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Modern buildings have the capability to capture vast quantities of information about the building itself, its purpose, the people that use it and its wider environment. With the development of fields such as the Internet of Things and Big Data, the future of buildings will involve more data around all aspects of their operation and the people using them. Within the context of these changes, this research hypothesises that the availability of increasing information within buildings can enable new ways of operation to step change their performance. Initially the thesis combines an extensive literature review of modern building developments and the current landscape that buildings operate within to develop clarity around the term “Smart Building”. Two case studies are then presented to demonstrate the potential of Smart Building concepts: The first case study involves a pilot study within an existing university library building using occupancy, energy, occupant satisfaction and building functionality data to investigate the potential of the buildings ability to vary physical space with occupancy. The second study uses computational fluid dynamics to model the thermal comfort variations throughout a large underfloor heated naturally ventilated atrium. The results are then used to investigate potential energy savings and comfort improvements through correlating individual comfort preferences with environmental variations. The work forms a clear definition of a Smart Building to create a framework for researchers and designers to focus future Smart Building developments. The first case study then demonstrates that by varying physically occupied space with occupancy, energy consumption of the building can be reduced by approximately 33%. The second study demonstrates that a step change in both comfort and energy efficiency can be achieved in flexible working spaces by aligning individual preferences with environmental conditions. These findings are discussed in detail, addressing limitations and future expansions of the novel approaches developed.

Recent catastrophic seismic events, such as the events that struck L'Aquila in Italy and Port-au-Prince in Haiti, have highlighted once again the urgent need for effective mitigation plans for the building stocks. The effectiveness of these plans should be based on a well-informed assessment of the associated risk. The main challenge in this assessment involves the incorporation of the uncertainty associated with its main components, namely, the ground shaking hazard, the building's vulnerability and its associated exposure to damage. A significant contribution for better understanding and communication of the examined risk to any interested parties is the distinct treatment of uncertainties inherent in the model (aleatory) from those that could be, theoretically at least, reduced (epistemic). Following these principles, the aforementioned sources of uncertainty are treated, in this thesis, rigorously and explicitly through a novel two-stage Monte Carlo methodology, which is superior to existing simplified and/or approximate and potentially inaccurate procedures. The developed methodology can be applied under general conditions and results in the estimation of seismic damage and subsequent direct financial loss for a single building. In particular, the proposed procedure is based on fragility curves which may be obtained by any of the generally accepted vulnerability assessment methodologies. Moreover, it accounts for all possible seismic events likely to cause damage to any given building in a single year but can also deals with single events. In the first stage of the Monte Carlo procedure, the aleatory uncertainty in the three risk assessment components is introduced. This results in a point estimate for the annual failure probability for the building and the cumulative distribution of the scenario and annual loss. The degree of confidence in these results is obtained by the introduction of the epistemic uncertainty in the second stage of the proposed Monte Carlo methodology. This source of uncertainty is investigated here with respect to the building's vulnerability and the exposure, both of which have received limited attention in the literature compared to the epistemic uncertainty associated with the hazard. The overall uncertainty in the damage and loss of a low-rise steel moment resisting frame is quantified through the proposed methodology and conclusions are drawn on' the significance of the two types of uncertainty and the role of the components of risk on each type. In this case study, the aleatory uncertainty in the vulnerability is associated with structural parameters and performance level thresholds, while the epistemic component is represented by the record-to-record variability. With regard to the exposure, the aleatory uncertainty in the repair cost due to the random extent of damage, as well as the modelling uncertainty in the damage-to-loss relationship, is considered. Finally, uncertainty in the hazard is expressed via the randomness in the characteristics of the seismic events. It is shown that for this case study epistemic uncertainty plays a significant role in the annual failure probability. With regard to the scenario loss, the epistemic uncertainty dominated when small events were considered, while the aleatory uncertainty was the most influential uncertainty type for large events. It was also shown that the vulnerability dominated both the aleatory and epistemic component of uncertainty in loss for small events, while its role was substantially reduced for high intensities. The introduction of hazard, i.e. when annual loss is considered, showed that the epistemic uncertainty was as influential as the aleatory uncertainty. Finally, the dominant role of hazard for this loss was highlighted. Although the above conclusions are linked to the specific building considered, it is shown that the proposed methodology can produce risk estimates, together with the confidence levels associated with these estimates. This is an important contribution to the development of loss estimation tools, which are increasingly being used by the insurance industry and civic authorities in their attempt to quantify and mitigate seismic risk.

