Table of contents

The water sector problems are framed by the low rate of adoption of technological innovation, in addition to the great environmental challenges. In Colombia, due to its topography, the provision of the aqueduct and sewerage service is difficult, causing the association of small rural communities to try to supply their need for drinking water for daily activities in a handcrafted way, this added to the increase of the limitations of the different natural resources, it becomes a challenge to guarantee the fundamental right to water and sanitation. This article, based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals: "Health and well-being", "Clean water and sanitation", "Sustainable cities and communities, and "Responsible consumption and production" presents the results of a research carried out to validate sustainable technologies for safe water treatment systems in communities. Data were collected for a qualitative analysis through interviews applied to representative actors of the sector: water quality laboratories, aqueducts, and utility companies. The study provides information on the different needs identified for each segment, and provides information on the decisions companies make regarding investment in sustainable technologies, highlighting the existing gap in the water sector in innovation management, it presents a diagnosis on the uses of technologies on the water treatment market.

Similar to other fields, the construction industry tends to constantly evolve. There is an increasing demand for the construction of new buildings regarding the speed of the construction process, economy, and minimization of the negative effects on the environment, i.e. sustainability. These requirements can be met by using prefabrication for this construction. Modular construction represents one of the prefabrication technologies that is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. The topic of this article is the use of modular construction, even from the sustainability point of view. There is a basic overview of modular construction, its history in the construction field, an overview of the materials used, and the possibilities of its implementation. Furthermore, this article provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of modular construction. The advantages are listed in terms of quality, economy, time, and ecology as well as in terms of construction flexibility and work safety, both during production and assembly on the construction site. The disadvantages of modular construction discussed in this article are the complicated transportation of modules, demanding coordination of production and construction, the requirement for detailed construction planning, and the non-acceptance of this construction technology by the general, and sometimes professional public. This article also deals with the comparison of modular construction technology with conventional construction technologies. It points out the possibility of reusing materials from disassembled modular buildings. It also points out the ways to control and mitigate the impact of modular construction on the environment throughout the life cycle of modular building. Only after a thorough analysis of these aspects of modular construction, is it possible to explore other ways to further increase the efficiency of this technology in all directions and also to make even better use of its environmental impact minimization potential.

From prehistoric times, Signage was a means of visual communication helping people reaching out different environments (internal or external). Long before paper's invention, humans made marks on objects, such as cave walls, in the surrounding environment, for their communication. As cities grew and mobility increased, making the built environment more complex, people requirements for better information concerning spatial perception and navigation, also grew. Thus, the necessity of proactive, systematically planned, visual unified signage and wayfinding programs have been emerged. Wayfinding is how people get from one location to another, including their information-gathering and decision-making processes for orientation and movement through space. Wayfinding design builds on research in cognition and environmental psychology to design built spaces and products that facilitate the movement of people through urban settings and individual buildings. Despite its demonstrated importance to building use, costs, and safety, wayfinding receives less than its due in planning, research and building evaluation. The aim of this study is to provide a "clear" reading of the environmental space and city's routes to the users, through architectural wayfindig design. Also, architectural wayfinding design addresses built components, including spatial planning, articulation of form-giving features, circulation systems and environmental communication.

Nevertheless, iconic architecture assists in the identification of a place, city or precinct, so, structural, functional and aesthetic aspects of architecture, particularly those that represent unique features, attract tourists. Architecture, according to Aldo Rossi, "is at the same time a place, an event and a symbol". Apart from the construction in the "traditional" sense that one perceives, it is also the process by which a building is lined up. It is therefore understood that the concept of architecture which is used, depending on the purpose, as a means of representation, use, impression, but also commercialization. In particular, regarding to the relationship between Architecture and Tourism, buildings and spaces are understood as "products", that means as a series of enhancing activities while at the same time are completing the image and identity of a place (place branding). The aim of this study is to explore the value of iconic buildings to tourism, while assessing their economic and social value in tourism using the benefit transfer method. For example, the Sydney Opera House is exemplary in this respect and is estimated to contribute "US $ 640 million in annual expenses to visitors to Sydney", as it attracts visitors, indirectly encouraging them to spend the night and further. Concluding, it is noted that the value of virtual architecture is often attributed to the construction of brick and reinforced concrete, while the wider benefits that a building can offer are often overlooked or underestimated. However, what attracts the most stray visitors is the design of the buildings and the virtual architecture which in turn identify a part (country or city) of these important landmarks. While the goal of architects is not to create tourist attractions with economic benefits, however, many are increasingly aware that successful design and functional buildings become attractions for visitors on their own – which form an external environment that requires appreciation, so in the end to end up like tourist products.

Today, insulated building envelopes must not only meet thermal-technical, mechanical, and economic requirements but must also be environmentally friendly. These requirements are often contradictory, and it is not clear what the effective option is for a particular case. The aim of the paper is to compare twenty different variants of building envelopes, not only in terms of thermal-technical properties but also in terms of environmental parameters and time and financial demands. The result of the paper is the determination of effective variants by a suitable mathematical method with consideration of all the above-mentioned influences.

The current national and regional economical conjuncture in many countries, requires a sustainable management of different urban infrastructures, including road signs. From the set of possible solutions to improve the existing infrastructure's management, analysis and spatial representation, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have proved to be an essential tool for the functional competencies of local administration (municipalities), managers of municipal road networks. This study presents a framework of existing national regulations on road signs, as well as the shortcomings in the definition of methodologies for GIS-based management systems implementation. The paper continues with the critical assumptions considered in their definition and the municipalities specific competences needed for their implementation. A low-cost methodology is proposed and applied to a case study in a small Portuguese village: Belmonte. The results have shown the potential of these low-cost systems, revealing relevant time and economical gains, providing municipalities with fundamental information for the definition of realistic and well-founded strategic plans and budgets, and allowing better information to their citizens. The gathered information can help in inventory, inspections, maintenance and replacement allowing detailed reports and geo-referenced electronic database and maps of a municipality's road signs at reasonable costs. These maps and reports are the starting point to forecast the projected lifespan of the municipality's signage allowing more accurate project sign management budgets for future years. Aspects that need further development in order to improve the proposed system are also addressed.

An attempt to identify key factors impacting trip generation in different size cities is presented in this paper. Mobility is the fundamental factor in transport demand models, both for the present state and those for forecast scenarios. Moreover, research on inhabitants' mobility plays an important role in the process of urban and rural traffic modelling. It comes from the fact, regular transport surveys make it easier to determine factors impacting the number of trips taken by inhabitants in any selected study area, and to determine trends in these factors. Presentation of example results of mobility rate based on transportation surveys taken in various areas of Poland is the main goal of this paper. Results of analyses of selected macro-economic factors in transportation systems shaping are presented either. The trends in the number of inhabitants and their age composition, and motorization rates are those factors. They impact mobility ratios in the study area. Values of mobility ratio were developed based on the results of surveys which have been done in Poland till now, and on the authors' research. Mathematical regression models in estimating mobility ratio versus the selected independent factors are the results of this research either.

The problems related to development of rotational deformations of a knee joints and crack propagation in rafter elements of timber portal frames were discussed in this article. The rotational displacement, which develops between the rafter and column members due to the bending deformations of the bolts in the knee joint with a simultaneous embedment into the wood, increases the global deformations of the portal frame. Additionally, to axial force and bending moment the rafter elements are heavily loaded with shear force at the sections near knee joint especially. All effects together create very complicated complex of affecting factors. In the current study the design methodology of timber portal frames has been revised with the purpose to develop a more comprehensive set of design conditions for timber portal frames with dowel type fasteners in the knee joints. It is suggested to use the Hoffman failure criterion taking into account the difference of strength in tension and compression to manage the effects of plastic yielding combined with the crack development in wood assumed it as an orthotropic material. It has been proved by case studies of timber portal frames under service loads, as well as by tests and theoretical considerations. The set of design conditions must be supplement by additional clauses comprising Hoffman failure criterion regarding timber sections heavily loaded in shear and cross grain tension. Also, it is recommended that the design capacity of dowel type fastener should be decreased when shear force transferred by the bolt acts perpendicular to the grain direction inducing tension cross grain direction. Other measure may be application of some surface strengthening method.

Bai People's courtyard houses in the rural parts of China's Dali area are a particular type of Chinese courtyard house, adapted to local culture and conditions. These dwellings were constructed in vernacular tradition up until the 1980s but underwent significant changes in the following decades. The goal of this study is to examine the evolution of the spatial structure using quantitative data, and relate it to changes in the social culture of the inhabitants. Three vernacular and three contemporary cases in the village Gushengcun are compared. To enhance understanding and examine the idea of evolutionary change in architecture, the concept of a Spatial DNA is applied, building on a metaphor of the biological DNA. It uses Space Syntax techniques and links numerical values of integration and space type to functional information. Findings show that the integration of the courtyard and bedrooms is decreasing, and space types indicate a change from rings to sequences. In contrast, the kitchen space integration is increasing. These results reveal parallels to changes in the means of subsistence, social structure of the family and conceptions of privacy: Decreasing spatial centrality of the courtyard - once a key space in the processing of agricultural produce - coincides with a shift from work in the primary sector to secondary and tertiary industries. Modern conceptions of privacy and individualism replacing the family as a unit of privacy are related to the segregation of bedrooms. The change in the spatial location of the kitchen is interpreted in the context of abolished gender separation and the changing role of women. This study hence provides measurable evidence to the links between space and culture in an intertemporal comparison of dwelling types.

The Brno housing estate Lesna is undoubtedly an important achievement of Czechoslovak urbanism and architecture of the 1960s. It was built on the southern slopes north of Brno in 1962–1970 according to a project by a team of architects Frantisek Zounek, Viktor Rudis, Miroslav Dufek and Ladislav Volak. Although it was a standard housing construction made of prefabricated components, the architects did not want to hide its technical expression. They also fully copied it into the very urban arrangement of long blocks, which contributed to the fulfillment of the vision of the garden city. Close cooperation between the supplier, investor and designer was ensured already in the phase of elaboration of the project task. The architecture of residential buildings is based on the diligent efforts of the whole team to promote the use of a lightweight facade of a prefabricated house using parapet panels and strip glazing in the B 60 construction system. The unusually high-quality solution of the public space in the Lesna housing estate was mainly due to the time of its creation. Political liberalization in the 1960s allowed architects to come up with a generous plan for a free stop and thus perfectly fulfill the vision of a garden city. The population density of the Lesna housing estate, less than two hundred inhabitants per hectare, was multiplied by up to four hundred inhabitants per hectare in other housing estates of the "president Gustav Husak" era due to tightening economic indicators. Public greenery respecting the natural elements of the rugged relief required a different professional approach due to the extent of the exterior design. It was common practice that landscaping were carried out on residential complexes with a delay of several months and years after the first inhabitants moved in. The architects managed to reverse this common practice, so the first inhabitants moved to finished houses with access sidewalks, planted greenery and functioning residential amenities. This could not have been imagined by its inhabitants in the later realizations of housing estates. That is why the Brno housing estate Lesna is rightly called the best.

The research investigates the relationship between cities and climate change by examining how urban projects shifted to mitigation and adaptation for climate change at an urban scale. The article is based upon two complementary approaches, a multilevel analysis from sustainable transitions theory and a framework of interrelations of urban mitigation and adaptation projects. The methodological design is a case study; we analyzed the case of Medellin that, at the beginning of the 2000's, implemented public transport projects, urban parks, educational and cultural facilities, and risk mitigation projects in the surrounding hills. The main findings are that specific projects at an urban scale are operating as niches or experiments, taking advantage of windows of opportunities, and triggering changes in the urban design routines, framing a new sociotechnical system. It is found that governance, leadership, teams of experts and urban planners are drivers for the transition of urban projects, which were initially designed for social and transport needs, to urban mitigation projects for climate change. At the same time, urban mitigation projects such as the Metropolitan Green Belt are transiting to adaptation projects for climate change. The conclusion for this case study is that while most urban projects retain their traditional role, a new generation of projects with mitigation and adaptation features is emerging in the context of climate change. This article contributes to expanding the empirical analysis of the literature on the theory of sustainable transitions specifically related to cities and urban projects. The theoretical framework of urban projects and their linkages with climate change are enriched. The conceptual framework of the analysis is replicable and useful for practitioners in the field of urban design and researchers interested in comparisons to identify patterns or typologies. In addition, the article contributes to sensitize actors involved in public urban design policies in their roles as managers of transitions.

Climate change is the major challenge of our humanity and the relationship between climate change and cities has received increasing scholarly attention from governance, urban planning and infrastructure perspectives. However, the scale of the urban project, understood as the operationalization of climate change actions, has been neglected. The current three generations of urban projects are revisited (modern city, morphologic articulation, large urban projects) and a fourth-generation within the context of climate change is identified as missing; it combines adaptation and mitigation strategies for urban projects. While adaptation strategies are oriented to minimizing the negative impact of climate change on rising sea-levels, floods and rivers' changes through green and blue infrastructures, mitigation strategies are twofold: one oriented to minimizing CO2 gas emissions and the other to reducing the risks of deterioration of natural systems due to human intervention or natural causes. Integrating the four generations, a typology of a 2x2 matrix of urban projects is drawn up. The four quadrants of types of urban projects are explained and accompanied by examples. Potential and desirable shifts between the quadrants are discussed to understand how changes are needed to advance to develop this new generation of urban projects. The paper contributes to expanding our understanding of urban projects in the context of climate change with heuristics purposes for researchers, practitioners and academia, and to prepare public policy makers to encourage the debate of climate change actions of adaptation and mitigation that should be materialized on an urban project scale. Future research may empirically test the typology in different contexts of development.

For several years there has been widespread and open discussion about climate problems and human responsibility for the generated waste. The number of regulations has led to a search for applications for by-products of combustion. Moreover, the forecasted economic crisis additionally motivates to use every possible material to reduce the cost of manufacturing activities. Efficient waste management is a key element for Polish companies in their efforts to reduce their negative impact on the environment. Fluid combustion of fuels in the Polish power and heat industry still belongs to relatively new technologies. Despite the application of the most technologically advanced processing methods, bottom ashes from fluidized bed boilers are still reluctantly used. The author sees possibilities of using bottom ashes in geotechnical works. The aim of this review is to present the existing source papers relating to the use of bottom ashes in construction processes. A particular area of interest is the use of said ashes in jet-grouting (JG). The paper briefly refers to fluidized bed combustion technology as a source of combustion byproducts. The author pay special attention to the characteristics defining the characteristics of the ashes. The reader's attention will then be drawn to jet-grouting technology. References can be found to the methodology of general cement-soil testing. Due to the nature of the use of JG, the focus is particularly on their strength, water-permeability and frost resistance properties. Due to the need to determine the internal structure of the cement-ground, attention was also paid to the possibility of using X-ray computed tomography for soil cement testing.

The aim of this article is the comparison of vehicle headlamps in terms of pedestrians' visibility at nighttime conditions. The study was designed to gain results, which could serve as a basis for the pedestrian-vehicle accident analysis in terms of visibility during night drive. For this study were used comparable vehicles (same vehicle type and model year) with different headlamps type. Three different headlamps (halogen, xenon and LED headlamps) were used for the analysis. Experiments were carried out under similar conditions (straight road, nighttime, no disturbing factors). During a series of static tests, the vehicle approached at predefined distances to the figurant - pedestrian standing on the right side of the roadway. For the luminance analysis were used Luminance Distribution Analyser LumiDISP - software for analysing the luminance conditions based on evaluation of image data from digital photos.

The deteriorating state of the environment over the last half century has resulted in the current climate and environmental crisis, which is conditioned by the unbearable exploitation of the natural environment. One of the activities that plays a key role in this situation is urbanization with a constant occupation of the landscape, increasing emissions from traffic and buildings. A well-thought-out and consistent strategy for the harmonization of natural and urban structures can mitigate the negative climate impacts in the residential environment. The harmony of natural and artificial elements has a positive impact not only on the environmental but also the aesthetic quality of the urban environment. It can significantly help to strengthen the character of the cities. It was the landscape that significantly influenced their location and characteristic image. The research focuses on the evaluation of the quality of the urban environment with emphasis on the interaction of urban and landscape structures. The presented research is aimed to the connection of the city with the river and the surrounding landscape. It analyses and evaluates the impact of characteristic natural elements on the formation of urban structures during their development to the present day. It traces significant "traces" of the landscape in the urban structure of selected cities and their evolution. The research is focused to significant Slovak settlement on the Danube.

The durability of a cement composite is the most important criterion for assessing this material. However, due to the durability of the cement composite, its frost resistance is an important property. In order to ensure concrete frost resistance, the European standard PN-EN 206-1: 2013 requires its aeration at the level of 4 - 7%. The Committee 201 of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) also requires the use of an air-entraining admixture in concretes exposed to frost damage. The amount of air-entraining admixture is significantly influenced by the composition of the cement used. In order to minimize the problems with obtaining frostresistant concrete, an attempt was made to create air-entraining cements. This article presents the effect of the amount and type of dosing of air-entraining admixtures (natural and synthetic) on the air content in fresh air-entraining cement mortars. The test cements used also differed in the production method: joint mixing of components and joint grinding of components. Based on the research, a lot of valuable information was obtained related to the influence of the preparation of air-entraining cements on the air content in the mortar, e.g. mortars with mixed cement with natural air-entraining admixture have a higher air content. The air content is higher in the cement co-ground with natural air-entraining admixture. A synthetic air entraining admixture added separately to mixed cements with silica fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag increases air entrainment in mortars. The synthetic air-entraining admixture added separately to co-milled cements causes an increase in air entrainment in the mortars, except for those containing cement with ground granular blast furnace slag.

In practice, sealed joints in the construction industry are very often exposed to adverse climatic influences. One of these climatic influences is the effect of water, for example in the form of rain or humidity. This article is therefore devoted to the sealing of joints of problematic base materials, which are then exposed to the effects of water and subsequently tested according to the recommended test standards. For this research, a problematic substrate based on cement is selected, and glass cement is specifically chosen for its shortcomings. The main disadvantage of this material is the existence of small particles on its surface, which due to their insufficient wettability disrupt the adhesion of both the primer and subsequently the sealant to this substrate and thus significantly reduce the quality of the sealed joint. Furthermore, representatives of several types of sealants and primers recommended for them available on the Czech market are selected for this experiment. Test specimens are made using glass cement plates treated with the appropriate primer and the sealant. These test specimens are then the goal of a test procedure to verify the properties of the sealed joint of the problematic material and the selected primer and sealant that is exposed to the water element. The results of these tests are then presented in the article.

The interest for studying the Omani built heritage is not recent. However, the published research about the subject since the early 1970s, is limited in number and sporadic in topics and territories investigated. Moreover, there was no or little interest in examining this built heritage from the point of view of its urban design typologies. This paper is examining the urban form of these settlements and linking it with legibility aspects. Legibility and its influence on users of urban spaces have been significant for many theorists in urban studies. In their point of view, behaviour patterns of pedestrians are strongly influenced by legibility perception of the spatial patterns in urban spaces. The current research aims at studying the legibility aspects of traditional Omani residential settlements in an objective evaluation represented by numerical approach. Through a descriptive and analytical method, the results will link the influence of urban forms with legibility and behaviour patterns of pedestrians, which are deeply affected by the perception of body and mind. The paper explored paths' forms influence on legibility perception of pedestrian in some of traditional settlements in Oman that have a strong urban identification. Five case studies representing traditional Omani settlements were chosen and analysed with an innovative quantitative approach capable of discovering, evaluating deficiencies, and suggesting solutions to develop local concepts for paths in any of urban settlements. The findings disclose that the contest to adopt international approaches to solve local urban spaces has created pointless, despicable, and unused spaces, while adopting local patterns, features and solutions will enhance the legible image of local urban settlements.

