Hybrid Materiality

One of the most recognisable aspects of the digitalization of the design process is the increasing use of 3D printers and robots in the construction phases. When combining with analogue techniques, hybrid materiality in construction and architecture opens up significant application opportunities, but also challenges to the design process and production. In this study, the design and hybrid fabrication of a freeform gridshell structure, placed as a temporary installation in a public park, is presented. The structure was materialized in a hybrid combination of 129 wooden battens and 68 PLA 3D printed nodes, spanning 5 meters and reaching 2.5 m height. The examination of the challenges posed by the hybrid fabrication of the structure suggests that pre-conceived perceptions on production and installation stages should be reconsidered, and it highlights the importance of integrating material constraints and time limitations in the earliest phases of the design process.

Optimization of Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) Columns Using Meta-Heuristic Algorithms

Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns are an extensively studied area due to the favorable structural characteristics of these members. In order obtain the best possible performance from these structures while reducing the cost the use of optimization algorithms is indispensable. For this reason, meta-heuristic algorithms are finding increasing application in engineering due to their high efficiency. Various equations that predict the axial ultimate load-carrying capacity (Nu) of CFST columns are available in design codes as well as the research literature. However, most of these equations are only applicable within certain parameter ranges. A recently developed set of equations that have better parameter ranges of applicability was applied in this study. Furthermore, a newly developed meta-heuristic algorithm called social spider algorithm is applied to the cross-section optimization of circular CFST columns. The improvement of the structural dimensioning under Nu constraint was demonstrated.

Irregular Light Scattering Properties of Fenestration for Comfortable and Energy-Efficient Buildings

The irregular reflection and transmission properties of innovative fenestration allow the redirection, selectively admittance, or blocking of solar irradiation based on its incident direction. Compared to systems that implement adaptivity by mechanical transformations, such tailored light scattering reduces the complexity of installation, operation, and maintenance as well as the impact on outward view and the aesthetical appearance of buildings. Examples of such fenestration techniques (e.g., light redirecting films and Venetian blinds featuring irregular reflection properties) are presented with their gonio-photometrically measured scattering properties. Techniques to model optically complex fenestration to support product development and planning are presented. Effects on daylight availability, glare, and solar gains are demonstrated. Preliminary results indicate the potential to control and modulate rather than to block irradiation through the design of buildings aiming at high comfort and energy efficiency.

Hygro-Thermal, Hydric, and Mechanical Properties of Fibre and Aggregate-Reinforced Earth Plasters

Earth plasters have been used as a protective coating for buildings but, due to their low strength and low resistance to weather conditions, they have been abandoned for more resistant materials which in return lack vapour permeability. Earth plasters have usually a high moisture sorption rate, and their water vapour permeability is high, allowing the transfer of humidity through the material. These properties make them an interesting material for controlling vapour movement in humid rooms. Improving their strength can be done by adding aggregates and/or fibres, but the real impact of using one type or another of fibres or aggregate is unknown. This research aims to understand the consequence of the choice of fibre or sand in the improvement of strength of plasters and the conservation of the plaster hygro-thermal properties. Properties of plasters using alternative fibres or aggregates such as wool, cow hair, pine needles, sand aimed for concrete mixes, or not properly graded sand have been compared to plasters made more traditionally with chaff fibres and mason sand.

Development of a Business-Process-Oriented Energy Management System for Buildings

The aim of this research paper is to identify and minimize the gap in energy performance of buildings, taking into consideration not only the qualitative assessment theoretically calculated according to design-phase assumptions about the operation of the building, but also its actual operation that involves occupancy effects. A smart energy management system is developed, focusing on the human factor and the individual operational procedures that are carried out and affect the energy efficiency of buildings. A dynamic approach based on the continuous monitoring of energy performance indicators for buildings is under development, considering all significant loads and creating a dynamic correlation between energy efficiency and the different ecosystem's elements (sites/offices, groups, and processes). The proposed system applies to facilities in the Department of Civil Engineering at University of Patras, and the results are positive towards reducing energy consumption.

