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Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs

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A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction Management, and Computers & Digitization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 8 July 2025 | Viewed by 16507

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Eduard Hromada

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thakurova 7, 166 29 Prague 6, Czech Republic
Interests: civil engineering; buildings; real estate market; sustainability of housing; affordable housing; life cycle costing; project management; cost management; facility management; energy management; BIM; multicriterial modelling; risk analysis

Dr. Bozena Kaderabkova

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thakurova 7, 166 29 Prague 6, Czech Republic
Interests: construction industry; macroeconomic analysis; sustainable housing; housing costs

Dr. Klara Cermakova

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Guest Editor

Department of Economics, Prague University of Economics & Business, 130 67 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: construction industry; macroeconomic analysis; sustainable housing; housing costs

Dr. Lucie Kurekova

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Guest Editor

Department of Economics, Prague University of Economics & Business, 130 67 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: construction industry; macroeconomic analysis; sustainable housing; housing costs

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute your research studies to this Special Issue of the journal Buildings entitled “Sustainable construction management and engineering: residential construction with focus on life cycle of buildings and costs”. Buildings is an international scientific peer-reviewed open access journal concerning building science, building engineering and architecture published monthly online by MDPI. The world is changing. Humanity faces a number of problems related to the deterioration of the living environment, the unavailability of energy sources and building materials, the deterioration of living standards and the economic situation of households. The new situation requires the search for innovative solutions in the field of planning and implementation of buildings and ensuring their long-term sustainability from a technical and economic point of view. Innovative solutions should be cost-effective with minimal impact on the environment and achieving the maximum lifespan of buildings. The present time brings a whole range of risks and policy issues associated with the unavailability of housing, but at the same time, it is a matter of new opportunities and challenges. In view of climatic, socio-economic and demographic trends, it is necessary to modify the existing practices of building design and maintenance to guarantee comfortable, safe and affordable housing. For these reasons, the purpose of this Special Issue is to provoke a scientific discussion and encourage scientists to identify new opportunities and advances in sustainable construction and engineering. All kinds of scientific articles presenting results of original theoretical, empirical and methodical research as well as opinions and reviews are welcome. This issue will bring together recent research in an effort to identify new opportunities and advance the field and will provide an advanced forum for studies related to real estate. Submissions are encouraged, but not limited to the following general areas: - Sustainable renovation of existing building stock. - Sustainable urban development. - Poverty and affordable housing. - Decision-support tools and assessment methods for sustainable built environment. - Construction project management. - Real estate market. - Cost analysis, life-cycle analysis, value for money. - Energy efficient buildings, energy management. - Building information modelling.

Dr. Eduard Hromada
Dr. Bozena Kaderabkova
Dr. Klara Cermakova
Dr. Lucie Kurekova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

civil engineering
buildings
real estate market
sustainability of housing
affordable housing
life cycle costing
project management
cost management
facility management
energy management
BIM
multicriterial modelling
risk analysis

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 3532 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Quantified Methodology for Evaluating Engineering Sustainability: Ecological Footprint Measurement Modeling

by Jinli Jiang, Xiaojuan Li, Liyan Yu, Jianqiang Jin and Xian Liang

Buildings 2024, 14(11), 3552; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14113552 - 7 Nov 2024