City residents do not always have an opportunity to visit larger parks or nature areas on a daily basis as the rhythm of their daily life does not allow them to spend enough time in a natural environment. More and more time is spent on the way to the place of work or home. As well as tourists on visiting the city use main streets as touristic routes. On the one hand, major central streets affect ecological balance of the city due to the heavy traffic and contamination from it, but on other hand, they are mostly visited public areas because of the public transport and various public buildings and touristic objects concentrated there. Thus, street green space plays an important role in the city landscape pattern and often requires much more diversity of plantings, humane and safer environment than other areas of the city. Street green space can be very limited especially in the centre of the city with dense building areas or places where historic pattern of buildings does not allow to expand green areas. But it is possible to find small green spaces or green pockets in several places along the street. Green pockets that developed as multifunctional, ecological and aesthetical green spaces can compensate insufficiency of street greenery. The socio-economically active, medium-size city of Rezekne in Latvia has been chosen as a pilot area for the assessment of potential to develop green pockets along main streets of the city. The central street of Rezekne is the main axis of the urban landscape which provides access to the city from other regions, although it is historic heritage area with active public life. Unfortunately, within the development of the city there were needs to increase the flow of the main street by reducing the green space. Therefore, it was not possible to develop classic street greenery of tree alleys. Due to the random spatial structure of buildings along the main street, there are open spaces of different size and shape between or in front of buildings. Those are appropriate for development of green spaces. The approach of green pockets was adapted for the main street of Rezekne as a tool for enhancing ecological, functional, social and aesthetic quality of street green space. As well as, this makes it possible to give the street landscape a diverse and multifunctional image and provide necessary functions and environment for residents and tourists. The aim of the article is to analyse problematic issues of the greenery of major central streets of Rezekne and present an approach of green pockets as a tool for their solving.

More than a half of residents in some capital cities of the former Socialist block live in large-scale residential areas that had been built from the 1950s to the 1980s. The public space satisfaction in the areas is low, the residents rarely appropriate the yards and streets of the housing complexes. The aim of the paper is to provide a framework for the understanding of residents' assessment of public space and its relation to the appropriation; the framework can be used for the development of building or landscape architecture projects focused at reconstruction of the public space. Public Space Quality Model is generated in the paper. The model includes three spatial categories that are defined by metrical values, configuration components and dominant spatial elements – elements that determine size, category, and the structure of a space. Using the observation method in the residential areas of the former East Berlin, the research concludes that the model demonstrates the highest precision of predictability of the appropriation intensity of the public space when the green structure is used as the dominant spatial element. A method accompanying the model is presented in the paper that permits to use specific types of trees or shrubs in particular distancing and concrete arrangements to create spaces of high, medium, or low appropriation level in large-scale residential areas.

Underground mining brings benefits in the form of the extracted mineral. The negative effects of mining exploration are deformations of the rock mass, which also cause deformations on the ground surface. There are continuous deformations, discontinuous deformations and mining-induced tremors. Recommendations regarding the protection of the structure of cubature building against the negative effect of mining operations are discussed in detail, for example, in the recommendation published by the Building Research Institute (ITB) in Warsaw. In the case of road structures, the situation is different. Firstly, there are no general rules that would provide clear guidelines for the procedure for designing road pavement in mining areas, similarly to cubature buildings. Secondly, in the computer programs used for the individual design of road pavement, it is not possible to assign additional actions, including mining impact. Therefore, in order to analyze the behavior of the pavement-mining subsoil system, an advanced numerical analyze should be carried out. In this case, the subsoil thickness, the boundary conditions and the constitutive relationships of the materials of the road pavement layers and subsoil should be determined. This paper presents an attempt to select kinematic boundary conditions for the FEM model of the road pavement-mining subsoil system, analogically to the model of the building-mining subsoil system. The paper is aimed at assessment of the influence of kinematic boundary conditions selection on the criterial values that are taken into account during the design process of road pavement using mechanistic methods. For this purpose, three cases were considered: (i) horizontal mining strain (ε_design), (ii) curvature of surface (K_design), (iii) combined impact of these actions. In these cases, each time vehicle wheel load was assumed. Based on the analyzes, the computational horizontal strain of the mining area ε_comp is decisive when assessing the criterial values taken into account in the design process of road pavement structures.

Ceramsite (expanded clay) dust is a waste material, obtained in large volumes all over the world as a by-product of ceramsite gravel production. With the development of the construction industry and the ever-growing amount of ceramsite dust disposed in the landfills, the recycling and rational use of this material is becoming a relevant issue. The currently available technologies for the ceramsite waste recycling are very limited, this is why it is necessary to develop a new effective way to involve this waste into the new production. The present research is based on the assumption that ceramsite dust can be applied effectively as an active pozzolanic mineral additive in the cement-based materials. In order to study the composition, structure and properties of the original clay used for the production of ceramsite, as well as the dehydrated clay dust, captured in the dust removing systems of kilns at ceramsite gravel plants, physical and chemical analysis methods were used. Based on the experimental data, the influence of ceramsite dust on the structure and properties of cement compositions was evaluated. Mechanical tests of the samples showed that the introduction of ceramsite dust as an additive in the amount of 3% by the cement weight leads to an increase in compressive strength by 23% in comparison with the reference composition. The paper also presents the results of microstructural analysis, IR spectral analysis and differential thermal analysis of samples modified with the optimal amount of this microadditive. The study of the microstructure of the modified samples shows that the introduction of ceramsite dust into the composition of the cement stone does not only change the morphology of new formations, thus increasing the density of the structure, but also varies the mineralogical composition of the cement matrix with the formation of stronger and more water-resistant minerals in the form of calcium silicate hydrates and calcium aluminosilicate hydrates. This technology allows the recycling of waste from the production of ceramsite stone, thus improving the environmental situation and contributing to the creation of a circular economy.

This study is aimed at increasing the adhesion of the fibre-reinforced polymer rods to the binder in the cement-based composites in order to eliminate the problem of rod slippage under loading and broaden the application of composite reinforcement in the construction industry. It is assumed that the better adhesion of reinforcement rod to the cement matrix can be provided by increasing the cement stone structural density, and, in particular, by compacting the structure of the hydration products formed on the surface the fibre-reinforced polymer reinforcement rod. Such increase in strength and density can be achieved by adding nanodispersed additives such as metakaolin, the dispersion of carbon black and Peneco Nano Stachema primer into the composition of the cement matrix. Additional adhesion of the cement matrix to the reinforcement is ensured by coating it with the primer, which seals the structure of the cement matrix located in the interfacial transition zone between the reinforcing bar and the cement stone. Experimental study proved that the proposed approach allows the formation of a strong and dense structure in the interfacial transition zone between the cement matrix and the fibre-reinforced polymer reinforcement rod surface. The introduction of metakaolin and a dispersion of technical soot led to an increase in the adhesion strength of fibre-reinforced polymer rod with a cement matrix by 27% and 29%, respectively. The IR spectral analysis and DTA analysis results showed that the mineralogy and morphology of the hydration products was changed due to the addition of the modifying additives, thus improving the adhesion characteristics and corrosion resistance of fibre- reinforced polymer in the cement-based composites.

This article presents two technological ways of recycling the wastes of the production and application of products made of highly oriented fiberglass bound by the epoxy matrix. The first technology is aimed at shredding the epoxy-based products obtained by pultrusion to create fine and ultrafine powders (up to 2-10 microns) used as fillers in various composites. The second technology offers a way to obtain coarse powders with a particle size of up to 100 microns, used in the composition of heat-insulating materials and fire-retardant intumescent coatings. Proposed is the mechanical grinding of fiberglass to a finely dispersed state with subsequent heating to a temperature of 400 °C in the presence of a foaming coke and liquid glass. This technology allows the full utilization of waste from the production and application of epoxy fiberglass, such as windmill blades and parts of molded products, leading to the creation of an environmentally friendly fire-resistant and heat-insulating material in the form of plates, blocks and other products with operation temperature up to 400C, as well as fire retardant coatings for building materials and structures. By varying the content of the foaming agent and soluble glass in the composition of the intumescent mixture, one can regulate the average density, thermal conductivity and strength of the material within significant limits, achieving characteristics that exceed those of traditional heat-insulating materials. The proposed material based on recycled epoxy fiberglass is inflammable and resistant to unfavorable environmental impacts; it has high biostability and provides heat and mass transfer during the operation in buildings and structures.

From the dawn of history, humanity created communication routes in order to move efficiently. Trees were planted along the roads connecting towns and villages so that travellers could rest in their shade. The line of trees also played an informative, strategic and sometimes aesthetic role. Currently, a line of tall vegetation along the street provides shade and relief in cities during hot weather. It is also worth emphasizing that greenery reduces stress factors in large cities. One of the stressors in cities is noise. In an urbanized environment, noise is perceived as unpleasant and bothersome. Appropriate planting of greenery in the city can reduce this phenomenon. The article not only analyses the possibilities of reducing noise through appropriate planting of greenery, but also provides guidelines for the correct design of greenery along streets and at crossroads. It is worth emphasizing here that the correct design of greenery in the vicinity of communication arteries is not only a matter of ethics or landscape legibility, but also a matter of safe use of infrastructure. The article also deals with the issue of legal acts relating to the design of urban greenery. The former and current legal acts contain provisions related to the classification of green areas, their protection and shaping. These regulations apply to various fields (construction, spatial planning, environmental protection) and therefore there are discrepancies in the legal interpretation of this term. All these doubts will be clarified.

Noise in large cities reaching the interior of buildings by air or in the form of material noise caused by vibrations propagating through the ground to the building not only cause discomfort but also pollution according to legal regulations in the field of environmental protection. The main legal acts in Poland relating to environmental protection are the Environmental Protection Law of 2001, as amended. Under the concept of emissions in this act, the introduction of substances or energy into the environment, such as heat, noise, vibrations or magnetic fields. Pollution, is understood as an emission that may be harmful to human health or the state of the environment, may cause damage to material goods, may deteriorate the aesthetic value of the environment or may conflict with other, justified ways of using the environment. According to a 2008 Directive of the European Parliament and Council, pollution is direct or indirect introduction of substances as a result of human activity, vibration, heat or noise to air, environment water or soil that may endanger human health or environmental quality, or manifest itself in the form of damage to tangible property, diminution of value or collision with other legitimate uses of the environment. The above two legal acts already show that both noise and vibrations should always be taken into account in the environmental impact assessment. The paper also analyzes other acts of law relating to environmental protection, taking into account noise and vibrations. Moreover, possible solutions that can reduce pollution such as noise and vibrations are clearly described.

The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) is widespread within the engineering and construction industry, with huge strides in both usage and technological advances in the past two decades. The benefits of design collaboration, communication, visualization, and risk mitigation are untold. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers foresaw the benefits of BIM and began to write policy for its mandatory use across the enterprise in the early 2000s. As BIM technology evolved, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has struggled to keep pace with the speed of industry but continue to make improvements to policy and more widespread usage across the enterprise. The MILCON program sees widespread use in the planning and design phases using BIM for visualization, communication, creation of 2D construction drawings, and rough estimating. BIM usage stops short in two major areas of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers work: hydropower rehabilitation and construction management. Professionals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in design management, hydropower engineering, and construction management all agreed that BIM, utilized and implemented properly, can have a very strong impact in each major field that would improve efficiencies, aid stakeholders in better understanding of complicated design concepts, and realize a more streamlined construction management process for complicated hydropower work. Through literature review and interviews with construction professionals, this research studied how BIM is being used within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, specifically within hydropower rehabilitation programs, for design and construction management. This research also focused on how private industry has been and is currently using BIM in construction management, and to correlate how processes used in private industry may be used on hydropower generation unit rehabilitation projects at USACE-owned facilities.

Because of its specific, industrial space, a challenge from the planning stage to the design stage is constituted. Proper zoning of this space has positive effects on the industrial function, spatial exposure and environmental impact. Proper creation of industrial areas means the impact of these processes on a macro scale. Local government authorities have the most important influence on the formation of industrial areas, which are necessary for the functioning and economic development of a region. The right regional development policy is what places the industrial space in symbiosis with areas of a different purpose. The most important is the selection of an appropriate space - an enclave, where this specific function can exist and be developed without affecting the surroundings, which may be the adjacent urban space. Due to its specifics, locating of industrial areas has a fundamental role in these multifaceted processes. Bydgoszcz Industrial and Technological Park (BPPT) is the biggest industrial area in the district and one of the biggest industrial and technological parks in Poland. As city authorities say "According to the independent report of the World Bank "Doing Business in Poland 2015", Bydgoszcz is the best city for investment. The potential of the Park and his rapid development are found disregarding not only amongst investors, but also amongst other operators receiving the BPPT infrastructure." Referred to the above, there are several important questions. How do these assumptions relate to the industrial zone if an urban area is in the close neighbourhood? How should the development of industrial spaces look like, so that it does not adversely affect urban living space? How do the above assumptions refer to the Bydgoszcz Industrial and Technological Park (BPPT)? The matrix presented in the article compares the general assumptions of the interactions of industrial processes and their application for the Bydgoszcz Industrial and Technological Park.

Abstract: The destructive effects of earthquakes negatively affect many people's lives and cause a large number of lives and property losses. One of the most crucial factors that increase the destructive effects and structural damages of earthquakes is the deformations in the soil layers during strong ground motion. Especially liquefaction due to sudden increase in pore water pressure during strong ground motion in saturated sandy soils causes large deformations in the soil layers; hence leads to severe damage to the structures. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the liquefaction-induced deformations and settlements in the soil layers with high liquefaction potential. Following this purpose, three different two-dimensional fully saturated soil profiles with 35, 55, 75 % relative densities were created and carried out by using different strong ground motions for estimation of liquefaction-induced free field settlements. The finite element code "Plaxis 2D" and constitutive model "PM4Sand" were used in the analysis. The results of finite element (FE) analyses were compared with semi-empirical methods in the literature. The liquefaction state observed with pore pressure ratio (R_u) and safety factor (FS) is similar in numerical and empirical methods. The FE analyses have shown that the evaluation of free-field, liquefaction-induced settlements obtained from PM4Sand-Model have considerably lower settlement values than the semi-empirical methods. However, the semi-empirical method suggested by Cetin et al. (2009) and numerical analyses gave quite similar settlement results to each other. Moreover, there is no direct relationship between the liquefaction-induced settlements and the earthquake source properties in the numerical method. However, this is different for semi-empirical methods, and there is a relationship between strong ground motion features and liquefaction-induced settlements.

There are currently 104 dams constructed in Malaysia. The dams were built for various purposes; 16 of them were built for hydropower. The dam's reservoir often presents significant risks to downstream areas if a massive downfall release occurs. The enormous downfall could be due to a dam break event, overtopping, and emergency operational release. An incident may occur due to massive flows over a spillway with high-speed discharge or unexpected peak discharge. The obvious impact of the incident is direct to the community in the downstream area. Although there is no dam failure recorded case in Malaysia since the 1900s, the possibility of dam failure occurring is still there. Therefore, the dams must have an emergency action plan (EAP) to prepare the likelihood of the emergency occurrences. This paper aims to explore the EAP practices for dam incident over the region and review the EAP practices of a hydropower dam in Malaysia. Implementing EAP in the emergency response system would minimise the public and environment's impact due to dam failures. The benefit of establishing an EAP is to create better communication and effective responses system among agencies during dam emergency occurrences. This paper revolves around the EAP practices by dam owners in mitigating the risk of dam failure occurrences.

The article contains the results of research on the effect of waste rock dust on the properties of cement-bound mixtures. Gabbro-limestone dust with a significant proportion of active silica and calcium carbonate was used for the tests. The results of strength tests after 28 days of maturation with a variable proportion of cement (3%, 5%, 7%) and rock dust (0%, 10%, 20%) are presented. The stabilized aggregate was fine sand. The obtained results did not show the expected strength and frost resistance of the tested samples. The analysis of the results shows that the addition of rock dust is not applicable in dusty soils.

Predicting the temporal evolution of the demography and the residents' spatial movements would immensely aid the estate development and urban planning. The evolution of population in three townships of Singapore is simulated at neighbourhood scale using a novel agent-based probabilistic approach with inputs from large-scale survey and statistical data. The demographic changes due to age-dependent rates of death and fertility are studied by considering the inter-ethnic marriages that has a varying probability depending on the ethnicities of the male and female partners. The predicted changes in the age and household compositions and family types have been found to reflect the population trends in Singapore over the past years. The decline in family types that contain children and the structure of age composition over years underline the issue of prevailing low fertility rates. The strategies for incorporating the population relocation to consider the long-term spatial movement are also discussed. In Singapore's context, we consider in the relocation model an added complexity of ethnic quota for the residential units developed by public housing board. The ethnicity dependent parameter coupled with other parameters that represent the number of children in a household besides their size, the household income, the proximity of children's schools, and the places of employment could play a strong role in predicting the spatial evolution of the residents. These predictions can be used by the urban planners and policy makers to improve the quality of life in Singapore.

The analysis of the physical-geographical conditions determines and influences the formation and the regime of the water resources from a hydrographic basin. This paper aims to analyse spatial data based on raster models, more precisely the terrain analysis, later used in hydrological modelling. For the elaboration of the digital model of the terrain, methods of interpolation of certain data are used - the level curves - after which, by running the ArcGIS program will result the structure of the irregular triangulation network (TIN). Next, based on the TIN model, a set of analyses is obtained regarding the morphology of the terrain: the slope map; slope exposure map, etc. The slope is one of the most important factors for controlling surface and intermediate water runoff. The exposure of the slopes depends very much on the direction of the slope of the land. With the help of the analysis of the slope and slope exposure it is possible to: calculate the solar lighting for each location in a region; find all slopes in the southern part of a mountainous region to identify locations where the snowmelt process will start earlier than in other areas, thus avoiding the danger of flooding due to runoff from the slopes and the danger of soil erosion; the value and speed of surface runoff; identify the spread and abundance of flora and fauna, precipitation; identify the productivity classes of the land; find all the north-facing slopes on a mountain as part for the search of the best ski slopes.

Climate attributes such as precipitation, extreme temperature, and freeze-thaw cycles along with traffic loads cause pavement distresses. The maintenance need for pavements is decided based on the pavement condition rating such as International Roughness Index (IRI). Generally, an IRI rating less than 2.68 m/km is acceptable, and a rating greater than 2.68 m/km is considered unacceptable and classified as "very poor" condition of the pavement. It is imperative to be able to accurately predict pavement conditions to prepare proper Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R) programs for the pavements. This study aims to develop IRI models that can successfully estimate the IRI values for Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP) considering the M&R history of the pavements using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) approach. The study was carried out with the database collected from Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program. The variables used for the ANN model development are initial IRI, pavement age, concrete pavement thickness, equivalent single axle load (ESAL), climatic region (wet-freeze, wet non-freeze, dry-freeze, dry non-freeze), construction number (CN), and several climatological data. After utilizing various ANN model structures, the best performing ANN model resulted in promising statistical measures (i.e. R² = 0.87). The IRI prediction model can successfully estimate the increase of IRI values with the increase of ESAL value over time. The IRI prediction model can also estimate the decrease of IRI value after maintenance and rehabilitation. The predicted IRI values with good accuracy will help the local and state agencies to prepare for M&R programs for JPCP pavements and allocate a projected budget accordingly.