This thesis consists of two parts: the body of published work is presented as a portfolio of 10 publications and forms Part II. Part I consists of a critical review of those publications. In the context of the built environment sector, the overarching themes of the published works are the relationships between: research and emerging concepts in the field and the working practices of construction and property professionals; practice as an interdisciplinary activity and educational programmes; programmes and curricula within higher education and the relevance of research. The critical review explores the portfolio from a micro and macro perspective to demonstrate that the work is considered at an individual publication level, and also within the extended boundaries of the discipline. This opens up broader horizons and assists in comparing the knowledge claims being made with other key benchmark publications. The principal conclusion associated with the research-practice relationship is that practitioners are largely driven by commercial imperatives and the associated need to solve problems expediently. Positivist perspectives therefore have more influence on built environment practitioners than constructivist methodologies. This should inform the design of research projects if researchers wish to be relevant to practice. The main finding linked to the practice-education relationship is that normative interdisciplinarity requiring a collaborative transcendence is more relevant to built environment practice than a phenomenological position where interdisciplinarity exists within the individual. This should inform the design of undergraduate built environment curricula in order to adequately prepare students for practice. In the education-research relationship this thesis concludes that there is a need to develop a more comprehensive definition of scholarship or scholarly activity in support of built environment education to include applied/consultancy-based research, market-based studies, professional updating and the writing of textbooks. This should inform both the recruitment and promotion processes within universities.

Research was undertaken based upon the suspicion that there were recurrent problems with the design and construction of hospital en-suites. An investigation was planned to confirm whether or not this suspicion was true and that there were, in fact, recurrent problems. Following on from this it would be to find out if they existed, what they were and whether and how they could be overcome. These objectives needed to be formulated, and then positioned within a framework that identified if the practitioners within the industry even knew about the problems and if they did, whether they chose not to resolve them or could not overcome the barriers that prevented the resolution. A review of the Literature identified that little research had been undertaken in the area of problems with the design and construction of hospital en-suites. The broader perspective of problems within the construction industry was covered by the theories supporting construction Process Improvement. This area was reviewed and it was found that the results of practical implementation of Process Improvement were rather less successful than had originally been anticipated. The Sub-processes that combined together to make up the whole processes were considered and reviewed also. Theories relating to the improvement of the Sub-process of Design; Management, Quality and Briefing were reviewed. These reviews of the Process and Design Sub-processes identified that there were significant barriers within organisation that made improvements difficult to implement. The opportunity arose to review the suggested existence of problems with the design and construction of hospital en-suites by way of case Study research at the £330million Derby PFI hospital redevelopment. At this project approximately 400 en-suites were going to be constructed. Action Research was proposed to implement practical interventions aimed at identifying the problems and their solutions. During the course of the research a second project, the similarly sized £330 million PFI redevelopment of the Mansfield hospital project, also with approximately 400 en-suites. This provided the basis for a second Case Study. The original research approach of Action Research within a Case Study was modified to two Case Studies each embracing Action Research contained within an overarching Action Research strategy. Planned interventions in the construction processes were undertaken to identify whether knowledge could become embedded in that construction process that would eliminate any problems identified in the design and construction of hospital en-suites. The techniques for information gathering included workshops, constructing Mock-ups, Simulation exercises, Structured interview based on carefully prepared Questionnaires to form agenda's and Site Visits. From the research emerged the 'Notion of Solute' as a theoretical model for problem resolution which overcomes the difficulty of Knowledge Transfer. From the investigations within the two Case Studies into hospital en-suites a solution to the problems required the transfer of the knowledge of three components: The nature of the problems, The implications of not remedying the problems. Recommendations for resolving the problems. These three components, which formulate the solutions, were suggested to be defined as a 'Solute'. This is a distinct and focussed 'package of knowledge' that can be readily transferred, both between individuals and also between projects. This 'Solute' is a theoreticz model that could be transferred to other problems within hospitals, other problems within construction projects and even to problems in other industries. Each 'Solute' is then populated with the specific parameters required to enable a problem to be understood and a solution to be implemented. Keywords: Knowledge, Design, Quality, Hospital, En-suite.