Viewed by 441

Abstract

With the gradual increase in public awareness of ecological environmental protection, how to manage the increasingly tight supply of natural ecological energy and resources and the more evident greenhouse effect, how to properly treat and deal with the relationship between people, engineering and the ecological environment during the construction phase of engineering projects as well as how to evaluate the degree of environmental friendliness and sustainable development ability of engineering projects will become an urgent issue. Stakeholders in engineering projects must seriously consider these vital issues. Existing studies on the evaluation of engineering–ecology sustainable development capacity mainly focus on the regional and industry levels, with less research focusing on the sustainability of individual engineering projects; furthermore, they are primarily concentrated on the qualitative evaluation perspective. In order to refine these shortcomings, based on the viewpoint of the ecosystem of construction projects, this paper integrates the concept of whole life cycle with the ecological footprint measurement model and defines the notion of the ecological footprint of the whole life cycle of construction projects. Subsequently taking the above concept as the foundation and making the ecological footprint of various activities throughout the life cycle of a construction project a specific study object, the research establishes the ecological footprint measurement model of the whole life cycle of the project, and comprehensively evaluates the impacts on the surrounding environment, which include the consumption of energy resources, CO₂ and the absorption of solid wastes across the whole life cycle of the project. We then measure the sustainable development ability of engineering projects by comparing the ecological footprint with the ecological carrying capacity of a certain surrounding region. Finally, the practicability and reliability of the model is verified through the example’s application. Thus, the results of the study have significant theoretical and practical implications: (1) the introduction of the ecological footprint addresses the gap about the quantitative evaluation of the sustainability of individual engineering projects from a micro perspective; (2) it compensates for the shortcomings of other evaluation methods that only evaluate a single element, such as only CO₂, resources, energy or solid waste and so on; and (3) stakeholders can use the measured model to quantitatively assess the sustainability of new projects or urban renewal projects, providing strong support for project feasibility studies and project-establishment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs)

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23 pages, 4461 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study of Factors Influencing the Compliance of Design Estimates at the Construction Stage of Residential Buildings

by Stanislav Vitasek and Daniel Macek

Buildings 2024, 14(7), 2010; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14072010 - 2 Jul 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 956

Abstract

This article primarily addresses the factors affecting the possibility of achieving the costs estimated in the design stage of a building after its completion. The authors rely on an information base of twenty-three apartment buildings erected by twelve construction companies between 2017 and 2023, divided into two phases (2017–2020 and 2021–2023). The outputs of the article present the conclusions of several years of research into the identification of factors and risks affecting construction costs, capturing the development of price indicators over time, creating a realistic picture of working with costs from the building’s design stage during its execution and the application of sustainable and digitalization technologies within a selected segment of the building industry. The presented conclusions are based on statistical dependencies compiled using regression analysis to explore the relationships between the cost, time and technological parameters of selected buildings. These outputs provide an interesting and well-founded perspective on the obtained data, thus overcoming the lack of relevant methods, techniques and fitting algorithms for a sophisticated and long-term approach to pricing in the construction sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs)

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28 pages, 2901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integrating Life Cycle Cost Analysis for Sustainable Maintenance of Historic Buildings

by Eduard Hromada, Daniel Macek, Renata Schneiderova Heralova, Lucie Brožová and Iveta Střelcová

Buildings 2024, 14(5), 1479; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051479 - 19 May 2024

Viewed by 1515

Abstract

This study examines the strategic use of life cycle cost analyses (LCCAs) in the management and conservation of heritage sites, emphasizing the need for comprehensive financial planning. With an increasing number of heritage sites showing signs of deterioration, our aim was to improve the sustainability and effectiveness of restoration practices. We used dynamic life cycle costing methods and developed the MONUREV software V2 to simulate different restoration scenarios, providing accurate, data-driven projections for maintaining structural, functional and aesthetic integrity. The field research involved testing these methods through case studies of heritage buildings in the Czech Republic, focusing on holistic cost management from initial analysis to practical application. The results showed that LCC analysis can significantly assist in making informed decisions, balancing economic and cultural values, and ensuring long-term conservation outcomes. This study concludes that the integration of a detailed LCC analysis into heritage conservation strategies represents a methodological advance that can significantly improve the economic and operational planning of the maintenance of heritage buildings, thereby ensuring their preservation for future generations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs)

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24 pages, 11197 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Resolution Mapping of Urban Residential Building Stock Using Multisource Geographic Data

by Lina Shen, Lei Wang, Qi Yang and Min Ma

Buildings 2024, 14(5), 1266; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051266 - 30 Apr 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 969

