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This purpose of this paper is to address the research problem of optimizing photovoltaic (PV) panel placement on building facades to maximize solar energy generation.

The study examines the significance of various design configurations and their implications for PV system performance. The research involves analysis of relevant literature and energy simulations. An exemplary case study is conducted in a hot climate zone to quantify the impacts of PV panel placement on energy generation. Various application scenarios are developed, resulting in 28 scenarios for PV on building facades. Energy simulations using Grasshopper Rhino software and Ladybug plugin components are performed.

The paper identifies key factors influencing PV panel placement and energy generation through qualitative analysis. It introduces an appropriateness matrix as a decision-making framework to evaluate placement options. The study identifies design configurations and external features impacting PV location selection and performs a qualitative classification to determine their impact on energy generation.

The results and decision-making framework enable informed choices based on solar radiation levels, shading conditions, and building requirements. Optimizing PV panel placement enhances solar energy harvesting in buildings, benefiting architects and engineers.

The novel contributions of this paper include practical insights and guidance for strategically placing PV panels on building facades.

This paper aims to identify the different system approach using Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology that is equipped with decision making processes. Maintenance planning and management are integral components of the construction sector, serving the broader purpose of post-construction activities and processes. However, as Precast Concrete (PC) construction projects increase in scale and complexity, the interconnections among these activities and processes become apparent, leading to planning and performance management challenges. These challenges specifically affect the monitoring of façade components for corrective and preventive maintenance actions.

The concept of maintenance planning for façades, along with the main features of information and communication technology tools and techniques using building information modeling technology, is grounded in the analysis of numerous literature reviews in PC building scenarios.

This research focuses on an integrated system designed to analyze information and support decision-making in maintenance planning for PC buildings. It is based on robust data collection regarding concrete façades' failures and causes. The system aims to provide appropriate planning decisions and minimize the risk of façade failures throughout the building's lifetime.

The study concludes that implementing a research framework to develop such a system can significantly enhance the effectiveness of maintenance planning for façade design, construction and maintenance operations.

Findings regarding the relationship between biological sex and job stress remain inconsistent. In the present chapter, we suggest that this is due to the overly simplistic and synonymous treatment of biological sex and gender. Specifically, researchers have operationalized gender as sex, neglecting the inherent complexity of the gender construct. To address this, we take a more nuanced approach and develop a theory around the effects of biological sex and gender on job stress, considering how sex, gender, sex-based prescribed gender roles and work roles interact to create role conflict. We predict that a lack of congruence between any of the aforementioned variables results in various types of role conflict, leading to stress, and requiring coping. Drawing on the literature on role conflict, emotional labor, and facades of conformity, we introduce the concept of gender façades as a coping mechanism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The use of renewable energy has become necessary because of the harmful effects of current energy sources on the environment, limited availability and financial crisis. Transparent solar panels have emerged as a promising technology for integrating renewable energy generation into building structures. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the feasibility of transparent solar panels for high-rise building façades in Sri Lanka.

The research apprehended a qualitative approach, including two expert interview rounds adhering to the Delphi technique with 17 and 15 experts each per round. Manual content analysis was incorporated to analyse the collected data.

Regarding operation and maintenance, the study emphasizes the importance of regular inspection, cleaning and repair of transparent solar panels to ensure optimal performance and longevity. These activities contribute to maximizing energy generation and maintaining the aesthetic appeal of the building. The benefits of implementing transparent solar panels on building façades are manifold. They include renewable energy generation, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved energy efficiency and enhanced architectural aesthetics. Furthermore, the research findings underscore the potential of transparent solar panels to contribute to Sri Lanka’s sustainable development goals and address the country’s increasing energy demand. However, the study also identifies challenges that need to be addressed for successful implementation.

This study contributes to understanding the feasibility of transparent solar panels for high-rise building façades in Sri Lanka. The research findings offer valuable insights into the operation and maintenance aspects, benefits, challenges and strategies for implementing transparent solar panels effectively. This knowledge can guide policymakers, architects and developers in making informed decisions regarding the integration of transparent solar panels, thereby promoting sustainable and energy-efficient building practices in Sri Lanka.

This research examines the association of physical development density, prevalence and types of microbes in colonized façade finishes of buildings in Enugu metropolis, Nigeria.

Survey and experimental research designs were adopted. A total of 383 buildings were investigated with samples collected from those with colonized façade finishes. The microbes were identified using the standard procedure for genomic sequencing with descriptive statistics, and the chi-square test used to analyse the data.

The results revealed a 64% prevalence of microbial colonization and a significant association between this and physical development density with 71.0% of the colonized buildings located in high-density neighbourhoods of the metropolis. The sequencing also showed 24 different microbes with Trichophyton tonsurans, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichoderma harzianum species being the most common in the colonized façade finishes.

The research informs building professionals and owners of the specific microbes involved in the colonization of façade finishes of buildings in high-density urban areas. It also provides a clue about the nature of damages and defects associated with microbial colonization of building façades and the type of biocide additives required for the production of microbial-resistant façade finishes in the hot-humid tropical environment of Nigeria and beyond.