A large number of paved highway surfaces comprises composite pavements as a result of concrete pavement rehabilitation that uses an asphalt overlay on top of the concrete surface. Annually, billions of dollars are spent on the maintenance and rehabilitation of road networks. Roughness is one of the several indicators of road conditions used to make objective decisions related to road network management. The irregularities in the pavement surface affecting the ride quality of road users can be described by a standard roughness index defined as the International Roughness Index (IRI). Roughness prediction models can identify rehabilitation needs, analyze rehabilitation effects, and estimate future pavement conditions to implement different Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R) activities to extend the pavement life cycle and provide a smooth surface for road users. This study intended to develop pavement performance models to predict roughness for asphalt overlay on concrete pavement sections using the Long-Term Performance Pavement (LTPP) program database. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) approach was used to develop roughness prediction models. A total of 52 pavement sections with 592 data points were analyzed. Five models were developed, and the best performing model, Model 5 was found with an average square error (ASE) of 0.0023, mean absolute relative error (MARE) of 12.936, and coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.88. Model 5 utilized one output variable (IRIMean) and 14 input variables (i.e., Initial IRIMean, Age, Wet-Freeze, Wet Non-Freeze, Dry-Freeze, Dry Non-Freeze, Asphalt Thickness, Concrete Thickness, CN Code, ESAL, Annual Air Temperature, Freeze Index, Freeze-Thaw, and Precipitation). The ANN model structure utilized for Model 5 was 14-9-1 (14 inputs, 9 hidden nodes, and 1 output). Environmental impacts and traffic repetitions can cause severe damage to the pavement if timely maintenance and rehabilitation are not performed. By considering the effects of the M&R history of the pavement, it is possible to obtain realistic prediction models for future planning. Therefore, the developed ANN roughness performance models in this paper can be used as a prediction tool for IRI values and guide decision-makers to develop a better M&R plan. Local and state agencies can use available historical traffic and climatological data in the developed models to estimate the change in IRI values. Utilizing these prediction models eliminates time-consuming data collection and post-processing, and consequently, a cost reduction. This low-cost tool will improve the condition assessment and effective M&R scheduling.

It is known that non-metallic composite reinforcement was invented in the 60's of the last century, and already then, a large number of scientists began to investigate its physical and mechanical characteristics. Despite its rather old age, this reinforcement has not been sufficiently studied for its work in building structures. Fiberglass composite reinforcement (Arvit) is a high quality construction material with many advantages: 4-5 times less weight compared to metal of the same diameter; it does not rust or oxidize; tensile strength is 2 times higher than metal reinforcement; it does not conduct electricity; high resistance to temperature changes from -70 to +200 ° C; easy to transport. The distinctive features of work of fiberglass composite reinforcement in bending spacer elements are still insufficiently studied, which in design and production practices leads to the non-use of such reinforcement in the construction of elements of buildings and structures. The experimental results of the test specimens are presented in the article. In first test specimen, longitudinal working reinforcement was made of two metal rods Ø8 class A400S, in second - two fiberglass rods Ø8 AKS 600.

Structures of glued wood have significant advantages in comparison with structures made of metal or reinforced concrete (less mass, better resistance to the action of chemically aggressive environments, high fire resistance, aesthetic attractiveness, eco-friendliness). However, at the same time, scientists are looking for new ways to improve the characteristics of such wood. We also proposed a new construction of combined reinforcement of glued beams in which the steel bar reinforcement of the periodic profile was arranged in the grooves of the compressed zone, and in the stretched zone reinforcement was carried out with the external composite tape made of carbon fiber. This combination increases both rigidity and bearing capacity of the elements that we are testing from glued wood for work on transverse bending. The method of experimental research on the transverse bend of a new construction of glued beam beams with combined reinforcement was developed. The proposed method fully allows us to examine and experimentally investigate the stress-strain state under load of glued beams from combined reinforcement at different stages of their work.

The development of housing construction demands an application of building materials which ensure necessary functional performance of structures, have high heat-insulating properties, are environmentally friendly and their use is economically appropriate. Simultaneous ensuring of mentioned indices is possible because of complex combined joining of building materials with different physical-mechanical properties. This article presents experimental determination of useful load for sandwich reinforced concrete – foamed concrete floor slabs. Sandwich reinforced concrete – foamed concrete floor slabs are the floor slabs which are composed of normal concrete, non-autoclaved foamed concrete and spatial reinforcement frame. Experimental determination of useful load was carried out on series that compose of four sandwich reinforced concrete – foamed concrete floor slabs. Experimental test of sandwich reinforced concrete – foamed concrete floor slabs was carried out under condition of pure bending that was achieved by applying to floor slab in one third of its span two concentrated forces equal in magnitude. Useful load for sandwich reinforced concrete – foamed concrete floor slabs was 33.23÷77.87 kN/m². Sandwich reinforced concrete – foamed concrete floor slabs are proposed to be used in construction of housing and social structures.

Located in the Lushunkou District of Dalian, Liaoning Province, the Taiyanggou Historic District is one of the most well-preserved modern historic districts in China, with the most surviving historic heritages. The area is home to a large number of cultural heritages, ranging from national to district level, as well as a large number of modern historic buildings that are not on the conservation list, which have immeasurable historical and cultural value. This District is reputed as an "open-air architectural exposition". However, as Lushun is a military port city, most of the area is under the jurisdiction of the army, and the government and the army have multiple administrations that do not form a unified combination, making it difficult to implement conservation and development in the Taiyanggou Historic District. Eventually, this leads to problems of stagnant development, environmental degradation, population loss, population aging and a gradual decline in the vitality of the district. Therefore, how to reshape the vitality of the district and promote its long-term development while preserving its original historical appearance to the greatest extent has become an urgent problem to be solved. The paper began with an in-depth interpretation of the connotation of "vitality" and "vitality improvement" in historic districts through previous studies. The five major components of the vitality of historic districts were summarized as physical space vitality, social vitality, cultural vitality, economic vitality and political vitality. Subsequently, from these five aspects, the elements of vitality of the Taiyanggou Historic District were extracted and summarized, and the problems of its current decline in vitality were analyzed. Finally, using the problem-oriented and goal-oriented research ideas, a targeted approach was adopted to explore strategies to improve the vitality and get out of its current development dilemma, with a view to shedding light on the conservation and renewal of Taiyanggou Historic District.

Numerical study of the aeration of a new urban microdistrict located along a highway in Novosibirsk, Russia, was performed. The main goal of the paper was to assess whether the architectural and planning structure of the new microdistrict is optimal in terms of aeration and air quality. A scenario of particulate matter (PM10) transfer in the vicinity of the microdistrict is reproduced. Numerical modeling is performed for the prevailing wind direction. 3D numerical simulation was carried out using the Revit software to build the CAD model of the residential area and the ANSYS software was used to perform a computational experiment. Based on the calculations, numerical data were obtained on the wind speed and on PM10 concentration fields in the residential area. Favorable and unfavorable zones of the microdistrict in terms of high concentrations of PM10 at the pedestrian zones were described.

Since the beginning of modern road construction, there have been effort to make durable, long life pavements. But no one pavement can fulfil designed purpose forever. On the other hand, some natural resources are limited, so it is important to maximize use of renewable resources. In recent years, there is a visible pursuit of this trend, in road construction represented mostly by use of waste materials, such as industrial by-products or recycled asphalt pavement itself. Within the effort, fibrous additives were established on the market to prolong life of pavement layers. Some commercial ones are synthetic polymer based, so it does not go well with the renewable part of pavement life cycle if we want to secure sustainable future. This paper describes use of fibres from natural renewable resource, specifically jute plant (Corchorus). Three asphalt mix variants with jute fibres were designed and further compared. Fibre content was 0.1 %, 0.2 % and 0.3 % by weight. Several tests were conducted to examine the effect of fibres on mixture properties, with aim on stiffness modulus (IT-CY) and crack propagation (SCB). Furthermore, indirect tensile strength ratio was calculated as a parameter showing performance of the mixture under the wet conditions. Control mixtures with paving grade and polymer modified bitumen were tested for better comparison and evaluation of the results.

In the renovation of historic buildings, the facades deserve special attention because, in general, it is where the property's value and heritage lies. Additionally, they have a fundamental impact in the energetic efficiency of buildings. When you want to achieve an efficient building, the facades must comply with certain construction standards, generally difficult to achieve in renovations, especially in facades built with exposed brick, not altering their external appearance is a sine qua non condition. Against this background, in order to carry out optimal interventions in the thermal behavior of a brick wall, it is essential to have an exhaustive knowledge of the characteristics and values that influence thermal conductivity. To do so, calculations and simulations are carried out using the density and porosity parameters that are published in the different documents and regulations. However, these values are not reliable because they refer to the materials currently manufactured, and therefore, they are not valid when working with centenary materials that have been produced without quality control or precise technical specifications. On the other hand, the values provided by the regulations refer to the material in the dry state. It has not been considered that bricks, and especially those manufactured manually, due to their intrinsic conditions, are capable of absorbing large amounts of water, and therefore, of significantly varying its thermal conductivity. This feature is extrapolated to brickwork facades, where water can rise from the ground and penetrate from the rain. Thus, it is necessary that in the thermal conductivity study its hygrothermal behavior is taken into consideration. Against this background, this article presents the results of the tests carried out on specimens of various bricks from different traditional bricks factories and manufacturing processes and with an approximate age of about 100 years, to show that the old bricks have very different density, porosity and thermal conductivity values from the current ones. In addition, these values vary greatly depending on the moisture they contain, and also, the manufacturing system they had. Likewise, it is clear that the bricks of the facades of historic buildings, even if they are contemporaries, have different characteristics among them, showing different thermal behavior.

Observation of damage caused by recent earthquakes highlights, once again, that the presence of infills significantly affects the seismic response of reinforced concrete (R.C.) frame buildings. Therefore, in spite of the fact that infills are non-structural elements, and thus they are normally not considered in structural analyses, in many cases their contribution should not be neglected. Based on these observations, the study proposed in this paper consists in the evaluation of the seismic response of infills in time-history finite element analyses of R.C. frame structures by means of a two-element model, constituted by two diagonal nonlinear beams. A "concrete"-type hysteretic model predicts the in-plane state of infills, through a force-displacement backbone curve expressly generated, and scanned in terms of performance limits, to this aim. This model is demonstratively applied to a real case study, i.e. a R.C. frame building including various types of brick masonry perimeter infills and internal partitions, damaged by the 30 October 2016 Central Italy earthquake. The time-histories seismic analyses carried out on it allows checking the influence of infills on the response of the structure, as well the effectiveness of the proposed model in reproducing the observed real damage on the masonry panels.

This article is dedicated to the use of unburnt clay, specifically as a material to produce clay plaster and they stabilization via polymers. The main goal is to enhance the attributes of a clay plaster through the stabilization of various polymers, alternatively by combining the polymer with hydrophobization in different ratios. Stabilization is particularly important for exterior plasters, as they are the most exposed to water. To compare the characteristics, the mixtures were tested for water resistance, water vapor permeability, flexural tensive strength and compressive strength.

Precast concrete frames (PCFs) with "dry" connections and self-centering capacity have been proposed as a new kind of seismic protective structural system with characteristics of damage controllable mechanism, easy-assemblage and rapid repair speed. The damage mechanism of PCFs are concentrated at the panel zones under earthquake excitations, so as to avoid damage to beam and column components. Through reasonable design for the PCFs, not only the structural and life safeties can be guaranteed, but also the seismic loss and social impact can be minimized. This paper conducts a comparative study between PCFs with "dry" connections and conventional cast-in-situ concrete frame. A generalized beam-column connection analytical model is utilized to predict the seismic behaviour of PCFs with energy dissipation devices, with an emphasis on the opening behaviour at beam-column interfaces, the self-centering capacity provided by prestressed tendons and the hysteresis behaviour provided by energy dissipation devices. Prototype PCFs or cast in situ frame structures are designed to achieve similar deformation capacities in Chinese highly seismic fortification zone. Probabilistic seismic capacity analyses (PSCA) are conducted based on the results of probabilistic pushover analyses and Latin Hypercube Sampling. Incremental dynamic analysis method combined with nonlinear time history analyses are utilized to conduct probabilistic seismic demand analyses (PSDA). Fragility functions of different structural systems are derived based on the convolution of PSCA and PSDA. Finally, the seismic risk is evaluated based on the fragility functions and the developed Chinese seismic code compliant hazard functions. The results indicate that PCFs with energy dissipation devices can have lower seismic risk than conventional cast-in-site frames.

The seismic loss of buildings comes not only from the damaged structural components. Much more loss may be induced by non-structural components, the demolition loss and social impacts associated with excessive downtime. One of the main characteristics of a resilient city is that the buildings in the city should be able to recover to their pre-earthquake functionalities with minimized economic loss and downtime. For this purpose, a comparative study regarding seismic economic loss and downtime is conducted between the conventional cast-in-situ reinforced concrete frames (RCFs) and precast concrete frames (PCFs) with "dry" connections. The results show that the PCFs with prestressed tendons (PTs) can effectively reduce demolition loss given their extraordinary self-centering capacity provided by PTs. By adding web friction devices at the beam ends, the economic loss of structural components and drift-sensitive non-structural components can be effectively reduced. The downtime of PCFs is reduced at given hazard levels compared with RCF given their rapid repair speed and easy assemblage. In view of the rapid post-earthquake repair and lower earthquake loss, the PCFs are worth further investigation and application to develop resilient cities.

To boost the energy performance of buildings, the EU has established a legislative framework including the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Through this document, EU state members are incentivized to set up a Building Energy performance Assessment Method (BEAM), tailored to the specific needs of the country. There is no standard definition for the energy performance of a building. Since the options are numerous, it is important for the policymaker to define the goals of their specific BEAM first, before developing the BEAM itself. The definition of these goals is a subjective matter and can differ when asked to different organizations in the building sector. To comprehend the desires and perspectives from each different group, a structured overview of the goals that are important for the specific region is needed. For this paper, a method was developed to provide this structured overview and was tested on the legislative energy performance of buildings (EPB) framework of Flanders, Belgium. The Flemish framework was initiated in 2006 and is still in action today. The method consists of two steps. In the first step, a multi-level tree structure for goal mapping based on the Goal Breakdown Structure (GBS) was developed. The main goal, reducing global warming, is on top of the tree structure, which then subdivides into many sub-goals on different levels. An example of a goal on the lowest level of the structure could be the insulation level of the walls. In the second step, prominent stakeholders in the Flemish building industry, including policymakers, researchers, manufacturers, contractors and building owners, were surveyed to capture their expectations from a BEAM and to query whether the current BEAM corresponds with those expectations. The goal of this survey was to receive qualitative, not quantitative input from the stakeholders. In total, 33 respondents completed the survey. The survey results showed that, in general, the desired goals have not changed substantially compared to the pre-set goals in 2006. Trias Energetica is still the preferred guideline for the decision-making process of the building owner, although its absolute power has decreased slightly and seems to be more prone to the conditions. The current indicator for the overall energy needs (E level) is still strongly preferred, while the recently introduced S level (assessment of the envelope) attracts mixed feelings in terms of usefulness to the entire EPB framework. The overheating indicator receives the most critique for not being accurate enough due to the simplified, single zone BEAM

The subject of this article is the implementation of new knowledge on material and geometric characteristics obtained from an experimental research program in advanced numerical modelling of compressed columns made of austenitic stainless steel using the ANSYS Classic software. Nonlinear stress–strain curves were obtained using our own experimental program and studied in terms of identifying the most suitable nonlinear material model. Additional material and geometric characteristics were obtained from literature and other independent research. Numerical models differing in mesh density localization, formulation of element integration, non-linear material model, and initial geometric imperfections were created and compared. The aim of the models was the ultimate limit state of a strut of circular hollow cross-section stressed by compression and analysed using the geometrically and materially nonlinear solution with consideration to the influence of initial imperfections. Static resistance and limit state deformations are compared for each model. The paper presents the analysis of model uncertainty by comparing SHELL and SOLID FE models, which must be characterized before the start of the analysis of the random influence of imperfections on the limit states. The mean values and the coefficients of variation are practically the same for both approaches. In summary, the presented models can be considered sufficiently validated and eligible for integration in tandem with simulation sampling methods.

Tests of full-scale models of the precast slab with dimensions of 6.30 x 6.30 m, built of two different precast panels, were carried out under short-term load. The models were made of autoclaved aerated concrete (700 type) brick with a thickness of 240 mm and a height of 2.24 m. The slabs were supported at four edges. The first slab was precast prestressed ribbed panels with concrete overtopping. The second slab was made of prestressed hollow-core panels. The panels had the same modular width of 600 mm. Tests were carried out under load placed on the top of the slab. The short-term load was applied sequentially, and displacement measurements were measurement by the electronic method. The load was initially applied evenly distributed. In the last step, part of the load was transferred to one-half of the slabs. The obtained load was different for each half of the slab. The first part of the slab were panels 1 to 5, loaded with the value of 1.7 kN/m², and the second part was panels 6 to 10 loaded with the value of 7.7 kN/m². The tests allow determining the difference in slabs' performance depending on shear key construction. The panels maintained the possibility of load redistribution based on their interaction despite the longitudinal joints' work only through the concrete cross-section. The slabs had a different character of transverse displacements depending on the presence of concrete topping. The models revealed a different response to transferring part of the load to one-half of the slabs. There were no cracks in the line of longitudinal joints on the upper surface of the slabs. Also, there were no cracks on the bottom of the panels. At the panels' connection with the wall, rotation and lifting corners of the slabs were noticed. The measured displacements were significantly smaller than for the corresponding models of single-span slabs with a parallel load.

Walking has long been the primary means of human transport. Nevertheless, in recent decades, the insufficient emphasis has been placed on it in the creation and renewal of public space. It focuses mainly on the needs of road transport, the volume of which is constantly growing enormously. It is only in recent years that the view begins to be re-evaluated and trends in the organization of public space gradually changed, as it is true that a larger supply generates a greater demand. Therefore, leading architects are gradually changing their approaches to the organization of public space and put humans, pedestrian transport, and its requirements first. In the Czech Republic, the trend is gradually changing, as it is worldwide. Walking again plays an important role in the creation of sustainable mobility plans for the cities of the Czech Republic. The main problems arise in the actual implementation of these ideas, as the legislative requirements are formulated only in general, unlike the requirements for road transport, which sets out the requirements for minimum road profiles in the context of design speed and traffic intensity in a given cross-section. These requirements are set out in Decree No. 501/2006 Coll. on general requirements for land use and also in CSN 73 6110 Design of local roads (CSN is Czech technical norm). However, such a categorization of requirements for pedestrian roads is not yet solved uniformly for the entire territory of the Czech Republic, even though CSN 73 6110 deals with sidewalks (functional group D roads). ). So far, this categorization is replaced only by seldom locally valid methodologies, manuals, or requirements and regulations in the town plans of individual cities. This paper aims to search for current approaches, legislative requirements, and approaches to addressing the width requirements for pedestrian roads in public space in the context of the classification of this area.

A high-rise building façade with integrated photovoltaic panels, located in the Central European region with temperate climatic conditions was tested. The PV façade was monitored for three years. Results of the PV system monitoring show that the façade positively influence the energy efficiency and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from the building operation.

The Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic is introducing a system of smart truck parking at motorway rest areas. Thanks to the use of detection technologies in the place of rest and connection with NDIC, where traffic information is collected and processed, it is possible to include this technology in the Construction 4.0 concept. The subject of this article is a brief description of these systems, including examples of use. With the help of SWOT analysis, the strengths and weaknesses, respectively opportunities and threats of these systems will be identified with the help of experts.

The amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the construction industry is significant, therefore it should be addressed to protect our environment in the 21st century. The present research is the starting point for a more complex analysis in bioengineering science. It examines the possibilities of implementing digital technologies and the gains that their application can achieve. The research provides an overview of CO2 emissions from construction processes and identifies areas that may focus on future detailed analysis. The study consists of two main parts: a literature review and an interview with digitization experts focused on the issues identified. The present research guides future development focus areas comparing interviews by market and scientific studies. It is essential to determine how significant results can be achieved by using modern digital tools and methodologies. In this way, the extent to which they affect global emissions can be examined, and their impact can be quantified. In the research, the full spectrum of the construction industry was explored, hence we comprehensively analyzed the impact and problems of the processes belonging to each phase of the lifecycle. Although the environmental impact of raw material extraction and processing is significant, its techniques can be improved primarily through innovative solutions that require organizational or governmental intervention. By examining the building phase and post-building phases of the lifecycle, significant reductions in emissions can be achieved through more detailed design, optimized construction, and well-thought-out operation and demolition processes. As a result, immediate interventions are needed in existing methods and procedures. Sustainable construction can be supported by applying new, more accurate, innovative, and higher quality design, construction, operation, and demolition methods. These changes will facilitate the implementation of digitization processes in the construction industry at a higher level and prepare proposals for the solution of environmental problems in the construction industry.

The reinforced concrete micropiles with enlarged toe is the effective construction for the arranging of new and reinforcing of existing foundations which a drill-impact method are made as a circular bar with a diameter to 250 mm from the flow consistency concrete with prefabricated reinforcement cage and enlarged to two diameters toe cone-shaped form. For research of them real work by the authors of the article and engineers of PP BKF "Osnova" were conducted them field tests on the objects of building in the different soil conditions and the analysis of them calculation and experimental bearing capacity is given. The analysis of quantitative correlation of experimental and theoretical bearing capacity for the different types of soils is the task of researches.

Prolonged, repeated or very intense noise exposure can damage human health. To reduce any dangerous effects of noise on human health, policies and restrictions are enshrined in national law and legislative regulations. In the Czech Republic, this issue is subject to the Ministry of Health. In other states it can be the Ministry of Health or more often the Ministry of the Environment. The protection of human health against noise and vibration is enshrined in Act No. 258/2000 Coll., on Protection of Public Health, specifically in şş 30-34 of this Act. Other restrictions are described in Act No. 309/2006 Coll., which regulates other requirements for safety and health protection at work in labour relations and on ensuring safety and health protection in activities or the provision of services outside of labour relations. Furthermore, hygienic limits for workplaces, protected indoor areas of buildings and protected outdoor areas are set in the new Regulation of the Government of the Czech Republic, No. 272/2011 Coll. as amended. This Regulation also sets limits for construction noise. They set limitations in so-called outdoor protected areas and the so-called outdoor protected areas of buildings. The hygienic limit of the equivalent sound pressure level A for noise from construction activities is set here by adding a correction of 5dB or 15dB according to the type of protected space to the basic value of the equivalent sound pressure level A 50dB. This limit must be adhered to. For buildings nearby, the term "protected facades" is used, i.e. "protected façades" include the nearest buildings that are inhabited and their occupants could be exposed to noise for a long period of time. We can measure the intensity of noise in these places if we have a "sound level meter". Predicting the intensity of noise and its longevity for future construction is more challenging. The computational evaluation of the noise load of the outdoor area of the monitored territory is based on the recommended theoretical acoustic relations for the transmission of sound from stationary noise sources according to ČSN ISO 9613/1-2. One of the possibilities of calculating the intensity of noise is the application of software programmes used for determining traffic noise, which, in contrast to construction noise, is handled very carefully and predicted in detail during the construction of transport infrastructure. Because here are the values and methodologies for the calculation of noise indicators set correctly and in detail, it is possible to use them also, provided that we work well with the background and input data. The calculation indicators are the values of the equivalent sound pressure level falling in front of the façade, on which we determine various measuring points. If the noise sources and acoustically significant elements are entered correctly, we obtain both correct values and also the possibility of displaying a map of the area with colour isophone bands, which expresses the level of noise in the construction site and its surroundings.

External bonding with CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers) has been investigated over the last decade, as it represents a viable technique of strengthening existing prestressed concrete structures, including hollow-core slabs (HCS) with non-circular voids. The high performance of these carbon fibers has been validated through a large volume of experimental and numerical research and yet there are a few issues which remain controversial in simulating their behaviour with the finite element modelling. Although the CFRP mechanical properties are provided by the manufacturers, they are not satisfactory for a complete understanding of the analysis and design approach of HCS strengthened with CFRP. The present research is conducted on prestressed HCS with non-circular voids. The strengthening method consisted in the application of the composite material on the slab's end internal regions of the voids, on a 500mm length: 1 layer and 2 layers. The objective of this study is to emphasize the effect of damage in the CFRP strips and moreover the interface effectiveness on the CFRP strengthened HCS. Damage is predicted using Hashin's initiation criteria and the cohesive behaviour in the interface is used to analyse the epoxy resin which bonds the CFRP sheets to the hollow-core units. A plastic damage model was used for modelling the concrete, after a parametric study regarding the dilatancy angle and viscosity parameter was conducted for the most appropriate choice of concrete damage plasticity parameters. The overall procedure consists of numerical FE modelling in Abaqus software. Two different modelling possibilities of CFRP-to-concrete interface were studied: a tie constraint connection was first used and secondly the contact bonding was defined with the cohesive behaviour option of the contact interaction property. The results are provided in terms of load-displacement response, equivalent plastic strain and distribution of Von Misses stresses in the CFRP strips.

Based on the lower bound static approach of the yield design (or limit analysis) theory, this contribution presents a straightforward computational procedure for establishing the biaxial interaction diagrams of RC sections in fire conditions, taking into account the experimentally-based relationships linking the degradation of material strength properties to the temperature increase. In the present approach, material characteristics are introduced in two steps: (i) a preliminary heat transfer analysis for evaluating the temperature distribution on the RC section and (ii) the introduction of reduced factors as functions of temperature into both the concrete and steel strength properties. For illustrative purpose, calculations will be conducted on a typical RC section subjected to different fire exposures. Finally, the theoretical predictions will be compared to those obtained from numerical simulations using a finite element software.

Examining the condition of wooden elements is crucial from the perspective of proper structure performance. If the deterioration in the internal wood condition, which displays no symptoms visible from the outside, is detected, the further spread of the deterioration can be prevented. Test results often point to the necessity of conducting repairs and, renovations, replacing the structure of wooden beams, or even substituting a significant part of the structure. To achieve acceptable results, test methods should take into account the anisotropic nature of wood, which includes the shape of annual rings, as well as the location of the core in crosssection. To adopt methods based on physical effects, profound knowledge of wood physics is needed, particularly of interdependence. Apart from simple tests such as a visual inspection or tapping that are used to determine near-surface defects, non-destructive testing (NDT) plays an important role in the process. This paper presents the methods of non-destructive testing of wooden elements. These methods include tests conducted with ground penetrating radar (GPR), thermal techniques, microwaves, acoustic emission, ultrasonic tomography, and X-ray tomography. The paper summarises the use of non-destructive methods, indicating their advantages, disadvantages as well as some limitations.

Information technology represents an increase in use in every sector. The construction industry is a sector that produces large volumes of data. Their processing requires automation and systematization. Information technology is an essential tool for data processing. Relevant information is an important advantage in the digital economy. However, working with data and information is time-consuming, economically demanding. Based on this, the use of information technology is critical to implement in construction. This paper addresses the issue of using information technology in smelting companies. The research aims to analyse the use of information technology in construction companies. Information technology can save information processing time. They also have a positive impact on reducing costs in the long run. They also have a positive effect on productivity. The research seeks to quantify the use of information technology and to look for dependencies between research groups. The research works on the assumption that the use of information technology will be different between research groups. The size of the construction company, the use of foreign know-how and capital, and the construction activity, or the definition of the participant in the construction project, can be important in the results and determine differences in use. Differences and identify potential differences between individual research samples are based on the use of statistical tests. The Kruskal-Wallis test verifies the significance of the findings. The research sample includes 55 construction companies operating in Slovakia. These are mostly contractors, developers, designers and sub-constructors. The research involved large construction companies, as well as SMEs and micro-enterprises.

In order to save soil resources and increase the utilization range of high liquid limit soil, the high liquid limit soil was improved by mixing sand, and the cost-effective sand mixing ratio was determined with the help of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. It is shown that the sand-mixing improvement method can significantly reduce the liquid limit and plasticity index of high liquid limit soil, and increase its value of California bearing ratio to meet the property requirements for embankment filling. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation results show that the improvement effect and cost of sand-mixed high liquid limit soil reach a comprehensive optimal state when the sand mixing ratio is 20%.

For the sustainable built environment, Green Building technology is the most widely adopted trend worldwide, however, it is in a nascent stage in India. Even though the use of green building technology is advantageous over the lifecycle of the project, people are hesitant to adopt. Therefore, this study aims at identifying the critical factors affecting the implementation of green buildings in India. For this purpose, an extensive literature review was done to identify factors affecting the implementation of green buildings. In total 27 factors were identified which may be critical for the adoption of green building technology widely in an Indian context. The questionnaire was prepared using the five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire was sent through emails to 150 consultants in India and 52 valid responses received in return. The primary data is analyzed using factor analysis. The critical factors found are time and knowledge constraints; technical constraints; authenticity of research and awareness about Green Building. Though the findings of this study are based on the small sample size, it will be beneficial to the policymakers

Tessellation, which has examples of use in art and architecture, is the covering of a surface using one or more geometric shapes without overlapping or gaps. Based on Roman mosaics, the tessellation has an important place in architecture since the ancient times. Through the history, different patterns have been used by many cultures for various applications ranging from decorative covering elements to multi-functional latticework screens. The tessellation has still been used in contemporary architecture since it not only allows creating the geometrical surface in an order but also provides multi-functionality to the surface when applied as shading elements. The tessellation can be reviewed under three categories such as regular, semi-regular and demi-regular tessellations. Two- and three-dimensional examples of the tessellations can be seen in contemporary architecture either as façade elements or patterns used for structural elements. Because the tessellation plays a significant role in architecture in terms of geometrical or structural design, the interest on this topic has been increased in recent years. Due to their great potentials, more studies should be conducted on the tessellations. For this reason, within the scope of this paper, the applied examples of the tessellations in buildings from past to present are examined which include both static and kinetic ones. In this paper, the geometric design principles, combination methods and iteration processes of the examples are also presented. As well as providing a deeper understanding of such tessellation methods, this study will serve as a basis of reference for future studies in this field.

Copenhagen, as one of the well-known European green capitals, has dedicated efforts to implement a series of policies and take action on climate adaptation strategies from 2008 to 2020 to address the challenge brought by global warming. Climate adaptation in new urban planning for stormwater management opens up the dialogue in-between new possibilities for cooperation with multiple stakeholders and climate adaptation projects are developed in multilevel governance. However, in many cities, the organizational capacity of multiple stakeholders at the various level required to combine climate resilience with further sustainability targets may not be available. The paper focuses on the Copenhagen climate adaptation case, and further explores how the city strategically meta-govern the boundaries between the expert governed large-scale water management scheme against small-scale place-based bottom-up projects in collaboration with citizens and other placebased stakeholders. Furthermore, we summarize the experiences of building a climate adaptation city in Copenhagen, which refers to adequate data preparation in the early stage and rigorous planning, well- integration of stormwater management design & landscape design of urban space coordination of various stakeholder's interests and public participation. Key words: Climate change adaptation; Urban stormwater management; Sustainable cities; Public participation; Green infrastructure

This work considers the small towns of the Veneto region, Italy, as a case study, concentrating analysis and proposals for a new urban design on areas that has been affected by a rapid post 2nd world war reconstruction and by following building speculation, thus losing their organic unity with the surrounding parts. The violence that often characterizes the insertion in the twentieth century of disproportionate volumes into the urban fabric inherited from the medieval culture and enriched by Renaissance masterpieces is easily recognizable. This is the reason why a lower standard of living is now perceived, if we accept the idea that standard of living is proportionated to the level of culture expressed by the context. The methodology looks at the town as a result of its spatial structure. More than political, social, and economic systems, reasons for its special nature can be found because of its constancy. Planning new buildings starts from understanding the context, that is, its physical structure. The method adopted is based on studying the history of the place to understand the urban morphology of it. The physical specificity of the urban form is explored with the aim of elaborating a design process to reinforce the public space as a reference point for the community. The spatial aspects and formal image of the transformations have been studied as a premise for the design of the new architecture that has developed because of necessity and the events that have occurred in the territory. Intervening through a process of urban redevelopment inside the city involves measuring according to the values that have become rooted in the areas with the passage of time. Good regeneration practice must not leave recovering the old together with its values out of consideration. This point of view leads us to consider that urbanism as a group of skills and bureaucratic apparatuses must occupy itself with the city and above all with its formal structure rather than be occupied so much with the contents of the legal, financial-economic, and administrative order.

In the domain of spatial planning, there is a concern to preserve the territory whilst ensuring a proper expansion of urban perimeters. Cities, towns and villages should be contained within urban perimeters for building and urbanization purposes. The concept of urban perimeter is defined as the closed polygonal line demarcating the continuous territory of urban land-use. The spatial planning instruments should define the urban land-use referring to areas totally or partially urbanized or built. Regarding low-density territories with a greater propensity to urban sprawl and population ageing, the previously mentioned rules are not always met. Thus, this study focuses on the case of the Interior region of Portugal classified as low-density territory. Here the number of inhabitants is decreasing with low demand for urban spaces. However, the urban perimeters were mainly defined without being based on territorial features, topographic mapping or ecological sensitive areas. Thus, for a diversity of aspects, there are inappropriate areas to build that were wrongly included as part of urban areas, creating as a result urban void. One main reason for this problem are the topographic conditions that don't fit with the urbanization and building requirements in urban perimeters. In this sense, this research aims to describe the articulation between the urbanization and building processes, under the rules of the Municipal Master Plans, regarding the topographic features of urban perimeters. The conclusion shows that the most sloped areas are those that were less sought after for urbanization, however these zones comprise a significant part of the urban perimeters. Finally, there is the need to stress that in low-density territories, many urban voids will never be urbanized.

Twenty first century characterises with approach of sustainability in different scales of spatial planning. During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 more and more attention has been paid on health and well-being of population. Remembering that two thirds of all European population live in cities the theme of sustainability of living environment became even more important following SDG 11 "Sustainable Cities and Communities". People in the cities more often seek for possibility to spend time outdoors, preferably in nature. It has become the important issue not only for individuals but also for governors of local municipalities and big cities providing such opportunity for their inhabitants. In order to find the best possible solution for development of urban environment it is important to know what are the choices available and best practise realized in spatial planning sustainability context. During the last five decades and even earlier different researchers and city planners have been defining possible city forms to ensure sustainability and well-being of todays and next generations. The purpose of research paper is to show the variety of sustainable city forms outlined in research papers and formed by collaboration of progressive cities. To strengthen the importance of new approaches in city planning, there are examples of the best practise of some European counties following SDGs in spatial planning of their territories showed. The analysis of situation in different countries clarifies that development of green infrastructure, use of local resources and support of local initiatives are the best approaches for any place to reach the sustainability because fulfilling the needs of local inhabitants for qualitative outdoors results in better life not only for locals, it plays also important role for forming good image of municipality and country increasing sense of proud of such place. City municipalities need to put more effort for developing sustainable communities providing healthy and attractive living environment for local and even new inhabitants in place where living, work and recreation are in balance with nature.

In today's organization of data in civil engineering there remains ambiguity, diversity of terminology and consequent lack of clarity. The daily reality is to work with hybrid data sources in a variety of software programs. In CAD programs it is possible to import and convert elements from GIS, but they will be classified only into layers. Or, attach external references from CAD files in BIM, but there still remains the problem of finding your way around the confusing list of layers, and their abbreviations. Also broadly used filesystems as place for store and organise data on disk into files (entities) and hierarchical structure of folders (categories) is limited by reductionist categorization approach. Another problem shows with absence of multilingual approach. The limits are in the methods of data organization, and so only partially portable. Therefore, if there is a common denominator to all problems, it is the absence of a unifying organizational environment. In current computer applications used in civil engineering, methods of data classification are implemented that do not allow multiplicative or faceted categorization and thus inevitably create an antagonistic environment with any previous or future classification system. Unfortunately, even if a software tool implements a modern multiplicative categorization or domain ontology, it will not significantly solve the overall situation, because it will still not be possible to use such a method of categorization in other applications. Therefore, if there should exist a solution that would significantly facilitate cooperation and orientation in the data, it must inevitably work independently, across diverse software applications, with the ability to link the functions of the application with such a separate categorization system.

In the paper we indicate the way to allow the coexistence of multiple structures that are mutually supportive, but not mutually exclusive. It allows less organized users to classify entities according to their suitable structure, whilst leaving the possibility for specialised users to classify these entities into related field classification systems or domain ontologies, in mutually beneficial cooperation. Replacing the reductionist enumerative structure with multiplicative categorization should bring organizational and terminological flexibility that will allow future updates without disrupting the existing categorization. It allows one to use parallel hierarchical branches of categories according to aspects and classify the entity into several branches at the same time. It should allow users the freedom to create their own structures without disrupting the structures of other user groups. Such structures could coexist happily side by side. The aim is to indicate the model of an independent data organization system in building design in a multilingual environment, connected through diverse CAD, GIS, BIM, CAFM applications, ECM, CDE, emails, databases and file systems.

The issue of impulse development of cities caused by different infrastructural factors is considered.Taking Tenochtitlan, Stockholm and Alexandria as the example, the content and functional structure of infrastructural impulse changes have been outlined. By these we mean rethinking of life support systems, which leads to sharp population growth and employment diversification. To become a 'growth spurt' factor, such changes must contain a number of special qualities: convenience, accessibility and uniqueness. Convenience is the difference in the use of infrastructural benefits between the locality in which the impulse change takes place and other similar cities. Accessibility means the ability to use (access) the infrastructural benefits by as many residents as possible. While uniqueness stands for a feature or set of infrastructure features that are notably absent in the cities of the competing area.

This paper discusses a field test of airfield pavement under cluster bomb unit (CBU) blast load and a study of repair method upon the examination of the damage geometry. Cluster bomb unit blast load shows a similar level to that of a typically known air-to-ground munition, and the penetration depth was calculated using empirical formulae with terminal velocity during a free fall following an explosion and dispersion 20km above the ground. Based on the calculations, the field test was executed assuming a cluster bomb unit penetration depth of 33cm for concrete pavement surface. The concrete slab on the test site was casted in a circular shape at the field and then cured. This slab was an unreinforced concrete structure with a similar compressive strength and thickness as that of airfield pavement currently in use. The test reflected the cluster munition penetration depth of 33cm, and the concrete slab was drilled in the center and explosive with a weight resembling that of the cluster munition installed. As results of the blast test show a damage to the pavement expanded the crater to a depth of 78cm, down to the crushed stone layer and with a diameter of 30cm. The concrete fragmentation requiring removal was of about 156cm in radius on average. The 7 tensile cracks across the pavement were not so heavily damaged to require removal. Cutting and removing the crushed concrete slab with dimension of 1.8m × 1.8m, compacting the disturbed crushed stone layer and repairing the concrete slab section using ultra-rapid hardening concrete are reviewed the appropriate repair method based on the above results.

