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Sustainability
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Building Sustainability within a Smart Built Environment
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Building Sustainability within a Smart Built Environment

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 July 2024) | Viewed by 21089

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Amjad Almusaed

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Construction Engineering and Lighting Science, School of Engineering, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden
Interests: sustainabile architectural design; energy efficiency buildings; environmental design; smart buildings; biophilic architecture; sustainability within BIM; LEED in BIM; smart lighting design; human comfort
Prof. Dr. Raad Z. Homod

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Oil and Gas Engineering, Basra University for Oil and Gas, Basrah, Iraq
Interests: automation and control energy engineering; artificial intelligence; hybrid modeling HVAC systems
Dr. Asaad Almssad

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences, Karlstad University, 651 88 Karlstad, Sweden
Interests: sustainable construction and building materials; smart buildings; energy efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is the biggest problem we face today. The built environment and energy efficient structures are essential to stop climate change. Structures, buildings, and construction are responsible for around 40% of all air pollutants and energy use. One of the most important considerations about the human living environment in the building is how the living space affects the well-being of the users. Good spatial design results in a less stressful and more productive environment. Room users should feel comfortable and quiet in their physical work environment to produce their best work. Comfort aspects include personal factors, health and well-being, thermal comfort, interior air quality, visual comfort, etc. The "built environment" process embraces mental and physical health, where it works with the interdisciplinary field that addresses the design, construction, management, and use of these environments as an interrelated whole.

This theme aims to take a holistic approach to the opportunities that digitalization can bring and catalyze the diffusion of new opportunities and business models across the sector.

This theme includes the concepts, theories, and practical experiences regarding the sustainable smart built environment, which cover the energy efficiency problems for the built environment, smart buildings, and cities. The idea of sustainability, also known as ecological design, is concerned with ensuring that our use of currently available resources does not adversely affect our collective wellbeing or make it challenging to obtain help for future reasons. The topic also includes all activities necessary to overcome barriers to improve the problems of sustainability enviro factors, human psychological and physical comfort, which also include urban spaces' attractiveness for creating a healthy built environment, the issues of urbanization, and the destruction of natural ecosystems for today and the future.  This theme aims to raise awareness of the smart building environment, which has become more and more essential for the next generation of buildings. 

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Areas of research can include (but are not limited to):

  • Smart building;
  • Sustainable architecture and urban design;
  • Smart cities;
  • Efficient smart daylighting and human comfort within buildings and cites;
  • Digital twin in construction;
  • Artificial intelligent;
  • Smart housing.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Amjad Almusaed
Prof. Dr. Raad Z. Homod
Dr. Asaad Almssad
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.

Keywords

  • sustainability
  • smart buildings
  • smart cities
  • energy efficient buildings
  • bio-bases building materials
  • efficient daylight design
  • smart windows

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 7326 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Role and Efficiency of Thermal Insulation by the “BIO-GREEN PANEL” in Enhancing Sustainability in a Built Environment
by Amjad Almusaed, Asaad Almssad, Asaad Alasadi, Ibrahim Yitmen and Sammera Al-Samaraee
Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10418; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310418 - 1 Jul 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3001
Abstract
The pressing concern of climate change and the imperative to mitigate CO2 emissions have significantly influenced the selection of outdoor plant species. Consequently, evaluating CO2’s environmental effects on plants has become integral to the decision-making process. Notably, reducing greenhouse gas [...] Read more.
The pressing concern of climate change and the imperative to mitigate CO2 emissions have significantly influenced the selection of outdoor plant species. Consequently, evaluating CO2’s environmental effects on plants has become integral to the decision-making process. Notably, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings is significant in tackling the consequences of climate change and addressing energy deficiencies. This article presents a novel approach by introducing plant panels as an integral component in future building designs, epitomizing the next generation of sustainable structures and offering a new and sustainable building solution. The integration of environmentally friendly building materials enhances buildings’ indoor environments. Consequently, it becomes crucial to analyze manufacturing processes in order to reduce energy consumption, minimize waste generation, and incorporate green technologies. In this context, experimentation was conducted on six distinct plant species, revealing that the energy-saving potential of different plant types on buildings varies significantly. This finding contributes to the economy’s improvement and fosters enhanced health-related and environmental responsibility. The proposed plant panels harmonize various building components and embody a strategic approach to promote health and well-being through bio-innovation. Furthermore, this innovative solution seeks to provide a sustainable alternative by addressing the challenges of unsustainable practices, outdated standards, limited implementation of new technologies, and excessive administrative barriers in the construction industry. The obtained outcomes will provide stakeholders within the building sector with pertinent data concerning performance and durability. Furthermore, these results will enable producers to acquire essential information, facilitating product improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Sustainability within a Smart Built Environment)
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20 pages, 714 KiB  
Article
Architectural Reply for Smart Building Design Concepts Based on Artificial Intelligence Simulation Models and Digital Twins
by Amjad Almusaed and Ibrahim Yitmen
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4955; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064955 - 10 Mar 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3893
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) simulation models and digital twins (DT) are used in designing and treating the activities, layout, and functions for the new generation of buildings to enhance user experience and optimize building performance. These models use data about a building’s use, configuration, [...] Read more.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) simulation models and digital twins (DT) are used in designing and treating the activities, layout, and functions for the new generation of buildings to enhance user experience and optimize building performance. These models use data about a building’s use, configuration, functions, and environment to simulate different design options and predict their effects on house function efficiency, comfort, and safety. On the one hand, AI algorithms are used to analyze this data and find patterns and trends that can guide the design process. On the other hand, DTs are digital recreations of actual structures that can replicate building performance in real time. These models would evaluate alternative design options, the performance of the building, and ways to improve user comfort and building efficiency. This study examined the important role of intelligent building design aspects, such as activities using multi-layout and the creation of particular functions based on AI simulation models, in developing DT-based smart building systems. The empirical data came from a study of architecture and engineering firms throughout the globe using a CSAQ (computer-administered, self-completed survey). For this purpose, the study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the hypotheses and build the relationship model. The research verifies the relevance of AI-based simulation models supporting the creation of intelligent building design features (activities, layout, functionalities), enabling the construction of DT-based smart building systems. Furthermore, this study highlights the need for further exploration of AI-based simulation models’ role and integration with DT in smart building design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Sustainability within a Smart Built Environment)
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14 pages, 2068 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Challenges in the Swedish Urban Planning Process: A Case Study about Digitalization
by Elena Núñez Varela, Kristoffer Öhrling and Annika Moscati
Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16333; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416333 - 7 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2348
Abstract
While the populations of cities continue to grow, institutions are demanding more sustainability in urban development, leading to a great increase in the complexity of urban planning. The need to consider social, legal, environmental, and economic parameters challenges the traditional urban planning processing [...] Read more.
While the populations of cities continue to grow, institutions are demanding more sustainability in urban development, leading to a great increase in the complexity of urban planning. The need to consider social, legal, environmental, and economic parameters challenges the traditional urban planning processing in favor of an optimized and automated process. Generative design has the potential to optimize the design phase by automatically generating spatial design solutions and analyzing them in the design phase. The objective of the present study is to analyze the traditional urban planning process and to compare it with a digitalized driven process by using generative design. This study uses a mixed approach with four research methods: document analysis, survey, interviews, and a case study based in Sweden. The critical analysis of the Swedish urban planning process makes it possible to define the main barriers to a digitalized process. Results also show the benefits of using generative design for a more sustainable and faster design process. Two main conclusions can be made from this study: institutional and organizational changes are necessary to achieve digitalization, and generative design proves to be a useful tool that should be considered to support the digitalization of urban planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Sustainability within a Smart Built Environment)
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Review

