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The purpose of this study is to present an overview of the existing knowledge on the combined application of lean, off-site and simulation (LOS) in housing delivery.

A systematic literature review approach was adopted. Based on a comprehensive search using Scopus, Web of Science and the International Group for Lean Construction databases, 66 relevant journal articles were identified and analysed.

This study found that the most significant impacts of the combined application of LOS in housing delivery are the capacity to visualise the production processes as a whole in real time, exposure and removal of non-value-adding activities from the production and faster delivery. However, the combined application of LOS is low compared to a single application of each technique in housing delivery.

The results provide relevant stakeholders and actors in the housing sector (private and public housing developers, off-site housing manufacturers and constructors, housing associations and government housing agencies, among others) with the information needed to improve the outcomes of housing delivery through the application of LOS.

This study contributes to the ongoing debate on addressing the global housing shortage by presenting an integrated overview of the existing knowledge on the impact of the nexus of LOS and providing compelling evidence for its usage in housing delivery. It also demonstrates how the combined application of LOS supports the achievement of the flow and value view in the transformation flow value model, which was not previously reported.

This study aims to focus on the sustainability of prefabricated medical emergency buildings (PMEBs) renovation after the epidemic, to address the problem that large numbers of PMEBs may be abandoned for losing their original architectural functions. This study develops an evaluation system to identify and measure sustainable factors for PMEBs’ renovation schemes. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of PMEBs’ renovation scheme was conducted based on cloud model evaluation method and selected the renovation scheme in line with sustainable development. The study promotes evaluation methods and decision-making basis for the renovation design of global PMEBs and realizes the use-value of building functions again.

By referring to the existing literature, design standards and expert visiting a set of evaluation index systems which combines the renovation of the PMEBs and the sustainability concept has been established, which calculates the balanced optimal comprehensive weight of each indicator utilizing combination weighting method, and quantifies the qualitative language of different PMEBs’ renovation schemes by experts through characteristics of the cloud model. This paper takes Huoshenshan hospital a representative PMEB during the epidemic period as an example, to verify the feasibility of the cloud model evaluation method.

The research results of this paper are that in the PMEBs’ renovation scheme structural reformative (T11) and corresponding nature with the original building (T13) have the most important influence; the continuity of architectural cultural value (T22) and regional development coherence (T23) are the key factors affecting the social dimension; the profitability of renovated buildings (T34) is the key factor affecting the economic dimension; the environmental impact (T41), resource utilization (T42) and ecological technology (T43) are the key factors in the environmental dimension.

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by supplementing a set of scientific evaluation methods to make up for the sustainability measurement of PMEBs’ renovation scheme. The main objective was to make renovated PMEBs meet the needs of urban sustainable development, retain the original cultural value of the buildings, meanwhile enhance their social and economic value and realize the renovation with the least impact on the environment.

The link between relationship typologies and effectiveness of conflict resolution approaches remains to be tested despite its significance in conflict management in construction project delivery. By using the four relationships attributes based on the group attachment theory, the purpose of the study was to explore the cluster of relationships among project teams and organisations and the performance of conflict management strategies across these clusters in the Ghanaian construction industry.

Using a deductive questionnaire survey in the Ghanaian construction industry, a total of 137 responses were gathered and analyzed using cluster analysis, mean scores and ANOVA to reveal the relationship clusters and performance of conflict management strategies across these clusters.

The results revealed eight relationship clusters that exist among project teams and organisations with distinct influence of roles & tasks function, cognition, emotions and behavior attributes across the relationship clusters. In the aspect of the effectiveness of conflict management strategies, it was noted that the performance of these strategies were significantly different across the groups. For instance, integrating as a conflict management strategy was deemed to be effective in resolving conflict in unitary, adversarial, pluralist, mutuality, collaborative and partnering relationship clusters. In the case of coopetitive and coercive relationships, the performance of integrating as a conflict management strategy was less effective. This study thus has empirically proved that, different relationship clusters of teams and organizations exist within the Ghanaian construction industry, and that they perform different roles & tasks functions, cognition, emotions and behavioural attributes in their formation. Additionally, the performance effectiveness of conflict management strategies differed across the relationship clusters.

