Alan Coday

A conceptual framework of the interface between the design and construction processes

Purpose – As the construction industry strives for closer integration of the participants, more responsibility for the management of the detailed design process is being directed to main contractors and combined with their existing duties of managing the construction and pre‐construction processes. Crucially, this necessitates successful management of the interface between these processes, and this paper seeks to investigate a conceptual view of that interface to provide a foundation for improving understanding of it.Design/methodology/approach – Recent and current literature is examined, and various theoretical backgrounds for the design and the construction processes are reviewed. The consequences for the understanding of the interface are discussed. The significance of conceptual frameworks is also reviewed.Findings – A significant difference is identified in the published work between the theoretical understandings of the construction and design processes. From this a conceptual framework for the inte...

ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR SUSTAINABLE REUSE OF PUBLIC HERITAGE BUILDINGS: THE CASE FOR RESEARCH

There is a wide consensus that buildings, as major energy consumers and sources of greenhouse gas emissions must play an important role in mitigating climate change. This has led to increasing concern and greater demand to improve energy effi ciency in buildings. Although, there has been increased efforts to reduce energy consumption from existing building stock; the heritage sector still needs to accelerate its efforts to improve energy effi ciency and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Presently, much concentration has been on improving the energy effi ciency of heritage buildings in the domestic sector while, the non-domestic sector has only received little attention. In particular, studies focusing on reuse and adaptation of heritage buildings for public use to achieve more effi cient use of energy are urgently required. The main focus of this paper is the need for research into sustainable reuse of public heritage buildings with reference to maximising energy effi ciency in the process of considering their conversion to other uses. The paper presents part of a broader on-going research with the aim to investigate problems associated with maximising energy effi ciency in reuse and conversion of public heritage buildings. It identifi es the ability of heritage buildings to play a role in global reduction of energy use and CO 2 emission whilst maintaining its unique characteristics. Issues and challenges associated to improving energy effi ciency in heritage building conversion projects were discussed. Holistic approach through identifi cation of various options and innovative techniques for their sustainable reuse were suggested. The paper concluded that in spite of the exemption of listed buildings from energy performance requirements, these buildings can still accommodate some energy effi ciency improvements. However, further studies to identify the most suitable options for long term sustainability is required if the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 is to be achieved.

The portable test equipment being used for commercial building surveys

Presents an early publication of the results of an RICS Research Foundation Education Trust funded project to investigate the use of modern non‐destructive test equipment during surveys. Discusses the data collection and analysis phases in detail followed by the presentation of the preliminary findings of a national postal questionnaire survey of 143 building surveying practices. Stays confined to a discussion on the largest data set – equipment used for commercial and industrial surveys. New technology has made some impact in that more surveyors are using digital cameras and electronic measurement aids but little use is being made of portable materials testing equipment. The results have indicated that there are increasing trends in the use of endoscopes, some environmental measuring aids, metal detectors and electrical installation testing by surveyors.

Energy Performance and Improvement Potentials for Selected Heritage Building Adaptation in England.

Public heritage buildings (PHBs) were evaluated with the aim to determine their operational energy performance and the objectives of identifying improvement potentials for their long term sustainable reuse. Six listed churches initially used for worship and later converted to community uses were selected and surveyed as case study buildings using purposive sampling technique. A qualitative analytical approach based on ranking the performance of the surveyed building’s energy consumption assessment compared to others within the same geographical region was adopted. Findings show that a greater number of the surveyed buildings are low-performing with their energy use being exacerbated by the combination and interplay of multiple factors such as building use pattern, efficiency of services and lighting etc. Results of the findings imply that potential and identifiable prospects for efficiency improvements and CO2 emissions reduction exists within the operation of the buildings. Recommended actions for wide-scale improvements in the form of capital replacement, retrofit/refurbishment, behavioural and improved operational management and control were suggested. The study concluded wider opportunities towards achieving energy saving such as energy management programme, building energy refurbishment scheme and use of energy efficient equipment could enhance stainable reuse of PHBs.