The study has shown that there is a significant relationship between the intensity of urban land use and microbial colonization of façade finishes of buildings. It also identified some new or less known microbes responsible for the biodeterioration of façade finishes and the effects this has on the buildings and public health in the hot-humid tropics of Enugu, Southeast Nigeria.

Understanding the structural performance of external glass curtain walls (façades) during fire exposure is critical for the safety of the occupants as their failure can lead to fire spread throughout the entire building. This concern is magnified by the recent increase in fire incidents and wildfires. This paper presents the first simplified technique to model single-skin façades during fire exposure and then utilizes it to examine the structural behaviour of vertical, inclined and oversized façade panels.

The proposed technique is based on conducting simplified heat transfer calculations and then utilizing a widely used structural analysis software program to analyze the façade. Validation for the proposed technique with reference to available experimental and numerical studies by others is presented. A parametric study is then conducted to assess the structural performance of different glass façade systems during exposure to fire.

The proposed technique was found to provide accurate predictions of the structural performance of glass façades during fire exposure. The structural performance of inclined façade systems during fire exposure was found to be superior to vertical and oversized façade systems.

This research paper is the first to provide a simplified technique that can be utilized to model single-skin facades under fire. The presented technique along with the conducted parametric study will improve the understanding of the fire behaviour of single-skin glass facades, which will lead to safer applications.

The self-cleaning properties of nanostructured titanium dioxide facade coatings are useful in Singapore's tropical climate. However, its potential maintenance issues need to be determined right at the design stage. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the development of the design for maintainability tool which is a multicriteria design decision score sheet that evaluates the maintainability potential of nano-facade coating applications on high-rise façades with concrete and stonemasonry finishes and curtain walls.

Quantitative methods (expert and practitioner surveys) are conducted in this research study. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and sensitivity analysis were used to develop a robust Design for Maintainability tool.

Safety measures indicator received the highest weighted score by experts, while the maximizing performance, minimizing risk, minimizing negative environmental impact and minimizing consumption of matter and energy were the top ranking main criteria by both experts and practitioners. The top ranked design for maintainability sub-criteria identified by practitioners and experts were risk management, maintenance considerations, climatic conditions, safety measures, lifecycle cost and maintenance access, sun's path, rainfall intensity, biological growth measures and building age profile.

Most researches on the maintainability of nano-façade coatings uses experimentation to test the durability of nano-façade coatings, while this study focuses on design based empirical data such as establishing and ranking the list of design for maintainability criteria or indicators to minimize future defects and maintenance issues. The design for maintainability tool contributes to the maintainability of nano-façade coatings leading to maximizing its performance while minimizing cost, risks, resource consumption and negative environmental impact.

In the Spring 1984 edition of Structural Survey (Vol 3, No 1), W. F. Hill's paper on façade Retention Projects covered the initial research, detailed surveys and preliminary design assessments which are necessary when arriving at the preferred method of construction to be adopted for new buildings behind retained façades. This paper follows on from this, covering in detail the structural design and specification aspects, tender invitations and appraisals of the demolition and construction monitoring necessary to ensure façade stability on one particular project. This project, known as 20 Finsbury Circus, involves the construction of 8,250 sq. m of new air‐conditioned office accommodation and retail units behind the existing Edwardian stone façade of the group of buildings previously known as 1–5 Broad Street Place, on the northern side of Finsbury Circus in London. The new eight‐storey structure will provide for retail units at ground floor, with offices, storage and major plant installations at basement level and offices between the first and sixth floor level and a roof garden.

An assessment framework derived from face‐to‐face interviews with building managers and comprehensive condition surveys of commercial buildings is proposed. Twenty‐eight parameters are identified and tested for significance in affecting the technical evaluation score for curtain wall and cladding facades. The proposed framework is intended as a practical benchmark to assess and document the existing condition of the facade and further assist in the proper management of the maintenance strategy of the facade throughout its whole service life.

Decisions taken during the early design of adaptive façades involving kinetic, active and responsive envelope for complex commercial buildings have a substantial effect on inclusive building functioning and the comfort level of inhabitants. This study aims to present the application of an analytic network process (ANP) model indicating the order of priority for high performance criteria that must be taken into account in the assessment of the performance of adaptive façade systems for complex commercial buildings.

The nominal group technique (NGT) stimulating and refining group judgments are used to find and categorize relevant high performance attributes of the adaptive façade systems and their relative pair-wise significance scores. An ANP model is applied to prioritize these high performance objectives and criteria for the adaptive façade systems.

Embodied energy and CO₂ emission, sustainability, energy saving, daylight and operation maintenance were as the most likely and crucial high performance criteria. The criteria and the weights presented in this study could be used as guidelines for evaluating the performance of adaptive façade systems for commercial buildings in planning and design phases.

This research primarily provides the required actions and evaluations for design managers in accomplishing a high performance adaptive façade system, with the support of an ANP method. Before beginning the adaptive façade system of a building design process, the design manager must determine the significance of each of these attributes as high performance primacies will affect the results all through the entire design process.

In this research, a relatively innovative, systematic and practical approach is proposed to sustain the decision-making procedure for evaluation of the high performance criteria of adaptive façade systems in complex commercial buildings.