Construction

The decision whether to bid or not for a project is extremely important to contractors; besides the issues of resource allocation, the preparation of a bona fide tender commits the organisation to considerable expenditure, which is only recovered if the bid is successful. There is, therefore, a potential financial benefit to be realised through the adoption of an effective and systematic approach to the decision to bid process.
Artificial neural network and regression techniques are used to produce a rational and optimal model for the bid/no-bid decision process. While the regression model is ultimately rejected, the selected back-propagation network, comprising 21 input nodes, 3 hidden layers and 4 output nodes is used to support a DSS for the decision to bid process. The results obtained demonstrate that the model functions effectively in predicting the decision process.

‘Conflict’ and ‘dispute’ are two distinct notions. The conceptual difference between the two is explored and further reviewed through the literature on conflict and dispute in the field of construction; a taxonomy for future study is also introduced. Conflict, it is proposed, exists wherever there is incompatibility of interest, and therefore is pandemic. Conflict can be managed, possibly to the extent of preventing a dispute resulting from the conflict. Dispute is associated with distinct justiciable issues. Disputes require resolution. This means that they can be managed: the process of dispute resolution lends itself to third party intervention. The construction industry and the chemical process industry in the UK are compared, through perceptions and experiences of conflict and disputes arising from their two sets of standard contract forms. The methodology is a review of published cases and a survey conducted among professionals with experience. The paucity of research in this field is discussed and the empirical work on the causes of conflict and dispute is reviewed. It is concluded that effective management of conflicts and disputes would be furthered by separating the two fields, and particularly by applying a more stringent structuring.

This paper describes the development of linear regression models to predict the construction cost of buildings, based on 286 sets of data collected in the United Kingdom. The same data have been used to develop neural network model and one purpose of developing the regression models was to provide a benchmark against which the neural networks could be compared
Raw cost is rejected as a suitable dependent variable and models are developed for three alternatives – cost/m2, log of cost and log of cost/m2. Both forward and backward stepwise regression analyses were performed to produce a total of six models.
Forty-one independent (predictor) variables were identified and classified either as project strategic, site related or design related. Five variables appeared in each of the six models: GIFA, function, duration, mechanical installations and piling, suggesting that they are the key linear cost drivers in the data.
The best regression model is the log of cost backward model which gives an R2 of 0.661 and a MAPE of 19.3%. The best neural network model is one which uses all 41 variables and a voting system using 100 networks; this gives an R2 value of 0.789 and a MAPE of 16.6%. However, the models developed using both techniques compare favourably with past research which has shown that traditional methods of cost estimation have values of MAPE typically in the order of 25%.

Construction projects have struggled to attain both sustainability and value for money in the construction industry. The strengths of Value Engineering can help increase sustainability in the construction industry. Designs have been known to have “unnecessary cost.” Value Engineering is well established tool to cut unnecessary cost in project. Value Engineering comes with a host of other related advantages like risk reduction, time management, better schedule, improved quality etc. hence showing the degree of savings that can be achieved. Main barrier to the implementation of Value engineering is misconception that it increases project cost and time. If this is overcome the cost savings achieved after the Value Engineering workshop can be invested into achieving increased sustainability. Increased sustainability has its own benefits to projects like, low emissions, reduced waste, increased recycling, reuse, low running cost etc. The benefits of Value Engineering and sustainability show a strong positive correlation; hence the linking of the two to form Sustainable Value Design should produce both increased sustainability and value for money on all construction projects.

L’arte è cosa tutta mentale: da questa geniale intuizione, che Leonardo da Vinci regalò all’umanità ben cinque secoli or sono, parte il presente lavoro di ricerca. L’arte, in qualsiasi veste essa si presenti, trova infatti nel mentale il suo unico ed unificante luogo di origine ed esistenza sia per chi la produce, sia per chi la legge. L’arte non va ritrovata nelle cose; semmai in queste va collocata, o, più precisamente, va costituita, per l’appunto, ad opera della mente dell’uomo, sia di quella che ‘costituisce’ le cose con finalità artistiche (la mente dell’artista), sia di quella che queste medesime 'osserva' con corrispondente angolatura atteggiativa (la mente del fruitore).
Con questa indagine si intende dimostrare come nel mondo dell’arte il PORRE, il DISPORRE ed il COMPORRE trovino giusto nel mentale una corrispettiva sorprendente originalità operativa.