By aligning the relationship attributes to the dynamics of relationship clusters experienced in project teams and organisations, relationship quality, suitability and effectiveness of conflict management strategies can be optimized. The findings can inform project teams and stakeholders to develop fit-for-purpose relationship attributes among teams and organisations to enhance team effectiveness, relationship quality and conflict management in the industry.

This research aims to develop a method for defining the identity of multilayered neighbourhoods by taking a case study in Nantes/France. It utilizes the urban identity concept to achieve this goal, which is defined by physical and identificatory relation to the neighbourhood.

The methodology includes historical periodical analysis, housing form and architectural stylistic definition, visualization and geographic information system (GIS) mapping. The research conducts spatial analysis to reveal the physical component of the urban identity of the neighbourhood and interviews (No = 50) with dwellers for the identificatory relation, asking about neighbourhood tangible/non-tangible elements. All these data are mapped through GIS.

The study found that the physical component is defined by three urban layers (identified as industrial, reconstruction and development, and post-industrial) and eleven housing typologies. As for the identificatory relation, the authors found that the interviewees mostly identified with their neighbourhood, whereas a minority did not. The most important form of identification with the neighbourhood was its atmosphere, and as reasons were given, the neighbourhood's positively evaluated quality, good location and social values.

It proposes the definition of the physical component through urban layers and housing typologies. The identificatory relation also considers the identification of the residents with the neighbourhood's tangible/non-tangible urban elements.

Construction defects in residential buildings are causing significant impacts both on consumers and the industry. As a consequence, several countries have established new home warranty schemes. However, designing a public policy for domestic building warranties can become a difficult task. In fact, many of these programs in the past have failed, collapsed or gone bankrupt. Therefore, the purpose of the current research is to provide a systematic comparative representation of various active programs internationally.

The methodology relied on a multiple-case study research design. The case selection covered a total of nine jurisdictions with compulsory home warranty programs. Those included Japan, France, United Kingdom, three provinces in Canada (Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta), and three states in Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland). The study applied a data collection protocol to gather all the evidence in a replicable manner for each individual case. Subsequently, a cross-case analysis was conducted to identify similarities and variations between programs.

The findings unveiled institutional practices that aimed to resolve, compensate, or rectify defects in residential constructions within these countries. The review mostly suggested that every home warranty program presents certain unique characteristics. At the end, this paper proposed an analytical illustration representing the diversification of components adopted by each jurisdiction.

Nowadays, there is still not a consensus within the academic community on what is an optimal solution when conceiving a new home warranty program. Hence, the current study aims to fill this knowledge gap by presenting the plurality of methods employed by several countries. This paper seeks to help policy makers and industry leaders to improve their home warranty scheme based on awareness derived from observations and analyses of what has been accomplished elsewhere in the world.

The fundamental aim of the study is to investigate the implications of labor housing designs in Dubai, with a focus on courtyards and the governing building regulations, on daylight performance as an underlying factor impacting laborers’ indoor environmental quality. Several studies shed light on the subject of labor camps and labor migration in Dubai, but few have focused on the subject from the perspective of the environmental performance of these camps. A model that represents one of the labor camps was built using Rhinoceros 7.0 and Grasshopper software packages. Annual daylighting and glare simulations were carried out using the lighting modeling engine RADIANCE 5.0 in conjunction with the “ClimateStudio”.

The construction sector has emerged as a significant economic development driver, attracting a diverse labor force from a variety of countries to Dubai. As a result, Dubai authorities have implemented several measures to ensure the provision of suitable housing facilities for its labor force. These measures contribute to the reduction of energy costs in labor housing by encouraging the use of renewable energy. While several studies shed light on the subject of labor camps and labor migration in Dubai, few have focused on the subject from the perspective of the environmental performance of these camps.

The study provided statistical evidence that the current regulations governing courtyards in labor housing resulted in significant changes in daylight levels across different floor levels of the labor housing units. It is suggested that both 2:3 and 3:4 Court Width-to-Height ratios would further contribute to a more consistent daylight Illuminance with marginal statistical differences between floor levels (p > 0.05). The 3:4 ratio, on the other hand, offers a consistent distribution across all floor levels in the North and South with negligible variances, although weakly significant differences can be yet expected between the first and fourth floors in the East and West orientations (p < 0.05). The results of Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) suggest excessive solar incidence and a high probability of glare, which remains a problem that must be addressed under the governing building regulations.

