The goal is to utilize advanced technologies and interdisciplinary approaches to improve the built environment sustainably.
We aim to innovate and promote sustainable practices for projects, addressing challenges in building efficiency and design management.
The research team is focused on utilizing advanced technologies such as automation, semantic web, BIM, and IoT to improve the built environment. Our research aim is to examine the integration of these technologies in facility management with a focus on enhancing building efficiency, reducing operating costs, and improving the overall user experience. To achieve these goals, we will be exploring existing technology solutions, identifying gaps and limitations, and developing new and innovative solutions to address these challenges.In particular, we will investigate the potential of semantic web technology to provide a standardized and interoperable framework for facility management information and data exchange. This will allow for more seamless integration between building systems and better collaboration among different stakeholders. We will also be exploring the potential of BIM technology to provide a comprehensive and integrated solution for managing the entire lifecycle of a building. This will enable facility managers to access real-time data, make informed decisions, and improve building operations and maintenance.
Furthermore, we aim to utilize IoT technology for online data gathering and monitoring to apply it in maintenance and smart buildings. This will involve incorporating sensor networks and real-time monitoring of building systems, which will help facility managers to proactively address potential issues, improve energy management, and optimize building operations.
Our research findings will be shared with the broader community through academic publications, industry events, and outreach initiatives. We want to inspire and encourage the widespread adoption of these technologies in facility management, leading to a more sustainable, efficient, and safely built environment.
Due to climate change, we must optimize and reduce energy consumption to save the earth and have a sustainable environment. The occupants' behavior has a significant impact on Energy consumption. So we should optimize the occupant-building interaction. Also, the occupant's thermal comfort has the most effect on energy consumption by occupants. It is better to combine the mentioned items with AI to find solutions in the field of energy-efficient buildings and reduce the energy gap. At IDEAS3, we aim to investigate different approaches for quantifying the energy performance gap between the design and operation phases. Four residential units are selected as case studies for this research. Each case's energy consumption and rating are calculated in the design and operation stages with Iran’s national regulation, LEED, and bEQ certificates. Three building certificates are used in the design and operation phases to investigate energy performance gap quantification approaches. Also, these certificates are used to investigate the potential of building certificates in considering the energy performance gap. Then, some solutions are presented to reduce the energy gap in the field of occupants, certifications, and engineers. As an output of this research, a conference paper titled "Review of the energy performance gap and Solutions in residential buildings" has been published. We have an under-preparation article about the energy gap and building rating systems titled "Addressing residential buildings' Performance gap using Green building rating systems". To expand this research, we plan to combine the energy performance gap with artificial intelligence to reach solutions in the field of the energy performance gap. For this purpose, we are working on an article about the effect of uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in building simulations on the energy performance gap.
One of the topics that we have been focusing on in the group is the development of bio-inspired materials. The construction sector contributes to climate change due to the enormous global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions; Therefore, efforts Should be made to develop building materials with low embodied energy processes and eco-friendly methodologies. The cementation of sand into the sandstone through microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is an environmentally friendly technology that is primarily mediated by ureolytic bacteria inhabiting in soil. This method has multiple prospective applications, mainly in construction and geotechnical engineering. In interdisciplinary research (by Aysan Farajnia), we succeeded in making a bio-brick through the MICP process as a sustainable alternative for conventional burnt bricks. Despite conventional bricks which require kiln heat, these bricks are made at room temperature using a new bacterial strain that was isolated from an ancient historical structure. The sequencing data related to this new bacteria were deposited in NCBI GenBank. We are passionately interested in multidisciplinary approaches and have realized the importance of utilizing microbiological concepts and bio-based resources in construction to produce environmentally friendly materials. As the next leg of our journey, we are currently working on plant-derived urease enzymes and the application of Enzyme Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (EICP) in making bio-materials. Furthermore, life cycle assessment of biomaterials and mitigating the environmental impacts of these bio-inspired manufacturing processes are also among our major goals. During our interdisciplinary research at the intersection of material science and biology, we had the chance to collaborate with professional research teams and laboratories such as the Biotechnology Research Center at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and the Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics at Arizona State University to expand our knowledge in this field.
Design management is "the art and science of empowering design to enhance collaboration and synergy between "design" and "business" to improve design effectiveness. At IDEASSS, we conduct innovative research about utilizing new tools and methods introduced by building information modeling (BIM) and lean construction for design management advancements and the application of design management in new product development. We aspire to bridge the distinct gaps between literature and practice by designing cutting-edge research and using various data collection methods, to prepare scientific publications on the topics of design management. Our goal is to help the parties in a contract make better decisions early in the process, reduce costs, increase productivity, improve collaboration, and tackle potential challenges to maximize value for a wide range of stakeholders in construction projects.