Practical demand for the expansion of military ammunition and explosives storage in both volume and number has been increased, but due to the regulations applying on safety distance that require those facilities to be isolated from a civilian presence there are constant complications that arise. Recent incidents include petitions to either alleviate said regulations or relocate several ammunition storage facilities neighboring civilian areas are further development. Two types of underground ammunition storage facilities wold be considered in practice; the first is the tunnel-type which is applicable to areas that have sufficient depth of the cover and the latter is the sub-surface type that retains a sufficient depth of soli layer which can especially be utilized in areas that do not meet clearance requirements nor have geographical limitations. For the sub-surface type storage, there are two construction schemes for construction to meet safety-distance requirements. The existing popular ECMs (Earth Covered Magazines) have shallow soil cover for just plantation camouflage that is not affect the pressure suppression effect due to the internal explosion. Therefore, the scheme of the increasing soil cover depth to some amount, if applicable, pressure and fragment suppression can be achieved. The open-cut method for new construction is easily applied for this purpose in the field. This study addresses the safety distance reduction effect by increasing the soil cover depth on the ECM type storage facility by applying theoretical and numerical analysis.

A new wave of shopping malls development is expected in Ukraine, which makes the study of this type of building and its social spaces even more relevant. The aim of this study is to develop a classification of shopping malls' social spaces by prevailing element for further research and usage in regulatory frameworks. The article analyzes 16 malls located in different countries in Europe, with different sizes and planning layouts. The analysis of their floor schemes is carried out. The study identified 3 types of social spaces by the prevailing element: linear type (the most popular), court type and mixed type.

The paper provides a systems analysis of the shopping mall's social space functioning with the "black box" approach. According to this model, the main purpose of social space is to meet all customers' needs. In addition, external architectural and non-architectural factors are determined, and the means of influence are identified: architectural organization means. Thus, based on previous research, we built a detailed model of the "black box" of the social space system. In which, to meet all the needs of customers, and by the levels of design psychology needs, we formed five principles of building a shopping mall's social space: the principle of ergonomics, the principle of organicity, the principle of social openness, the principle of harmony, and the principle of flexibility and polyfunctionality. The research results can be used in the design of new and reconstruction of existing malls and further research on this topic.

Principal objectives of the protective design are on protecting life, property, facility, system device and operations by developing protective design measures that reduce threat level and vulnerability while enhancing structural resilience. Protective design procedure against blast hazard would be accomplished with the threat identification, risk-based assessment, and designing the members and structures based on the proper design requirements. Considerable necessity before the protective design is to find out the various measures reducing the blast effect such as security measures, architectural configuration, and mitigation schemes without any structural strengthening the structure itself. This paper addresses the mitigation scheme to reduce the blast overpressure in general, and then a specific barrier type is introduced as sacrificial structures with the performance verification. The general schemes to reduce the blast pressure by installing barriers is mainly using RC type structures which have typical shapes and sizes. This barrier type has advantages both on installing easiness and cost. In the barrier type sacrificial wall structure, instead of using the normal RC structures, enhanced-cement concrete and composites are useful to improve protective performance and scabbing of the back surface of the RC walls. A series of the wall type RC barriers are modeled and fabricated to investigate and verify blast pressure migration and protective performance based on theoretical and numerical analysis.

Wind action on circular cross section was described in many publications. It finds an application for flue gas ducts, pipelines, silo or chimneys. This study concentrate on elements with diameter greater than 1m. There are well recognized analytical solutions of static calculation with uses Fourier-series for wind distribution. Although during last 10 years numerical methods of solving problems get more popular, especially among young engineers. For surface structures ability of analytical finding internal forces disappears, and Finish Element Method substitutes analytical calculation. Modelling of wind load in FEM programs cause several problems. Using wind load distribution proposed in Eurocode 1-4, or from laboratory test, it is usually necessary to divide circular cross-section into 32 up to 72 rectangular elements. Applying load in that way is the most accurate method to imitate wind load in FE model. From the other hand that take much time, and requires preparing data about distribution before modelling. Applying wind on complicated model, with many independent parts of piping, for at least 2 load cases cause faults and slows down work. This paper shows and compares a few proposal wind load models for numerical calculation. Those models were built to obtain accurate internal forces in compare to Eurocode procedure. Proposed models offers simplification of Geometry in numerical model, and saves of time. It also helps to make FE mesh become independent from structural nodes, lines or divisions. This paper concern on one case of one Reynolds number, with refers to 2m wide cylinder, wind velocity of 22m/s and surface roughness of steel plate – 0,05 mm. This paper compares different wind load distributions, in terms of required number of division of model, time consuming, precision of results. Author selected one proposal load distribution, with give equivalent internal forces as wind load distribution obtained from Wind Flow simulation (for example CFD method). Proposed model is useful for structural engineers and statics in offer stage of project. With some safety factor it can be also used as wind load as case for detailing cylindrical structures.

The present contribution shows how it is possible to determine the homogenized thermo-elastic characteristics of a natural stone masonry wall, taking into account the material properties of stone and mortar as functions of temperature increase, as well as the geometrical characteristics of their assembly. Joints are incorporated in the analysis through a numerical homogenization procedure. As a result, membrane and bending stiffness coefficients, as well as thermal-induced efforts, of an equivalent plate are obtained. Such homogenized thermomechanical characteristics make it possible to determine the deformed shape of the wall after a certain time of fire exposure. As an example, the calculation procedure is performed on a particular configuration of infinitely wide wall, illustrating the influence of the joints on its thermal deformed shape. To assess the practical validity of this homogenization-based calculation procedure, results of the numerical homogenized model (incorporating joints) are compared to those of a homogeneous model (without joints), and to available experimental results obtained on a 3 m-high, 3 m-wide wall exposed to fire loading.

Cold-formed steel Z-purlins with overlapping at the intermediate supports ensures the continuity of the bending moment. A continuous beam with two equal spans of 6 m is investigated under gravity loading using the finite element method. The numerical model includes the beneficial interaction between the Z-purlins and the trapezoidal sheeting. Finite element results show that the screw spacing and sheeting thickness has a limited influence on the resistance of the member. The effect of the overlapping length and detailing of the connection is studied through a parametric study. Six overlaps varying from 100mm to 1200mm (1.6% to 20% of one span) capture the change of the failure mode from the overlap edge to the support region of the purlin. The connection detailing is studied considering multiple bolt/screw patterns. The detailing and length of the overlap connection has a major influence on the moment distribution and consequently on the failure mode. The detailed finite element analysis shows that assuming the beam connection as continuous in 1D beam models lead to an unrealistic bending moment distribution and failure mode. Connecting the bottom flange using screws improves the overall load carrying capacity of the beam especially for short overlap lengths. The increase in resistance is attributed to the restraining effect on the free flange which fails due to distortional buckling.

To provide the foundations for economic and social prosperity, countries worldwide need to be making a term investment in their building assets. However, there is a lack of a systematic approach, such as manufacturing innovations, to maximize the values of building components and materials in its entire lifecycle. Steel-concrete composite floor systems are one of the most cost-effective construction systems for multi-storey steel buildings because they combine structural efficiency with the speed of construction. These advantages depend on the efficiency of combining steel and concrete structural elements to avoid their inherent disadvantages. This paper presents a solution that integrates state-of-the-art knowledge in new, fast and productive spot-welding technology and innovative cold-formed steel-concrete composite solutions. The solution proposes a new construction method as a combination of built- up cold-formed steel members and cast-in-place concrete slab. The proposed floor system offers key benefits in terms of a high degree of prefabrication, reusability and long spanning capability.

The present paper proposes an iterative procedure devoted to reaching the optimal design of an innovative, recently proposed, moment resisting device. This special device, called Limited Resistance Plastic Device (LRPD), can be utilized, as an example, to equip a steel frame when it is required that the frame must be designed to substitute a masonry panel, i.e., it must be characterized by a structural behaviour as close as possible to the one of the replaced masonry wall. This purpose can be reached by designing the relevant frame imposing appropriate constraints on the elastic stiffness and on the limit resistance. The result can be obtained just by ensuring that the elastic stiffness and the limit resistance be independent of each other. To this aim it is necessary to suitably equip the steel frame by the previously cited LRPD. In particular, these moment resisting connections ensure that in a prefixed portion of the given beam element, the limit bending moment reduces without any variation of the global elastic stiffness. In order to reach this goal, the LRPD is substantially constituted by an inner portion, devoted to exhibit the desired reduced limit bending strength and to receive the plastic deformations, and two outer portions, devoted to guarantee the invariance of the elastic bending stiffness. The proposed iterative procedure allows to design a device respecting all the required features avoiding the presence of any dangerous local instability phenomenon. To this aim, the design will contain appropriate constraints ensuring that the device cross sections appertain to class 1 or class 2 I-cross section, as prescribed in the more recent standard codes. Some examples, validated by 3D solid tetrahedral elements analysis in ABAQUS environment, prove the good reliability of the proposed procedure and show the easy applicability of the computational approach.

Composite steel concrete bridges with embedded continuous shear connectors are one of the newer popular options for short span (up to 20 m) bridges. They can be used for both road and railway bridges and due to their low structural height, nowadays, they are also a welcome alternative for bridge reconstructions – the concrete part serves as the bridge deck as well as the main structure. Unfortunately, In the Slovak Republic, no such bridges have been built as of yet (2020). At Technical University of Kosice, Department of Steel and Timber Structures, an extensive research regarding the steel shear connectors have been launched. Its goals are to bring new, easier for construction (due to prefabrication process), more resistant with even lower structural height, and more economical (due to lesser usage of materials and quick construction) geometrical solutions for composite steel concrete bridges as well as to open and popularize this solution for developers in the Slovak Republic. In this article, one of the new types is presented. It has a cross-section in a shape of a trapezoid, with holes in all its sides, except the bottom flange. Their purpose is to create concrete studs and secure full shear transmission with higher shear resistance, but they also serve to create space for transverse reinforcing bars. Its geometrical and material characteristics are closely specified. Results and process of push-out tests performed in Laboratory of Excellent Research onto three specimens are described and compared to results of finite element analysis simulation performed in Abaqus software.

Moment resisting connections are mainly designed to transfer bending moments and shear forces. Generally speaking, the design strength of a moment resisting connection can be classified as full-strength (moment capacity of the connection equal to or greater than that of the connected member) or partial-strength (the moment capacity of the connection less than that of the connected member). Similar remarks can be made regarding the stiffness defining connection rigid or semi-rigid if compared to the stiffness of the connected member. In the past, full-strength connections have been widely adopted especially in moment resisting frames and their structural performance relied on the proper behaviour of welding. However, the research following the 1994 Northridge and 1995 Kobe earthquakes demonstrated the lower than expected performance of welded connections, stimulating the onset and development of pre-qualified connections to be adopted especially in seismic areas. Among these connections the most studied ones are those belonging to the Reduced Beam Section (RBS) typology, being the so-called "dogbone" connection the most adopted. The dogbone presents a bending strength and a flexural stiffness lesser than the ones of the original structural member. Recently, the authors proposed a special device suitably designed to realize an innovative moment resisting connection for steel beam elements belonging to the RBS typology. Such a device, called Limited Resistance Plastic Device (LRPD), is constituted by three different portions: the central one is devoted to the onset and development of plastic deformations and presents geometrical dimensions reduced with respect to those of the original structural member; the external ones are devoted to recover the stiffness of beam-device system to that of the original structural member and present greater geometrical dimensions. This latter remark allows to affirm that, from a connectivity point of view, the stiffness of LRPD at the column-beam interface, is greater than the one of the original structural member. Another fundamental remark is that the structural connections are intrinsically characterized by uncertainties related either to geometrical or to material ones. Usually, the effect of uncertainties is covered by the use of safety coefficients and the analyses are performed referring only to the nominal values of the geometrical and mechanical characteristics. However, in order to perform a more complete interpretation of the mechanical behaviour of the studied connections, a non-deterministic analysis approach can be used. Aim of the paper is the characterization of the structural behaviour of the referenced connections ("dogbone" and LRPD) taking into account the main geometrical uncertainties and that related to the material strength by performing suitably Monte Carlo simulations and by determining the relevant M-N domains. Starting from the described characterization, different commercial steel profiles will be considered in order to build a series of M-N domains useful to quantify the safety level and the range of usability of the two different RBS approaches. Finally, the implemented applications will lead to demonstrate the greater reliability of LRPD compared to the classical dogbone.

The paper focuses on the analysis of hydraulic conditions in the proximity of the intake part of high shaft spillways equipped with pro-vortex vanes and discusses recent enhancements in modelling of the shaft spillways and compares the acquired results of the performance of the spillway after complete removal or rehabilitation of the vanes in context of capacity and overall hydraulic conditions. Increasing requirements on safety of embankment dams during floods with respect to anticipated effect of the climate change scenarios on parameters of design floods demand further assessment of capabilities of outlet structures to meet the updated needs. Such dam safety assessments often conclude in the need of designing additional measures to improve existing structures. Despite different approach to the evaluation of the uncertainties and subsequent risk assessment the goal of improving safety of large dams remains consistent in the effort of all developed countries. Adjustments of the intake part of shaft spillways can present a valid design option for increasing capacity of the complex spillway/tunnel structure if supported by solid analysis of hydraulic conditions inside these structures. As the governing idea of the pro-vortex vanes is to ensure spiral flow inside the shaft and to minimize the pressure fluctuations the paper presents results from physical model of several designs of the pro-vortex vanes which approximated possible adjustment of tower like shaft spillway of existing large dam in Czech Republic and also results from CFD modelling illustrating the importance of combination of both modelling approaches. For the CFD part, different turbulence models are discussed.

This paper is a review of the literature and focuses on recent studies in construction, specifically construction project engineering, in which surveys and/or interviews were used. This allowed an identification of current research trends in construction project engineering, essential and topical problems of contemporary construction, which were studied using surveys. Second, it was possible to demonstrate that surveys, despite often being used in the social sciences and finding rare use in the technical sciences, are nevertheless a highly effective tool that can be used to solve research problems in construction. They provide useful data that is then analysed, mostly using statistics, and the findings of such analyses and the conclusions that can be drawn from them support decision-makers in construction. The presented research problems that were solved using surveys are highly diverse and concern, among others: building information modelling (BIM), identifying adverse risk factors, design and execution errors, assessing a building's technical condition, assessing comfort, satisfaction and the social aspect of construction, conflicts and disagreements, cooperation and trust, management, success factors, prefabrication, technologies, waste, green building, sustainable development, safety and cost. In summary, the review of research problems analysed using surveys, as presented, can act as proof that such methods are recognised by scholars all around the world and are used in practically all thematic fields that concern construction project engineering. Survey study methods are a source of valuable data, either independently or in combination with other methods, and supply precious information that can diagnose and aid forecasting phenomena and problems, controlling processes and supporting decision-makers in the difficult process of making decisions, and are often the basis for specific choices.

Currently, ground penetrating radar (GPR) is commonly used in civil engineering. It can be determined the number and location of steel reinforcement and other subjects in concrete or similar materials. The article is focused on using GPR for determination of the main wiring location. The wall where the main wiring was located were demolished as a part of the reconstruction. By this step the new entrance hall were created. The position and course of the main wiring were determined by GPR measurement. During demolition work were used hand tools in area with installations to avoid the damage. A lower resolution was found when the individual wires were close together. However, the position of the marginal cables was determined with an accuracy of one centimetre.

Alingment of braking performance of truck trailer is an important parameter that affects its braking stability. This shows particular in critical situations or during braking on a surface with reduced adhesion. Alingment of braking performance can be automatic, which is one of quality of electronical brake systems. Further on, can be forcible, which is being executed during service a diagnostic work.This contribution is focused on analysis alingment of braking performance. Describing technical conditions, internal and external factors which affect it. Due to magnitude of this problematics, is in this article evaluated the optimization of braking affects truck trailers in the start-up phase. The analysis of the process – start-up braking effect has justification from the reason, that has primary influence on the stability truck trailer during braking and this can be the cause of collision situations or also traffic accidents. The parameter of alingment of braking performance has a primary influence on the braking stability of the truck trailers, which significantly affects road safety and is also important for the economy of the truck trailers. your abstract here... The abstract should include the purpose of research, principal results and major conclusions. References should be avoided, if it is essential, only cite the author(s) and year(s) without giving reference list. Prepare your abstract in this file and then copy it into the registration web field. Braking distance is an important factor in the road construction. Therefore, it must be taken into account when designing these buildings.

The environment is the little "Homeland", which is defined by a neighborhood consisting of people and structures. The neighborhood is extended in time and space. The city of Cracow was chosen as a case study here. The contemporary environment in the Wola Justowska district is presented in the last examples of buildings designed by the author. Those contemporary structures are compared with historical houses in Cracow, which belong to the author's family since the 19th century. The author analyses the influences of the period of the 19th century Austrian occupation, of a construction boom between the two World Wars, and of the Communist ban on design and construction in Cracow. In the paper's final remarks, the author notes that the design process and processes of shaping the environment look similar in the past century and today and that a contemporary neighborhood is shaped more by a cultural process than by design. Designing, building and endurance of a building form is a process that is shaped by culture and at the same time shapes the culture itself.

To improve the condition of the environment and prevent its degradation, global trends have moved from linear to the circular economy. Closing the loop is to protect natural resources, minimize waste, emissions, and pollution. The circular economy assumptions are based mainly on the 3-R: Reduce (minimum use of raw materials); Reuse (maximum reuse of products and components); Recycle (high-quality reuse of raw materials). In the waste management hierarchy, the last place in the circular economy is energy recovery. In the process of incinerating municipal waste, secondary waste is generated. Some of them, like fly ash, are hazardous waste. It includes, among others heavy metals, chlorine, sulphur, and other pollutions, hence it is currently not used as a raw material. The management of fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration plant in the construction industry is a part of sustainable development and the circular economy. Fly ash is a hazardous and heterogeneous waste, therefore it is important to know its physicochemical and construction properties, which are presented in the article. Fly ash has pozzolanic properties, therefore it can be a good binding and building material. For fly ash to be a component of the construction mixture, it is necessary to immobilize pollutants, heavy metals, and some elements so that they do not leach into the environment. For this purpose, the concrete structure and the C-S-H matrix should be compacted. Currently, fly ash is stabilized and stored in underground landfills. They are storage in closed salt, manganese, and potassium mines. However, the volume of post-mining voids is limited, and storage is not part of the circular economy. In addition, some countries do not have their fly ash storage facilities and it has to be exported across borders. This increases the carbon footprint and shortens the product life cycle.

The paper presents two methods that simplify the estimation of the water retention curves. The case study is evaluated for the soils of Záhorská lowland in the paper. These methods are based on the supposed dependence of the soil water content on the percentage content of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Kopecký grain categories, and the dry bulk density. The representative set of the drying branch of water retention curves was measured using soil samples from the Záhorská lowland region in a laboratory. Particle size distribution and dry bulk density were also determined. In this paper support vector machines and multiple linear regression is compared to estimate the pedotransfer functions that can be used for the prediction of the drying branch of the water retention curve. Both methods were verified on other data set of measured water retention curves than the one which was used for building the models with a close agreement to measured results.

