The Application of Soft Computing Technologies and Techniques in Construction Sustainable Developments

Dear Colleagues,

The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is one of the major contributors to energy consumption, resource depletion, environmental pollution, and therefore to climate change. To resolve these problems, giant leaps towards preserving our environment have been attempted through introduction, facilitation, and promotion of environmentally conscientious design, construction, and development. With this in mind, the applications of soft-computing-based techniques and technologies (SCTT) to facilitate sustainability in design, construction, and development have brought about significant improvements, such as improving buildings’ embodied and operational energy efficiency, reduction in raw material consumption and construction waste, and reduction of GHG emissions, to name but a few. Nevertheless, the application of such innovative and smart technologies still remains in its infancy, and hence, there is a dire need to build up an appropriate podium for interested researchers to share their research and exchange their innovative ideas with like-minded fellow researchers in this fecund arena in a more structured, better organised, and more consistent manner.

Considering the importance of the above themes, this Special Issue provides a platform for interested researchers to take further steps towards enhancing sustainability in the AEC sector using SCTT through innovative approaches, methodologies, solutions, and techniques such as (but not limited to) digitalisation, digital twins, building information modelling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT), fuzzy logic, deep learning (DL), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), optimisation algorithms, and probabilistic simulation approaches. This Special Issue also welcomes conceptual models which focus on improving the status quo based on the exploitation of SCTT. Additionally, different types of quality review papers including (but not limited to) scientometric analysis, bibliometric reviews, critical reviews, and meta-analyses will be considered for review and publication. Moreover, studies focusing on any linkage between the outbreak of COVID-19 and the concerned domains in technology (in/of/for the AEC) with longer impacts on, or potential to transform or modernise, the AEC industry in the post-COVID-19 era will be given special consideration and reviewed with priority.

Dr. Saeed Reza Mohandes
Dr. Poorang Piroozfar
Dr. Sara Shirowzhan
Dr. Serdar Durdyev
Guest Editors

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