Monte Carlo simulation of construction costs using subjective data

The objectives of construction projects, from the client's point of view, are well known, and techniques have been developed to help practitioners achieve them. Ensuring that projects contribute towards protecting the environment is not yet one of these objectives. However, in almost all countries, issues relating to the environment are receiving attention from governments, non-governmental institutions and commercial organizations in most sectors of the economy, as well as from the general public. Statutory measures are being taken by governments to effect pollution control, resource conservation and protection of natural ecosystems. Productive enterprises are reviewing, and where necessary, changing aspects of their operations to address these concerns and comply with the increasingly more stringent requirements. Many environment-related statutes, regulations, codes and general policies have implications for the construction industry, affecting where constructed items are located, how they are planned and designed, the materials and components used, the techniques and equipment adopted, and how the completed facilities are maintained, altered and, ultimately, demolished.

After giving an overview of the factors contributing to, and the nature of, general developments relating to the environment {especially in the area of government policy), the implications of these trends for the construction industry are considered. Actions being taken by the industry in these regards are next discussed. It is suggested that the consideration of issues relating to the environment should be part of the culture of the construction industry everywhere, and that there is a case for making the environment the fourth client objective on construction projects.     

Effective construction planning

This paper examines the relationships between construction planning efforts and construction planning effectiveness. The influence of the project's environment and organizational characteristics of construction firms on planning efforts and planning effectiveness is also investigated. A sample of 26 building projects was studied and the results were analysed using simple correlations. Three factors were found to have a significant effect on improving construction planning effectiveness: increases in planning time prior to commencement of work on site, the extent to which emphasis is placed on the determination of construction methods during construction planning and the frequency of revision of construction plans after commencement of work on site. Significant relationships were also found between project environment variables and organizational characteristics of construction firms and planning efforts and planning effectiveness. Implications of the results are that construction planners should systematically evaluate alternative plans, sufficient time should be allowed for proper planning, thorough reviews are needed whilst work is in progress, the planning effort needs to be relevant to the environmental context of the project and the firm should be appropriately organized. Suggestions are given for future research studies.     

Predicting construction firm performance: an empirical assessment of the differential impact between industry‐ and firm‐specific factors

It is obvious that the performance of firms hinges upon the dynamics of both industry‐ and firm‐specific factors. A less obvious, and perhaps a more important, line of inquiry is that to the extent that they have a bearing on firm performance, how much do these two groups of factors respectively predict firm performance? To date, performance differences among construction firms that stem from industry‐ and firm‐specific differential effect has remained largely unexplored. Using a dataset comprising 526 firms across various construction‐related sectors, the sector‐by‐sector firm performance variation that is attributable to the heterogeneity of both industry‐ and firm‐specific characteristics was empirically examined. That statistically significant results of different effect sizes are found indicates that although these factors are often assumed to be intertwined it is possible to study their respective impact on firm performance. Future studies could usefully replicate and extend this study to construction firms in other countries to further investigate what drives firm performance under different national, industry and firm contexts.     

An Integrative Theory of Urban Design

The ideas that inform urban design usually coalesce around contending approaches, each associated with one or two leading writers. This article finds that these approaches share an intellectual foundation: They implicitly acknowledge the “noncommodifiability” of the human experience across property boundaries. They share the view that good design seeks to reintegrate the human experience of urban form in the face of real estate markets that would treat land and buildings as discrete commodities. The great writers on urban design have more or less explicitly defended this intellectual position by appeal to the nebulous concept of the “organic.” Rather than just asserting that everything is part of an organic whole, this article identifies the integrative principles through which urban environments can transcend commodification. These principles include good form, legibility, vitality, and meaning.     

Creating a Village in Modern Suburbia: Parenthood and Social Capital

Local communities with good stocks of social capital nurture and support the families residing within. This qualitative study explored through the perspectives of mothers, how families with children aged 0–5 years build social capital in newer residential areas in Perth, Western Australia. Parenthood generally increased the desire to connect to one's local community, which activated and enhanced social capital. Two themes appear to drive this desire: an increased need for social support and an increased vested interest in the local community. However, newer residential areas commonly have a lag of community infrastructure needed to provide opportunities for families with young children to interact with other families. Urban planning and community sectors need to coordinate to provide infrastructure and opportunities for families with young children to connect and build social capital within their local communities.     

Building dampness diagnosing the causes

In our January/February issue last year, Jim Smith described the insights he had gained as the human expert being ‘mined’ by the knowledge engineers for an expert system to aid diagnosis of the causes of dampness in buildings. An overview of that BREDAMP project is presented here, explaining the background to the project and its objectives, and the way the expert system was created, discussing in detail the methods used to capture the depth of knowledge available.     