Architects are currently facing the understanding of the transformation of the work practices of people, teams and organizations in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Europe is still in the gloom of this pandemic and it can be seen changes in the office-domestic workplaces. These places have been mutating during the last year, they have been transformed according the new requirements. Individuals have adapted their homes and companies are already thinking the office space according the new reality. This study aims to determine how the interior space could adapt in order to provide comfort and well-being in contemplation of the contemporary and near future situation. The principal objective of this project was to create a tiny piece of space which contributes to create our "existence maximum" in a small space. To test the hypotheses that with the creation of a piece of furniture it can help us in the transformation of the domestic and office interior space is the key to make sure that people feel safe and work comfortably. Contemporary source material was used to examine the evolution of the pandemic and how it affects the individuals' psychological behavior during this time. The findings provide a solid evidence base for the future will be a hybrid reality, where knowledge employees will continuously be working from home most of the time. It is evidently clear from the findings that as modernist architecture could be understood as a consequence of the result of some diseases of that period. Nowadays, architects have the responsibility to think how the interior architecture could be improved in order to make the people feel safe, comfortable and well connected where individuals could learn to live together confronting of our own homes and our own workspaces. The result is the design of an ergonomic workstation which contemplates the users' requirements for working, providing adaptation to different working positions, mobility within the space and transformation according to individual needs. In addition, it has been considered the sustainability of the materials and the easy assembly with the possibility of the addition of accessories.

The present paper describes the current technical achievements in seismic instrumentation and monitoring within a national network and the role of this developed concept in disaster prevention and mitigation, in particular case of Romanian seismicity. Many studies are being conducted in the field of structural health monitoring, for seismically instrumented/monitored buildings, based on existed sensor technology, seismic data acquisition systems, data communication and information flow, computer hardware/software engineering, new solutions for seismic data transfer etc. Seismic records in free-field and on buildings are capitalised in anti-seismic design, development of technical and technological solutions in construction, seismic evaluation and rehabilitation of buildings, as well as in the process of education and earthquake preparedness. It aimed also to create a virtual seismic network (through Internet, WAN property networks, public analogue telephone network). It is a national priority creating a preventive culture in order to mitigate the seismic risk, starting with the strengthening of buildings, upgrading of the code for seismic design, seismic instrumentation as a usual practice and continuing with public communication and information actions, empowering communities and decision-makers related to the risks, prevention measures, what behaviour to be adopted. The efforts of last years show that Romania has taken important steps in preparing a response according to the challenges induced by the existing seismic sources from the entire territory of the country.

Energy systems built into one of the building structures that serve to capture solar energy, geothermic energy, and ambient energy, or which have the function of end elements of heating, cooling, and ventilation system, we generally call combined building-energy systems. Among combined building-energy systems we include solar roofs with built-in pipe absorbers, building structures with active thermal protection (ATP) - active heat transfer control, which have a multifunctional purpose – a thermal barrier, low-temperature heating, high-temperature cooling, recuperation and accumulation of heat, solar and ambient energy collection, large-capacity heat storage (ground heat accumulators built simultaneously in the foundation slab of the building), or heat exchangers used for recuperative ventilation of buildings built into the foundation slabs and wall structures. The research of combined building-energy systems at the Department of Building Services, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava has been carried out continuously since 2005. Within five research projects (responsible researcher, Kalús, D.) HZ 04-309-05, HZ 04-310- 05, HZ 04-142-07 (research and experimental measurements took place in the years 2005 to 2007), HZ PG73/2011 (research and experimental measurements took place in the years 2011 to 2013), [13,] and HZ PR10/2015 (research and experimental measurements have been carried out since 2015), two experimental houses IDA I. and EB2020, a mobile laboratory designed for measuring and optimizing a compact heat station using renewable heat sources, were designed and built by the research team at our workplace, and also a research of a fragment of a perimeter wall with built-in active thermal protection was carried out in the climatic chamber of the Faculty of Civil Engineering STU in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. Significant contribution to the research was provided by doctoral students Ing. Martin Cvíčela, Ph.D., (supervisor, Kalús, D.), Ing. Peter Janik, PhD., (supervisor, Kalús, D.) and Ing. Martin Šimko, PhD., (supervisor, Kalús, D.), who described the results of the research in their dissertations. At present experimental measurements in the mobile laboratory are performed by doctoral student Ing. Matej Kubica, (supervisor, Kalús, D.). In the area of combined construction and energy systems, research and optimization of suitable solutions continues, which have been transformed into one European patent and three utility models.

The paper presents the problem of embankment foundation during reconstruction and extension of regional road 110 on the section Witomierz - Grądy. On this section the road crosses the valley of meltwater formed during the last Weichselian glaciation. It is a watershed area between the streams Stuchowska Struga and Otoczka Reska. In the Holocene a 961 ha fen peat called Wielki Smogorze has been formed. There are favorable conditions in the area for the formation of fen peats. The thickness of the peats is over 4 m, reaching almost 8.0 m in its peak. Since 1964 the Przybiernówko-Grądy II deposit (402 ha) is continuously exploited. Currently, the deposit is being used by a company called "Lasland". Extraction is conducted on the basis of a relevant concession within a designated mining area of 242.9 ha. The mining concession is valid until the end of 2030. The pits are deep and are located on both sides of the regional road no. 110. Peat is transported by narrow-gauge railroad to the nearby processing plant, where it is sieved, sorted and packed. Based on the analysis of available archival materials, the road as found today was functioning already in the middle of the 19th century. In the 1970s the road was widened to 6.0m In 2003 due to the bad condition of the surface the asphalt layer was renovated by applying a grid and new asphalt layers. During the renovation longitudinal cracks have been reported and there were problems with the compaction of the mix. The direct cause was the shallow layer of peat located just 1.1 - 1.3 m under the road. Conducted renovation did not bring expected results, so in 2019 the documentation for the reconstruction of the road was prepared. Different methods of road foundation were analyzed, from soil replacement through the use of piles. In the end the decision was made to directly settle the embankment with the use of geosynthetics. This study presents a selected solution and shows the results of calculations. Changes during the execution of the reconstruction were discussed. The applied solution allowed for simultaneous functioning of the mining plant and reconstruction of the regional road on the section of 1.2 km. geotextiles and geonets were used. The main argument for such solution was relatively low cost of reconstruction and time of execution. During construction there were problems with obtaining the parameters on the substructure for asphalt layers. Two alternative solutions were proposed, one of which required increasing the thickness of embankment reinforced with geo-mesh and an additional layer of CBGM mix substructure. The solution allowed to meet the design requirements and complete the reconstruction according to the plan without any problems.

The use of additives in bituminous mixtures such as fibers has been the subject of various studies. Different fibres including cellulose fibres, steel fibres, basalt fibres, glass fibres and aramid fibres can be used to improve the properties of bituminous mixtures. Depending on the type of fibres used, different characteristics can be changed. The paper contains results of comparative tests of bituminous mixtures with aramid-polyolefin fibres. Asphalt concrete used for wearing course with maximum aggregate size of 11 mm was evaluated in the study. Reference mix with an average penetration grade of 50/70 was chosen as a base for modifications. Due to difficulty in preparing mixtures with fibers in a laboratory mixer, test specimens were obtained from a stationary plant. The fibers and aggregate mix was prepared before adding the asphalt. The fibers were added at a rate of 0.5 kg per 1000 kg of finished bituminous mixture. This allowed to obtain an even distribution of fibers in the mixture resulting in a homogeneity necessary for planned tests. This allowed to omit the scale effect, that could occur due to differences between laboratory and stationary mixing. Stiffness modulus tests were performed using the IT-CY (Indirect Tension to Cylindrical Specimens) method for a wide temperature range of 0-30°C. The specimen resistance to permanent deformation was evaluated. Obtained results has shown a clear increase in the resistance to permanent deformation of mixtures with aramid- polyolefin fibers, which is especially important for mixtures used for wearing course. The results has also shown a significant increase in the stiffness modulus regardless of temperature range. Results of conducted experiments has shown that it is possible to reduce the thickness of bituminous overlay in case of reinforcement of the existing pavement structure. The analysis of results has shown that the application of aramid-polyolefin fibres in bituminous mixtures can improve the functional features of the pavement and be beneficial to the investors.

The goal of the contribution is to analyse and review the possibilities of flood protection in hydrological, morphological and geological conditions of the East Slovak Lowland, specifically the flood protection of the county city Trebišov. The flood situation is caused very often by the Trnávka stream flowing along the city. The analysis was performed by mathematical modelling using HEC-RAS software. Based on Trnávka drainage basin reconnaissance, own measurements in situ and study literature relating thereto a proposal of several technical measures for safe run-off in the Trnávka river bed has been elaborated and consequently evaluated from hydraulic point of view.

The contribution is dedicated to hydraulic analysis of the flood protection of county town Bardejov in the north-east part of Slovakia where after numerous floods on the Topľa River the flood protection has been constructed just partially in the central residential area of the city (phase I.) Next phases II. and III., which append to phase I. upstream and downstream are currently in a process of evaluation, so the flood protection of the city is far from being complete. The submitted article deals with hydraulic assessment of realized flood protection measures and their impact on proposal of phases II. and III. Authors have solved the given problem using mathematical modelling of open channel flow for steady and unsteady conditions of flood discharge at really measured flood wave in the year 2010 which was very close to the value of Q100 water. At the same time, they have proposed flood protection measures on the Topľa River in localities which are not considered and not solved by present realized flood protection. Proposed flood protection measures downstream and upstream of the realized flood protection were proven by mathematical modelling in HEC-RAS software program and they should get under control even the historical flood which appeared in Bardejov City in 2010.

Portland cement additions have been used for many years with the main objective of reducing the amount of clinker. Among the additions, blast furnace slag, resulting from the production of pig iron, that is, reusing this by-product, reduces the emission of carbon dioxide as well as decreases the exploitation of natural limestone and clay reserves, which are raw materials for Portland clinker. In order to reduce these emissions and increase the availability of raw materials, research has been directed to study clinker-free binders, as is the case with activated alkali cements and supersulfated cements. In this way, alkali-activated cements can only involve the reuse of industry by-products and do not require the calcination of the raw material, thus reducing the emission of polluting gases into the atmosphere. Supersulfated cement are composed of up to 90% blast furnace slag, in addition to 10 to 20% calcium sulfate. One of the most important characteristics of blast furnace slag is the ratio of the content of CaO and SiO₂, also known as the simplified basicity index (B2). This paper proposes the mathematical modeling of an artificial neural network to predict the final chemical composition of the blast furnace slag to be produced based on the operational parameters of the blast furnace aiming its use in the production of special cements such as alkali-activated cements and supersulfated cements. The high values of (R) associated with low values (RMSE) show the good statistical performance of ANN demonstrating that the mathematical model is efficient to carry out the forecast of the production of blast furnace slag.

In this work is analysing the impact of wood waste bottom ash (WWBA) on the physical mechanical properties of Portland cement concrete (PCC). WWBA is a waste generated in power plants during burning forest residues to produce energy and heat. In 2019, about 19,800 tons of WWBA was generated only in Lithuania. Usually, WWBA is disposed of in landfills, only 26% of WWBA is used in the construction or maintenance of local roads, because of that it is useful to know properties of such WWBA and to analyse possibilities of using it in cement concrete. In the chemical composition of such WWBA type was fixed a big amount ~50% of CO₂. It is known, that C retards cement hydration. Due to stabilisation this process, it was used in the same amounts catalyst waste from oil cracking (FCCCw), which could accelerate hydration processes. Oil refineries worldwide generate more than 800,000 tonnes of FCCCw per year, of which around 20% in Europe and it is the big problem to landfill. In the investigation the amount of Portland cement (5-20% by mass) was replaced by mentioned wastes and properties of fresh PCC (density, slump, flow diameter) and physical mechanical properties of hardened PCC (water absorption, capillary water absorption, ultrasound pulse velocity, density, compressive strength after 28 days and 2 years curing, SEM) were established. It was determined, that by increasing amount of waste (till 20%) the workability of concrete decreases, because used wastes had higher water requirement. The best results were obtained, when 5% of cement was replaced by WWBA. Then compressive strength after 28 days curing comparing to control sample decreased 8%, but after 2 years curing it increased 1%, also the capillary water absorption decreased, denser structure was formed. The obtained results of hardened PCC density, ultrasound pulse velocity and water absorption are similar to control samples.

The issue of the maintenance of the infrastructure systems (e.g., viaducts, roads, bridges and highways), built some decades ago, is increasingly becoming a central argument. Within this topic, the safety assessment represents a fundamental as well as basic analysis that underpins a sustainable territorial management of the infrastructure systems. In fact, many structures are often affected by functionality, aging or safety problems and need specific interventions to avoid undesirable impacts in terms of social implications. In addition, the reference stakeholders, in terms of institutions and public actors, play an important role in relation to both the administrative and economic planning procedures. The present study has the preliminary aim to illustrate some possible contributions and improvements to achieve a more sustainable territorial planning, especially for the maintenance of the infrastructure systems. In detail, the present preliminary investigation highlights the possible advantages deriving from the use of the technology (i.e., remote sensing technique by means of satellite data - Differential Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar "DInSAR") within an analysis at territorial scale. Indeed, the activity of monitoring all the overall infrastructure system can represent a useful approach to have a territorial vision of the safety of the infrastructures and can lead to a more sustainable planning. In fact, the involvement of all the reference stakeholders, in relation to this specific territorial issue, can lead to a more organised administrative and economic process. Some preliminary results, shown through thematic maps using the Geographic Information System (GIS), are described for a case study in a sample area in Italy.

The paper concerns the comparison of two off-road vehicles on three different types of surfaces with regard to cargo securing requirements. As primary data, the values of the acceleration coefficients are obtained from the transport experiments conducted on the Tatra 815 and the Tatra 810 trucks. The goal of the paper is to identify differences between the operations of both the vehicles in terms of cargo securing in the context of EN 12195-1:2010 standard requirements. An elementary statistical analysis was carried out to evaluate the measured data (values of the acceleration coefficients). Based on the results, there are statistically significant differences between the vehicles, and in several cases deviations from the EN 12195-1:2010 standard assumptions were identified as well. The conclusions above have an influence on the cargo securing selection, and primarily on the lashing capacity of the securing means used. The results are usable in the securing system optimisation for the tested vehicles aiming to prevent risk situations related to the loosening of the cargo during transport.

In the face of a coronavirus pandemic, many buildings or facilities are closed. The sudden closing of schools, factories or offices has caused a reduction in the water consumption inside buildings. The lack of chlorinated water flowing through the pipes, combined with temperature changes, poses a real risk to potable water from the bacteria multiplication point of view. The contribution focuses on the requirements for the temperature of potable water cold (PWC) in the water pipeline system inside buildings. The main goal of the research is to evaluate the effect of heat transfer between the PWC and the surrounding air during the water stagnation. Temperature differences between the PWC and the indoor air in building are leading to the heat transfer by convection. The result of the heat transfer is an undesired increase of the PWC temperature. The paper assesses the increase in PWC temperature over time using two methodologies - mathematical analysis and computer simulation. The results show that with an increasing pipe diameter and insulation thickness, the temperature of PWC during stagnation increases more slowly. The article points out the fact that the first 10 mm of insulation has the greatest impact on preventing the heating of PWC from the surrounding environment. Regarding the material design of the pipeline, only small deviations in the results were calculated between steel and plastic pipe. Mathematical analysis and computer simulation show that the issue of PWC stagnation in the pipeline has a significant effect on the temperature and thus the quality of water in buildings.

In the last decades, assessment and rehabilitation of the existing built environment constitute one of the major challenges for engineers, practitioners and code-makers all over the world. Aging, deterioration processes, lack of or improper maintenance, and increasing occurrence of extreme events have led to the need of more efficient methods for the safety assessment and retrofitting/rehabilitation of existing concrete structures like bridges. New approaches deriving from research should be able to provide solutions devoted to reduce and/or avoid the necessity of interventions, verifying the safety conditions for human life and performances for serviceability on aged infrastructures. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of existing bridges has become a key issue in all western world as most of the infrastructures of each Country are reaching the end of their design life. SHM can be divided classically in two approaches: static and dynamic. Static SHM is based on the measure of displacements and their derivatives like rotations or strains regardless of the dynamic behaviour of the structure. Clinometers are among the most used devices to measure angles on structures; they can provide high accuracy when used in static mode as advanced techniques of signal processing can be used to reduce the noise of the signal working on acquisitions that can last several seconds to provide one single accurate measure of angle. Nevertheless, many issues one the affidability and the correct use of measures done with clinometers have to be addressed to achieve a trustworthy SHM using such devices. In this paper the most relevant issues related to the f.e.m. modelling of a bridge deck in view of the use of clinometers for SHM are presented providing explanation using a test case bridge that has been under continuous investigation for many months. A brief explanation of the process for data cleaning and interpretation is also given, stressing out the limits of the technology and the possible outcomes.

This investigation is devoted to quantify the epistemic uncertainty related to the nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete columns characterized by high slenderness using numerical codes. The adoption of refined numerical tools, which are able to consider both mechanical and geometric non linearities, implies to perform assumptions and approximations with respect to reality. Whit reference to reliability analysis, these simplifications lead, inevitably, to additional uncertainties which are of epistemic nature. In fact, these uncertainties may be reduced by the engineers/analysts by increasing the level of refinement of the numerical model and/or increasing knowledge about parameters associated to material models. However, also numerical model established by expert engineers/analysts are affected by this kind of epistemic uncertainty. Accepting that the level of uncertainty associated to the experimental tests set are minimized, the epistemic uncertainty associated to non-linear numerical simulations can be quantified characterizing the model uncertainty random variable comparing the outcomes of numerical results to the associated experimental ones. The present investigation proposes the quantification of the model uncertainty related to non-linear numerical simulations of slender RC columns. A total number of 40 experimental results known from literature are herein selected in coherence with current Eurocodes specifications. The experiments are reproduced adopting non-linear numerical analysis differentiating between several modelling hypotheses (i.e., numerical code; materials models). The comparison between experimental and numerical results is adopted to characterize the most suitable probabilistic model for the model uncertainty random variable associated to non-linear numerical simulations of RC columns subjected to significant slenderness. The outcomes of the research are useful to provide background to the characterization of partial safety factor for model uncertainty in non-linear numerical analysis using the approach of the global resistance format for safety verifications.

A particularly important and topical issue in contemporary urban planning and urban design is to prevent the current climate threat. The scale of the problem and the forecast of the effects of climate change are shown in the publication of numerous research centers such as NASA and the IPCC. The Report of a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees relative to the preindustrial era has shaken public opinion, however, a less optimistic scenario assumes an increase of 3 degrees. Local governments often face the challenge of rapid and effective response to the effects of climate change. Adaptation strategies to climate change have been developed at the EU level since 2009, in which the so-called White Paper has been passed, recognized as one of the first documents to define goals and measures, and on the national (Polish) level from around 2010. On the basis of strategic documents and research of scientific institutions, many local government units adopt programs aimed at implementing specific solutions. In the light of climate reports, it turns out that one of the most sensitive areas to climate change is water management. Therefore, effective adaptation measures include those aimed at rational management of rainwater. As a result, there are created comprehensive adaptation programs focusing on various sectors of the economy. Some of them are based on elements such as: green infrastructure, support for biodiversity or the implementation of activities in the field of blue-green infrastructure and the idea of "sponge city". They have been analyzed by the authors in terms of their usefulness and compliance with higher level documents. The aim of the study was to look at what actions are undertaken by cities in order to implement adaptation postulates. Selected activities undertaken by local government units of the cities of Olsztyn, Bydgoszcz and Gdańsk were analyzed. For educational purposes there are prepared information brochures for investors, residents and officials. They present the available tools and methods for sustainable rainwater management and increasing the city's resilience to the effects of climate change by increasing retention based on natural-based solutions. Equally important are the projects themselves, which is why another objective of the research was to analyze the implementation for compliance with the stated goal of increasing the retained water and adaptation to climate change of the city. The research methodology is based on desk-research and indirect inventory. A representative example of the research carried out is the implementation of the programs: "Rainwater management systems in the city of Olsztyn" and "Expansion of the rainwater management system in the city of Olsztyn". The authors conclude that the adopted programs and strategies, as well as the implemented investments, are examples of both beneficial measures to improve water retention in the city, but unfortunately, they are also examples of "tools" to raise funds for investments, there are many in which rainwater is treated as sewage and still go directly to the sewage system.