Relation Between the Iteration of Planar Retractable Plate Structure and Plane Symmetry Group

One of the most important issues in the design processes of retractable plate structure is to determine the most suitable shape of the plates that form an enclosure without any gaps or overlaps in both closed and open configurations of the structure. One of the approaches to find the most suitable shape of the plates is based on mathematical tessellation technique without using any kinematical or numerical analyses. Due to the usage of RPS on many different areas in architecture, it is just as important to be able to iterate them regularly. This study both focuses on the iteration of planar RPSs that are formed based on 1-uniform tessellation and develops a relation between iteration capacity of RPS and plane symmetry groups. By the help of developed relationship, it tries to realize whether this structure can be derived from 1-uniform tessellation and which tessellation should be selected before obtaining it.

Control of Full-Size Frame Structures via Optimum Tuned Mass Dampers

Structural control techniques are widely used to reduce the maximum values of the vibrations caused by strong earthquakes and winds and to rapidly dampen them. Among them, passive control systems have been used effectively to protect structural and non-structural elements from the destructive effects of earthquakes in the past quarter-century. Tuned mass dampers (TMD) that are part of passive control systems have been widely used in civil structures with their alternative benefits. In this study, the optimal adjustment of the parameters of a passive TMD placed on the top floor of the 10-story symmetrical structure was performed by a metaheuristic method called Jaya algorithm. The structural model was modeled in the SAP2000 finite element analysis software to obtain mass and stiffness properties. The results of the numerical analysis showed that the optimization of the TMD parameters is highly effective in reducing the total shear forces of the base of the full-size frame structures and reducing displacement in the event of seismic loads.

A Smart and Intelligent Irrigation System With a Roadmap Ahead

In India, agriculture is an important domain of research for food production. Insufficient, uncertain, and irregular rain causes problems in agriculture, and also, most of the annual rainfall occurs within less than 4 months, for which multiple cropping is not possible. Irrigation is a major influencing factor in agriculture as it solves all these problems. Irrigation helps in stabilising the output and yield levels. The sources of artificial irrigation are wells or canals or some reservoirs, and one also need extra labour to irrigate the fields. Automated and intelligent irrigation can solve many of these problems and reduce the human efforts. Moreover, it also improves the quality of the irrigation by reducing the dependency on the humans. It sends data wirelessly to a central server, which collects the data, stores it, and allow it to be analysed. The results and the collected data can be displayed and data sent to the phone whenever required. In this article, a description of such an intelligent and automated irrigation system is presented.

An Exploration of COVID-19 and Its Consideration as a Black Swan for the Construction Industry in Switzerland

COVID-19 and its devastating yet unforeseeable effects affect the entire global economy value chain. Effects will be long-lasting and interfere with the way construction worked so far. Losses in the industry are expected to run into billions; spending on new buildings are predicted to decrease sharply and on a global long-term. COVID-19 is, depending on the viewpoint, either a “White Swan,” which is a probable event, causing massive consequences, or a “Black Swan,” which is additionally not foreseeable. The European Green Deal presented by the European Commission could serve as a new Marshall Plan to enable the long-awaited digitisation of the construction industry. A whole industry sector is called upon to undergo a digital empowerment within a very short period, for which other branches of industry have had years or even decades. Can this crisis serve as a spark for eventually starting the digitalisation of the construction industry?

A Framework for Designing Interaction and Transgression Zone

Interaction and transgression zones are the buffer zones between urban development area and conservation area. In Turkey, regulations do not draw the quantitative approach to interaction and transgression zones, that conservation area borders create sharp passes. In order to smooth these passes, this research was planned. Regulations are very rigid written rules; however, in order to keep pace with contemporary world, they need to be adaptive in the 21st century. Thus, this research aims to be respectful to historic sites and proposes smoother passes to urban development areas. In order to adopt, any historical site parameters should come from common features of towns. Another point to understand the characteristic of a town is statistical data for each parameter. In order to blend the statistical data with parameters, k-means clustering method is used. This method gives the distribution of each categorical data into the main clustering. As a result, the algorithm gives flow of flexible rules in order to apply development in the interaction and transgression zones.