Construction Technology

Construction and repair with wet-process sprayed concrete and mortar

by Chris Goodier

Assessment of the Embodied CO2eq in Buildings towards a Sustainable Building Design and Construction

by Aidan Duffy

Embodied Energy Analysis: A Sustainable Construction Design Assessment Tool

by Aidan Duffy

Transmission and Recall: the use of short wall anchors in the wide world

by Pat Reynolds

This thesis considers the use of a little-known building technique: short wall anchor construction. Ignored by its... more This thesis considers the use of a little-known building technique: short wall anchor construction. Ignored by its users and misunderstood by many of those who observed it subsequently, the short wall anchor construction technique has proved a useful window into the perception and behaviour of early modern people and subsequent communities.
Using the technology of the late twentieth century: the relational database, digital mapping and the internet I have taken a world-wide approach to analyse and interpret the short wall anchor as a feature
within an assemblage.
This analysis, and a study of the processes and contexts of transmission has demonstrated a close connection between display, narrative and identity and the building façade. Short wall anchors give insight into these practices in the early modern world - the whole world - where new relationships between people, places and things were being forged.
569 pages, 156 illustrations (all in colour), 5 maps (all in colour), 10 tables, bibliograply, CD of entire thesis, including animated maps and database.

Balloon Houses: The Original Aspects of Conventional Wood-Frame Construction Re-examined

by Ted Cavanagh

published in the Journal of Architectural Education

Who invented your house? (text only)

by Ted Cavanagh

published in American Heritage of Invention and Technology

The future of UK housebuilding

by Chris Goodier

What is a geodesic dome and its digitizing

by Delphine Aboohi

One of the most fascinating facts in the geodesic dome is that in the first look it seems that all the triangles are... more One of the most fascinating facts in the geodesic dome is that in the first look it seems that all the triangles are equilateral and all the struts have the identical length. Looking better,we notice that actually the struts have lengths which are similar, but not identical, and here begin all the magic behind the complicity of realizing a geodesic dome.
The geodesic dome is a structure based on a collection of triangles which, by staying in a state of tension, together forms in the space a hypothetical sphere. The sides of the triangles could be identical, forming equilateral triangles, or different, having from two different lengths to infinite. The structure becomes more and more sphere-like as the number of the diverse sizes of the struts increases. The development of the geodesic domes was made by the American engineer Richard Buckminster Fuller at the end of the ’40.
Although Buckminster Fuller developed the geodesic sphere using a sheet of paper and a pen, an easy way to calculate and to verify the stability of the dome is by using the abilities of the computer. In our era, the variety of software which allows us to model three dimensional digital shapes brings us to the same result in different and interesting ways.
In the first part of this paper I will try to explain what a geodesic dome actually is and how it works. The second part will be a tutorial for realizing a 3-D digital geodesic dome.
Following that we will try to transform the geometric form we have created into an architecture discovering the thin limit between a simple geometry and a real architecture.

A survey on the use and impact of information technology in quantity surveying service delivery in Nigeria

by Damilola Ekundayo

Refereed Conference Paper

Ibironke, O.T., Ekundayo, D. and Awodele, O.A. (2011), ‘A survey on the use and impact of information technology in quantity surveying service delivery in Nigeria’, Proceedings of the 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK, 5-7 September 2011, vol. 1, pp 433-442.

The construction industry has recently witnessed a paradigm shift from traditional paper-based method of service... more The construction industry has recently witnessed a paradigm shift from traditional paper-based method of service delivery to electronic information exchange using Information Technolog (IT), at least in the western world like UK. It is now evident that the adoption of IT can enhance construction productivity and improve communications for effective decision-making and coordination among construction participants. The ability of the industry to avail itself of technology depends on the level of usage by construction participants including the Quantity Surveyor (QS) who plays a major role in the management of project success determinants, such as cost, time and quality. This research therefore evaluates the level of adoption of IT by QS in Nigeria and its impact in discharging their professional obligations to achieve improved service delivery. A review of the relevant literature using published sources was conducted to identify the current state and use of IT in the industry in various parts of the world. In order to assess the level of adoption of technology by QS in Nigeria and to evaluate its impact on their service delivery, data collected through questionnaires administered to practicing professionals were analysed and subsequently ranked using their mean item score (MIS) and the Kruskal Wallis H test. The research revealed that despite the average to high awareness of the importance of IT in improving service delivery and productivity, QS in Nigeria are still reluctant in using these technologies mainly due to the high initial cost of acquisition; lack of infrastructures to support its use and security concerns such as the susceptibility of IT system. It is concluded that the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors should act as a champion in raising the awareness of IT among its members and the Government should provide an enabling environment for its importation and usage.

Keywords: information technology, Nigeria, productivity, quantity surveyor, service delivery.

BuildAbility: the future of construction education

by Melonie Bayl-Smith

Research report undertaken with the support of 2009 Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship, and the 2010 NAWIC International Women's Day Scholarship

Construction Reports

by Professor Dr Christopher Preece

Carnival and Construction–Towards a Scaffolding for the Inclusion of ICT In the Construction Process

by Dermott McMeel

Capabilities and limitations of Autodesk Revit in a construction technology course

by Mike Christenson

[2006]

In Proceedings of the 2006 Building Technology Educators’ Symposium, August 3-5, 2006, University of Maryland, School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, 55-62. Deborah J. Oakley and Ryan E. Smith, editors.

This paper describes the introduction of Autodesk Revit within a construction technology course, co-instructed by this... more This paper describes the introduction of Autodesk Revit within a construction technology course, co-instructed by this paper’s author, and offered to first-year professional M. Arch. students at the University of Minnesota in spring semester 2006.