Where buildings are concerned, the term "sustainability" has been used for more than 30 years. It represents a process of designing, constructing and operating the building considering its environmental impact. A year after the major nuclear plant catastrophe from Chernobyl, the Brundtland Report defined sustainability as the actions that meet "the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". A different disaster, a natural one – the Katrina hurricane – led, two decades later, to the addition of another building characteristic: "resilience". It represents the capacity of a system to adapt after a shock. "Durability" may refer to different issues: the building materials, the building structure, its functionality of aesthetics. The more durable a building is - the more it lasts - the less it affects the environment. The more it lasts, the more resilient it is (as it withstands different types of stress). Technical durability, provided by building materials and structures, prevails over the functional durability. A good example is the case of the industrial buildings of the nineteenth century: constructed with solid masonry structures, these buildings have lost the original functions decades ago and they were subject of conversions that provided them a new life cycle. Withstanding the action of natural and anthropic agents, these buildings proved to be resilient and, by saving the natural resources, they can also be considered sustainable. Considering that in the next 30 years we will still face 70% of the current building stock, it is important how we deal with them, in order to provide, by rehabilitation, a new life cycle to the existing constructions. The paper tackles, from a critical perspective, some examples of good and bad practice in the building rehabilitation process.

Direct tension tests were conducted to investigate the effects of substrate moisture conditions and texture on ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) overlay bond strengths. Improper substrate surface preparation can result in inadequate bond strengths and, in severe cases, lack of bond. To demonstrate the importance of surface preparation, pull-off tests were performed on overlaid slabs that had two extreme substrate surface moisture conditions (saturated and dried) prior to overlay application. Saturated slabs had a tined, tined-light sand blasted, or tined-medium sand blasted substrate surface texture. Dried slabs had either a tined or an exposed aggregate surface texture. Saturated specimens with tined, tined-light sand blasted, and tined-medium sand blasted surface textures achieved average bond strengths of 0.924, 1.45, and 1.95 MPa, respectively. Dried substrate surfaced specimens had zero bond strength. Surface moisture conditions that ranged from saturated to dry were also investigated by allowing the substrate surfaces to dry for 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes prior to application of an UHPC overlay. Tined-light sand blasted specimens with surfaces that dried for 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes achieved average bond strengths of 2.86, 2.01, 1.59, and 0.165 MPa, respectively. Results showed tined-light sand blasted specimens with proper saturating achieved adequate bond strengths, and properly saturated, tined-medium sand blasted specimens produced excellent bond strengths. Results also exposed the drastic consequences of not maintaining a saturated substrate surface prior to overlay application and delaying overlay application up to 60 minutes can drastically reduce bond strength.

A growing number of cars and trucks moving around on our roads contributes to the rise of noise level to which people in their immediate vicinity are exposed. The regulations in force impose on road managers the obligation to limit road noise to the permissible level in compliance with the applicable regulations. The obligation to ensure protection against traffic noise applies equally to newly designed roads and to the existing ones which are being extended or modernized. This type of noise is generated principally by the interaction between tires and road pavement. Therefore, the design and construction of quiet pavements plays a very important role in reducing environmental noise and may in some cases be an alternative to other noise reduction methods. The article undertakes the task of assessing the impact of grinding technology and grooving technology of the existing concrete pavement on the reduction of noise propagation in the environment. The article involves the tests of road pavement made of cement concrete. The tests were carried out on the road section before and after the above-mentioned works, using the method similar to Close Proximity Method (CPX) and the noise measurement method at road edge at a distance of 10.0 m and height of 4.0 m. The obtained results were illustrated with a noise range map for the modified and standard road pavements.

The Władysław Matlakowski School in Zakopane was established in 1877. After the war damage, during the Communist rule in Poland the school was rebuilt and renovated. As a result, the original character of the classrooms was distorted. Fiberboards used for interior finishing changed the acoustic climate of the rooms. The reverberation time of the tested rooms considerably exceeds 2 seconds for low frequencies and is below 2 seconds for medium frequencies. Thus, the reverberation conditions do not differ from typical school classrooms in Poland. The tests of reverberation conditions were supplemented by the measurements of acoustic insulation of partitions separating the chool classrooms from each other and from the corridor. The studies allow to infer that the noise possibly comes from the corridors or adjacent rooms.

The present contribution deals with a numerical approach for the design of RC beams subjected to axial and transverse loads. It is based on the finite-element implementation of the kinematic approach of the yield design (or limit analysis) theory combined with a "mixed modelling" where the concrete material is regarded as a classical two-dimensional continuum while the longitudinal reinforcements are modelled as one-dimensional elements working in tension-compression only. For the beams reinforced in shear, stirrups are incorporated in the analysis through a homogenization procedure. An optimization problem is formulated, then solved using conic quadratic optimization method. As a result, an upper bound estimate to the yield strength domain of RC beams may be drawn in the plane of axial and transverse loads. For illustrative purpose, calculations are conducted on typical RC beams with different longitudinal and transverse reinforcement degrees. Furthermore, it is shown that such numerical predictions prove to be in good agreement with the results derived from other numerical simulations of the same problem using a finite element-based limit analysis commercial software. In order to assess their practical validity, these predictions are also compared to some available experimental results published in the literature.

The paper presents the analyses involving energy demand of a single-family building located in various climatic zones. When designing buildings, special attention is paid to material and technological solutions, but often the climatic zone in which the building is to be located is not taken into account. Therefore, the article considers the location of building in five climatic zones in Poland and it investigates the impact of the location on its energy demand. It turned out that the location of the building in zone V, i.e. in the north-east of the country, determines the highest energy demand for heating compared to the rest of the country. The work demonstrates the impact of a climatic zone in which the building is located on its energy demand.

The paper presents an exact analytical method for the elastic analysis of steel-concrete composite beams with partial interaction. Accepting the basic assumptions of the Newmark analytical model and adopting the axial force in the concrete slab as the main unknown, the second order nonhomogeneous differential equation of the steel-concrete composite element with partial interaction is derived. Further, the complete solutions for simply supported and fixed-ended composite beams subjected to concentrated and uniform loads respectively, are developed. The solution of the homogeneous equation is determined by imposing proper Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions depending on the static scheme of the element. The particular solutions are then derived for the considered loading conditions. It is shown that the internal axial force in concrete slab associated to composite beams with partial interaction can be expressed as a fraction of the axial force in concrete slab under full interaction through a non-dimensional function f(aL) which takes into account the connection's stiffness, the mechanical properties and also the length of the element. Moreover, the solutions are included in a flexibility-based approach to derive the force-displacement relations of the beam element with partial interaction. For the resulted 2-noded beam-column element with 6DOF, the stiffness matrix is derived, showing that the partial composite action may be included at the element level by means of a series of correction factors applied to the standard full-interaction stiffness matrix coefficients. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the accuracy and performance of the proposed method. Within the elastic range, the predicted load-midspan deflection curve is in very good agreement with both experimental and other numerical results retrieved from international literature. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the influence of the shear connection degree on the beam's midspan deflection and the results were compared with those computed by using code provisions.

At present, there are increasingly encountering the use of lamellar structures, for example on the roofs of buildings, which, in addition to their visual function, also fulfil the function of reducing the flow of wind into the roof space. These structures are often designed as long and subtle structures and therefore their very common problem is unwanted vibration. In this article, the main focus is to show the methodology of the determination of the effects of wind on the lamella of the shape of an irregular pentagon. A real-size model made of steel with a total length of 2 m and a weight of 7.4 kg was used. Its size and shape were influenced by several factors which are specified in more detail in the paper. In the wind tunnel experiment, it was very important to ensure the exact position of the model and also to secure both ends of the model against shifting (to replicate fixed ends). Dynamic response of the structure in two directions together with wind speed were measured simultaneously. To investigate the wind effects by numerical analysis, fluid-structure interaction software simulation (FSI) on a full-size model was used. The main pitfall of the software solution was to get as close as possible to the conditions of the wind tunnel. The actual wind speed measured under laboratory conditions was used as the input wind speed for FSI simulation. The material of the model and the shape of the model was set in software simulation to be as close as possible to the real structure. Subsequently, other boundary conditions were set and the solution process was executed. The biggest problem, especially in terms of comparing the results of both approaches which greatly affected the results, was the very high stiffness of the model. Due to the extent and interconnectedness of results, findings are presented in more detail in the conclusions of the paper. The methodology of setting up a relatively complex FSI simulation, its results, as well as new findings that we came up with if the measurement of the dynamic effects of wind is the matter of interest are presented in this paper.

Lodz (Łódź) is one of the major urban centres in Poland - and a city of unique historical and cultural heritage. The city is continuously changing and developing, respecting its identity and tradition or declaring that. The article aims to present field and case studies of three examples of the revitalisation of neglected areas in Lodz. These post-industrial spaces lost their functions in the last decade of the XXth century. These three projects in different parts of the city with other characteristics and ownership situations represent three different approaches to revitalising historical objects and adjusting them to new functions. Given cases are compelling examples of the various methods used to post-industrial heritage protection and conservation activities and the outcome of those entirely different strategies. As it seems the private entrepreneur has reached the best result in raising activities at the neglected old factory plot but at the same time while placing the responsibility of the space on its new users. Simultaneously, the public financed project oversight by towns authorities introduce the most changes to the historical tissue and seems not to reach its goals as far as a revitalisation of the area is concerned. In this light, the last project joining both private and public funds and introducing a new design solution with extreme care for historical tissue seems to reach the goals of both at a satisfactory level. The examples show how different strategies for cities to redeveloped their image and function work in Mid-European post-communism countries realities and how other types of public life participants embrace this heritage.

Building materials from traditional to contemporary and from traditional to high-performance materials in architecture and their implementation in energy-efficient constructions can be compared with smart ones? Can we bring these materials to superior performance? Building materials in general, either smart, energy efficient or with new performance, are based on the same traditional materials. A material is considered to have special properties only when it contributes to the improvement of construction criteria. With all these advances in construction techniques and architecture, along with end-user demand for 2021 buildings, as architects we will need to introduce something new and smart to meet their requirements and needs. We can build intelligently and at the same time use traditional materials or current construction, needs guide us to a new era of building materials, high-performance materials, smart, etc. This abstract is a comparison between the high performance direction that is foreseen in the future in building with intelligent materials and returning to nature by using traditional building materials to build just as efficiently. This transformation is possible and to what extent the new requirements can bring traditional materials to these standards. The paper is an overview of the types of materials that can be used in construction and architecture, thus offering a new perspective on innovative techniques that will be available or are already available that improve this field. The comparison between classical concrete and concrete that changes the image of architecture through the created image or between traditional and performance materials for building envelopes are only a small part of the options available for use in construction and architecture.

The qualitative and quantitative housing deficit in the city of Cuenca Ecuador is high, to provide help to the homeless, the Ecuadorian government decreed "Casa Para Todos" project in 2018. This type of housing focuses on providing an accessible alternative for people with limited resources, however, the type of housing that is granted does not comply with the conditions and materials that guarantee the comfort of the users. Additionally, there is a large percentage of plastic garbage that is collected every day by the city's cleaning system, part of it is recycled and another part is deposited in sanitary landfills due to poor handling within the recycling chain and process. The main objective of this research is to determine the hygrothermal comfort and life cycle of a housing prototype with recycled and processed plastic material for the manufacture of modules that together form the walls of the proposed houses. To achieve the proposed objective, traditional concrete block systems are compared to recycled plastic (polyethylene and polypropylene) walls, using the K coefficient (thermal conductivity) in the Desing Builder software, obtaining simulations of hygrothermal comfort and relative humidity. As a complement to the research, the analysis of the life cycle and environmental impact was carried out with the SimaPro software. As result of the simulations, it was obtained that the relative humidity in the analyzed environments, parents' bedroom, and living room, has a value of between 40 and 60% in the two construction systems, being within the comfort ranges. The internal temperature in the concrete block system fluctuates between 15 to 20 ° C while with the recycled block it is in the ranges of 17 to 20 ° C, which allows evidence that the house made up of recycled blocks has higher thermal gain in prolonged periods during the day and that the concrete block house has great heat losses due to the porosity of the material, so the use of recycled plastic blocks is recommended; deepen research on the life cycle and its environmental impact, as the results indicate that the recycled plastic block has a greater environmental impact in its life cycle than the concrete block.

Adobe is an old material used in construction but over time, this construction system has lost space and preference among population. Hence, the need to seek alternatives as professionals in the construction area to encourage the use of the Adobe technique has raised. Thus, the present study made a cost of the items involved in the construction of houses from the adobe based on the theoretical references. In addition, it established a unit price analysis that identifies the particularities of this system focusing on an analytical, descriptive-conclusive methodology whose data are analysed from the results of applying a survey (n = 96) to the inhabitants of the rural sector of Cuenca and construction experts (n = 11). The average price of the construction of houses with Adobe is $ 38,357.23 dollars for a house of 150 m2 taking into account that the real costs and the construction activity are sensitive to changes in the population and market prices.

It is evident that the consequence generated by the Urban Heat Island (UHI) in medium-sized cities with a population of more than 600,000 inhabitants generates a decrease in comfort for the user of the road network due to the increase in temperature and the difficulty of dissipating it. In the city of Cuenca there is a large number of urban roads that are rigid pavement and currently construction and maintenance projects are being generated for them, so it is necessary to seek solutions in the execution of concrete to reduce the UHI effect. The research comprehensively has two approaches: qualitative and quantitative-experimental. In the qualitative approach, the method of systematic review supported by meta-analysis of data is used to contrast information from secondary sources of case studies worldwide in Urban Heat Island, and through an outline the most common methods will be exposed. appropriate to reduce the effects of the object of study. Subsequently, this defined methodology will be put to the consideration of an expert judgment so that through its evaluation we can justify the proposed methodology. The expected result is a method of analysis and experimentation to be applied in the context of the city of Cuenca, which allows determining the effects of radiation on the construction materials of rigid pavements, defining construction strategies and types of concrete to reduce the UHI effect. The city of Cuenca accumulates large amounts of heat during the day and has difficulty dissipating it during the night, so this research seeks to propose construction alternatives and possible mitigation solutions to avoid or counteract the impact produced by the heat island through the most appropriate method.

The tapial is part of the traditional construction worldwide, which uses environmentally friendly materials of natural origin such as raw earth, wood and water for its manufacture. The construction technique was used for the construction of habitable spaces, which are part of the ancestral construction system of our country; Despite the above, no updated studies on the costs required in the construction process have been identified in Ecuador. This is mainly due to the constant development of new technologies that introduce new construction systems to the market that use industrialized materials for their manufacture. Therefore, this document evaluated and analyzed the unit prices of the items involved in the construction of works using mud as its main component. Field and exploratory research was applied, through the application of surveys to a sample of 97 professionals of Civil Engineering and Architecture in the city of Cuenca, as well as 30 professionals with experience in construction of the indicated construction system. The Unit Price Analysis determined that the average cost of a 140 m2 typical house is $ 46,236.64 with an estimated cost of $ 330.26 per square meter; Similarly, the study determined a maximum cost of $ 53,172.14 USD with a value of $ 379.80 USD per square meter and a minimum value that represents $ 39,301.14 with a cost per square meter of $ 280.72.

The bahareque is a form of vernacular construction that, with the help of modern materials with adequate techniques and knowledge, constitute an alternative to provide housing solutions. Despite this, the lack of knowledge and technical processes in relation to costs, gives rise to a research problem. Thus, this document presents a set of technical strategies based on the Cost-Benefit analysis of using bahareque as a raw material and structuring a unit price analysis tool to guide construction professionals. The study had a qualitative and quantitative approach, surveys were applied to the population and professionals in the construction area that allowed to approach the reality of the construction system in the city of Cuenca-Ecuador. It is evident that people know about the construction system, but show some resistance to its application because they are unaware of the advantages and disadvantages of the vernacular technique. With the cost analyzes carried out, it is concluded that a typical house of 130 m2 has a cost of $ 36,387.72 dollars; which, starts from concrete foundations, which support a reinforced masonry assembly that raises the wooden frames, associated with meshes that erect the walls with mortar and finally covered with roofs with a mixed material of wood and tile fired with clay.

The present Project is developed in Ecuador, Morona Santiago Province as a response to prior research that determined the failure of projects execution is due to the poor management of restrictions set by the director project. This research constitutes a contribution to Scientific knowledge about Project Management, primary factors influencing the failure of projects and recommendations for the achievement of success on roads construction projects. In order to get the stablished objective in this study, it was necessary the analysis of the conditions on which roads projects were executed and completed over the years 2018, 2019, and 2020 by the Decentralized Autonomous Government of Morona Santiago on the modality of procurement, and it was also important to stablish the causes that contributed to a particular outcome on projects. The approach of the analysis is focused on the management of restrictions of costs, time, and scope (triple restriction) of projects in study. The technique that was used is the analysis of the content that was applied to contractual records of 81 hired projects by selection of minor amount, price, bid, reverse auction, and contingency plan according to the Ecuadorian legislation for public works procurement. For the record and further data analysis, the information was encoded identifying in contractual files the causes that directly or indirectly led to categories of costs management, time and scope of projects. The results achieved show the causes that contributed to the failure of projects and the state in which they were finished in terms of initially stablished costs, time and scope. The obtained information was the basis to come up with recommendations referring the good practices on projects management that will work people in charge of projects management of roads constructions in order to obtain success on future projects.

Ecuador has significant potential in the renewable energy industry, to which solar energy contributes. The current investigation proposes a method to determine the savings when using solar collectors. The analysis is made for social housing projects located in different climate environments around the country: dry tropical megathermic (coast), semi-humid equatorial mesothermic (mountains), rainy megathermic (amazon), equatorial highlands (equatorial highlands). The cases studied are located in: Pasaje, El Oro; Cuenca, Azuay; Huamboya, Morona Santiago; and Chordeleg, Azuay. The method used in this research is an evaluation of drinking water per user demand (litter/person/day) which can determine the annual energetic demand. Furthermore, from the geographic location, the average solar radiation, and useful hours of sunshine are obtained. Then, these are used to obtain the available net annual energy. Furthermore, a relationship between demand and available energy is obtained for the solar collectors that satisfy the demand for the different locations studied. Finally, an analysis of the cost of implementing this technology and the projected savings in comparison to using hydrocarbons to heat domestic hot water is presented.

Housing sector plays an essential role in the sustainable development of the countries; however, there are significant problems in terms of its ability to access which promotes the occurrence of solutions that guide the housing deficit reduction as well as economic savings and natural resources preservation. One key strategic would be the use of social housing as a mechanism to ensure a decent house accessed by vulnerable population. The general housing design requires satisfying characteristics of indoor environmental comfort, arising the need outlook technical solutions. This research aims to propose functional and hygrothermal improvements for social housing located in a temperate continental climate zone in The Sierra region of Ecuador. The methodology was focused on energy simulations using Design Builder software and comparing the results with the application of passive bioclimatic recommendations. In addition, based on the quantitative housing deficit this research achieves qualitative contributions in order to improve the living conditions of low-income population whose get access to social housing in Ecuador. An experimental case study, located in Azogues a canton of the province of Cañar, has been selected for the simulation analysis which belongs to a housing governmental program named Manuela Espejo promoted by the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and special designed for people with disabilities. The research has an applicative nature approach, with a sectional scope and explanatory depth, based on primary and secondary information sources; data collection techniques were social perception surveys used to determine comfort levels of the social housing users. The results show, based on the energy simulations carried out, improvements in terms of habitability conditions and an architectural proposal compiles passive bioclimatic recommendations focused on the design of social housing in Ecuador. Therefore, this research contributes to the implementation of new social housing plans that not only would help to reduce the housing deficit, but also contribute to improving the housing indoor environmental comfort perceived by the users.

