Artículos científicos

COLLABORATIVE WORK IN BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) PROJECTS IS FREQUENTLY UNDERSTOOD AS THE INTERACTION OF MODELERS IN AN ASYNCHRONOUS WAY THROUGH MODIFICATION REQUESTS OR VIA E-MAIL/TELEPHONE. HOWEVER, ALTERNATIVE WORK METHODOLOGIES BASED ON CREATING A COMMON AND SYNCHRONOUS ENVIRONMENT ALLOW SOLVING ISSUES INSTANTANEOUSLY DURING THE DESIGN PROCESS. THIS STUDY AIMED TO ANALYZE THE BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE OF BIM USERS WITH DIFFERENT SPECIALTIES WHO WERE SUBJECTED TO AN EXPERIMENTAL EXERCISE IN A COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT. FOR THIS PURPOSE, A PROCESS WAS DEVISED TO COLLECT, SORT, AND SELECT THE DATA FROM THE LOG FILES GENERATED BY THE BIM SOFTWARE. A TIMELINE OF THE EXPERIMENT WAS POPULATED WITH DATA ON THE INTENSITY AND TYPES OF COMMANDS USED BY EACH SPECIALIST, WHICH ALLOWED DETERMINING BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS, PREFERRED COMMANDS, INDICATORS OF THEIR EXPERIENCE, FURTHER TRAINING NEEDS, AND POSSIBLE STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING THE TEAM?S PERFORMANCE. IN THE EXPERIMENT, THE MECHANICAL DESIGNER?S PERFORMANCE WAS 49% AND THE REST APPROXIMATELY 64%, WITH RESPECT TO THAT OF THE ARCHITECT. AN AVERAGE RATE OF 1.66 NECESSARY OR AUXILIARY COMMANDS FOR EACH CONTRIBUTORY COMMAND WAS DETECTED. THE AVERAGE PERFORMANCE WAS 200?400 COMMANDS PER HOUR, WHICH INTENSIFIED BY THE END OF THE EXPERIMENT. FURTHER TRAINING NEEDS WERE DETECTED FOR THE PLUMBING DESIGNER TO REDUCE THE USE OF BACKWARDS COMMANDS. CONVERSELY, THE ELECTRICAL DESIGNER SHOWED A POSITIVE EVOLUTION REGARDING THIS ASPECT DURING THE EXPERIMENT. THE ANALYSIS METHODS HERE DESCRIBED BECOME USEFUL FOR THE AFOREMENTIONED PURPOSES. NEVERTHELESS, COMBINATIONS WITH METHODS FROM EXISTING RESEARCH MIGHT IMPROVE THE OUTCOMES AND THEREFORE THE SPECIFICITY OF RECOMMENDATIONS.

SINCE THE END OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, DISCUSSION ON DWELLING REHABILITATION VERSUS ITS DEMOLITION AND NEW CONSTRUCTION HAS BEEN STEADILY INCREASING IN INTENSITY, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY DUE TO THE NECESSITY FOR THE REGENERATION OF URBAN CENTRES. HOWEVER, REHABILITATION IS NOT ALWAYS CONSIDERED THE MOST ECONOMICAL SOLUTION, AND DEMOLITION AND NEW CONSTRUCTION MAY CONSTITUTE A BETTER OPTION. IN THE PRESENT WORK, A MULTI-FAMILY BUILDING IN SEVILLE, SPAIN, IS USED AS A CASE STUDY.

EXISTING TOOLS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION OF BUILDINGS ARE FAILING IN THEIR ABILITY TO REACH THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND TO CREATE SOCIAL AWARENESS, SINCE THEY REQUIRE NOT ONLY SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE REGARDING CONSTRUCTION AND ENERGY SOURCES, BUT ALSO ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE. IN THIS PAPER, AN OPEN-SOURCE ONLINE TOOL FOR THE ESTIMATION OF THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS BY NON-SPECIALIZED USERS IS PRESENTED AS A PRODUCT FROM THE OERCO2 ERASMUS + PROJECT. THE INTERNAL CALCULATIONS, DATA MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF THIS TOOL ARE EXTENSIVELY EXPLAINED. THE TEN MOST COMMON BUILDING TYPOLOGIES BUILT IN THE LAST DECADE IN SPAIN ARE ANALYSED BY USING THE OERCO2 TOOL, AND THE ORDER OF MAGNITUDE OF THE RESULTS IS ANALYSED BY COMPARING THEM TO THE RANGES DETERMINED BY OTHER AUTHORS. THE OERCO2 TOOL PROVES ITSELF TO BE RELIABLE, WITH ITS RESULTS FALLING WITHIN THE DEFINED LOGICAL VALUE RANGES. MOREOVER, THE MAJOR SIMPLIFICATION OF THE INTERFACE ALLOWS NON-SPECIALIZED USERS TO EVALUATE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF BUILDINGS. FURTHER RESEARCH IS ORIENTED TOWARDS ITS INCLUSION IN OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION TOOLS AND IN BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) ENVIRONMENTS.

