Associate Professor Willy Sher

There is general agreement on the importance of green roofs as ways of reducing GHG emissions, reducing overall costs and improving sustainability in urban areas. This systematic literature review highlights life cycle sustainability assessment as an essential criterion to evaluate green roofs. A bibliometric analysis was used to quantitatively review relevant literature. The Scopus database was chosen as a bibliographic database of academic publications. Thes period of search started from 2003 and final search was conducted on February 15, 2023. Based on further in-depth reading, 88 publication records which met the selection criteria, including 74 papers and 14 conference papers. Researchers from the United States contributed almost 31 % of the documents. We evaluated leading studies in this field and discussed assessment method, system boundaries and research gaps through a critical literature review and a systematic search review. Finally, we propose a framework and identify a gap and future research. The environmental aspect of green roofs have received more attention than economic issues. We found that most economic evaluations of green roofs are limited to their construction stage. As yet there is no comprehensive social study on green roofs. We considered a unified study of the economic, environmental impact and social evaluation of green roofs to be warranted. Additionally, various measurement methods should be used to assess the economic profitability of green roofs over the long term. In summary, this study provides a deeper understanding of the environmental, social, and economic performance of green roofs and identifies research gaps as well as future research directions.

Purpose: Policy is key for effective displacement governance in times of crises and in response and recovery. Therefore, this study assessed if Australian climate, disaster and emergency management policies provide effective mechanisms for governing displacement crises and areas where current approaches could be improved. Design/methodology/approach: This study assessed 18 national and state-level disaster, emergency and climate change management frameworks to determine if best practice displacement governance themes were reflected in policy documents. Deductive thematic analysis was undertaken using Braun and Clarke¿s six-phase method. Findings: Issues of displacement are reflected in policies analysed in this study. However, current policy frameworks need to be equipped to comprehensively address the housing requirements of displaced people or provide long-term initiatives. Approaches are focused on crisis management rather than pre-emptively planning for displacement response and recovery. Therefore, Australia has not exercised national responsibility for displaced people appropriately. Research limitations/implications: Disaster displacement is an under-researched area of Australian scholarship and disaster management policy and practice. Therefore, this paper has practical implications in so far as it draws attention to the issue of displacement in Australia. A limitation of this paper is that it only analysed policy frameworks specific to disasters. While broader engagement was outside the scope of this study, this limitation provides opportunities for further research from disciplinary perspectives of public housing and homelessness to examine displacement policy challenges in these fields. Furthermore, this study is limited to a theoretical inquiry into this topic through a desktop review of policy documents. While this is a necessary first step, empirical studies are required to determine accurate displacement rates, drivers and people¿s experience of being displaced. Practical implications: This research aims to inform policy by presenting recommendations for policy interventions for disaster displacement governance. Therefore, this research has practical implications as policy and disaster risk reduction (DRR) professionals can draw from the findings of this research when planning and initiating disaster response for displaced persons. Social implications: This research draws attention to an area of disaster management practice and policy that has not been adequately accounted for. Highlighting gaps in current policy can assist in developing targeted strategies and solutions for internally displaced people, which protect their rights and meet their needs. Originality/value: Displacement is a growing climate change issue. This research aims to help address this problem by drawing attention to areas where Australian disaster management approaches fail to account for displaced populations. Therefore, this research has practical implications for addressing future issues of disaster injustice that may arise if displacement continues, unacknowledged in disaster management.

Purpose: Establishing a more sustainable built environment is an increasing global concern for the construction industry. Despite the intrinsic and extrinsic obstacles the stakeholders face, huge efforts are required to transition to a smooth, sustainable construction (SC) practice. This study identifies and discusses cogent obstacles to SC in developing nations. Design/methodology/approach: The Preferred Reporting Item for systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) approach was employed to establish research work in SC for developing countries. The databases used were Scopus and Web of Science. Meta-analysis of keywords was analysed thematically. The initial broad search returned 8,420 publications which were filtered and reviewed in-depth to fit the aim of the study, produced only 21 relevant publications from the years 2000¿2021. Findings: The four identified themes of obstacles to SC in developing countries are as follows: construction professional training and education, clients' attitudes and awareness, construction industries' culture and capacity and governments' regulation, policies and economy. The key barriers identified from the meta-analysis include inadequate training and education amongst construction professionals, poor execution of sustainability ethics, poor populace attitude towards sustainability, poor awareness and understanding, dearth of precise data and integrated study and inappropriate priorities about sustainability. Originality/value: The originality in this study are themes drawn from millennium development goals (MDGs) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) publications related to SC. Consequently, the final framework presented a holistic approach to surmounting the established limitations and aided recommendations for future studies. Thus, setting a background for developing strategies to overcome the limitations and further attain sustainable development (SD).

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.

Economic development and population growth have impacted on fossil-based energy consumption, contributing to environmental pollution. Adopting circular economy research is more pressing than ever to ease pressure on the environment and the economy. Evaluating the best construction materials is not new. To date, many researchers have assessed materials using various criteria. Formwork differs from other construction materials in terms of serviceability and reusability. These materials may be reused multiple times (from 7 to around 50 times). This raises the question of which material is the best from a sustainability perspective. In this paper we have evaluated four of the most widely-used formwork materials used in the construction of buildings in Malaysia. These include plastic, steel, plywood and timber. Evaluations of life cycle assessment (LCA), embodied energy, and life cycle cost (LCC) were conducted from cradle to cradle. For a single use of formwork, timber is best in all categories except human non-carcinogenic toxicity. However, when 50 reuses are considered for the same wall a completely different result arises. In the environmental category, steel formwork produces the lowest emissions and impact in all categories except global warming potential (GWP). Plastic formwork has the lowest carbon emissions. In terms of embodied energy and cost, plastic formwork presents the best option being approximately 20% lower than steel formwork. Because of the inconsistency in the results for LCA, embodied energy, and LCC for 50-cycles of usage, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) tool was used to normalize the results. The MCDM shows that plastic formwork is an ideal choice for sustainability among the alternatives considered.

