The Need for a Paradigm Shift toward an Occupant-Centered Environmental Control Model

Office-based environmental control systems are centralized and designed to control entire spaces, ignoring use dynamics and requirements, and despite being regulated by standardized comfort models, they fail to satisfy real occupants, mainly due to their varied individual characteristics. This research is field-based with a quantitative approach and correlational design. Its objective is to empirically demonstrate that open-plan design, where different users share the same space and generalized environmental conditions, lacks a holistic view of IEQ criteria and the integration of other factors that affect health and well-being. Four buildings are chosen in different Chilean cities, measuring temperatures and CO2 levels at different desks, and applying a survey, which was designed as part of the research to analyze the estimation of relationships between variables and to reveal the factors that cause differences among occupants. The results show that people's satisfaction is multivariable and depends on other factors that positively or negatively stimulate their sensations and perceptions, such as, for example, the option to personally control their environmental conditions. Likewise, it is evident that to achieve comfort, health is being affected while in the building.

A Smart CO2-Based Ventilation Control Framework to Minimize the Infection Risk of COVID-19 In Public Buildings

This study aims to present a smart ventilation control framework to reduce the infection risk of COVID-19 in indoor spaces of public buildings. To achieve this goal, an artificial neural network (ANN) was trained based on the results from a parametric computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to predict the COVID-19 infection risk according to the zone carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and other information (e.g., zone dimension). Four sample cases were analyzed to reveal how the CO2 concentration setpoint was varied for a given risk level under different scenarios. A framework of smart ventilation control was briefly discussed based on the ANN model. This framework could automatically adjust the system outdoor airflow rate and variable air volume (VAV) terminal box supply airflow rate to meet the needs of reducing infection risk and achieving a good energy performance. © International Building Performance Simulation Association, 2022

People Counting in the Times of Covid-19

Estimating the number of people within a public building with multiple entrances is an interesting problem, especially when limitations on building occupancy hold as during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this article, we illustrate the design, prototyping and assessment of an open-source distributed Cloud-IoT service that performs such a task and detects crowd formation via EdgeAI, also accounting for privacy and security concerns. The service is deployed and thoroughly assessed over a low-cost Fog infrastructure, showing an average accuracy of 94%. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Managing Building Water Disruptions in a Post-COVID World: Water Quality and Safety Risk Assessment Tool for Academic Institutions and School Settings

Fluctuating building occupancy during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to poor water quality and safety conditions in building water distribution systems (BWDSs). Natural disasters, man-made events, or academic institutional calendars (i.e., semesters or holiday breaks) can disrupt building occupant water usage, which typically increases water age within a BWDS. High water age, in turn, is known to propagate poor water quality and safety conditions, which potentially exposes building occupants to waterborne pathogens (e.g., Legionella) associated with respiratory disease or hazardous chemicals (e.g., lead). Other influencing factors are green building design and municipal water supply changes. Regardless of the cause, an increasing number of water management policies require building owners to improve building water management practices. The present study developed a Water Quality and Safety Risk Assessment (WQSRA) tool to address gaps in building water management for academic institutions and school settings. The tool is intended to assist with future implementation of water management programs as the result of pending policies for the built environment. The WQSRA was modeled after water management practices created for controlling water contaminants in healthcare facilities. Yet, a novel WQSRA tool was adapted specifically for educational settings to allow building owners to evaluate risk from water hazards to determine an appropriate level of risk mitigation measures for implementation. An exemplar WQSRA tool is presented for safety, facility, industrial hygiene, and allied professionals to address current gaps in building water management programs. Academic institutions and school settings should examine the WQSRA tool and formulate an organization-specific policy to determine implementation before, during, and after building water-disruptive events associated with natural or man-made disasters.

