Evolution of Solar Energy in Chile: Residential Opportunities in Arica and Parinacota

Chile has set itself to achieve Greenhouse Gas emission neutrality, with at least 70% of electricity coming from renewable energy sources by 2050. To this end, institutional and regulatory frameworks have been improved, resulting in significant progress in medium and large-scale projects. However, solar energy production at residential level and its surplus injection to all distribution networks has been very limited. This paper analyzes the evolution of the regulatory energy policies in Chile in order to contrast it with an economic evaluation of residential projects. The analysis focuses on the city of Arica, one of the highest potential regions in terms of solar energy within the country. There, a particularly low penetration of residential solar energy usage has been observed. Based on the current situation, projections are made for Arica in 2050, through the identification of barriers and opportunities on a residential scale development. According to some recommendations, there is the need to design policies that take into account the particular characteristics of each region within the country.

Synthesis of Construction Quality Assessment Model in Construction Industry

The achievement of quality is an important component in every handover of a residential project. Good quality plays an important role in creating a good identity for the developer as well as fulfill customer’s satisfaction level. Thus, Malaysian developers have started to implement quality assessment in their residential projects. Quality assessment is carried out to evaluate quality of project. However, even though quality assessment is implemented in most of construction projects, it is still a struggle to reach customer’s satisfaction level due to the number of defects in their residential properties. Therefore, this research carries the objective of investigate lacking of construction quality assessment and developing a framework on quality assessment to reduce defects in residential projects. This paper review requirements on construction quality assessment models which has been proposed by different researchers. The result of this study used to develop a framework on construction quality assessment to fulfil the important indicators which should be included in a quality assessment. The significance of this study may help contractors to develop projects with less defects and quality residential project.

Residential Construction with a Focus on Evaluation of the Life Cycle of Buildings

The article focuses on highlighting the role of life cycle costing (LCC) in the preparatory and implementation phase of residential projects. It involves the evaluation of several investment scenarios in the pre-investment phase, the choice between variants of the design of the entire building or its parts, and the choice of variants of structures and equipment with acceptable parameters. An innovative method of evaluating the life cycle of buildings is described in the article. This method was tested in selected residential projects realized by Skanska in the Czech Republic. Experience from construction practice shows that the choice of variants, constructions, or equipment of buildings only on the basis of the lowest acquisition costs (lowest bid prices) is wrong. The LCC calculation tool has been designed to model life cycle costs of individual variants of construction designs with different input parameters. It is possible to analyze the components or equipment that have the greatest impact on total life cycle costs. The article presents a tool that evaluates the long-term economic efficiency of the proposed residential buildings in terms of analysis of life cycle costs. The article will also expand the knowledge of the professional and general public about the importance of examining investment and operating costs already in the phase of construction preparation.

Risk management in residential projects in the United States: Implementation status, evaluation techniques and barriers

Purpose Residential projects frequently suffer from low-risk management (RM) implementation and, consequently, are more likely to fail to meet performance objectives. With RM becoming an essential requirement, the purpose of this study is to investigate RM implementation in terms of status, risk analysis techniques, barriers and impact of RM on residential projects across the USA. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 105 general contractors who had completed 3,265 residential projects in the past five years. Data collection was through a US national survey sent out through emails between August and November 2019 to residential general contractor firms. The firms were randomly selected from national organizations, such as the National Association of Home Builders, Associated General Contractors of America and Associated Builders and Contractors. Findings The analysis indicated that RM implementation is still extremely low at 22.27%. However, there was an increase in RM implementation as the cost and duration of projects increased. Direct judgment is the most used technique. Also, the one-sample t-test indicated that the barriers have a significant impact on RM implementation. Multinomial logistic regression results indicated that the impact of lack of management support, lack of money or budget, the complexity of analytical tools and lack of time to perform analysis predict the impact on the overall performance of construction projects. Overall, the results provide empirical evidence, which can influence management’s decision-making regarding RM and improve implementation in residential projects. Originality/value There is a lack of empirical evidence on the impact of barriers to RM implementation on the performance of construction projects. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by bridging this gap through a robust analysis of data collected from real residential projects.

PARAMTR - Enhanced generative design tools for prefabricating large-scale residential developments

<p><b>Designers are encountering greater issues with residential projects, which are increasing in complexity, scale, and performance requirements. Despite significant advancements in technology and the AEC industry, large-scale residential developments are still designed and built at scale as if they were singular projects. Variable and increased construction time, cost, and material waste at scale are all issues with existing design and construction methodologies for construction at scale. Prefabrication and generative design tools have the potential to significantly reduce these issues.</b></p> <p>This paper investigates how collaborative, human-generative design tools can optimise building performance and make prefabricated housing at scale feasible, whilst still encouraging design variance. In this context, collaborative human-generative tools refer to a partially algorithmic design tool that facilitates an open-box approach to design. Using a mixture of research-based design and design-based research, a new tool (PARAMTR) was created to improve feasibility whilst reducing time, complexity, and cost of designing and building residential projects using prefabrication at scale. </p> <p>The research demonstrates eight unique designs produced using the new human-generative tool. Despite their individuality, these designs have 8-10 times fewer unique components when compared to existing residential projects. Designs produced using PARAMTR could reduce construction/design time by up to 50%, reduce construction costs by up to 26% and share no design commonality, enabling unique designs across an entire development. This research paper could therefore fundamentally change how the AEC industry builds at scale, using algorithms and human-generative design tools.</p>

