Innovative Tools and Methods Using BIM for an Efficient Renovation in Buildings

This open access book describes a BIM-based toolkit that has been developed according to the latest research activities on building information modelling and semantic interoperability to optimize the building process. It highlights the impacts of using such new tools to fast renovation activities starting from the decision-making and design stages to the construction site management with the possibility to monitor occupants' and owners’ feedback during the realization process. In this process, a framework has been developed and implemented to allow stakeholders involved in a renovation project to efficiently compile, maintain, and add data about (i) building elements, (ii) building services systems, (iii) tenants, operators, and owners of the building, and (iv) current and predicted performance of the building from the various data sources available. The framework applies and specializes the existing practices in the Semantic Web, Linked Data, and ontology domain to the management of renovation projects. It has been designed to be open so that any system which implements the required functions and uses the specified conventions will be able to achieve semantic interoperability with other framework-compliant systems in the renovation domain. Finally, this book represents the validation process of the toolkit that has been held in three demo sites: a social housing building in Italy and two private residential buildings in Poland and Finland. The outcome shows that the toolkit facilitates the renovation process with relevant reductions of time, costs, and energy consumption and that the inhabitants can take advantage of the increase in building performances, quality, and comfort

A Building Information Modeling (BIM)-centric Digital Ecosystem for Smart Airport Life Cycle Management

An increasing number of new airport infrastructure construction and improvement projects are being delivered in today\u27s modern world. However, value creation is a recurring issue due to inefficiencies in managing capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating expenses (OpEx), while trying to optimize project constraints of scope, time, cost, quality, and resources. In this new era of smart infrastructure, digitalization transforms the way projects are planned and delivered. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a key digital process technique that has become an imperative for today\u27s Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) sector. This research suggests a BIM-centric digital ecosystem by detailing technical and strategic aspects of Airport BIM implementation and digital technology integration from a life cycle perspective. This research provides a novel approach for consistent and continuous use of digital information between business and functional levels of an airport by developing a digital platform solution that will enable seamless flow of information across functions. Accordingly, this study targets to achieve three objectives: 1- To provide a scalable know-how of BIM-enabled digital transformation; 2- To guide airport owners and major stakeholders towards converging information siloes for airport life cycle data management by an Airport BIM Framework; 3- To develop a BIM-based digital platform architecture towards realization of an airport digital twin for airport infrastructure life cycle management. Airport infrastructures can be considered as a System of Systems (SoS). As such, Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) with Systems Modeling Language (SysML) is selected as the key methodology towards designing a digital ecosystem. Applying MBSE principles leads to forming an integrating framework for managing the digital ecosystem. Furthermore, this research adopts convergent parallel mixed methods to collect and analyze multiple forms of data. Data collection tools include extensive literature and industry review; an online questionnaire; semi-structured interviews with airport owner parties; focus group discussions; first-hand observations; and document reviews. Data analysis stage includes multiple explanatory case study analyses, thematic analysis, project mapping, percent coverage analysis for coded themes to achieve Objective 1; thematic analysis, cluster analysis, framework analysis, and non-parametric statistical analysis for Objective 2; and qualitative content analysis, non-parametric statistical analysis to accomplish Objective 3. This research presents a novel roadmap toward facilitation of smart airports with alignment and integration of disruptive technologies with business and operational aspects of airports. Multiple comprehensive case study analyses on international large-hub airports and triangulation of organization-level and project-level results systematically generate scalable technical and strategic guidelines for BIM implementation. The proposed platform architecture will incentivize major stakeholders for value-creation, data sharing, and control throughout a project life cycle. Introducing scalability and minimizing complexity for end-users through a digital platform approach will lead to a more connected environment. Consequently, a digital ecosystem enables sophisticated interaction between people, places, and assets. Model-driven approach provides an effective strategy for enhanced decision-making that helps optimization of project resources and allows fast adaptation to emerging business and operational demands. Accordingly, airport sustainability measures -economic vitality, operational efficiency, natural resources, and social responsibility- will improve due to higher levels of efficiency in CapEx and OpEx. Changes in business models for large capital investments and introducing sustainability to supply chains are among the anticipated broader impacts of this study

