Periodica Polytechnica Architecture

Remarks on the Proportions and Dimensions Used in the Design of the Medieval Church of Zsámbék

Krisztina Fehér — 2019-11-28

Since the 19th century, the church of Zsámbék was continuously a focus of scholars' interest. The present paper intends to research the church ruins with a new aspect. Using an accurate terrestrial laser scan survey, the geometry of the plan is analysed in order to find proportions among the dimensions. The main goal of the study is to gather information about the design logic of the first masters of the 13th-century Premonstratensian abbey. In addition, our goal was to detect contributions to the 13th-century construction history of the church, that cannot be found in archives of graphic sources. The latest archaeological excavation achieved excellent results concerning several crucial historical points; however, the periodization of the church is still not entirely clarified. From the 19th century, different scholars have proposed various hypotheses about this topic, without consensus.

Space Syntax's Relation to Seating Choices from an Evolutionary Approach

Barbara Keszei — 2019-11-28

Space syntax provides information on the probabilities of certain behaviour types (e.g., seating choice, movement) depending on the configuration of space. The evolutionary approach (e.g. Appleton’s prospect-refuge theory) in environmental psychology can help designers in creating spaces by providing a better understanding why certain parts of an open space or a building are avoided or occupied, why good "observation points" or "hiding places” are preferred. Our research aimed to explore how different space syntax variables predict specific behaviours – the seating choices of 216 participants – in a 3D virtual model of a lounge area and how the prospect-refuge theory relates to these predictions. The participants had to choose a seat in simulated spaces in two social situations, which differed in the degree of focused work and concentration: one of the situations implied seeing others and being seen, while the other highlighted focused work and hiding. The results show that there was a variation in the seating choices depending on the goal of the situation (user: trying to be seen or hiding). The expected significant correlations with the space syntax measurements were presented in the situations where being seen was the goal of the participants. However, in the situations where hiding was induced, our results need further clarification. Our future goal is to provide quantitative, evidence-based reflection on the prospect-refuge and space syntax theories, and to investigate the psychological factors (e.g., goal of the user) that need further consideration when applying these theories in the design practice.

Analysis of the Crack Resistance of the Cement Stone and Roche

Vladimir Erofeev — 2019-11-06

The crack resistance is the most important parameter of strength. It characterizes the ability of a material structure to resist the beginning of the movement and development of cracks at mechanical and other force impacts and is the most important parameter of the limit state of the structure. In this regard, the evaluation of parameters of the mechanics of rocks, used as fillers (dispersed phase) and the cement stone (matrix phase) for concrete, influencing factor of the actual strength of the cement composite, is not only of theoretical interest, but also of great practical importance, since the issues in regards to the problem of choosing fillers are very poorly addressed in the professional literature, especially re the new generation of concretes.

Product Service Systems in Construction Supply Chains

Niclas Andersson — 2019-11-28

The shipbuilding, automotive and aerospace industries are examples of industries offering product service systems (PSS) to their customers, i.e. they combine physical products with services to add increased value. While product service systems are well established in many manufacturing industries, it has barely emerged in the fragmented and project-based organisation of construction. The objective of this study is to identify and critically review examples of product service systems in construction supply chains, with the purpose of describing how it challenges prevailing business systems and organisation of construction work. The study rests upon two case studies carried out at Gyproc Saint-Gobain in Denmark and Celsa Steel Service in Sweden. The findings reveal significant challenges related to the implementation and marketing of the product service systems provided. Companies that develop and expand their business offers by providing new product service systems tend to find themselves operating in two parallel market segments, i.e. the traditional market of construction components and the new market of product service systems. The PSS-offers reviewed in the case studies show a strong focus and emphasis on the development of the offer and the operational platform, while the companies’ market positions remain unchanged. Thus, the case study companies organise and operate their businesses and market relations as before the implementation of the product service system. The conclusion is that development and implementation of product service systems in construction supply chains requires awareness in the companies’ offer of products and services, well-established operational platforms, and particularly, a renewed market position.

A Grading System-based Model for Detecting Unbalanced Bids during the Tendering Process

Gul Polat — 2019-06-04

Unbalanced bidding is a common practice used in both unit price and lump sum contracts. Contractors may unbalance their bids in different forms for various reasons. The studies in the literature either focus on developing optimization models that assist contractors in winning contracts and maximizing profits of their bids through unbalancing or developing models that assist owners in detecting and/or preventing unbalanced bids during the bid evaluation stage. Unbalanced bidding is one of the most controversial subjects in the construction management literature and practice. Although there is no consensus on whether it is unethical or not, this practice is not usually for the benefit of owners. Therefore, owners have the right to reject the unbalanced bids and create a fair competition environment if they have a mechanism to detect it during the bid evaluation process. The main objective of this study is to propose a model, which consists of five different grading systems and helps owners in detecting unbalanced bids during the tendering process. In the proposed model, owners may either calculate the individual grades of each bidder or calculate the final score of each bidder by assigning different weights to these grading systems according to the project characteristics or their own needs. The final scores and bid prices of the contractors can be simultaneously evaluated. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model, an illustrative example is presented. It can be concluded that the proposed model can be effectively and easily used by owners for detecting unbalanced bids. This paper is the revised version of the paper that has been published in the proceedings of the Creative Construction Conference 2018 (Polat et al., 2018).