Art is a totally mental thing: the present research starts from this impressive intuition, gifted to the humanity by Leonardo da Vinci five centuries ago. Indeed Art, anyway expressed, has unique and global origin and existence in the mental sphere, both for who produces it and for who read it. Art has not to be found into things; if anything, it has to be located into them, or, more precisely, it has to be formed into the human mind, both the one which creates things with artistic aims (the Artist’s mind), and the other which observes the same things with corresponding point of view (the Customer’s mind).
By this analysis we wants to show how in the world of Art TO PUT, TO PUT IN ORDER, and TO COMPOSE find just in the mental process a corresponding distinguished operational novelty

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Zaten sıcak para-montaj-tüketim ekonomisi sarmalında düşük oranlı reel büyümeye dayalı olan ekonomik yapıdaki ve göstergelerdeki bozulmanın sürekli-yaygın bir hale gelmesinin, gayrimenkul- inşaat sektöründeki mikro-makro izdüşümlerini yakalamak yakın gelecekte çok daha önemli bir hale gelebilir.

A short contribution to the "REM" edition of CLOG Architecture Quarterly. The essay reflects on the relationship between labor and architecture through a calendar produced by OMA featuring construction workers  on the CCTV site alongside architect Rem Koolhaas.

The disconnect from academia to practice from design to construction is carrying the Architecture profession out to sea. Students and young professionals are further disconnected from the reality behind the representation of each line. This paper discusses a studio structured to mimic the professional environment while at the same researching through prototyping pre-fabrication, modular building, DfD (Design for Disassembly), and panelization theory including on-site/off-site construction methods. This body of applied research proves student’s abilities to design are dramatically increased through hands-on experience. They suddenly understand the implications of each connection, detail and callout on their drawings.  The studio operates under the auspice of two divisions within a single firm, collaborating and working independently when appropriate. The studio mimics firms by “hiring” Project Managers, Construction Supervisors, Digi-Fab Specialists, Design Presentation, Materiality and Donation Teams/Groups. This paper demonstrates the process for collaboration and cross-pollination for two simultaneous design-build projects. This paper will prove that through building in multiple mediums students not only blur the disconnect from academia to practice but also from design to fabrication and construction. One of those methods is simulative modeling, which cannot be comprised of lines that represent parts; it however must be crafted by elements and assemblies of parts. Simulation modeling creates the opportunity for architects to develop a case-by-case kit of parts.
The studio examined conditions of architecture and the potential of how design and construction synergies will influence building typologies in the next century. Building upon the skills and knowledge developed from the master builder, the studio investigates architectural conditions by incorporating traditional making, digital fabrication and the computer as design tools. If we as architects intend to use technology to become true 21st century “master builders” we must understand that the term entails a very different set of parameters than it did 500 years ago. The investigation becomes a fluid integration into constructed principles. To achieve these goals and give students the experience of trade a series of workshops are taught including specific instruction for software and hardware which proved instrumental in materiality, connection and other important design decisions.
Suddenly when the responsibility of the product literally fell in the hands of the students their awareness and design decision making was heightened, improved and pushed in order negotiate cost, design and feasibility of fabrication and construction. This research has proven the void from education to practice is experience, or hands on experience. We are losing our profession to a digital age of slowly eliminating the relationship of the Architect to building. This is apparent through the introduction of BIM, where instead of drawing lines, information is entered through (some) spreadsheet data.  This design-build studio serves as a driver for theoretical, experimental and abstract conditions that not only manipulate the way buildings are made but allows a master builder of the digital era to emerge in the 21st century. Without a drastic change in the way architecture addresses the experience and understanding of how we build we will ultimately drive our own obsolescence as a profession and as a society.

