An overview of recent research related to building renovation has revealed that efforts to date do not address sustainability issues comprehensively. The question then arises in regard to the holistic sustainability objectives within building renovation context. In order to deal with this question, the research adopts a multi-dimensional approach involving literature review, exploration of existing assessment methods and methodologies, individual and focus group interviews, and application of Soft Systems Methodologies (SSM) with Value Focused Thinking (VFT). In doing so, appropriate data about sustainability objectives have been collected and structured, and subsequently verified using a Delphi study. A sustainability framework was developed in cooperation with University of Palermo and Aarhus University to audit, develop and assess building renovation performance, and support decision-making during the project’s lifecycle. The paper represents the results of research aiming at addressing sustainability of the entire renovation effort including new categories, criteria, and indicators. The developed framework can be applied during different project stages and to assist in the consideration of the sustainability issues through support of decision-making and communication with relevant stakeholders. Early in a project, it can be used to identify key performance criteria, and later to evaluate/compare the pros and cons of alternative retrofitting solutions either during the design stage or upon the project completion. According to the procedure of the consensus-based process for the development of an effective sustainability decision-making framework which was employed in this study, the outcome can also be considered as an outset step intended for the establishment of a Decision Support Systems (DSS) and assessment tool suited to building renovation context

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A review of the barriers for building renovation has revealed a lack of methodologies, which can promote sustainability objectives and assist various stakeholders during the design stage of building renovation/retrofitting projects. The purpose of this paper is to develop a Holistic Multi-methodology for Sustainable Renovation, which aims to deal with complexity of renovation projects. It provides a framework through which to involve the different stakeholders in the design process to improve group learning and group decision-making, and hence make the building renovation design process more robust and efficient. Therefore, the paper discusses the essence of multifaceted barriers in building renovation regarding cultural changes and technological/physical changes. The outcome is a proposal for a multi-methodology framework, which is developed by introducing, evaluating and mixing methods from Soft Systems Methodologies (SSM) with Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). The potential of applying the proposed methodology in renovation projects is demonstrated through a case study.

Future building renovation concerns more holistic perspectives related to the sustainability seen in a wider range of objectives/criteria facilitated by the renovation scenarios. Renovation should be a means of improving and developing buildings to meet the needs and challenges of the future and of making homeowners and tenants less vulnerable due to rising energy costs in the future. There is a great potential for reducing energy consumption in existing buildings. However, that does not mean compromising on the quality and architectural values that make the buildings special. Therefore, existing buildings cannot simply be renovated, but must undergo a deep transformation to comply with wider range of objectives/criteria. That includes and addresses the "hard" objectives/criteria (quantitative/measurable criteria such as energy consumption or energy generation) and the "soft" objectives/criteria (qualitative/immeasurable criteria such as spatial quality) in parallel. These objectives both can be achieved, if holistic renovation scenarios are generated each time the buildings are renovated by focus on addressing both the mentioned objectives/criteria. In this framework, the major difference between a deep building renovation and an ordinary one is a commitment to a holistic approach in which objectives/criteria are targeted early in the design stages and subsequently are considered for their interdependence throughout sustainability perspectives.A review of recent research has revealed that the present efforts on sustainable objectives fulfilment in renovation projects are not sufficient. It demonstrates compounding the typical challenges of a sustainable retrofitting from theory to implement stages is lack of an appropriate design methodology. It should take into account retrofitting projects initially in order to interact with the different stakeholders and then to embark on the sustainability objectives/criteria in its full sense. It should assist to identify, manage, and evaluate the holistic objectives among various alternative retrofitting solutions during the early design stages. In this perspective, the present thesis has been developed according to the following objectives: a) It primarily considers building renovation as a complex messy/wicked problem. As such, it gives details on how combinations of methods that are parts of SSM (Soft Systems Methodologies) and MCDM (Multi Criteria Decision Making Methods) are able to cope with its complexity. It consequently develops a methodology, which is entitled Holistic Multi-methodology for Building Renovation -HMSR. The HMSR serve as a means to structure retrofitting problems in accordance with the sustainability in its full sense to support the decision-making and help to develop most appropriate retrofitting scenarios. b) It addresses a new simplified holistic sustainability decision-making support framework, which applies to the structures of the built environment for building renovation projects. The developed framework can be applied during differe...

Virtual Reality (VR) is receiving ever-increasing attention and is utilized by many construction companies in their current practices. This paper aims at a critical investigation of the impact of VR technology on how sustainability and cost are understood and perceived by the users in building design projects, which could lead to improving and supporting the actual building design processes. The research study focused on evaluating design alternatives using Building Information Modeling (BIM)-enabled VR technology integrated with cost and sustainability life cycle assessment (LCA) software. In doing so, the paper begins with reviewing the relevant literature in the mentioned areas. Thereafter, it adopts an experimental-qualitative-quantitative method to test the research hypothesis and analyze the effects of 360-degree VR on the users (66 participants), while distinguishing between users who have a relevant background in building/construction engineering (i.e., architect engineers and civil engineers), and those who have not (i.e., owners and clients). It is observed that despite their background, the user participants positively embrace the ideas and aspirations of sustainability, and that there is some evidence of respondents preferring the economy over sustainability. Likewise, the participants are not making an effort to measure the emissions of their design options rather than focus on the building’s economic aspects.

Future building renovations must rely on a holistic perspective in relation to sustainability. This paper presents a Decision Support Systems (DSS) that can be used by architects and engineering consultants to generate and evaluate the sustainability of renovation scenarios in a holistic manner during the early design stage of renovation projects. Firstly, this paper discusses both the notion of a sustainable renovation, together with various renovation approaches, towards the appreciation of the developing DSS for the generation of holistic scenarios. Secondly, it provides details about the mechanism and types of Multiple Criteria Decision Making methods to be exploited in the main body of the DSS. As such, a hybrid approach including a search algorithm with the Genetic Algorithm is used to combine and develop countless optimal scenarios. The performance of the generated scenarios is simulated and evaluated in terms criteria for Energy Consumption, Investment Cost, and Thermal Indoor Comfort. The trade-off between the criteria is addressed using the Pareto-front approach, and subsequently, the optimal scenarios are determined and selected using MCDM-based rating methods. The outcome is verified discussing a case study about an actual [recently] renovated dwelling and the top ranked generated scenarios using the DSS in this paper.

PurposeA robust method in environmental load assessment of buildings is urgently required to reduce the environmental burden of the construction industry. While the industry utilizes the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to assess environmental impacts of detailed designs, the implementation of changes at that late stage of development is often expensive and undesirable. On the other hand, during the early design stages, the LCA method is severely limited by the lack of information available, e.g., uncertainty about final materials to be used. This research study investigates how building information modeling (BIM) can facilitate LCA analysis at an early design stage.Design/methodology/approachA literature review is conducted to establish a framework for BIM and LCA integration, which creates the foundation for the development of a new BIM-based LCA tool. The tool is empirically evaluated on a large case study of a residential building in Denmark.FindingsCase study results show that the new tool facilitates decision-making in an integrated design process, providing reliable LCA results on an early stage model, while avoiding intermediate manual input by the end user in contrast to other commercial LCA tools.Originality/valueA first prototype of a BIM-based tool is demonstrated, which allows professionals, small architectural companies, students and researchers to calculate the environmental loads of the building in the early design stage in an automated, transparent and time-saving manner.