Organizational Culture and Stakeholder Success Criteria in Construction Projects

Ahmed Alhiddi — 2019-11-07

This paper presents the findings of a theoretical investigation into the association between organizational culture and stakeholder management. With an aspect focused on international construction projects, the study explores the relationship between the cultural origin of key stakeholders and the cultural context in which projects are realized. Emphasis is placed on the examination of project outcomes and the factors that influence cultural domain. Secondary data suggests stakeholder management and corporate culture are critical areas that decide an organization’s success. The importance of these areas will inevitably grow in the future as projects continue to be procured in a global economy. Identifiable theoretical associations between the constructs have been found that provide early evidence that stakeholders and culture influence project life-cycles. Stakeholders—organizations and their representatives—must be informed of the distinct types of cultures and success criteria to ensure they manage them efficiently alongside traditional and long-accepted project variables.

Analyzing Stakeholders' Perceptions of the Critical Risk Factors in Oil and Gas Pipeline Projects

Layth Kraidi — 2019-09-23

Currently, there are enormous Risk Factors (RFs) threating the safety of Oil and Gas Pipelines (OGPs) at all stages of projects. However, there is a lack of information about the root causes of pipeline failures and an absence of trusted data about the "probability and severity" levels of the RFs; this hinders the risk management in such projects. To improve the safety level of OGPs, this paper aims to explore stakeholders' perceptions about pipeline failures issues to analyze the RFs and recommend effective Risk Mitigation Methods (RMMs). Due to the lack of trusted data about the RFs and RMMs, this paper started with extensive investigations to identify the critical RFs and the applied RMMs in OGP projects in different circumstances. The findings of these investigations were used to design a questionnaire survey, which was distributed to analyze the "probability and severity" levels of the RFs and evaluate the "usability and effectiveness" degrees of the suggested RMMs. The survey results revealed that RFs related to Third-Party Disruption (TPD) including sabotage and terrorism, corruption and insecure areas are the most severe RFs. Additionally, based on the survey some RMMs such as anti-corrosion efforts, laying the pipelines underground and using technologically advanced risk-monitoring systems were found to be effective RMMs. These results were found to be varied based on the stakeholders' occupation in the projects; for example, the overall survey results indicated that terrorism and sabotage is the most critical RF, while the planners and the researchers identified corruption as the most critical one. It was also observed that using anti-corrosion measures such as isolation and cathodic protection would be the most effective RMM, while the other stakeholders have different perceptions like moving the pipelines underground an advanced risk-monitoring system are the most effective RMMs as indicated by the consultant, planner or designer and researches respectively.

Path Optimization in 3D Concrete Printing to Minimize Weak Bonds Formation

Fatima AlSakka — 2019-09-23

3D concrete printing has proven to be a highly favorable construction method in terms of time reduction, cost optimization, architectural flexibility, sustainability, energy use, and others. However, the quality of the final product certainly has a priority over all of these attractive features of the technology. Yet research has given little consideration to investigating the structural integrity of 3D printed concrete structures. Research states that printed structures exhibit sufficient strength as compared to traditionally built structures. Nevertheless, the fact that this strength is sensitive to numerous factors including the machine setup, the printing process, existing conditions (e. g. temperature) and others, should be studied. A major determinant of the reliability and quality of printed structures is the adhesion level between subsequent layers. Poorly adhered concrete surfaces result in weak bonds that in turn reduce rupture strength. The time elapsed between printing successive concrete layers should be bounded to ensure that concrete is flowable enough to adhere to previous layers. For a given concrete mixture design, this time is a function of travel distance and speed. Thus, this research aims at finding the optimum printing path that minimizes the formation of weak bonds without compromising buildability for a given structure and a defined speed. The research employs Discrete Event Simulation to model the printing process for numerous possible travel paths and assess their adequacy by comparing travel time to allowable time limits.

An Examination of the Development of the Construction and Demolition Waste-Related Regulations in Turkey

Burcu Salgın — 2019-09-23

In order to manage construction and demolition (C&D) waste, which is harmful to the natural environment and human health, legislation has been introduced throughout the world. In Turkey, the most comprehensive regulation that deals only with C&D waste management (WM), entered into force in 2004. However, changes in the construction sector from 2004 until the present has led to inadequacies in some areas of this regulation. Therefore, a new draft regulation was prepared in 2017. This study is conducted to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the C&D WM regulations, identify the problems, and give recommendations. A three-stage methodology is adopted that includes a literature review, classifying the findings and analysing the relevant literature under the five main topics (the objective and the extent of the regulations, occupational health and safety issues, planning the demolition, collecting and transporting the produced waste, and establishing and operating the recovery plants). The findings show that the draft regulation contains arrangements for Turkey’s current conditions. The terms of the draft regulation have brought more importance to environmental and human health, and occupational health and safety issues. However, only asbestos has been highlighted in the draft regulation as a hazardous waste. The draft regulation includes a limited arrangement regarding the waste produced in the case of refurbishment projects. It is assumed that eliminating the deficiencies in the draft regulation and the enactment of it will be an important step. Thus, environmental and economic benefits for Turkey will follow.

Sustainable Construction in Kurdish Vernacular Architecture

Rebaz Khoshnaw — 2019-05-23

The Kurdistan region is currently undergoing rapid change and development in many ways. The economy is growing, and the population is increasing. Adopting a modern lifestyle is influencing individuals and social behavior. These factors are collectively affecting the architectural styles and construction techniques of the buildings. Abandoning the vernacular architecture has led to a loss of locality. This research outlines the characteristics and elements of Kurdish vernacular architecture in Erbil city and the villages in mountainous area; it then analyses them in terms of sustainability. A descriptive method is adopted to identify the sustainable aspects of traditional building techniques and designs. Finally, the paper concludes that with developed construction regulations, some of the designs and construction methods of traditional architecture, with the right management, can be adopted in modern buildings.