A single disconnect from Academia to practice would suggest an easy solution to our detachment could be found by simply putting our heads together. Rather than a single intersection, many disconnects between Academia, practice and the disciplines of architecture, construction, fabrication and design exist and these severed relationships are destroying the ability we once had to produce beautiful architecture. As the Architect continually moves away from the idea of the Master Builder model we distance ourselves further from the knowledge and understanding that once founded our ability as experts in buildings. Architects once knew what the representation of lines on paper and the real-world implications of drawings meant to a craftsman. As designers continue to spend more time in front of their screens they become further disconnected with how the digital world becomes the physical. This relationship (computation) is disconnecting our profession from the feeling of swinging a hammer or driving a screw. Yet we face a true challenge where the computer is not only necessary in the digital age we find ourselves living but used correctly it is a true asset. We must begin to train our students and professionals how to design in digital space without losing sight of gravity, structure, assembly processes or materiality. The studio explored a series of relationships; research to practice, academia to the profession, design to materiality + prototyping and digital to physical environments. The exploration of these relationships destroyed the students understanding of what each relationship was and rebuilt their perception of each relationship.

Durant l’époque moderne, la géométrie pratique se distingue par quelques caractères fondamentaux qui font son unité. Les contenus transmis sont stables, et le nom même de géométrie pratique fait l’objet d’un usage codifié. Aujourd’hui, la géométrie pratique est une science fossile, à l’instar d’autres sciences, telles que le De ponderibus ou la Gnomonica. Une approche lexicologique montre que le syntagme géométrie pratique s’effondre à partir de 1875 et disparaît définitivement dans les premières années du XXe siècle. Cette disparition semble due à deux mouvements concommitants : 1° l’absorption des contenus de cette science dans de nouveaux corps de connaissances spécialisés, tels que la Géodésie, la Topographie ou la Stéréotomie ; 2° la captation du terme de géométrie pratique par l’enseignement primaire et secondaire, avec le sens dévoyé de « premiers éléments de géométrie élémentaire pour la vie quotidienne ». Il est rappelé en quoi ces caractères font de la géométrie pratique une science fossile d’un genre spécial.

Nous étudions les méthodes de construction des polygones réguliers proposées par quatre auteurs du XVIIe siècle : deux ingénieurs, Ambroise Bachot et Antoine de Ville, un érudit, Scaliger, et un mathématicien, François Viète. Certaines de ces méthodes se distinguent de la recherche de solutions exactes, typiques de la géométrie pure. Elles visent des solutions générales et approchées qui s’avèrent plus utiles aux ingénieurs, moins sensibles à l’exactitude mathématique qu’à des méthodes faciles à mémoriser et rapides à mettre en œuvre. La comparaison montre que les solutions de l’ingénieur et du mathématicien diffèrent quant aux connaissances mobilisées, quant au sens donné à la notion d’approximation et quant à ce que constitue une approximation acceptable. L’art des fortifications a impulsé une nouvelle approche des méthodes de construction des polygones réguliers. Cette approche échappe au canon des mathématiques pures non par ignorance, mais en connaissance des erreurs tolérées dans les constructions géométriques.

Purpose – Sustainable construction project delivery should be supported by committed and
inspirational leadership, with a clear understanding of the sustainability challenge. Construction
organizations need intra-organizational leadership that provides the collective vision, strategy and
direction towards the shared common goal of a sustainable future. The purpose of this paper is to
examine the role of intra-organizational leadership within UK construction organizations charged with
the promotion of sustainability practices.
Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a mixed method approach with qualitative
data collected through semi-structured interview with 15 leaders, followed by an industry-wide survey
of 200 intra-organizational leaders in contractor and consultant organizations in the UK construction
industry.
Findings – The analysis of the data revealed that, the most important role of intra-organizational
leadership in promoting sustainable construction practices is to formulate policies, implement
procedures and disseminate best practices throughout the organization.
Originality/value – Nothing has been written on intra-organizational leadership role in promoting
sustainability practices in the construction industry. Although leadership and sustainability has been
widely covered as separate issues this study provides the empirical evidence of the link between
leadership and sustainability in construction.