People Counting in the Times of Covid-19

Estimating the number of people within a public building with multiple entrances is an interesting problem, especially when limitations on building occupancy hold as during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this article, we illustrate the design, prototyping and assessment of an open-source distributed Cloud-IoT service that performs such a task and detects crowd formation via EdgeAI, also accounting for privacy and security concerns. The service is deployed and thoroughly assessed over a low-cost Fog infrastructure, showing an average accuracy of 94%. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Parametric Modeling and Heritage: A Design Process Sustainable for Restoration

Parametric design, algorithmic modeling, generative design, and associative design are only some of the keywords of a work paradigm that is becoming more and more popular, designed to respond to the complexities of contemporary architecture. Most commonly, such an approach is used for new buildings, but when algorithmic design meets heritage building information modeling (HBIM), the process can take on an even greater centrality—flexibility and control go hand-in-hand, ensuring precious tools for the planning of restoration interventions and management projects. This contribution, oriented to expand the use of these strategies to heritage, deals with the theme of parametric modeling of masonry vaults, a structural–architectural feature that in many forms and combinations characterizes most historic buildings. In particular, the connection of BIM software with algorithmic modeling software can allow the ‘translation' of complex geometric shapes into elements with full Level of Detail elements (LOD 500) while preserving, at the same time, the algorithmic editing functions. In this paper, it is illustrated as this approach permits the finetuning of the vaults' details, from time to time, based on different survey strategies (e.g., direct measurements, experimental tests, laser scanners, etc.). In other words, using this new connection in real time, architects can design restoration interventions tied to shapes, geometries, and masonry peculiarities that would otherwise be impossible to manage. An updatable virtualization of the actual state of a heritage building thus becomes affordable for the wider public (LOD G). There is also a valuable benefit for the heritage stakeholders in terms of protection of the architectural value and conscious planning in the restoration practice, especially in the museum field.

Addressing the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on energy use in municipal buildings: A case study in Florianópolis, Brazil.

COVID-19 has spread quickly to several countries following the initial outbreak of the disease. As a consequence, several measures have been taken to mitigate the virus spread worldwide. In the city of Florianópolis, in southern Brazil, a strict lockdown was implemented on 16 March 2020. Although commercial activities were allowed to resume 21 April, a complete lockdown of municipal public buildings (e.g., administrative buildings and schools) lasted up to 5 August 2020. Reports in the literature emphasize the influence of occupant presence and actions on energy use in buildings. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the electric energy use of municipal buildings in Florianópolis. A large database with monthly electric energy use data was provided by the City Hall and analyzed. Firstly, the consumer units were grouped into three categories: systems, services and buildings. This revealed that buildings were directly affected by the lockdown measures, but systems and services were not. Therefore, an in-depth evaluation of health centers, administrative buildings, elementary schools and nursery schools was conducted and mean electric energy reductions of 11.1 %, 38.6 %, 50.3 %, and 50.4 %, respectively, were observed. Although it may initially seem unexpected, municipal health centers had a small electric energy use reduction, because they were not directly responsible for COVID-19 treatment, as patients were forwarded to specific facilities. Walkthroughs and energy audits were performed in an administrative building, an elementary school, and a nursery school, to gain a deeper understanding of the consumption trends. It was observed that municipal buildings present a basal energy use intensity even when the buildings are unoccupied. Energy audits verified that stand-by loads and vital loads, such as lighting for safety and computer servers, play a key role in this share of energy use.

Study on fire evacuation in public places during COVID-19 epidemic control

In order to explore the influence of the opening state of safety exits in public buildings on the personnel evacuation during the COVID-19 epidemic control, the evacuation management of public buildings and the opening state of safety exits were understood through the field investigation.The Pathfinder was used to simulate the fire evacuation of an office building in a university before and after the COVID-19 epidemic control, and the total length of individual congestion, the longest continuous congestion duration and the evacuation route in the personnel evacuation process were analyzed.Three recommended exits opening schemes were proposed, and the optimal scheme was obtained by Pathfinder simulation.The results showed that during the period of epidemic control, all the public buildings closed partial safe exits for the body temperature detection.The length of personnel congestion increased significantly during the epidemic control period, the per capita congestion time was 16.01 s, and the longest individual congestion time was 120.45 s before COVID-19,while the per capita congestion time was 23.92 s, and the longest individual congestion time was 168.23 s after COVID-19.Some personnel in region A converged to region B,resulting in an increase in the personnel density of stair 2 and the congestion of stairs on the 2～3 floors.The scheme Ⅲ with opening exits Ⅰ and Ⅳ simultaneously was the optimal opening scheme.