Abstract

The rapid pace of urbanization and the increasing concentration of populations in urban areas have generated a substantial demand for architectural structures, resulting in a significant increase in building stock and continuous material flows that interact with the environment. This study emphasizes the importance of high-spatial-resolution mapping of residential building stock for effective urban-construction resource management, planning, and waste management. Focusing on Xi’an as a case study, the research develops a comprehensive framework for mapping urban residential building stock by integrating diverse data dimensions, including temporal, spatial, network, and multi-attribute aspects. The findings indicate that between 1990 and 2020, approximately 4758 residential communities were established in central Xi’an. The analysis of seven key residential construction materials revealed that the building stock escalated from 1.53 million tons to 731.12 million tons, with a steady spatial expansion of material distribution. The study attributes this growth to factors such as population increase, economic advancement, and policy initiatives, which, in turn, have driven the demand for residential building materials and reinforced the interdependence between urban expansion and residential construction development. Remarkably, from 1990 to 2020, the population surged by 2.1-fold, the economy by 66-fold, and the stock of residential building materials by 477-fold, indicating that the growth rate of material stock consistently outpaced that of both population and economic growth. Over the past three decades, the rapid expansion of residential buildings has led to the encroachment of urban ecological spaces by concrete structures. The methodology proposed in this study for quantifying building material offers valuable insights for policymakers and urban and environmental planners to foster responsible resource consumption and supports component-level circularity in the built environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs)

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23 pages, 12833 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Construction Price Index Prediction through ARMA with Inflation Effect: Case of Thailand Construction Industry

by Ahsen Maqsoom, Lapyote Prasittisopin, Muhammad Ali Musarat, Fahim Ullah and Fahad K. Alqahtani

Buildings 2024, 14(5), 1243; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051243 - 27 Apr 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1586

Abstract

Over-budgeting due to inflation is a common phenomenon in the construction industry of both developed and developing countries. Inflation, with time changes, leaves an adverse effect on the project budget. Hence, this study aims to focus on the construction price index (CPI) behavior and inspect its correlation with inflation in Thailand’s construction industry as there has not been much work performed. The prediction of CPI was made from 2024 to 2028, relying on the data set from 2000 to 2023. The relationship between inflation and CPI categories helps in prediction by considering inflation as the independent variable and CPI (All Commodities, Lumber and Wood Products, Cement, and Iron Products) as the dependent variable that was incorporated in EViews to perform automated ARIMA forecasting. The correlation results show that out of four CPI, only Iron Products showed a significant relationship with inflation. For All Commodities, Lumber, and Wood Products, the predicted values were fluctuating, while for Cement and Iron Products, a clear seasonal pattern was observed. This prediction gives a direction to construction industry practitioners to make necessary adjustments to their budget estimation before signing the contract to overcome cost overrun obstruction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs)

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21 pages, 2047 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Municipal Energy Management as Trigger of Future Energy Savings

by Michal Bačovský, Jiří Karásek and Ladislav Kaločai

Buildings 2024, 14(4), 899; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14040899 - 26 Mar 2024

Viewed by 716

Abstract

Directive 2018/844/EU on energy efficiency claims that almost 80% of the final energy consumption in the EU is used within the buildings. The subsequent Directive (EU) 2023/1791 introduced in 2023 expected 68% of the world population to live in urban areas. Both directives enhanced the role of energy management (EM) applied to the city buildings. This paper introduces the development of energy management in Czech municipalities between the years 2009 and 2023. The main goal of this article is to present selected results of the unique national survey focused on the energy management in Czech municipalities conducted in 2023 and compare it with results of national surveys implemented in 2009 and 2018. The main method is the comparing of two surveys conducted among the municipal representatives or energy managers in the past with the new survey conducted in 2023. The results show that EM became a notably more important issue for most Czech municipalities. The number of cities collecting data on energy consumption grew by 288% and the number of city energy managers increased by 57%. On the other hand, the used potential of energy savings triggered by establishing EM was insufficient and only 4% of the respondents claimed high and exactly measured savings because of EM. This article should be applied to the stress power of municipal EM in performing energy efficiency and RES projects and encouraging the government to support municipal energy managers in their complex role. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs)

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15 pages, 4540 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impacts of Crisis on the Real Estate Market Depending on the Development of the Region

by Eduard Hromada, Renáta Schneiderová Heralová, Klára Čermáková, Marian Piecha and Božena Kadeřábková

Buildings 2023, 13(4), 896; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13040896 - 29 Mar 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3617