PARAMTR - Enhanced generative design tools for prefabricating large-scale residential developments

<p><b>Designers are encountering greater issues with residential projects, which are increasing in complexity, scale, and performance requirements. Despite significant advancements in technology and the AEC industry, large-scale residential developments are still designed and built at scale as if they were singular projects. Variable and increased construction time, cost, and material waste at scale are all issues with existing design and construction methodologies for construction at scale. Prefabrication and generative design tools have the potential to significantly reduce these issues.</b></p> <p>This paper investigates how collaborative, human-generative design tools can optimise building performance and make prefabricated housing at scale feasible, whilst still encouraging design variance. In this context, collaborative human-generative tools refer to a partially algorithmic design tool that facilitates an open-box approach to design. Using a mixture of research-based design and design-based research, a new tool (PARAMTR) was created to improve feasibility whilst reducing time, complexity, and cost of designing and building residential projects using prefabrication at scale. </p> <p>The research demonstrates eight unique designs produced using the new human-generative tool. Despite their individuality, these designs have 8-10 times fewer unique components when compared to existing residential projects. Designs produced using PARAMTR could reduce construction/design time by up to 50%, reduce construction costs by up to 26% and share no design commonality, enabling unique designs across an entire development. This research paper could therefore fundamentally change how the AEC industry builds at scale, using algorithms and human-generative design tools.</p>

Space Efficiency in Contemporary Supertall Residential Buildings

Space efficiency is one of the most important design considerations in any tall building, in terms of making the project viable. This parameter becomes more critical in supertall (300 m+) residential towers, to make the project attractive by offering the maximum usage area for dwellers. This study analyzed the space efficiency in contemporary supertall residential buildings. Data was collected from 27 buildings, using a literature survey and a case study method, to examine space efficiency and the main architectural and structural design considerations affecting it. The results of this research highlighted that: (1) central core was the most common type of design parameter; (2) prismatic forms were the most preferred building forms; (3) the frequent use of reinforced concrete was identified, compared to steel and composite; (4) the most common structural system was an outriggered frame system; (5) the space efficiency decreased as the building height increased, in which core planning played a critical role; (6) when building form groups were compared among themselves, no significant difference was found between their effects on space efficiency, and similar results were valid for structural systems. It is believed that this study will help and direct architects in the design and implementation of supertall residential projects.

IDENTIFIKASI FAKTOR PENYEBAB COST OVERRUN (PEMBENGKAKAN BIAYA) PADA PROYEK RUMAH TINGGAL

ABSTRACTThe advancement of the construction sector has made the complexity of a project increase in line with the increasing demands on construction engineers to complete a project on time, in accordance with cost, and prioritize quality. From that statement, a cost overrun problem shows in the process of running the project. Several techniques have been espoused by innovative organizational and managerial practices to reduce the risk of cost overrun from the construction project, but cost overrun in project construction remain as a one of the problem. This study aims to identify the factors that cause cost overrun in residential projects. The process of data collection was carried out using a questionnaire as the instrument. The data from the questionnaire is primary data that will be processed with the help of IBM SPSS 25 software. The identification of the factors causing the cost overrun using the relative important index (RII) method to determine the level of importance of each variable. The results of this study indicate that the project data and information are incomplete (when aanwijzing) and the erroneous estimation of material costs and wages are the main factors causing cost overrun with an RII value ≥ 0,9. ABSTRAK Majunya sektor pekerjaan konstruksi membuat kompleksitas suatu proyek semakin meningkat sejalan dengan meningkatnya tuntutan kepada pelaku konstruksi untuk menyelesaikan proyek secara tepat waktu, sesuai dengan biaya, dan mengendepankan kualitas. Dari tuntutan tersebut, timbul suatu masalah cost overrun (pembengkakan biaya) dalam proses berjalannya proyek. Berbagai upaya telah dilakukan oleh berbagai organisasi mandiri dan praktisi manajemen untuk mengurangi risiko dari adanya cost overrun (pembengkakan biaya) pada suatu proyek, namun masalah cost overrun tetap menjadi salah satu problema dalam proyek konstruksi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi faktor-faktor penyebab terjadinya cost overrun (pembengkakan biaya) pada proyek rumah tinggal. Proses pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan kuesioner sebagai instrumennya. Data dari kuesioner tersebut merupakan data primer yang akan diolah dengan bantuan software IBM SPSS 25. Pengidentifikasian faktor-faktor penyebab terjadinya cost overrun menggunakan metode relative importance index (RII) untuk menentukan tingkat kepentingan setiap variabel. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukaan bahwa data dan informasi proyek kurang lengkap (saat aanwijzing) dan perencanaan estimasi biaya material dan upah yang keliru menjadi faktor paling utama penyebab cost overrun dengan nilai RII ≥ 0,9.