Dry-masonry Brick House System as an "Adaptable Building" Model for Asian Markets

Since 1950, the world population has more than doubled where most of this growth has taken place in developing world. In the next two decades around 98% of world population growth will occur in developing countries and it is estimated that by 2007 half of this mushrooming population will live in urban areas. In Asia, though it covers only 30.2% of total world landmass. the total share of world population is the highest at 60.7% (censlIs 2002). These demographic dynamics (population growth, urbanisation etc) translate into increased demand for buildings and infrastructure in particular demand for shelter especially in the less developed countries. The developing world's share of world construction was only 10% in 1965. increased by almost threefold to 29% in 1988 and still growing. Studies conducted by utilizing data from 'Database of World Housing Stock & Construction' based on the Housing Settlements Database Version 4 (HSDB4) prepared by United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) shows that brick (masonry) remains as the main material in production and building stocks among Asian countries. It is necessary to note that there are many factors which prevent "adaptable buildings" to be realized and one of the main reasons is that due to the nature of the currently used construction method; various materials used in the construction industry are bonded and mixed to each other. Therefore there is an urgent need to change the currently used masonry construction method to keep abreast with latest sustainable building technology. Adapting a system that specifically design for the need to assembly and disassembly and also highly promotes "green cycle" that encompasses "reduce-reuse-recycle" is a remedy that may well solve the problems that have been plaguing the construction industry for years. Since October, 1997, a group of researchers led by Prof. Yasunori Matsufuji of Kyushu University has embarked a R&TD in what is called Dry-masonryl Brick House System (DBHS) that utilized a construction method called "Steel Reinforced Brick Construction based on Distributed Unbonded Prestress Theory" (SRB-DUP) as a tactic to carry out a sustainable strategy to be realized as "adaptable building" model. This paper discusses some case studies on how countries in Asian region namely Malaysia, Indonesia, China, India, Iran and Afghanistan can adapt DBI-IS as an "adaptable building" model that may well conform to the overall Sustainable Development Plan of these particular countries

Building Maintenance Management in a Malaysian University Campus: A Case Study

University buildings require maintenance in order to create a conducive environment that supports and stimulates learning, teaching, innovation, and research. The prime objective of maintenance is to ensure, as far as practicable, the continued peak performance of the building throughout its design life. This paper seeks to report the maintenance management system of a university institution in Malaysia. Primary data was gathered through the analysis of a case study. The objectives of the case study are to identify, describe and assess the maintenance management system used by the university. The major conclusion drawn from the case study was that although university building maintenance practices are corrective and cyclical there is a lack of a comprehensive maintenance management framework that guides the decision-making processes. The case study also revealed irregularities in the university’s maintenance management system

5D building information modelling – a practicability review

Quality, time and cost are the three most important elements in any construction project. Building information that comes timely and accurately in multiple dimensions will facilitate a refined decision making process which can improve the construction quality, time and cost. 5 dimensional Building Information Modelling or 5D BIM is an emerging trend in the construction industry that integrates all the major information starting from the initial design to the final construction stage. After that, the integrated information is arranged and communicated through Virtual Design and Construction (VDC). This research is to gauge the practicability of 5D BIM with an action research type pilot study by the means of hands-on modelling of a conceptual bungalow design based on one of the most popular BIM tools. A bungalow is selected as a study subject to simulate the major stages of 5D BIM digital workflow. The whole process starts with developing drawings (2D) into digital model (3D), and is followed by the incorporation of time (4D) and cost (5D). Observations are focused on the major factors that will affect the practicability of 5D BIM, including the modelling effort, inter-operability, information output and limitations. This research concludes that 5D BIM certainly has high level practicability which further differentiates BIM from Computer Aided Design (CAD). The integration of information not only enhanced the efficiency and accuracy of process in all stages, but also enabled decision makers to have a sophisticated interpretation of information which is almost impossible with the conventional 2D CAD workflow. Although it is possible to incorporate more than 5 dimensions of information, it is foreseeable that excessive information may escalate the complexity unfavourably for BIM implementation. 5D BIM has achieved a significant level of practicability; further research should be conducted to streamline implementation. Once 5D BIM is matured and widely accepted, it is foreseeable that additional BIM dimensions of information will be incorporated into sophisticated digital building model to achieve specific project outcomes

Sustainability knowledge using “AKASA” model among architecture students from Klang Valley private universities, Malaysia

The study intend to investigate sustainability knowledge using “AKASA” model. This model comprises all the literacy level which is the awareness, knowledge, attitude, skills and action. 234 students from 5 selected private universities were surveyed using questionnaires. Students were specifically selected from year 2 and year 3 from private universities in Klang valley, Malaysia. The study intends to investigate the environmental literacy level specifically the knowledge variable. The parametric study was conducted with descriptive analysis and the results shows that the environmental knowledge is at high level compared to other environmental literacy variables among year 2, year 3 and combine year 2 and year

Conceptual Framework for Planning Urban Roadside Vegetation to Enhance Air Quality for Roadside Users

Vegetation is known for enhancing air quality. However, vegetation on urban roads can either increase or decrease exposure to air pollutants. The health of pedestrians and cyclists is particularly of great concern since they are exposed directly to air pollutants, unlike drivers. Dispersion of air pollutants is necessary for exposure reduction on urban roads. The local factors, including street geometry, meteorological conditions, and physical characteristics of vegetation, influence the dispersion of pollutants. There is a lack of framework for planning urban road vegetation to disperse air pollutants. This study summarizes the literature on the influence of local factors; analyses the interrelation between the local factors on the dispersion of air pollutants by trees and hedgerows. It provides a conceptual framework to provide clarity in planning urban roadside vegetation to enhance the air quality for roadside users

