Associate Professor Willy Sher

Abstract: The need to reduce waste generation and resource extraction arising from the traditional linear economy system is gaining the attention of scholars, organisations and governments. A potential alternative is the circular economy concept, which can minimise waste, keep materials in circulation through reuse and recycling principles and consider the environmental, social and economic benefits of products. The circular economy evolved from some conflicting concepts and theories to a linear economy. The purpose of this study is therefore to identify those concepts and theories and to explore their potential contributions to the construction industry. To achieve the objective of the study, a semi-systematic review of extant literature was conducted. The results indicated that 14 concepts including cradle to cradle, regenerative design, biomimicry, performance economy, industrial ecology and reverse logistics are the pillars of the circular economy. The findings revealed that all the concepts share similar characteristics with the circular economy and are relevant to the construction industry, especially for environmental protection. Seven (50%) of the pillars are applicable for reuse and recycling, six (42.8%) for resource efficiency, three (21.4%) for design and two (14.3%) for service models. However, it is hoped that the results of this study will contribute to the body of knowledge on the circular economy concept and waste management. The development of a framework for the identification of suitable concepts for the construction industry is recommended for future studies. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

The environmental emissions and energy from construction activity and building materials contributes significantly to a building's sustainability. Previous research dealing with wood or engineering wood's energy requirements compared to reinforced concrete and steel structures has shown that embodied energy and embodied carbon is significantly lower in wood-based construction. This study has assessed the environmental impact and costs of glued laminated timber (GLT) or cross-laminated timber (CLT). Hardwood and softwood variants of both GLT and CLT were considered. We compared the life cycle costs (LCC) of these alternatives to discover the lowest cost. The comparative results indicated that GLT has higher emissions in Global warming potential (GWP), Terrestrial Ecotoxicity (TE), Land Use (LUP), and Ozone layer depletion (OLD), while CLT has higher impact in Human-Toxicity Potential (HTP), Fossil Depletion Potential (FDP). The results indicated that using CLT significantly reduces embodied energy by 40%. However, a comparison of costs showed that CLT is 7% more expensive than GLT. Establishing which material performs best based on environmental and economic criteria thus required further analysis. Thus, the multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method was applied. This showed that CLT manufactured with softwood is the most sustainable choice among the alternatives considered. This study's findings are important for aggregate level decision making of different wood materials for residential buildings.

The reuse of building components plays a pivotal role in construction and demolition waste reduction. Reuse can be a part of the deconstruction process resulting in cost and environmental benefits. Several studies have identified various design principles that facilitate the deconstruction process. These may consequently maximize the reusability of building components. However, the extent to which these measures are effective is unclear. This study examines the importance of these principles in relation to the reusability of building components. A questionnaire survey investigating design principles based on previous studies was administered to building industry professionals including civil engineers, architects and demolition contractors. It was designed to determine the degree of suitability and relevance of the design principles to the practice of reuse. Over 170 responses were collected and analysed using a number of statistical approaches including ANOVA and factor analysis to identify critical technical design principles (TDPs) and to determine the potential relationships among them. Nine TDPs were identified as highly significant for the practice of reuse. Statistically significant differences between the opinions of demolition contractors and of building designers to eight principles were also determined and are also discussed.

This paper presents the results of a preliminary protocol study of the cognitive behaviour of architectural designers during the design process. The aim is to better understand the similarities and differences in cognitive behaviour using Sequential Mixed Media (SMM) and Alternative Mixed Media (AMM) approaches, and how switching between media may impact on design processes. Two participants with at least one-year's professional design experience and a Bachelor of Design degree, and competence in both sketching and computer-aid design (CAD) modelling participated in the study. Video recordings of participants working on different projects were coded using the function-behaviour-structure (FBS) coding scheme. Participants were also interviewed and their explanations about their switching behaviours were categorised into three types: S¿C, S/CR and C¿S. Preliminary results indicate that switching between media may influence how designers identify problems and develop solutions. In particular, two design issues were identified. These relate to the FBS coding scheme, where structure (S) and behaviour derived from structure (Bs), change to documentation (D) after switching from sketching to CAD modelling (S¿C). These switches make it possible for designers to integrate both approaches into one design medium and facilitate their design processes in AMM design environments.

UK higher education institutions have invested significantly in the implementation of communication and information technology (CIT) in teaching, learning and assessment - with mixed results. This work investigated the use of multimedia technologies in the form of digital imagery and visualization material to improve student knowledge and understanding. In this context, this paper reports on a major UK initiative (CAL-Visual) funded by the Higher Education Funding Council as part of the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme looking at improving the use of images for teaching and learning in built environment education. It first describes ways in which computer-aided learning (CAL) is being used in civil and building engineering curricula, it then presents the main aims and objectives of the project and describes the design and implementation of the CAL-Visual system. It concludes by reporting on the results of an evaluation conducted using case studies relating to different applications.

Higher education institutions in the United Kingdom have invested significantly in the implementation of communication and information technology in teaching, learning, and assessment of civil and building engineering - with mixed results. This paper focuses on the use of digital imagery and visualization materials to improve student understanding. It describes ways in which these materials are being used in the civil and building engineering curriculum, and, in particular, how distributed performance support systems (DPSS) can be applied to make more effective use of digital imagery and visualization material. This paper centers on the extent to which DPSS can be used in a civil and building vocational and continuing professional development context by tutors in the form of an electronic course delivery tool and by students in the form of an open-access student information system. This paper then describes how a DPSS approach to education is being adopted at Loughborough University as part of the CAL-Visual project. After highlighting the main aims and objectives of the project and describing the system, this paper discusses some of the issues encountered during the design and implementation of a DPSS and presents some preliminary results from initial trials.

The Department of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University, in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Building, are currently collaborating on a two-year project, 'Recording Achievement in Construction' designed to encourage personal and professional development. The project, funded by the Department for Education and Employment, aims to promote a culture that will enable and support construction students and graduates to monitor, build and reflect upon their own personal development within the construction discipline. This paper outlines the rationale for the project and explains the reasoning behind the design and development of the RAPID (Recording Achievement for Professional and Individual Development) Progress File (Loughborough University, 1999). Furthermore, this paper outlines how this tool is currently being implemented within the Higher Education community, the lessons learned to date, and offers recommendations as to how it can be most effectively integrated with existing educational structures and practices. We conclude that the RAPID Progress File is the kind of personal and professional development tool that can assist and encourage individual learners develop a life-long perspective on the learning process.

UK Higher Education Institutions have invested significantly in the implementation of multimedia and visualization material in teaching, learning and assessment of civil and building engineering-with mixed results. This paper focuses on the use and life cycle of digital imagery and visualization material, which is embedded within multimedia teaching AIDS to improve student understanding. It describes ways in which these materials are developed and used in the civil and building engineering curriculum and, in particular, how distributed performance support systems can be applied to make more effective use of digital imagery and visualization material. Following this, the paper then describes how a distributed performance support system approach to education is being adopted at Loughborough University as part of the CAL-Visual project. After highlighting the main aims and objectives of the project, the paper concludes by discussing some of the issues encountered during the design and implementation of a distributed performance support system.