Automated Door System with Thermal Scan

The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic has created opportunities in the public health and safety sector along with a demand for solutions that address the public health issues that have been exposed. The need to create safe environments for the public has drastically increased over the past year and a half. One identified need has been for systems that provide for constant temperature checks for individuals prior to entering federal and public buildings. This paper discusses the design of an Automated Door System with Thermal Scan that was developed as part of a Senior Capstone Design Projects course at Kennesaw State University (KSU). The design of the Automated Door System with Thermal Scan was tested to verify the functionality of the design, and most of the objectives for the design project were met. However, this is an ongoing project and recommendations for further research and development work will be documented. Some specific recommendations for future work include more rigorous testing in different outdoor environments, designing a housing unit to house the components to create a more controlled environment for the system, and testing the performance at different distances with the thermal scanner. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

A Review of Sustainable Design Strategies for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in Public Buildings

Sustainable design strategies focus on architectural design considerations which assures the welfare, in addition to cohabitation of inanimate elements, and existing creatures that constitute the ecosystem. Sustainable architecture for public spaces, in addition to energy efficiency and zero greenhouse gas emission, needs to adopt approaches that lessen the effect of communicable diseases. Often, the primarily focus of architects is the aesthetics of buildings, there is no cognizant method for sustainable infection prevention and control mostly in the planning/production phase of public buildings. The paper aims to assess and identify how the public space can be safer in a pandemic from the vantage point of built environment professionals with the view of evolving strategies for policymakers with emphasis on the duties of the architect in mitigating the spread of viruses. The steps taken were to assess the relationship amongst environmental space and infectious diseases and propose practical steps to limit infection prevention and control (IPC) in public buildings. The paper is based on works of literature and consultations. The paper concluded that design approaches perform a substantial part in prevention and control of infections in public spaces, as well as healthcare facilities. Hence, sustainable design strategies may well be a remedy for mitigating the spread of coronavirus in public buildings.

How to Monitor the Transition to Sustainable Food Services and Lodging Accommodation Activities: A Bibliometric Approach

The transition to sustainable food systems is one of the main challenges facing national and international action plans. It is estimated that food services and lodging accommodation activities are under pressure in terms of resource consumption and waste generation, and several tools are required to monitor their ecological transition. The present research adopts a semi-systematic and critical review of the current trends in the food service and lodging accommodation industries on a global scale and investigates the real current environmental indicators adopted internationally that can help to assess ecological transition. This research tries to answer the subsequent questions: (i) how has the ecological transition in the food service industry been monitored? and (ii) how has the ecological transition in the lodging accommodation industry been monitored? Our study reviews 66 peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings included in Web of Science between 2015 and 2021. The results were analyzed according to content analysis and co-word analysis. Additionally, we provide a multidimensional measurement dashboard of empirical and theoretical indicators and distinguish between air, water, energy, waste, health, and economic scopes. In light of the co-word analysis, five research clusters were identified in the literature: “food cluster”, “water cluster”, “consumers cluster”, “corporate cluster”, and “energy cluster”. Overall, it emerges that food, water, and energy are the most impacted natural resources in tourism, and users and managers are the stakeholders who must be involved in active monitoring.

The impact of inspection policies on reducing disease prevalence in public buildings: A systems dynamics approach.

The occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed new dimensions of urban resilience to communities. Failure to implement health protocols in public buildings has had a significant impact on the spread of the disease, and inspection has become necessary to enforce the rules. This study presents different inspection policies of public buildings to reduce disease prevalence. It evaluates and compares the implementation of these policies in the long run based on the systems dynamics approach. First, baseline modeling was performed without inspection to analyze the proposed policies, and disease prevalence was investigated. Then various proposed inspection and fines policies, including fixed inspection and fines rate (FIFF), fixed inspection rate with the variable fine rate (FIVF), and variable inspection and fines rate (VIVF), are introduced, and their system dynamics models are presented. The impact of each inspection policy on the violations rate and disease prevalence in public buildings has been investigated using long-term simulation. Based on the results, regulatory agencies can significantly reduce the rate of violations in public buildings and improve urban resilience to the epidemic by adopting proper inspection policies. The results can help city managers to adopt appropriate inspection policies.

Face Mask Detection using MediaPipe Facemesh

Recently, face masks have received increasing attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as their correct use can reduce and prevent the spread of outbreaks. Thus, several research studies focused on developing new strategies for identifying if individuals are wearing a face mask before they can be admitted into public spaces, buildings, and transportation systems. In this paper, we present an alternative approach to face mask detection pipeline for automatically detecting whether an individual is equipped with a face mask. Our proposed solution utilizes MediaPipe, a popular image segmentation and object detection machine learning model designed especially for cross-platform operation, with specific regard to mobile devices. We present the architecture of our pipeline, detail its operation, and report the results of an evaluation study in which we analyzed the performance of our model in real-world scenarios. © 2022 Croatian Society MIPRO.

Environmental Benefits and Energy Savings from Gas Radiant Heaters’ Flue-Gas Heat Recovery

This paper demonstrates the need and potential for using waste heat recovery (WHR) systems from infrared gas radiant heaters, which are typical heat sources in large halls, due to the increasing energy-saving requirements for buildings in the EU and the powerful and wide-spread development of the e-commerce market. The types of gas radiant heaters are discussed and the classification of WHR systems from these devices is performed. The article also presents for the first time our innovative solution, not yet available on the market, for the recovery of heat from the exhaust gases of ceramic infrared heaters. The energy analysis for an industrial hall shows that this solution allows for environmental benefits at different levels, depending on the gas infrared heater efficiency, by reducing the amount of fuel and emissions for domestic hot water (DHW) preparation (36.8%, 15.4% and 5.4%, respectively, in the case of low-, standard- and high-efficiency infrared heaters). These reductions, considering both DHW preparation and hall heating, are 16.1%, 7.6% and 3.0%, respectively. The key conclusion is that the innovative solution can spectacularly improve the environmental effect and achieve the highest level of fuel savings in existing buildings that are heated with radiant heaters with the lowest radiant efficiency.

A Potential Solution for Solid Particulate Matter Reduction in Large Indoor Spaces

Air filtration is an essential process in indoor air conditioning and its physical removal of particulate matter is critical for enhancing indoor air quality, especially in arid regions including United Arab Emirates. In such regions, meeting indoor air quality standard is challenging during sporadic sandstorms when common air conditioning systems are unable to maintain indoor air quality properly. Such inability occurs either due to air infiltration through building’s fenestrations exposing indoor air to excessive particulate matter or the failure of inlet air filters after rapid clogging and high pressure drops. Such failure may be observed frequently in buildings with frequent openings such as public buildings and warehouses. Aerosolized pathogenic microorganisms, e.g., SARS-CoV-2 virus, can be modelled through air particle matter and be removed to a certain degree. In addition, the recent global pandemic raised more awareness towards the necessity of particulate matter filtration in indoor environment. Employing independent air filtration units might be a great solution for intermittent or emergency situations, when primary or additional air filtration process is required to attain proper indoor air quality. The main objective of this paper is to attempt designing, manufacturing, and utilizing an easy to set portable filtration unit and to assist buildings’ existing air conditioning systems in airborne dust particle elimination. The unit is designed and manufactured with additional feature accommodating easy installation of commercially available filters for further performance studies. The unit was equipped with all necessary performance monitoring sensors to detect key parameters such as air velocity, pressure differential, temperature, humidity, and particulate matter before and after filtration. The results revealed interesting information associated with the performance of commercially available filters and the feasibility of such independent filtration units.