Regenerative design,socio-ecological systems and co-evolution

A key notion in regenerative design is the co-evolutionary, partnered relationship between socio-cultural and ecological systems, which requires an explicit engagement with the implications and consequences of future design decisions. However, despite the extensive literature in other disciplines regarding the co-evolution of socio-cultural and ecological systems, this approach has yet to receive serious scrutiny within the context of the built environment and within the emerging notions of regenerative development and design. Drawing on an interdisciplinary body of literature, a discussion is initiated on how socio-cultural and ecological systems and their co-evolution might connect to the concept of regenerative design. Following a critique of a relevant example highlighting the current practice of regenerative design, the new building for the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, potentially relevant aspects of a socio-ecological system and of evolution theories are examined for the built environment. Several observations are presented on how these may offer a stronger theoretical framing of regenerative design, particularly the shifts in design thinking: from buildings as artefacts to their dynamic role in adaptive processes over time; widening the boundary focus of a building from its site to the neighbourhood.

Une notion clé du design régénérateur est la relation coévolutionnaire de partenariat entre les systèmes socioculturels et écologiques, ce qui nécessite un engagement explicite à l'égard des implications et des conséquences des futures décisions en matière de design. Cependant, malgré la vaste littérature existant dans les autres disciplines concernant la coévolution des systèmes socioculturels et écologiques, cette approche doit encore faire l'objet d'un examen sérieux dans le contexte de l'environnement bâti et sous l'angle des notions émergentes de développement et de design régénérateurs. En s'appuyant sur un corpus interdisciplinaire de publications, une discussion est amorcée sur la manière dont les systèmes socioculturels et écologiques et leur coévolution pourraient être reliés au concept de design régénérateur. Après une critique portant sur un exemple pertinent mettant en évidence les pratiques actuelles du design régénérateur, le nouveau bâtiment du Centre de Recherche Interactive sur le Développement Durable de l'Université de Colombie Britannique, à Vancouver, sont examinés les aspects potentiellement pertinents d'un système socioécologique et des théories évolutionnistes, s'agissant de l'environnement bâti. Plusieurs observations sont présentées quant à la manière dont ceux-ci peuvent offrir un cadre théorique plus solide au design régénérateur, concernant en particulier les changements intervenant dans la façon de penser le design : des bâtiments envisagés en tant qu'artéfacts à leur rôle dynamique dans les processus adaptatifs au fil du temps, et un bâtiment dont les limites ne se focalisent plus sur son site, mais sont élargies à son quartier.

Mots clés: environnement bâti, coévolution, cadres conceptuels, évolution, design régénérateur, systèmes socioécologiques     

Do ‘green’ buildings have better indoor environments? New evidence

A post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of 12 green and 12 conventional office buildings across Canada and the northern United States was conducted. Occupants (N = 2545) completed an online questionnaire related to environmental satisfaction, job satisfaction and organizational commitment, health and well-being, environmental attitudes, and commuting. In each building on-site physical measurements at a sample of workstations (N= 974) were taken, including: thermal conditions, air quality, acoustics, lighting, workstation size, ceiling height, window access and shading, and surface finishes. Green buildings exhibited superior performance compared with similar conventional buildings. Better outcomes included: environmental satisfaction, satisfaction with thermal conditions, satisfaction with the view to the outside, aesthetic appearance, less disturbance from heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) noise, workplace image, night-time sleep quality, mood, physical symptoms, and reduced number of airborne particulates. A variety of physical features led to improved occupant outcomes across all buildings, including: conditions associated with speech privacy, lower background noise levels, higher light levels, greater access to windows, conditions associated with thermal comfort, and fewer airborne particulates. Green building rating systems might benefit from further attention in several areas, including: credits related to acoustic performance, a greater focus on reducing airborne particulates, enhanced support for the interdisciplinary design process and development of POE protocols.