ACCORDING TO NUMEROUS STUDIES, APPROXIMATELY 90% OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN THE LIFE CYCLE OF BUILDINGS OCCURS DURING THE USE AND MAINTENANCE PHASE. THE MAIN AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO PROPOSE A METHOD FOR THE DETAILED CALCULATION OF COSTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CORRESPONDING TO THIS PHASE, THUS PROVIDING USEFUL DATA FOR FACILITY MANAGERS. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CONSUMPTION OF RESOURCES INTO THREE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS (MANPOWER, MATERIALS, AND MACHINERY) ENABLES THE COST TO BE BROKEN DOWN AND THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT [1] INDICATOR (EF) TO BE APPLIED. IN PREVIOUS ADVANCES OF THIS RESEARCH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL WAS FOCUSED ON THE UTILITY CONSUMPTION AND CLEANING TASKS. ON THIS OCCASION, THE MODEL IS COMPLETED WITH THE HANDLING OF MAINTENANCE TASKS AND A DETAILED ASSESSMENT OF THE RESULTS, IN WHICH THE FACTORS THAT MARK THE COST AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ARE IDENTIFIED, AS WELL AS THE SPECIFIC MOMENTS OF THIS PHASE IN WHICH PEAKS OCCUR. IN ORDER TO COMPARE THE COSTS AND IMPACTS PRODUCED EACH YEAR, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISCOUNT RATES ARE USED WITH RESPECT TO A BASELINE YEAR. THE METHODOLOGY IS APPLIED TO THE CASE OF A COLLEGE HALL OF RESIDENCE THAT HOUSES UP TO 139 GUESTS. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT CLEANING TASKS REPRESENT 6% OF THE ANNUAL EF AND 63% OF THE ANNUAL COST, AND MAINTENANCE 14% AND 17%, RESPECTIVELY, THEREBY JUSTIFYING THE NEED FOR QUANTIFICATION. FINALLY, SEVEN TASKS ARE IDENTIFIED THAT TOGETHER GENERATE HALF OF THE EF AND COST OF CLEANING, AND NINE OTHER ACTIONS THAT INCUR MORE THAN A THIRD OF THE ANNUAL COST AND EF OF MAINTENANCE.

BUILDING SIMULATION SOFTWARE TOOLS SUPPORT DESIGNERS TO ANALYSE AND IDENTIFY CERTAIN USERS´ BEHAVIOURAL PATTERNS; BESIDES, THEY CAN PREDICT FUTURE TRENDS ABOUT THE ENERGY DEMAND AND CONSUMPTION IN BUILDINGS, AS WELL AS CO2 EMISSIONS, DESIGN ANALYSIS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, OR LIGHTING. THESE TOOLS ALLOW TO COLLECT AND REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT SUCH PROCESSES. HOWEVER, UNDERSTANDING THE RESULTS FROM SIMULATIONS USUALLY IMPLIES INTERPRETING AN EXTREMELY LARGE AMOUNT OF DATA OR GRAPHS, WHICH CAN BE A COMPLEX TASK. THEREFORE, THERE IS A NEED OF ALTERNATIVES THAT EASE THIS INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS, HENCE COMPLEMENTING CLASSIC SIMULATION TOOLS. UNDER THE WIDESPREAD EN 15251 MODEL CRITERIA, THIS PAPER PRESENTS A NOVEL TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE REPORTING TOOLS OF BUILDING SIMULATION SOFTWARE BY USING LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION OF DATA AND TIMESPAN COMPUTATIONAL PERCEPTIONS. A DATA-DRIVEN SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE FOR AUTOMATICALLY GENERATING LINGUISTIC REPORTS IS HERE PROPOSED, WHICH PROVIDES DESIGNERS WITH A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE DATA FROM BUILDING SIMULATION TOOLS. IN ORDER TO SHOW AND EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIES OF THIS TECHNOLOGY, A SOFTWARE APPLICATION HAS BEEN DESIGNED, IMPLEMENTED AND EVALUATED BY EXPERTS. THE SURVEY SHOWED THAT USEFULNESS AND CLARIFICATION WERE BETTER EVALUATED THAN SIMPLICITY AND TIME-SAVING FOR THE THREE KINDS OF REPORT, THOUGH ALWAYS ABOVE 7 POINTS OUT OF 10, BEING MOST OF P-VALUES OF CONTINGENCY BELOW 0.05.