The increasing request for energy-saving and saving materials and growing concern related to the impacts of materials used on environmental and economical has driven the construction industry toward redesigning critical structural systems and elements. This research proposes solutions for mitigating ecological effects and sustainable built environments. For example, the floor slab is considered the top environmental impact emission after walls compared to other non-load-bearing elements among different building components. Therefore, this research expands the new slab comprising Glued laminated timber (GLT) with concrete as a novel lightweight flooring system. The related methodology includes life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost (LCC) analysis. Thus, the environmental and economic impacts of three common slab systems were compared to the proposed slab. The evaluation results revealed that GLT-concrete has lower emissions in all environmental categories, namely: Global warming potential (GWP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), human toxicity potential (HTP), fossil depletion potential (FDP), terrestrial Ecotoxicity (TE), and Acidification Potential (AP). Likewise, Embodied energy value showed that GLT-concrete has a lower value by 26%, 9%, and 24% than Lightweight steel slab, Precast reinforced slab, and Cofradal slab. Finally, the result of LCC shows a new GLT-concrete slab despite having a higher construction cost, but by considering the end of life scenario as reuse, it will have a lower total cost. Thus, current research can expand the assessment of environmentally friendly floor structures and step toward sustainable construction.

This paper combines third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT) and modified couple stress theory (MCST) with the principle of total potential energy to analyze the size-dependent buckling behavior of a functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) rectangular microplate of variable thickness subject to non-uniform biaxial compression when resting on an elastic medium. To determine the thickness qualities of the material, the extended rule of mixture was applied. In the context of microplate buckling in the presence of small length scale effects, the three kinds of Carbon Nanotube (CNT) distribution¿(a) UD, (b) FG-O, and (c) FG-X¿were used and compared. The equations governing various combinations of simply supported or clamped boundary conditions have been solved using the differential quadrature method (DQM). The correctness and precision of the solutions have been compared to another study. A numerical study was conducted to examine the dependence of buckling load on several parameters, including percentage change of thickness, length scale parameter, nonuniform edge loads, boundary conditions, volume percentage of the CNTs, CNT distribution, and elastic medium parameter. The results of their effects are presented in this paper.

Purpose: Aspects of the lifecycle sustainability of modular and prefabricated construction remain unexplored. In particular, the characteristics of various concrete techniques require further investigation. This study assessed three different construction techniques, namely, On-site concrete (OSC), Individual Panel System (IPS), and Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC). Methods: The following environmental impact criteria were studied: greenhouse gas (GHG), ozone layer depletion (OLD), human toxicity (HT), fossil depletion (FD), and terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE). These were calculated using life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis. The total cost of each case studies was calculated using LCC and a social survey was also conducted using a questionnaire survey. The significance weights were incorporated into an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for use in multi-criteria decision making (MCDM: TOPSIS). Results: PPVC was assessed as the best construction technique for most of the environmental criteria. It was 6%, 2%, and 6% lower than OSC in GHG, FD, and OLD, respectively. On the other hand, OSC was shown to be an economic method by 2.4% and 4% having lower cost than PPVC and IPS. Additionally, PPVC achieved the best value in Social-LCA. Conclusions: Finally, since different concrete construction techniques were nominated as the best for each criterion, an assessment of multi-criteria was conducted. The results of MCDM showed that PPVC is the most sustainable method among the alternatives. Furthermore, two sensitivity analyses were performed to dispense with the human subjectivity involved in AHP.

Mixed media design, which includes both pencil sketching and computer-aided design (CAD) modelling, is frequently used in both the design industries and design schools. Research suggests that mixed media design environments provide several advantages over design environments that use singular media. Although a common outcome of CAD modelling is design documentation, researchers have argued that CAD modelling could support conceptual design. In our study four experts were invited to complete different design tasks. They were asked to sketch first and then model their designs using CAD. A Function-Behaviour-Structure coding scheme was adopted to analyse their cognitive actions. The empirical evidence collected shows that being dissatisfied with sketches resulted in the entire CAD design phase becoming uncertain. Thus, an optimal solution may not be achieved after the use of one design medium. This means that subsequent design sessions need to support designers to refine their designs by evaluating alternatives. The main contribution of this study is for teaching CAD design. A model was developed for the phenomenon of CAD modelling to support conceptual design or design documentation in mixed media design environments.

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 application of ecological modernization (EM) (to delink industry growth from environmental damage) to minimize construction waste has not been explored within construction industry in general, and the New South Wales (NSW) construction industry in particular. This study seeks to identify the drivers of applying EM to construction waste minimisation (CWM) in the industry. Also, to determine the CWM measures that are critical for each of the drivers. A survey was adopted in this study to target stakeholders engaged in the delivery of construction projects in NSW from design to completion. The survey was selected to reach a large number of respondents within a manageable period. A pilot study was conducted to ensure the reliability of the research design before a full-scale data collection was launched. The data from 240 valid responses was analysed using factor analysis, relative importance index and descriptive statistics. The results revealed five important drivers for EM¿s application to CWM. These are agents of change, government policies, supply chain dynamics, skill building and technological innovations. The CWM measure that are critical for each of these drivers were also identified. The study provides insights into the application of EM to address the construction industry problem of waste generation as by-product of its growth. It also shows the ability to protect the environment while enabling continuous economic growth. Furthermore, it demonstrates the applicability of EM to minimize the construction waste of NSW construction industry.

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.

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.