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27 pages, 3893 KiB  
Review
Reviewing and Integrating AEC Practices into Industry 6.0: Strategies for Smart and Sustainable Future-Built Environments
by Amjad Almusaed, Ibrahim Yitmen and Asaad Almssad
Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13464; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813464 - 8 Sep 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4246
Abstract
This article explores the possible ramifications of incorporating ideas from AEC Industry 6.0 into the design and construction of intelligent, environmentally friendly, and long-lasting structures. This statement highlights the need to shift away from the current methods seen in the AEC Industry 5.0 [...] Read more.
This article explores the possible ramifications of incorporating ideas from AEC Industry 6.0 into the design and construction of intelligent, environmentally friendly, and long-lasting structures. This statement highlights the need to shift away from the current methods seen in the AEC Industry 5.0 to effectively respond to the increasing requirement for creative and environmentally sustainable infrastructures. Modern building techniques have been made more efficient and long-lasting because of AEC Industry 6.0’s cutting-edge equipment, cutting-edge digitalization, and ecologically concerned methods. The academic community has thoroughly dissected the many benefits of AEC Industry 5.0. Examples are increased stakeholder involvement, automation, robotics for optimization, decision structures based on data, and careful resource management. However, the difficulties of implementing AEC Industry 6.0 principles are laid bare in this research. It calls for skilled experts who are current on the latest technologies, coordinate the technical expertise of many stakeholders, orchestrate interoperable standards, and strengthen cybersecurity procedures. This study evaluates how well the principles of Industry 6.0 can create smart, long-lasting, and ecologically sound structures. The goal is to specify how these ideas may revolutionize the building industry. In addition, this research provides an in-depth analysis of how the AEC industry might best adopt AEC Industry 6.0, underscoring the sector-wide significance of this paradigm change. This study thoroughly analyzes AEC Industry 6.0 about big data analytics, the IoT, and collaborative robotics. To better understand the potential and potential pitfalls of incorporating AEC Industry 6.0 principles into the construction of buildings, this study examines the interaction between organizational dynamics, human actors, and robotic systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Sustainability within a Smart Built Environment)
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Other

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46 pages, 4293 KiB  
Systematic Review
Integration of Blockchain and Digital Twins in the Smart Built Environment Adopting Disruptive Technologies—A Systematic Review
by Habib Sadri, Ibrahim Yitmen, Lavinia Chiara Tagliabue, Florian Westphal, Algan Tezel, Afshin Taheri and Goran Sibenik
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3713; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043713 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6190
Abstract
The integration of blockchain and digital twins (DT) for better building-lifecycle data management has recently received much attention from researchers in the field. In this respect, the adoption of enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the Internet of [...] Read more.
The integration of blockchain and digital twins (DT) for better building-lifecycle data management has recently received much attention from researchers in the field. In this respect, the adoption of enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud and edge computing, Big Data analytics, etc., has also been investigated in an abundance of studies. The present review inspects the recent studies to shed light on the foremost among those enabling technologies and their scope, challenges, and integration potential. To this end, 86 scientific papers, recognized and retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, were reviewed and a thorough bibliometric analysis was performed on them. The obtained results demonstrate the nascency of the research in this field and the necessity of further implementation of practical methods to discover and prove the real potential of these technologies and their fusion. It was also found that the integration of these technologies can be beneficial for addressing the implementation challenges they face individually. In the end, an abstract descriptive model is presented to provide a better understanding of how the technologies can become integrated into a unified system for smartening the built environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Sustainability within a Smart Built Environment)
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