Kokeilujen rooli suomalaisessa rakennetussa ympäristössä

Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena oli systemaattisesti kartoittaa ja tarkastella rakennetun ympäristön vähähiilisyys- ja/tai sosiaalinen oikeudenmukaisuus kokeiluja Suomessa sekä ymmärtää, miten kunnat osallistuvat kokeiluihin ja millaisia haasteita kunnat kohtaavat siihen osallistuessaan. Oikeudenmukaisten ja vähähiilisten rakennusten ja asumisen muotojen selvittämiseksi kartoitettiin systemaattisesti 1 386 kohdetta 15 tietokannassa. 204 rakennetun ympäristön vähähiilisyys ja/tai oikeudenmukaisuus kokeilua tunnustettiin ja analysoitiin. Kuntien osallisuutta ja kohtaamia haasteita lähestyttiin tapaustutkimuksella neljästä suomalaisesta kaupungista (Helsinki, Joensuu, Turku ja Vantaa). 14 kokeilujen parissa työskentelevää henkilöä haastateltiin ja lisäksi kerättiin 1 839 sivua tapauskaupunkeihin liittyviä asiakirjoja. Haastatteluja ja dokumentteja analysoitiin abduktiivisesti kuntien osallisuuden tapojen ja kuntien edustajien kohtaamien haasteiden selvittämiseksi. Tutkielman tulokset osoittavat, että kokeiluissa keskitytään niche-markkinoiden rakentamiseen ja kehittämiseen sekä teknologioiden testaamiseen. Keskittyminen sosiaaliseen oikeudenmukaisuuteen ja ihmisten käyttäytymiseen on vähäisempää. Vaikka kokeiluissa oli joitain päällekkäisyyksiä vähähiilisen ja sosiaalisen oikeudenmukaisuuden välillä, kokeiluilla ei pyritty lisäämään oikeudenmukaisuutta, vaan pikemminkin toteuttamaan vähähiilisyyttä sosiaalisesti oikeudenmukaisella tavalla. Kunnat keskittyivät voimakkaasti niche- markkinoiden rakentamiseen ja kehittämiseen, ja kokeilujen sujuvoittamiseen. Kunnat eivät juurikaan tehneet kokeiluja omassa toiminnassaan ja keskittyivät kokeiluprosessiin rakennetun ympäristön vähähiilisen ja oikeudenmukaisen siirtymän sijaan. Lisäksi näissä toimissa havaittiin heikosti uutuusarvoa, joustavuutta ja kykyä antaa kokeiluhankkeiden epäonnistua. Tutkielmassa ilmenee myös, että kestävyyskokeilujen ja kestävyysmuutosten väliset yhteydet eivät ole niin suoraviivaisia kuin tutkimuksen viitekehys esitti. Vaikka useita havaintoja kestävän kehityksen kokeiluista tehtiin, on edelleen tarve lisätutkimuksille, jotta ymmärrettäisiin paremmin rakennetun ympäristön sosiaalisesti oikeudenmukaisten ja vähähiilisten kokeilujen ominaisuuksia ja kyettäisiin vauhdittamaan rakennetun ympäristön kestävyyssiirtymää.This thesis aimed to systematically map and review built environment low carbon and/or social justice experiments in Finland and understand how municipalities engage in experimentation and what challenges municipalities face when engaging in it. To find what forms of experiments for socially just low carbon buildings and housing can be found in Finland, 1 386 objects in 15 databases were systematically mapped. 204 unique built environment low carbon and/or social justice experiments were recognized and further reviewed. Municipality engagements and challenges in experimentation were approached through a case study of four Finnish municipalities Helsinki, Joensuu, Turku, and Vantaa. 14 case city officials and other persons working with experimentation were interviewed, and 1 839 pages of case-city-related documents were gathered. Triangulation was used to analyze the interview transcripts and additional documents in an abductive manner to find what kind of policy engagements for experimentation municipalities participated in and what kind of challenges the municipality representatives identified when doing so. This thesis discovered that there is a large focus on building and nurturing niches and testing technologies with a lack of focus on profound social justice and the behavioral side of the sustainability transitions. The sustainability experimentation in the built environment was technology-focused and lacked profound social justice aspects. Even though there were some overlaps between low carbon and social justice in the experiments, the experiments did not seek to increase social justice but rather to do low carbon in a socially just way. Municipalities strongly focused on building and nurturing niches and experimentation as a process. Municipalities did not do much experimentation in their operations and focused on the experimentation process rather than the subject matter. Also, the municipality experimentation engagements were characterized by a lack of novelty, flexibility, and uncertainty. This thesis also reveals that the links between sustainability experimentation and sustainability transitions may not be as straightforward as the scientific models and frameworks present. Though this thesis made several findings about sustainability experimentation, there remains a particularly urgent need to develop and conduct additional studies. They are needed to understand better the phenomena in the socially just low carbon experimentation in the built environment to enable just transition to low carbon buildings and housing