This study could serve as a framework for analyzing and contrasting the findings of other studies on labor accommodation, notably in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Such an approach has the potential to enhance living conditions in labor accommodations in Dubai and other areas. It is necessary to meet people' physical and psychological well-being while also addressing sustainability and regulatory compliance.

The purpose of this paper is to understand if and how industrialized house building (IHB) could support productivity developments for housebuilding on project and industry levels. The take is that fragmentation of construction is one explanation for the lack of productivity growth, and that IHB could be an integrating method of overcoming horizontal and vertical fragmentation.

Singe-factor productivity measures are calculated based on data reported by IHB companies and compared to official produced and published research data. The survey covers the years 2013–2020 for IHB companies building multi-storey houses in timber. Generalization is sought through descriptive statistics by contrasting the data samples to the used means to control vertical and horizontal fragmentation formulated as three theoretical propositions.

According to the results, IHB in timber is on average more productive than conventional housebuilding at the company level, project level, in absolute and in growth terms over the eight-year period. On the company level, the labour productivity was on average 10% higher for IHB compared to general construction and positioned between general construction and general manufacturing. On the project level, IHB displayed an average cost productivity growth of 19% for an employed prefabrication degree of about 45%.

Empirical evidence is presented quantifying so far perceived advantages of IHB. By providing analysis of actual cost and project data derived from IHB companies, the article quantifies previous research that IHB is not only about prefabrication. The observed positive productivity growth in relation to the employed prefabrication degree indicates that off-site production is not a sufficient mean for reaching high productivity and productivity growth. Instead, the capabilities to integrate the operative logic of conventional housebuilding together with logic of IHB platform development and use is a probable explanation of the observed positive productivity growth.

Using visual materials to understand a social object requires the researcher to know that object's purpose, and this is true whether the object is an artifact, a restricted event, a small social world, or something as massive as the modern city. I argue that the purpose of the city as a settlement is driven by the need to safely sleep in peace at night while satisfying other basic biophysical needs during the day as conveniently as possible. An examination of these needs identifies 10 functional prerequisites for human settlement, entangling its inhabitants in involuntary community with entities and events other than themselves, whether they like it or not. In addition, the rise of the modern city exacerbates the challenge of living in a reluctant community and pressures its inhabitants to come to terms with the consequences for how these relationships affect daily life. I highlight nine challenges posed as questions that have been particularly salient in American urban history since the mid-nineteenth century. How these challenges have been addressed indicates not only what it takes to make a modern city a settlement suitable for satisfying human needs, but also just how deeply invested its residents are in making the city work. Finally, the 10 functional prerequisites and nine moral challenges not only provide a framework for researching the city, but also suggest a coherent outline for imagining a “shooting script” or guide for conducting visual research.

This paper presents participants' experiences of the collaborative process. The paper introduces the World Heritage Site and presents the central learning outcomes of a process through which researchers and practitioners sought to develop an empirically-grounded, site-specific and practice-led research agenda relevant to World Heritage management. The purpose of this paper is to discuss an approach to improving collaboration between researchers and practitioners in the World Heritage field.

From September 2021 to April 2022, a research-practice team comprised of social scientists and managers of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site in Norway participated in a capacity-building pilot initiative under the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership programme. Bringing researchers and practitioners together in a joint collaborative process, the Heritage Place Lab (HPL) pilot programme aimed to function as an incubator for developing research agendas for World Heritage Sites.

The paper demonstrates that close collaboration between heritage researchers and practitioners can benefit World Heritage Sites, offering managers valuable inputs for informed and inclusive decision-making. In the case of the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, an improved understanding of the diversities in local values would benefit management, as existing management issues underpin the site's complexity. Furthermore, fruitful collaborations between heritage researchers and World Heritage managers depend on an overlapping and reflexive understanding of central concepts. This can be achieved through collaborative research-practice processes but is likely to require careful time management.

Focussing on the collaborative process between World Heritage researchers and practitioners, and using additional information for comparable World Heritage examples obtained online, this paper shows how research interests and management challenges can be developed and aligned more successfully through cooperation and improved communication over time. Beyond the specific results for the Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, the broader discussion presented on the challenges and importance of addressing the complexities of managing heritage sites will be valuable for other World Heritage Sites and managers.