Though increasing nature of impacts from disasters has made post disaster management a significant area of concern, management of disaster waste is identified as an area of least concern. It presents momentous challenges for those with inadequate capacities due to large volumes and hazardous constituents created, particularly in developing countries. This is equally applicable to Sri Lanka which was severely affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and from three decades of civil war. In this context, it is vital to explore capacities which need to be enhanced for post disaster waste management. Accordingly, this study focuses on identification of existing capacities of post disaster waste management with special emphasise on Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste at national level entities in Sri Lanka. Disaster C&D waste comprises of waste such as debris generated from totally or partially damaged buildings and infrastructure as a direct impact of disasters or from demolished buildings and infrastructure at rehabilitation or early recovery stages. Literature revealed that after the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, collected disaster waste containing a considerable proportion of C&D waste was not recycled or reused at its optimum capacity in Sri Lanka, instead disposing it at landfill sites. Initially, a literature review and document survey was conducted on capacity building with special emphasise on post disaster waste management to identify capacity building principles, strategies, evaluation measures and challenges, if there are any. Pilot interviews were conducted to identify current post disaster waste management practices in Sri Lanka. Multiple case studies and expert interviews were subsequently conducted to gather primary data on existing capacities of post disaster waste management in Sri Lanka. Three case studies which included fourteen individuals and seven experts representing government and non governmental organisations and other sector entities were selected for data collection. Semi-structured interviews were conducted as the main data collection method and code based analysis and cognitive mapping were used to analyse collected data. Results revealed existing capacities, capacity gaps and factors affecting capacity building for post disaster waste management including: skills and confidence building, links and collaborations, continuity and sustainability, research and development, communication and coordination, organisational implementations and investments in infrastructure. Approaches for enhancing capacities in post disaster waste management were identified. They include establishment of a regulatory body and enforceable rules and regulations, promotion of holistic approaches for training and development focussing on indigenous and sustainable methods, development of formal and transparent procedures to establish linkages and collaborations, create awareness on sustainable, environmentally friendly and culturally supportive techniques on disaster waste management. These approaches were identified with the aim to contribute towards achieving sustainable post disaster C&D waste management.

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This thesis adopts a socio-technical approach to studying the issues and responses around domestic retrofit. Firstly it examines the broad drivers around domestic retrofit, ranging from climate change to energy security and fuel poverty, to the impacts of neoliberalisation and the economic crisis. It also explores the particular social, technical and political pressures upon this issue in urban contexts, exploring issues such as interurban competition, urban governance and experimentation, as well as their interaction with the specific socio-technical challenges of domestic retrofit. It then explores how this problem has been approached by UK policy through a combination of marketization, technical specificity and localised delivery. Empirically, it employs a comparative case study approach using three domestic retrofit responses in three different cities in England to explore the range of responses that have emerged from this policy climate and the different forms and effects that these can have. These included a householder co-operative in Manchester, a multi-stakeholder business co-operative in Birmingham, and a council-led scheme in Bristol. It explores how each of these responses is, in its own way, experimental and contingent, involving an assemblage of actors and factors ranging from the macro level, through the meso, city-regional level, to the micro-or-individual level, which create a time and place-specific response with a particular set of priorities, activities and outcomes. It then explains that it is both horizontal, local relationships, and vertical relationships with factors and actors at the macro and micro levels that affect the case studies’ form and orientation. It shows how the policy context can both enable and limit change and learning from localised projects, by supporting certain aspects such as funding particular technologies, but not others such as consistent finance and subsidy. It concludes with some reflections for retrofit policymakers and some possibilities for further research in the topic.

Life Cycle Costing (LCC) is the consideration of all ‘relevant’ costs and revenues associated with the acquisition and ownership of an asset. LCC has a number of relevant applications, these include project appraisal; facilities management; procurement and tendering and as a means to evaluate sustainable construction. Although these advantages are well recognised, the process is underutilised due to a number of documented barriers to adoption. Notably these include lack of accurate historical databases; the perceived complexity and time consuming nature of the calculations; lack of a standard LCC methodology, and that the client is not requesting LCC. This research is framed in recognition of these barriers, investigating a process that could affect change by increasing efficiency in this area. A Building Information Modelling (BIM) approach to construction procurement is being increasingly utilised as a collaborative set of procedures and associated technologies that assist design and construction professions in conceiving, designing, constructing and operating the built environment. Although 5D BIM (Cost Modelling) is currently being used in Quantity Surveying (QS) practice, BIM is not extensively used in the application of LCC and there has been little research in this area. This research develops a 5D-LCC solution, where LCC is integrated into the 5D BIM process by embedding an LCC calculation model structure within an existing 5D technology. This process represents a change to the 5D BIM work-flow; adding on a facility for LCC through post-processing BIM data. The research is carried out under an action and design sciences research methodology, to develop and then evaluate the LCC process proposed in this research. An evaluation method known as ‘Thinking Aloud cooperative evaluation’ is used to gain feedback from a sample of QSs practicing in Ireland. The contribution to knowledge is the articulation of a process which extends 5D BIM for LCC, by leveraging an existing 5D technology. The research identifies that this process has an effect on a number of the reported barriers to LCC. The predominant benefit is that the process provides automation and efficiency in carrying out LCC, which addresses barriers such as LCC being a ‘time intensive process’ with QSs lacking ‘the know-how’ in carrying out calculations. The findings also indicate that the process provides a format to present LCC estimates, thus addressing a ‘lack of standardisation’.