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Construction clients, particularly those with little or no previous experience of building projects, depend on the advice given by building professionals during the early design stages. Accurate advice regarding the estimated cost of the proposed project is fundamental, as this will determine the financial feasibility of the proposed project. All professionals give advice based on the information available to them at the time. Therefore, cost advisors need to have an accurate appreciation of the client's requirements from the building, before they can estimate the likely cost. Inexperienced building clients may have difficulty expressing their requirements, or understanding detailed technical information prepared by building professionals. This thesis addresses the problem of poor communication between clients and building professionals leading to mis-interpretation of mechanical and electrical (M&E) services requirements and inaccurate cost estimates. The research hypothesised that the cost of M&E services was related to the form and function of the building, and the quality of the M&E services required by the building client. It was believed that the required "quality" of the M&E services had a major cost implication, and therefore the production of an accurate cost estimate depended on an accurate understanding of the quality of M&E services required by the building client. The research examined existing method, of early cost estimating for M&E services, to establish how early cost estimates are prepared, and what type of information is considered. Detailed statistical analysis work was undertaken to examine relationships between various building form, parameters and M&E services costs, for buildings of different functions. M&E services quality was considered in relation to the function, performed by different systems, using the value engineering technique of function analyis and customer oriented function analysis system technique (FAST) diagrams method for improving early design stage communications developed, to improve the interpretation of M&E services quality requirements and lead to more accurate cost estimates. The method involved the introduction of a briefing workshop to consider functional requirements from the building, possible M&E services solutions, and interfaces between building structure and fabric and the M&E services. The proposed method was evaluated in the field. It was found to be a valid method of improving early design stage communications between clients and building professionals, that could lead to improved early cost advice for M&E services.

Many countries in the Third World are faced with the grave problem of providing adequate housing in sufficient quantity at a low cost in line with their economies and the resources of the people. From early ages soil has been used as a major building material for low cost dwellings and more recently, by using cement or lime as a soil stabiliser, reasonable building blocks have been produced. These blocks have been produced using a relatively low compacting pressure and have proved to be of limited satisfaction. Stabilised blocks are weak in the 'wet state' after dernoulding, and prone to damage whilst 'green'; however, after controlled curing, the undamaged blocks are generally usable. From experience it has been observed that the lime stabilised blocks deteriorate rapidly in a hot/wet climate whereas there is hardly any deterioration in a hot/dry climate. Manually operated block making machines have used a compacting pressure of around 2 MN/rn 2 and research has demonstrated that with a machine operating with a compacting pressure of 10 MN/rn2 good quality, durable stabilised soil building elements could be produced.

This thesis will look at the importance of 3D Visualization within the planning process and addresses the issue of improving public participation within urban regeneration. The main aim of this research is therefore to discover what type of model the public require in terms of understanding future developments, which may in turn help them engage in the planning process. In order to achieve the main aim several other aims need to be established, such as; identifying the capacity of the profession in Wales to deliver 3D models of urban environments, evaluating software solutions to create 3D models of urban environments, and to explore emerging techniques that might contribute to the efficiency and economy of producing models of urban environments. These aims were realised through conducting surveys which targeted the Building Design Profession (BDP) and established which software packages were being used and for what purpose. A second survey was also conducted by means of an exhibition, which aimed to establish what the public require in regards to being presented with proposed developments. Other aims were realized through conducting trials. These examined the usability of different 3D CAD packages and the possibility of integrating CAD data with GIS, and how it could be used to quicken the modeling process. Results from these trials showed that through the use of workarounds there are possibilities of integrating CAD and GIS data. The research reported here indicates that members of the public have trouble understanding 2D Plans and Elevations and the data consistently demonstrates that more than 40% of participants chose 3D technology as a more understandable method of being shown future developments. The results from the two surveys show that although the majority (42.4%) of participants selected 3D technology as their preferred option, only 28% of participating Building Design Professionals in Wales use 3D computer packages, albeit not for presenting propose urban regeneration projects to the public. From the outset of this research the purpose has been to evaluate whether public participation will be increased if 3D technologies are provided to showcase proposed developments. The more efficient the modelling process, the more feasible and likely it will be that 3D CAD will one day be a paramount tool within the Planning Process. Numerous techniques were included to examine this efficiency.

Solar-control films are increasingly being retrofitted to the windows of buildings as a means of reducing solar gain. At present, there is a dearth of information concerning how these films effect the thermal comfort of occupants within buildings where these films have been applied. An illuminated hot box, utilising a xenon lamp to simulate sunlight, has been designed as a testing facility. The illuminated hot box has been used to obtain information on how much thermal radiation enters the internal space from a window fitted with a solar-control film. The data from the experimental apparatus was verified using a finite-difference model written on a personal computer, with the aim of the computer program being used to compare different films, and thereby avoiding expensive experiments. The experimental rig produced usable data for the tested films only when the lamp was orthogonal to the plane of the glass, with errors occurring, and increasing, as the angle of incidence between the lamp and the glass increased. This conclusion was verified by the computer based model. It was seen that the illuminated hot box was too small to give accurate measurements for angles of incidence other than 0°. It is suggested that a larger illuminated hot box which is able to eliminate the problems encountered when measuring for angles of incidence above 10° would be desirable. Furthermore, a more complex transient finite-difference computer based simulation model is needed, taking into account the conclusions that were made during this study.

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