The lack of decent housing to settle down and have a family is one of the most relevant problems in Ecuador, currently the demographic expansion has made the population look for alternatives that are often limited by the lack of economic resources to acquire a house or apartment, it is thus that housing solutions financed and built by the State are so|ught to reduce the index of homelessness, however the construction costs that arise are high, before which alternatives are sought in terms of the materials of manufacturing, thus, the use of expandable polystyrene (EPS) in civil construction is giving great results in terms of comfort, energy reduction, price and other benefits. That is why the objective of this research work is to analyze the feasibility of the use of EPS in the construction of social housing (VIS) in the city of Azogues - Ecuador, and which are planned by the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MIDUVI). For which a bibliographic-documentary research methodology was used with a cross-sectional approach to studies about the use of EPS in construction. The results show that the quality of this material is highly reliable for its use in the construction of houses, so it must be used in the VIS projects executed by MIDUVI, which will generate great benefits for all the actors involved; In conclusion, there are several studies that give credit to the functionality that EPS offers, especially because it offers the possibility of being used with other traditional materials and giving a finished work of high quality in a short time.

The Historic Center of Cuenca (HCC) is located in the southern region of Ecuador. It is well known that our country is located on the so-called belt of fire of the Pacific Ocean, this area is characterized by having generated the most important seismic events in the history of mankind. More specifically, there are records that show that in the last 200 years the city of Cuenca has been exposed to earthquakes that have produced moderate to severe damage. These reasons make it possible to establish that the city of Cuenca and specifically its historic center could present important problems in the face of significant seismic events. Most of the buildings in the HCC date back to the middle of the 20th century and have used unreinforced brick masonry (brick-URM) to build their walls. This work is part of the Seismic Vulnerability Project: Seismic Damage Scenarios of the Built Heritage of the Historic Center of Cuenca. In the context of this vulnerability project, the objective of this work was to establish a family of pushover curves for three unreinforced brick masonry buildings typical of the HCC, based on a parametric pushover analysis. The definition of the typical buildings was based on an extensive work of architectural and geometric characterization of the traditional built heritage of HCC. On the basis of focusing the study on two-story buildings (the most common), the size of the floor area of the buildings (small, medium and large area) was assumed as a base parameter. Based on an analysis of the variability of different geometric and mechanical characteristics, and in order to study their influence on the pushover curves of the three typical brick URM buildings, the following study parameters were defined: 1) compressive strength of brick masonry, 2) lateral displacement capacity of brick-URM elements, 3) wall thickness. The pushover analysis was carried out with the Ruaumoko program. The model of the buildings responds to an equivalent portal frame macro-model scheme that has been formulated and validated by the authors of this paper. In order to consider the effects of the flexible floor on the dynamic response of this type of structures, a lateral load pattern that takes into account the contribution of higher order modes of vibration will be used in pushover analysis. The results will be discussed in terms of the incidence of the variability of the study parameters on the basic characteristics of the pushover curves. These results will be an essential input for the next stage of the project consisting of damage estimation for different levels of seismic action expected in the city.

Ecuador is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a country with high risk and seismic sensitivity, evidenced by the 6.8-degree earthquake in Ambato in 1949, which left approximately 6000 dead, the 7.8-degree earthquake in Manabí and Esmeraldas in the year 2016 with 663 victims and 29672 buildings without the possibility of use. Currently there is a problem about seismic performance in reinforced concrete buildings, since many were built with old regulations; so, it is necessary to assess their vulnerability. Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, large cities in Ecuador, have formal studies of seismic vulnerability, mostly carried out by university students and teachers. In contrast, most small cities do not have these studies; or, they need to be updated to validate their results. This is the case of the city of Azogues. The objective of this research is to evaluate the vulnerability of structures using the Hazus methodology, adapted to Ecuador, in the downtown area of the city of Azogues, in structures located around the Central Park, to establish the seismic performance in reinforced concrete buildings. The Hazus methodology, which determines the vulnerability of buildings from fragility curves, which are entered with inputs as the capacity, performance level and drift curves calculated through Ecuadorian models. The capacity curves, depending on various aspects such as: the material, number of floors, spans between columns, among others; they vary from building to building. In this sense, capacity curves were defined for sets of buildings with similar characteristics, coinciding with the Hazus methodology. The performance levels and the displacements were calculated with the ETABS computer package. For fragility curves, the model that most real simulates the response of a structure is the non-linear analysis, because it considers the decrease in stiffness in columns and beams, as well as the deterioration of the properties of the materials. In this sense, there are fragility curves of Ecuadorian buildings for four levels. The earthquake readings enable the construction of a demand spectrum, which, when contrasted with the capacity spectrum, leads to the performance point. Its position sometimes varies per the elastic demand spectrum, which is diminished by its inelastic behavior. As the demand spectrum decreases, the damage will increase. Once the coordinates of the performance point are known, the fragility curves are used; and, the possible damages are defined, quantifying them in percentage.

In Ecuador, informal construction is a recurrent problem, especially in low-span constructions, as well as in medium-size constructions, in which there is no strict control during their construction and design. This leads to deficient constructions, which diminishes the resilience of the elements, even though they are designed by a professional with experience in structural design, who follows at least all the guidelines of the current standards, and uses the appropriate tools for their conception and design. This generates a false sense of security in the occupants of the building. Failures do not usually occur in the short term, no matter how pitiful the construction method was. In case of anomalies, it is considered something futile, easy to cover up, which only has aesthetic implications. This causes even the most experienced of technicians to trust, making crass mistakes that can lead to the collapse of the structure. Given these problems, the degree of vulnerability due to defects in the building was evaluated.

Cuenca is located on three areas controlled by mega faults and 14 areas at risk from landslides. One of them is the Nulti community that registers landslides in 16 subzones during the past 10 years. The waters presence on the ground is one of the causes of these earth movements, and this generated infrastructural and environmental losses. According to the update of the Development and Land Management plan, the Santa Cecilia Pasto Romero neighborhood is one of the affected areas. This community is located in the Parish Center. This place lost a considerable number of houses and equipment like educational, health, religious, administrative infrastructure, because it has landslides of great magnitude. Given these antecedents, we carried out a study that allows to know the behavior of this soil against seismic waves and identify risk areas, their properties such as soil type, allowable loads, and elasticity modulus. In this way, the risks presented by these landslides were determined from a soil profile by processing the results of the Geophysical analysis like seismic refraction tests, standard penetration, and electrical soundings. This study generates future lines of research like slope stabilization and drainage designs. This study opens the possibility of being replicated in the other parishes of Cuenca. The subsoil presents a cohesive material with high plasticity. The soil has deposits with silty clay matrices of high plasticity. This mass of soil has been removed by the effects of landslides and colluvial deposits. Therefore, its low shear wave velocities expose loose soils of high plasticity and medium to high expansivity.

This research work was carried out with the purpose of evaluating and proposing a sustainable model of human mobilization for the urban center of Sígsig canton, Azuay province, Ecuador; attending to the displacements, means of transfer and reasons for travel. In the same way, the most frequent origin and destination were categorized, which later made it possible to directly conceive the circulation routes and their incidents with the central flow of circulation, both pedestrian and motorized. Based on the collection of information on the requirements that had to be obtained to shape a sustainable model, it was proposed as a starting point for the identification and study of human mobilization, the collection of primary information through direct interview with the analysis of transfer variants and reasons for circulation of a total of 792 people passing through the urban center; allowing to have an approach on the most used means of travel and percentages of circulation, as well as the reference to the reasons for the trips. In the same way, based on secondary information from the PDOT (Territorial Planning Plan) of the Sígsig canton, the connection of the road axes that unload in the urban center was evidenced. Later, in the tabulation and analysis stage, the problems and their possible solutions on mobility and transfer activities were determined, prioritizing the means of transport used. Finally, it was found that a large part of the population tends to move on foot, followed by the use of commercial and private public transport, with a maximum of five passengers. In addition, the most frequent reasons for transfer are for study and work activities; activities that fully influence mobility, therefore, a model based on public transport is recommended that provides service to the most demanding sectors, based on the existing road pattern without breaking into the urban center.

This paper compares sustainability assessment methods applicable to existing buildings. It also uses the most influential international certifications (BREEAM, LEED and VERDE) and their guidelines to evaluate their application in three heritage buildings in the Girón canton (Ecuador), which allows us to establish that the LEDD BO&M certification is the one with the greatest technical feasibility and professional suitability. Thus, it is known that, with small adaptations to the initial mechanisms, the sustainability of a heritage building could be certified, especially when it is intended for public use, as is the case of the study universe, where through the recommended interventions it is possible to overcome the range of compliance positioned between 8 and 27% up to 80 and 90%. In turn, this is feasible on the basis of guidelines, categories and a valuation system applicable to the sustainable valuation of a heritage building in the context of the study and its peers.

The creation of management models for the construction of Social Interest Houses in the province of Azuay has been one of the relevant actions to mitigate the existing housing deficit in the territory in the last ten years. Within this period, two management models have played a leading role: the SAV-BID National Social Housing Program and the SIV National Social Housing Program. Models created and promoted by the Ecuadorian State, with the help of various actors, that try to correct the housing problems present in the vulnerable socioeconomic strata of the country. With this background, a comparative study of the management models applied in Ecuador is proposed, through which the similarities and differences between each of them are evidenced, as well as the potentialities and weaknesses that have characterized them, both in their management as in your application. The study begins with a referential framework, where central issues are considered such as: characterization of the concept of Social Interest Housing, housing deficit in Ecuador, and the essential components required for the design and implementation of a housing management model, with the purpose to define and understand the context of the investigation. For the development of the study, a qualitative methodology is proposed, which uses a deductive-inductive system; where dimensions, sub-dimensions and variables are raised in order to approach the study of management models from the general to the particular. The dimensions are defined as the great considerations and aspects that determine the models; The subdimensions are the analysis components where the results of the execution and application of the models are produced, and the variables are made up of the unique aspects or particularities of the study. The results show similarities in the planning and structuring of the two models. However, there are differences in the source of financing and in the characteristics and obligations of the project stakeholders. The study concludes that there are some differences that have allowed the SAV BID National Housing Program management model to generate greater production of Social Interest Housing. These differences are closely related to the active and continuous participation of the managers or home builders, a fundamental aspect that has allowed the success of the projects developed through this management model.

The article will discuss the design and construction aspects of nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) in Poland. It is the newest building standard introduced by the Directive on the energy performance of buildings 2010/31/EU. The directive made the implementation of nZEB buildings compulsory in European countries. The article will present analyzes of the energy performance of nZEB buildings, in accordance with Polish legal requirements, and discuss the possibility of achieving this standard in terms of economic efficiency. An important issue is also the certification of newly designed buildings, allowing the promotion of buildings with more restrictive parameters than the minimum energy efficiency requirements specified for nZEB buildings. In the article, the authors will present the developed methodology for certifying buildings in Poland, based on the requirements related to energy efficiency, and on in situ testing of buildings. The article will also present examples of building certification in Poland.

The article presents a proposal for the classification of historic buildings in terms of improving energy efficiency, ensuring the comfort of users and their impact on the environment. In the case of historic buildings, Polish law does not require energy efficiency improvement. The proposed classification also takes into account the function of the object and is largely based on "in situ" research. The presented model of classification will help users of historic buildings to undertake appropriate thermo-modernization measures to improve energy efficiency and comfort of use. In situ tests in historic buildings are of particular importance also for the correct diagnostics of this type of buildings.

In our presentation we are trying to clarify possibility of adding recycled materials into bricks and to name the changes of characteristics of individual additives. When we remind that the first ceramic decorative figure was The Venus of Věstonice. Babylonian gardens, Hagia Sofia, one of the most beautiful churches that has ever been built. The great Wall of China – The biggest brick creation in the world, medieval castle Malbork built in northern Poland not far from Gdansk's bay which with its size resembles small town, Skyscraper Chrysler Building in New York. All of these buildings have one thing in common and that is material from which they were built. After obtaining this knowledge, we have known for 10.000 years. Many types of modification of full bricks followed. Then the advancement ensued.

The purpose of this paper is to design and discover a new system, which can realize the collection, transformation and storage of energy from wind energy in the environment ^ temperature/physical deformation → material phase change → energy storage, so as to achieve the effect of green energy saving. At the same time, it can provide theoretical support and design basis for the design of high-rise Garden residential suite in cold region. Wind energy is collected through the narrow channel effect. With the help of deformation induced ferrite phase transformation technology and memory alloy materials, the collected energy is stored in the new colloid/graphene battery equipment. With the help of the relevant content research parameters, a systematic digital model is formed, and the basic database is established to simulate the external environment of high-rise Garden residential buildings in cold areas. Through the design of a new wind energy collection system and embedded in the simulation environment, the wind energy utilization in cold, low sunshine, low wind speed or unstable wind speed areas is realized, and the green energy conservation, environmental protection and sustainable development in such areas are realized. Then, the feasibility and effectiveness of the system are demonstrated according to the experimental results, and a systematic theory is formed.

The article will discuss the aspects of the possibilities of improving the energy efficiency of buildings. In particular, the author will analyze innovative technologies in the field of improving the thermal insulation of external partitions and improving the efficiency of underfloor heating. The author will present the results of research on the thermal properties of metal and wooden frame structures, as well as innovative veneer floor panels. Frame structures are increasingly used in single-family housing, and veneer floor panels are used in underfloor heating. Innovative solutions of building partitions are to improve the energy efficiency of newly constructed buildings, and thus reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Many construction projects today are planned and managed using computer technology. An integral part of the management of these projects is sophisticated software, which includes statistical probabilistic methods. The main task in this area is direct verification of the validity of planned labour productivity values during the construction process according to the recorded average performance values. Using selected statistical methods and analyses, a case study can document this type of undertaking, for example, in a selected masonry process in which the upper and lower limits of performance, i.e. the optimistic and pessimistic bounds, may be calculated with 95% probability. Evaluation of these performance parameters in the construction software used for this study showed a difference in time of 11 days at the end of the process. The figures indicated a 9.6% and 14.3% decrease in labour productivity, respectively, for the optimistic and pessimistic values compared to the construction software ' s planned values. Repeated evaluation of performance can aid in improving labour productivity and attaining project milestones and subsequent construction deadlines during the construction process. This paper aims to confirm or refute this theoretical balance using probabilistic statistical methods and to emphasize the importance of statistical analysis in the real construction process with the use of the software.

The twenty-first century is witnessing a rapid growth population in urban areas; this growth needs intelligent urban planning and management. The field of urban informatics is one of the new and vital specialties to organize and analyse the urban system at all levels and areas. ICT works with interactive community participation to guide and manage the urban environment to serve, provide the residents with safety and security. The paper presents a new vision in terms of employing the field of urban informatics in mapping and monitoring the urban deterioration of the built environment in general and buildings in particular. The urban informatics system is still taking its first steps to manage and serve the city's facilities (transportation, communication, air pollution, etc.). The built environment and the deterioration through time and other factors are still far from this area. This paper aims to identify the urban information field, the situations, and types of urban deterioration and move to capture urban deterioration indicators (main and secondary), which can be measured in urban informatics. This paper recommends the adoption of such a mechanism in managing and controlling the deterioration that contributes to the reduction of material and human losses, saving time and money away from traditional methods, and the possibility of employing them in times of crisis and disasters in the urban environment.

The constant progress of technique is inevitable nowadays and seems to be the same in a predictable future. The observation of this phenomenon leads us to formulate a few reflections on it. The use of advanced techniques causes a clearer detachment of production processes from human work. Robotics and automation were initially supposed to facilitate the production of elements, but over time they began to replace humans more and more. Will there be a place for human work in the future? It is already being pushed out of many bastions in which it was supposed to be indispensable. Autonomous cars and buses are the best example of this. Can similar phenomena be noticed in design? Will the machine replace the creator? The development of artificial intelligence (AI) shows that it is possible. Complicated algorithms are already able to compose a piece of classical music. In the case of architecture, architects are still in the lead, however, one has to take into account the conquest of this field by AI. At the moment, designers have various advanced techniques at their disposal to facilitate and accelerate their work. The most important among them are: digital 3D modeling CAD (Computer Aided Design), Building Information Modeling (BIM), visualizations, and computer animations mainly used to present ready-made ideas, but also useful at the concept stage. Apart from them, three-dimensional printing is also important, as well as three-dimensional design of structures. The above technologies are increasingly used in the design process. They are more compatible with each other than before. They allow you to save labour, accelerate the implementation of tasks, as well as to optimise the designed buildings in many respects related to construction, prefabrication or energy efficiency, to name just a few. An important, although not very common, advantage of technological innovations is their use not only during design and construction, but also during the maintenance of ready-made buildings. The best example of this is BIM, which facilitates the previous management of these technology designed objects. In the future, it will be much easier to design the adaptations of such buildings and to store information of changes which were made. This approach fits in with the idea of Management of Change, which can be included in an even broader aspect among the paradigm of sustainable development.

Adhesive connections are commonly used in many industries as automotive, aerospace, electronics and also in civil engineering. Adhesives in civil engineering are used for non-load bearing structures but nowadays are requirements for using adhesive also for load- bearing structures especially for glass structures. Silicones are mostly used adhesives in civil engineering, they have good resistance to external environment but their lower strength and lower stiffness does not meet requirements for many applications. For this reason, are better semi-rigid or rigid adhesives but there is a lack of information about them. The paper is focused on experimental testing of transparent adhesive connection glass to glass. Four epoxy adhesives were chosen for double lap shear joint. Specimen were exposed to shear test until failure. Shear force and displacement were measured during test. Shear stress, elongation at break, shear modulus and failure mode were obtained from the tests. Only one epoxy adhesive had low adhesion to glass. Specimen with this adhesive had the lowest shear strength. Other three adhesives showed good adhesion to glass and had shear strength 6.5 times higher. Failure mode of specimen with these adhesives was always breaking of the glass.

The purpose of the current study is to utilise a novel technology that is expected to bring reductions in electrical and heat energy consumption and cut CO2 emissions in the shopping centre public utility building in Mielec. The building is equipped with systems for obtaining heat and cold from groundwater and features the energy consumption level of a passive building with the lowest primary energy ratio (PER) in Poland. This state-of-the-art, innovative, energy-efficient and environment-friendly FCH system with BMS control was subjected to numerous tests and analyses, the details of which will be presented further in this paper. The design assumptions were confirmed and all work parameters were recorded for the system under extreme conditions, including the determination of final energy (FE) and primary energy (PE).

The subject of this paper is the study of a public utility building, a shopping centre in Warsaw/Targówek, carried out as part of the programme of "Research for obtaining high air quality in architecture. The purpose of the study of the building is to utilise a new technology which will lead to reductions in electrical and heat energy consumption and cuts in CO2 emissions in the modernised Shopping Centre Public Utility Building in Warsaw. The building is equipped with systems for obtaining heat and cold from groundwater and is adapted to a low electrical energy consumption level with the lowest primary energy ratio in Poland. It is located in Warsaw and, in addition to the energy sourcing system, features a highly modern control system (BMS). The objective of the study is to demonstrate operating costs for a building with low exterior wall and roof insulation parameters. In addition, the building uses a heating system based solely on electrical heating due to its lack of access to gas and district heating. The conducted studies and analyses allowed a comparison of the operating costs of old buildings following modernisation with those of new buildings.