Abstract

The article compares the effects of crisis on the real estate market in two regions of the Czech Republic that differ from a macroeconomic point of view. The region of Prague represents the rich and developed region while the Karlovy Vary region struggles with many socio-economic and structural problems. An analysis was performed for the time period of 2018 to 2022. It analyzed the development of apartment prices in both regions, the availability of housing, the turnover of the real estate market in terms of the number of apartment sales, the development of liens on real estate, the number of apartment transfers from state property to private ownership, and the development of the number of real estate foreclosures. The basis for creating statistical outputs is the EVAL software, which was developed by one of the co-authors of this article. The EVAL software collects price offers of apartments offered for sale and rent throughout the Czech Republic and collects publicly available data from the cadastral office. The authors found that the real estate market experienced a significant turnaround in the volume of mortgage loans granted in 2022. This decline led to a significant drop in the total volume of real estate transactions. The findings suggest that potential buyers should wait for property prices to drop before buying, while rental property owners and investors can take advantage of the increased demand for properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs)

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19 pages, 2446 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Use of BIM as a Support for Tendering of Facility Management Services

by Daniel Macek

Buildings 2023, 13(3), 664; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030664 - 2 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3320

Abstract

Basic 3D models of real buildings are mainly used in the design phase, when they serve as a visualization of future projects or as a basis for the creation of project documentation. However, the possibilities of Building Information Modeling are much wider. The paper presents the options available during the tendering for the company’s support service providers within the framework of Building Information Modeling (BIM). The principle is based on defining the necessary content of the Building Information Modeling, which would enable a smooth transition between the implementation and operational phases. At the end of the implementation phase, the model should contain information that could be used for the needs of the selection process for facility management service providers, which, unlike normal construction production, have many of their own specificities, but are necessary for the operation of the facility. This information must be entered into the model during the entire construction process in the form of defined parameters, a defined format and the location of these parameters. The purpose of the Building Information Modeling should primarily be the optimization of costs during the entire life cycle of the construction project, as well as better and clearer availability of information and facilitation of cooperation between individual participating entities. Therefore, the prerequisite for using the Building Information Modeling as the main basis for tendering is its high-quality processing, which places high demands on all participants in the investment project. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs)

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17 pages, 9142 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Time and Cost Schedule Dynamic–Hidden Trojan Horses

by Petr Dlask, Vaclav Beran, Frantisek Kuda, Marek Teichmann and Natalie Szeligova

Buildings 2022, 12(12), 2165; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12122165 - 7 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1774

Abstract

Investment projects are not the only ones where significant complications in their implementation may occur. The fundamental question, how to specify threats hidden in time series, is one of the most important types of knowledge arising from the basic schedules’ documentation. Feasibility studies, project proposals, organizational and production procedures, research projects, and others are major resources of information. The reason why to specify threats hidden in time series is the high cost of not revealing hidden threats. An illustrative clarification of the cost is given on the current data of nuclear power plants. Wherever one works with schedules and resources, the above-mentioned issue may appear. Undeniably, valid data is discoverable ex post in accounting, documentation, or even in the documentation of the preparation and implementation, and in the analyzes of the mechanisms for non-compliance with deadlines and cost increases. For implementation (i.e., ex ante use), the majority of projects are created by expert intuitive decision-making. In terms of content, these are sources of errors from the past, lacking analytical quantitative support (suffering from the so-called evidence shortage). Production schedule time series comprise: (a) cumulative volume, (b) speeds, and (c) accelerations. More recent, in addition to statistical analysis, is the focus on the long-term memory of time series and to the application of the Hurst exponent as indicators of predictability (ex-ante). This article offers a procedure for how to reveal hidden chaotic states in the time series of a project’s output information. If it is possible to find chaotic behavior in the output information, these states must be searched for and removed in the original source model—the implementation project. Exceeding contractual terms and implementation costs leads to a threat to the economic basis—the collapse of the initial idea of the project’s economy. As an example, nuclear power plant projects are shown. The article broadens the perspective of ex ante decision-making. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering: Residential Construction with Focus on Life Cycle of Buildings and Costs)

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