Using Wi-Fi Position System for Developing a Privacy-Preserving Contact Tracing System in University Campuses

One of the crucial tools to control and fight epidemic disease outbreaks (such as the fast-growing COVID-19 pandemic) is contact tracing in public buildings (such as universities). A contact tracing system can identify and alarm potential individuals who had close contacts with confirmed cases so that they can voluntarily self-quarantine. The current automated contact tracing systems, which mainly use smartphone sensors (e.g., GPS, Bluetooth), have two main challenges: (1) protecting the privacy of the users and (2) relying on GPS sensor, which does not work well indoors and in many urban settings. On the other hand, Wi-Fi positioning systems have been considered one of the most used technologies for creating a real-time indoor positioning system (IPS), especially in university campuses where the required infrastructure usually exists. This study aims to study the feasibility of using Wi-Fi location tracking technology to develop a conceptual privacy-preserving contact tracing system in university campuses. Such a contact tracing system relies on smartphones connected to the central Wi-Fi system's access points and the connected devices Mac addresses to inform at-risk users. This study performs a comprehensive literature review to study the applicability, current limitations, and future research directions of such technologies for contact tracing. Such technology could enhance the current automated contact tracing system in universities by illuminating the need to use cellphones' applications while protecting users' privacy. © 2021 Computing in Civil Engineering 2021 - Selected Papers from the ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering 2021. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Assessment in Supply Chain and Infrastructure Management

Assessing sustainability in supply chain and infrastructure management is important for any organization in the competitive business environment or public domain. Public buildings such as higher education institutions are responsible for a substantial portion of energy consumption and anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Roukouni et al. (contribution twelve) developed truck platooning and multi-sided digital platforms games for barge transportation, both improving the sustainability of hinterland transportation. Besides these studies, Özdemir et al. (contribution thirteen) assessed the efficiency of the operations strategy matrix in the healthcare system amid COVID-19.

Water Management Best Practices During And After Low or No Occupancy

At the time of this column's writing, public buildings across the country and around the world had been closed or were seeing low to no occupancy. Many states had issued "shelter in place" directives,1 and millions of Americans were working from home. The hospitality industry was hit particularly hard, seeing steep declines in occupancy and a rash of closures. Water stagnation causes several issues. Ordinarily, disinfectant levels in public drinking water can manage harmful bacteria in the distribution system and even help slow or stop its growth in buildings. However, during times of water stagnation, disinfectants can dissipate, leaving building systems vulnerable to increased pathogen growth. Maintaining good water quality, and therefore public health, is top of mind across the globe. It is critical for building owners, operators and water treaters to ensure that building water stagnation does not contribute to increased risk from L. pneumophila and Legionnaires' disease. There are several water management best practices to follow while public buildings have low or no occupancy.

Project Design and Management of Optimized Self-Protection Plans: A Case Study for Spanish Public Buildings

Featured ApplicationA novel methodology for project management applicable for self-protection plans for public buildings based on the best practices of technologies, systems, and methods.Self-protection plans are the fundamental tool established to prevent and control the risks that threaten people and assets. In turn, they are essential to provide an adequate response to possible emergency situations that may occur in public or private buildings, facilities, or events. In this context, current and future challenges advocate increasing the usefulness, versatility, and adaptability of self-protection plans. For this purpose, this paper aims to develop a conceptual model for the project management of self-protection plans with a lifecycle approach. The research provides results concerning guidelines, aspects, and potential regulations, technologies, tools, methodologies, and maintenance frameworks to be followed for any building in different project phases. The methodology followed has consisted of a process in stages, with literature review and a conceptual development to obtain an adaptable model to any public building. The adaptability of the framework relies on the definition of potential methods, information systems, and technologies that can support any phase during the Self-Protection Plan life cycle. Moreover, it was applied in a specific environment, such as in public buildings under the Spanish regulation using the most common tools and applications available. Results proved that although it is possible to make a base model applicable to any publicly owned building, there is an extensive and precise subsequent work of adaptation to specific cases in which the applicable legal framework makes this task challenging. Finally, the results obtained have allowed us to reflect on future research needs.