Il a été mené une évaluation après occupation (POE) de 12 immeubles de bureaux verts et 12 immeubles de bureaux classiques répartis à travers le Canada et le nord des Etats-Unis. Les occupants (N?=?2545) ont rempli un questionnaire en ligne portant sur la satisfaction environnementale, la satisfaction au travail et l'implication organisationnelle, la santé et le bien-être, les attitudes environnementales, et les trajets réguliers. Dans chaque immeuble, des mesures physiques in situ sur un échantillon de postes de travail (N?=?974) ont été effectuées, comprenant : les conditions thermiques, la qualité de l'air, l'acoustique, l'éclairage, la taille des postes de travail, la hauteur de plafond, l'accès aux fenêtres et leur occultation, et les finitions de surface. Les bâtiments verts ont affiché des performances supérieures par rapport aux bâtiments classiques similaires. De meilleurs résultats ont été obtenus concernant la satisfaction environnementale, la satisfaction à l'égard des conditions thermiques, la satisfaction à l'égard de la vue sur l'extérieur, l'aspect esthétique, la diminution des perturbations liées aux bruits provenant du chauffage, de la ventilation et de la climatisation (CVC), l'image du lieu de travail, la qualité du sommeil nocturne, l'humeur, les symptômes physiques, et la réduction du nombre de particules en suspension dans l'air. Différentes caractéristiques physiques ont conduit à une amélioration des résultats pour les occupants dans tous les immeubles, concernant notamment les conditions liées à la confidentialité des conversations, les niveaux inférieurs de bruit de fond, les niveaux de luminosité plus élevés, l'accès accru aux fenêtres, les conditions associées au confort thermique, et le nombre moindre de particules en suspension dans l'air. Les systèmes de notation des bâtiments verts pourraient bénéficier d'une plus grande attention apportée à plusieurs domaines, s'agissant en particulier des crédits relatifs aux performances acoustiques, d'un accent accru sur la réduction des particules en suspension dans l'air, d'un soutien renforcé en faveur du processus de conception interdisciplinaire et du développement de protocoles POE.

Mots clés: performances des bâtiments, bilan environnemental, bâtiments verts, environnement intérieur, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), satisfaction des occupants, évaluation après occupation     

Regenerative design in science and society

The Building Research & Information special issue entitled ‘Regenerative Design and Development’ (2012, volume 40, number 1) describes the emerging theory and practices. This commentary considers how regenerative design and development needs to engage with some broader topics of sustainability and the quest for knowledge. The papers in the special issue raise many matters, but this commentary will concentrate on three of them: (1) issues of scale, in space, time and the system level; (2) holism versus reductionism; and (3) monitoring, evaluation and intervention. Although they must be discussed individually, these topics overlap to a great degree. Challenges are posed on whether professionals and community stakeholders are empowered to intervene at appropriate scales, over sustained periods of time, to monitor operation over the longer term and, if needed, to make further interventions if the design goes awry. Although authors in the special issue question the role of reductionism in favour of a holistic view, there are merits for the use of reductionism, particularly for assisting with uncertainties or identifying constituent parts. A key challenge now will be to explore what practices and operations could provide solutions.

Le numéro spécial de Building Research & Information intitulé « Conception et Développement Régénérateurs » (2012, volume 40, numéro 1) décrit la théorie et les pratiques émergentes. Le présent commentaire examine la manière dont la conception et le développement régénérateurs doivent traiter de certains thèmes plus larges touchant à la durabilité et à la quête de savoir. Les articles figurant dans ce numéro spécial soulèvent de nombreuses questions, mais le présent commentaire se concentrera sur trois d'entre elles: (1) les problèmes d'échelle, dans l'espace, dans le temps et au niveau du système; (2) le holisme par opposition au réductionnisme; et (3) les questions de suivi, d'évaluation et d'intervention. Bien qu'il faille en discuter séparément, ces thèmes se recoupent dans une large mesure. Des difficultés tiennent au fait de savoir si les professionnels et les parties prenantes des collectivités sont en mesure d'intervenir aux échelles appropriées, sur des périodes prolongées, d'assurer le suivi des opérations à plus long terme et, au besoin, d'effectuer des interventions complémentaires si la conception se passe mal. Bien que les auteurs de ce numéro spécial contestent le rôle du réductionnisme en lui préférant une vision holistique, le recours au réductionnisme présente des avantages, s'agissant en particulier de l'aide qu'il apporte face aux incertitudes ou de l'identification des éléments constitutifs. L'une des principales difficultés va maintenant être d'explorer les pratiques et les opérations qui pourraient être porteuses de solutions.

Mots clés: cadre bâti, cadre de conception, pratiques de conception, conception régénératrice, construction durable, développement durable     

New Professionalism: the post-industrial context

Definitions and perceptions of professionalism are continually challenged and transformed by public need, government interaction and institutional organizations. When the goals of those three entities are focused on near-term results, this poses a significant threat to the integrity, value and relevance of professional services. When the individual and corporate professional's profit margin, corporate shareholder responsibility and news media sensationalism are factored in, this short-termism dynamic is greatly magnified. Built environment professions are seen as particularly vulnerable to this threat, given that investments in buildings and infrastructure have long-life and high-performance service expectations. This commentary responds to the Building Research & Information special issue entitled ‘New Professionalism’ (2013, volume 40, number 1) and situates the predicament of built environment professionals within an emerging historical transition: that of the post-industrial information society with its characteristic knowledge workers and cybernetic bases of production. Long-term virtues of the built environment mission such as sustainability, public good and evidence-based design are shown to be reflections of the transition from industrial era short-termism to post-industrial systemic foresight. This commentary supplements the special issue papers with a discussion on the broader academy's potential role in breaking the stranglehold of contemporary short-termism in the built environment professions.