An earned value management (EVM) framework for the performance measurement of PFI construction projects in Malaysia

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project performance measurement method which integrates the cost, schedule and technical performance. It establishes the earn value of a completed work and compares it with the actual cost and planned cost to determine the project performance and to forecast its future trends. This technique encourages public and private organizations to monitor the performance of their mega projects effectively. The present study examines the EVM process in order to derive a framework for monitoring and controlling of PFI construction projects in Malaysia. The proposed framework is comprised of five fundamental elements i.e. organizational policy; planning; implementation; measurement, analysis and reporting; and management performance review.These elements interact with each other to form an integrated EVM performance measurement system. The aim of this framework is to provide the construction organizations an understandable view about the implementation of an EVM System

Augmented reality for nDimensional building information modelling contextualization, customization and curation

This paper presents an experimental method and apparatus of augmented reality (AR) for nDimensional (nD) building information modeling (BIM). BIM allows nD information to be visualized simultaneously by architects, engineers and constructors to gain a synchronized understanding viewing from different perspectives. However, BIM is conventionally being operated on a desktop-based computer which makes collaboration less flexible, and it also creates an isolation gap between the model and reality. This isolation gap does not severely affect experienced and skilled professionals, as they can bridge the isolation gap with their intuition developed over the years. Nevertheless, users who are lack of such experience will feel the isolation gap between the digital realm and practicable reality, which could be the hurdle in project participation and decision making. AR allows virtual content to be mixed with real environment for user experience. In the context of our study, AR is functional to present the nD information of BIM, at the same time retaining users’ connection with the reality. It is not just being utilized solely for presentation, but also to maximize the potential for communication, interaction and experience. This pilot study investigates effective technological approach of using AR as an effective collaboration technology combining with BIM through proposed key aspects of contextualization, customization and curation. Contextualization is significant to enable users to understand the AR content by making the presented information meaningful to the target audience, implemented thru the means of 2D annotations, animations and options comparison. This study compares both AR BIM with and without contextualization. Customization can generate unique virtual environment and content for different level of users tailored to their needs and preference to create intuitive interaction with AR BIM. Curation is crucial to provide users with a reliable experience, and to formulate a continually improving AR BIM thru log data and users’ feedback. All in all, this paper explores the major aspects of contextualization, customization and curation, to distinguish effective approach in the currently “free for all” AR BIM development. Finally, an implication is provided for future study in terms of balance in information sufficiency and complexity for AR BIM

Investigating the Awareness of Onsite Mechanization in Malaysian Construction Industry

AbstractThe Malaysian construction industry is vital for the country economy and always played a key role towards the development of national infrastructure. The ever-increasing market competitiveness and the widespread adoption of Industrialized Building System (IBS) by the local contractors derive the industry to improve the existing processes for achieving higher levels of quality and products. This transition from traditional methods of construction give a momentum to the deployment of onsite mechanized equipments. The utilization of mechanized equipments increases construction productivity and as well as reduces the dependency on foreign labour. However, a large amount of construction company's capital is also invested in procuring these equipments. In addition to this, varieties of construction equipments are also required for carrying out these operations. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the current awareness and application of onsite mechanization in Malaysian construction industry. A questionnaire survey was conducted among a classified group of Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) G7 Class ‘A’ contractors. The results of the survey show that there is a good understanding of Malaysian contractors towards mechanization. It is also revealed that the adoption of IBS have a direct correlation with the usage of onsite machineries and equipments. Results further indicate that excavation, earthworks, pilling works and structural works have high utilization of mechanized construction equipments. The study will help to find out the existing level of mechanization practices in Malaysian construction industry

Impact of construction waste minimization at construction site: case study

Waste reduction in the construction sector is essential not just from the position of overall performance, but also interests escalated recently about the detrimental impact of the waste of construction materials on the natural surroundings. The reuse and recycling of construction elements used to be substantial due to material scarcity during the war and post-war era, specifically when the price of virgin materials keep inflating. Nevertheless, the motivation to reuse and recycle construction materials has fallen ever since the flow of raw materials has grown more consistent and satisfactorily. This paper involves an ongoing sequence of waste audits at Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) R&D construction sites. The methodology consists of discussion, observation and quantitative evaluations of the kinds and distribution of wastes. The finding of this study demonstrates that the project aimed at both minimizing the volume of waste generated and diverting as much waste as possible from landfill that contribute to the recycle with over 1200 tonnes of material which constitute about 73% of recycle and reused rate mainly from timber and metal

Sampling and identifying of mould in the library building

Despite the growing concern over mould and fungi infestations on library building, little has been reported in the literature on the development of an objective tool and criteria for measuring and characterising the mould and fungi. In this paper, an objective based approach to mould and fungi growth assessment using various sampling techniques and its identification using microscopic observation are proposed. This study involved three library buildings of Higher Institution Educational in Malaysia for data collection purpose and study of mould growth. The mould sampling of three libraries was collected using Coriolis air sampler, settling plate air sampling using Malt Extract Agar (MEA), IAQ MOLD Alexeter IAQ-Pro Asp/Pen® Test and swab sampling techniques. The IAQ MOLD Alexeter IAQ-Pro Asp/Pen® Test and traditional method technique identified various mould species immediately on the site, and the microscopic observation identifies common types of the mould such as Aspergillus, Penicillium and Stachybotrys's. The sample size and particular characteristics of each library will result in the mould growth pattern and finding