Human-Centred Methods, Tools, and Decision Support Systems in the Design or Renovation of Sustainable Buildings

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last two decades, the application and development of powerful decision support and simulation tools and methods has made a significant contribution to the major advances made in the development of high-performance buildings and neighbourhoods. Sustainable design, performance-orientated design, and low-carbon design are all requirements that describe the intention to integrate current simulation and analysis tools and decision support systems into the AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) sector.

While most analysis and simulation tools and methods focus on testing structural, energy, CFD- or energy-related, and acoustic performance, human-centred simulation and analysis tools that simulate, e.g., human visual perception and cognition, are relatively new and, therefore, provide fertile ground for research and discussion. The existing literature defines human-centred design as an approach to the development of interactive systems that aims to make systems usable and useful by focusing on the users, their needs, and their requirements, and applying knowledge and techniques from the fields of human factors/ergonomics and usability. This approach increases effectiveness and efficiency and improves human well-being, user satisfaction, accessibility and sustainability, and counteracts possible negative effects of use on people.

The aim of this Special Issue is to gather scientific advances on human-centred methods, tools, and decision support systems in the AEC sector. We invite researchers to submit contributions featuring the conceptualization or development of cutting-edge and advanced methods, tools, and any sort of IT solutions and digital technologies for human-centred analyses, simulations, assessments, visualisations, etc., integrated into the workflow of building designers throughout the design process or renovation of sustainable buildings.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Human-centred IT-supported architectural and engineering design;
• Human-centred IT-supported sustainability goals in building design (i.e., compliance with specific regulations, certification systems, or standards);
• Human-centred building design and decision support systems;
• Human-centred ontology engineering for modelling and visualization;
• Human-centred knowledge modelling and linked data;
• Human-centred standardisation of data structures and interoperability;
• Human-centred artificial intelligence and machine learning in the AEC industry;
• Human-centred model-based management tools and systems;
• Human-centred life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) tools;
• Human-centred communication and collaboration technologies;
• Human-centred cloud-based simulation and evaluation;
• Human-centred digital-twin implementation;
• Human-centred building information modelling (BIM);
• Human-centred virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Aliakbar Kamari
Dr. Carl Peter Leslie Schultz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• human centred
• building design
• building renovation
• knowledge engineering
• building information modelling (BIM)
• artificial intelligence
• decision support
• green transition
• digital transformation