Building information modeling (BIM) is a technology and process that creates profound changes in construction methods, directly affecting the optimization of the execution procedure and the methods outlined in construction project contracts. There is a lack of manuals for implementing BIM contracts in most developing countries. This lack of instruction has led to a slow acceptance and implementation of BIM in many developing countries. Previous studies have determined present challenges in relations, roles, and risks of a BIM-focused contract. Thus, this research investigates and determines how these contractual challenges may affect the implementation procedure and, ultimately, the successful execution of the contractual obligations relating to the use of BIM in projects. Accordingly, after a comprehensive literature review and listing the identified challenges, two sets of data collection from construction companies were used to define the effects of BIM contractual challenges. Consequently, data verification of the contractual challenges in these two case projects indicates a rise in BIM success due to its superior handling of project execution compared to how non-BIM projects handle similar challenges.
Residential buildings account for nearly 60% of electrical energy consumption in hot climates as in Kuwait. As a result, this study proposes a reliable multi-objective model to obtain the optimal design for a typical residential Kuwaiti building by integrating an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model with Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimization method. The ANN model was investigated and verified using the results of building performance simulations applying EnergyPlus software. The effects of sample size of dataset on performance of ANN were evaluated. The final optimal building design was optimized using the GA method after ensuring the convergence of the final ANN model. Several design and operation parameters were considered as decision variables, while cooling energy consumption, discomfort hours, and equivalent carbon emissions were selected as objective functions. In addition, sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the impacts of decision variables on objective functions. The sensitivity results indicated that insulation highly affect energy consumption and carbon emission, while cooling setpoint played a key role in discomfort hours. Furthermore, Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was applied for decision-making among Pareto optimal solutions. The results showed that the optimal solution suggested by TOPSIS methods using ANN-based model provided a substantial reduction in energy consumption, discomfort hours, and carbon emission up to 39.3%, 62.8%, and 40.5% compared with the base case, respectively. It is recommended that further research be undertaken in considering uncertainty parameters on optimization process and applying the developed framework for building in different climate.
The energy consumption in the world due to economic development, rising population, and technological developments is growing, which has led to an increase in global warming. Therefore, there is a strong need to develop new strategies to reduce energy consumption. Buildings account for about 40% of global energy consumption. Since occupancy time in residential buildings is longer than in commercial and office buildings, residential buildings have a more significant impact on energy consumption. Due to this issue, efforts are being made to optimize energy consumption in residential buildings. Evaluating the performance of a building through building certificates that include as-designed and in-operation is essential for improving energy efficiency. Building energy simulations must be performed before construction to ensure that energy consumption in buildings is acceptable. However, it is observed that the energy consumption of the building after construction is higher than what was designed. This difference is defined as the energy performance gap, which indicates extra energy consumption or failure to comply with energy standards in the operation of the building. There are several reasons for the increased energy consumption of an operating building compared to the designed model. So far, studies have been conducted to determine the factors affecting the energy performance gap, but it is necessary to analyze these studies comprehensively. This article investigates the causes of energy performance gaps and ways to reduce this difference through a comprehensive literature review study. In this way, it is possible to achieve solutions in the building certification criteria that minimize the difference in energy consumption between the as-designed model and the in-operation mode of the building. This article can help decision-makers select the certificate that best fits their purposes.
Building and construction sector contributes to climate change due to the massive amounts of global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, developing sustainable alternatives for manufacturing construction materials is of high priority. The cementation of sand into the sandstone through microbially induced carbonate precipitation is an environmentally friendly technology with multiple prospective applications, mainly in construction and geotechnical engineering. This study introduces ureolytic bacterial strains with high urease activity found in Iran’s historical adobe structures and deserts, which were evaluated for the production of biologically cemented bricks as an alternative to conventional brick manufacturing methods. In the present study, 25 soil samples were collected from historical adobe structures and deserts in the central provinces of Iran. Samples were screened for urease-producing bacteria to find native bacteria and assess the possibilities of producing biologically cemented bricks. The urease activity and calcium carbonate precipitation mass of the ureolytic bacteria were determined. Among all the collected isolates, the most efficient carbonate-producing bacteria was compared with Sporocarsina pasteurii and Sporocarsina ureae control strains in point of the growth rate, urease activity, and calcite precipitation amounts. The isolate with highest urease activity was identified as Bacillus sp. and nominated as strain AF1 by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The selected bacteria was further used to construct bio-bricks from silica sand through the immersion method. The produced bio-bricks showed an average compressive strength and water absorption percentage of 3000 kPa and 8.5%, respectively. The bio-treated bricks also showed satisfying durability when subjected to wet-dry cycles and their flexural stress–strain curve reached the peak of 1300 kPa. X-ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the presence of calcite crystals, bonding the soil particles. In conclusion, the current study results show that future sustainable buildings can benefit from bacterial species with high urease activity similar to historical sustainable buildings in central provinces of Iran.