MORE EFFECTIVE CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES ARE NEEDED NOWADAYS IN ORDER TO REDUCE CONSTRUCTION ENERGY CONSUMPTION DURING THE LIFE-CYCLE OF BUILDINGS. BESIDES WHICH, IT IS NECESSARY TO CONSIDER THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY AND ASSOCIATED COSTS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THESE ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES SO AS TO FAVOURING THEIR PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR. IN THIS SENSE, THIS PAPER PRESENTS AN ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMPARISON OF A NEW NON-BEARING FAÇADE CONSTRUCTION SOLUTION BASED ON THE EXTRUDED UNFIRED STABILIZED CLAY PANELS AS OPPOSED TO THREE TRADITIONAL SOLUTIONS WITH SIMILAR PHYSICAL, THERMAL, AND AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS IN TERMS OF THE EXTERIOR CLADDING. THE PROPOSED PANELS ARE A SANDWICH TYPE CONFIGURATION WITH AN INTERMEDIATE INSULATING MATERIAL AND TWO EXTERIOR PIECES MANUFACTURED BY EXTRUSION WITH RAW EARTH STABILIZED WITH ALGINATE AND ANIMAL WOOL FIBERS. IN THIS PAPER, DETAILS OF THE CONSTRUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY OF THE SYSTEM ARE PROVIDED. FROM THE RESULTS OBTAINED, IT IS POSSIBLE TO CONCLUDE THAT THE SOLUTION IS A VALID ALTERNATIVE FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL POINT OF VIEW, CONSIDERABLY REDUCING THE GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL AND THE CUMULATIVE ENERGY DEMAND. AND ALTHOUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE SYSTEM CAN BE CONSIDERED THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS INVESTIGATION, ON THE OTHER HAND, ONCE EXECUTED, IT WILL ALSO BE A COMPETITIVE CONSTRUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE SYSTEM?S FINAL COSTS.

3D-PRINTED CONSTRUCTION ALLOWS ELABORATING BUILDING ELEMENTS WITH DIVERSE SHAPES THAT ARE DIGITALLY CONTROLLED. THIS PAPER EXPOSES THE MODELING OF 3D-PRINTED CURVED WALLS THROUGH PARAMETRIC PROGRAMMING IN BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) IN ORDER TO SUPPORT A COST-EFFICIENT BUILDING DESIGN. THE ADVANTAGE OF USING CURVED WALLS IS BASED ON THE POSSIBILITY OF REDUCING THEIR THICKNESS WITH RESPECT TO STRAIGHT WALLS OF SIMILAR LENGTH GIVEN THEIR HIGHER RESISTANCE TO OVERTURNING FORCES. THE PROGRAMMING DEVELOPED HERE CAN PROPOSE A CONSIDERABLE SET OF SOLUTIONS USING CURVED WALLS FOR A RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE OF DIMENSIONS GIVEN BY THE USER. A CASE STUDY FOR A VEHICLE SALE PAVILION IS SHOWN, FOR WHICH A SET OF 1,600 SOLUTIONS WITH CURVED WALLS OF DIFFERENT CURVATURE ANGLES AND LENGTHS IS GENERATED AND SUBSEQUENTLY ANALYZED. FROM THIS ANALYSIS, THOSE MODELS WITH LOWER MATERIAL CONSUMPTION AND EXECUTION TIME ARE SELECTED TO BE MORE THOROUGHLY STUDIED IN THE DESIGN PROCESS. THUS, A NOVEL STRATEGY IS PROVIDED TO RESEARCHERS AND PRACTITIONERS FOR DEVELOPING MORE EFFICIENT AND EXPRESSIVE BUILDING DESIGNS BASED ON 3D-PRINTED CONSTRUCTION. THE MOST EFFICIENT SOLUTION IDENTIFIED IN THE EXAMPLE REDUCES MATERIAL CONSUMPTION BY 61%, WITH AN ESTIMATED COST SAVING OF 53%.