent internal mechanisms and self-stress states of rigid origami structures, a numerical method to perform the kinematic and static analysis is described, considering the case of a Yoshimura pattern as a representative application example. Then, a design proposal to obtain modular transformable origami pavilions with Yoshimura pattern is presented, informed by the numerical results obtained for one pavilion module. Several modular pavilions are assembled and simulated in Grasshopper with Kangaroo Physics, and the construction system is studied by combining parametric modeling and laser cutting.

In the last few decades, architecture has experienced paradigm shifts prompted by new computational tools. Algorithmic design (AD), a design approach based on algorithms, is one such example. However, architectural design practice is strongly based on visual and spatial reasoning, which is not easy to translate into algorithmic descriptions. Consequently, even using tailored AD tools, AD programs are generally hard to understand and develop, independently of one’s programming abilities. To address this problem, we propose a methodology and a design environment to support AD in a way that is more akin to the workflow typically employed by architects, who represent their ideas mostly through sketches and diagrams. The design environment is implemented as a computational notebook, with the ability to intertwine code, textual descriptions, and visual documentation in an integrated storytelling experience that helps architects read and write AD programs.

Public school buildings often require regular inspections and effective maintenance strategies to ensure their proper functional performance and safety. Because of budget constraints, school buildings always did not receive full attention to inspection and maintenance. This study aimed at developing a priority-rating model to evaluate the budget for maintenance and rehabilitation of school buildings. The model was developed based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) and linear programming (LP) techniques. A list of 35 school building elements was extracted from maintenance records. Five main factors affecting budget allocation for maintenance were identified. A total of 38 experts were selected to evaluate the relative importance of these five factors. A case study related to the rehabilitation of 20 schools was conducted to illustrate and verify the model. Results showed that some building components have more influence on the five factors than others. For example, wall exterior and sanitary waste strongly influence building user satisfaction. Merging DEA and LP overcame prioritization modeling issues by unifying factors with different units of measurement into a mathematical relationship and extracting weight ratios between these factors from the data instead of preselection. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by proposing a DEA-LP model to prioritize maintenance and funding allocation for school buildings. The findings from this study may be beneficial to practitioners by guiding adopting effective strategies to optimize school inspection activities and maintenance operations.

Due to their expansion capabilities and the simplicity of their design, scissor linkages have been used in both architecture and engineering for various applications, such as expandable roofs and shelters, movable bridges, furniture, and as parts of mechanisms. The two main design methods used for scissor linkages are the unit-based method and the loop-based method. While the unit-based method is based on serial multiplication of the scissor units, the loop-based method is based on aligning predefined loop types onto the desired curve. When the input parameter is the desired curvature for the finally deployed configuration of the linkage, the loop-based method is easier and more convenient for defining the scissor units to create the whole linkage geometry. Most of the existing studies on the loop-based method deal with identical or arbitrary loops. Hybrid loop assemblies have not yet been studied, although they may offer different geometric alternatives. This work aimed to fill this gap in the literature and present a geometric design approach for scissor linkages composed of hybrid loop assemblies using frieze patterns. First, the basic terminology, such as loop types, loop assemblies, and frieze patterns, is introduced. Then, we discuss scissor linkages using hybrid loops, generated using a predefined rectilinear geometry in which frieze groups are used to provide diverse variations. The kinematic definitions of the represented linkages are then explained. To reveal the potential applications of the scissor linkages composed of hybrid loops, a case study was conducted in which the proposed linkages were used as a canopy structure. After discussing the potential for using hybrid loops, and their deployment, we present the concluding remarks and make suggestions for future research.

Architectural design is the process of solving design problems until the final product emerges. Solving these problems altogether complicates this process. It is one of the most important stages of this complex process because decisions made at the early design stage affect the progressive process. The decisions made at this stage are especially important in educational buildings because they directly affect the learning performance and health of users. In this study, a fuzzy logic model enabling correct decisions by digitizing exact and partial information has been created to evaluate and classify the design efficiency of windows important for ensuring sufficient visual comfort in classrooms. Because it is close to human logic and perception in modeling, Mamdani-type fuzzy model was used. A primary school with 8 classrooms was designed by 30 architects for the operation of the created model. Window design efficiencies were obtained with data obtained from 240 classrooms in the primary schools designed. The developed model will provide information by using the windows of the classrooms at the early design stage. Learning this information prior to designing will help make more accurate and effective decisions after implementation, especially for irreversible results.

Deployability of reciprocal frame (RF) structures can aid in the creation of multifunctional architectures, satisfy the needs of flexible architectures, and adapt to climatic and environmental conditions. However, changes in the perimeter of a structure during deployed and retracted states may result in low efficiency in architectural design and limit its architectural applications. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the geometric feasibility of deployable kinetic reciprocal frame (KRF) structures with constant perimeters and fixed support points. This structure can cover constant perimeter without any change while adapting, particularly providing many potential benefits in architectural applications and bridging the gap between two states. The research methodology used in this paper is a design-based examination of the geometry of fixed RF structures. The study’s findings revealed a wide range of KRF structures that can cover various geometric plans using moving elements along a specific path on adjacent elements and rotating them in fixed supports on the outer polygon without modifying the perimeter during deployment or retraction.

Natural disasters are responsible for causing significant damage to built environments and its consequent homelessness. This subject is notable in developing countries, specifically when they are located in earthquake-prone areas. After extensive destruction due to such incidents, authorities are confronted with numerous economic, social, and environmental complications in the implementation of housing solutions. Temporary housing (TH) is a short-term solution enabling communities to return to their routine activities by providing a minimum level of housing requirement. To accelerate the recovery procedure, resources should be carefully managed and a sustainable plan concerning economic, social, and environmental complexities should be developed. Therefore, this paper investigates the shortcomings of the existing TH solutions and uses prior experiences to propose a sustainable TH solution for an extensive area of Iran with a hot-arid climatic condition. Accordingly, the result is a TH system using earthquake rubbles in modular gabion containers. It was found that such a method could increase the occupants comfort level up to 8.61% while reducing a project’s carbon footprint compared with the existing solutions. The proposed system assists authorities in confronting disasters with a more sustainable TH plan.

The purpose of this study is to optimize building envelope parameters and ventilation systems by considering passive cooling strategies to improve indoor thermal comfort without any significant supplementary cost in buildings construction and operation in a tropical area. The NSGA-II algorithm is performed in this optimization study using TRNSYS and CONTAM simulation tools, with three objectives: (a) minimization of indoor thermal discomfort, (b) minimization of construction costs, and (c) minimization of the building weight. The results show that the determination of building parameters is highly affected by design objectives. By considering all objectives, the building is recommended to have low-geometry compactness, moderate roof slope, southeast main facade orientation, high roof and wall albedo, and moderate height and wall thickness. However, the final decision to determine the selected building parameters depends on user preferences. The methodology and results in this paper can help design new more comfortable residential buildings in the hot-humid tropical region at more efficient construction cost. It can also improve the energy efficiency of existing residential buildings.

While daylight admittance in educational buildings is of high importance, the associated visual discomfort issues can negatively impact student productivity and well-being. This paper reports the outcomes of a case study of the architectural studios at Al-Azhar University, Cairo, where visual discomfort due to daylight intrusion was reported by 49% of the students, leading to difficulties while performing multiple vertical and horizontal tasks. To address this issue, visual discomfort simulation analyses were conducted for 78 view positions with respect to façade shading systems (fixed shading and dynamic electrochromic glazing). To predict the level of visual discomfort for multiple view targets, three indicators, horizontal illuminance, vertical-eye illuminance, and daylight glare probability, were used. A simulation workflow of daylight and glare was developed to shade each dynamic window individually whenever the defined criteria are met. The results showed evident reductions in the hours of visual discomfort based on the three indicators from 83%, 84%, and 37% to 8%, 19%, and 3%, respectively (southwest), and from 57%, 71%, and 13% to 2%, 10%, and 1%, respectively (northeast). The proposed simulation workflow can be used in future practices to improve façade-shading performance to protect against visual discomfort under similar climatic contexts.

Architectural acoustics in practice are often governed by postapplied porous absorbers and costly one-off solutions, which may limit the creative integration of acoustic design into the critical early phases of building design. The studies presented focus on the development and testing of novel acoustic clay-based tiles, which act as a composable hybrid design system including absorption and scattering properties that can be uniquely created to the site and use specific conditions; yet, it is based on a modular and affordable approach. Using experimental material studies, physical prototyping studies, and laboratory and field measurement studies, the tiles were developed and tested. The results show that the proposed configurable system and structure enable the articulation of specific scattering and absorption properties and that these can be activated to increase specific room acoustic qualities, measured on parameters of Reverberation Time and Definition in an auditorium setting.

Energy retrofitting is one of the critical elements in national energy efficiency action plans in Egypt and Portugal to achieve energy efficiency in the buildings’ sector. Therefore, this study explores the techno-economic feasibility of proposed simple passive retrofitting solutions using nature-based and conventional thermal insulation materials to the existing dwellings in the traditional coastal settlements under the Mediterranean climate. Two case studies, one representing a typical coastal, traditional wooden house in the west center of Portugal and another, a conventional brick house in the Delta region in Egypt, were selected. Each case study house was simulated using energy performance assessment tools (Energy+) before and after retrofitting in both locations using similar insulation properties. The results showed that energy consumption decreased by (29% and 43%) for cooling and (23% and 45%) for heating under different circumstances. Furthermore, the shortest simple payback model was projected by 16 and 25 years, with profitability achieved in 17 and 27 years for a proposed retrofitting solution. Also, a new propinquity between Portuguese and Egyptian Architecture was brought out.