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Smart and Sustainable Built Environment is a CIB-encouraged journal that aims to inform research and industry practice on integrated approaches to developing smart and sustainable built environments

ISSN: 2046-6099
eISSN: 2046-6099

Aims and scope

The world has never been exposed to such a paradigm shift prior to the emerging industry 4.0 revolution – the governing foundations for shaping and delivering progressive changes for addressing issues embracing Society, Knowledge, Economy, and People. Scientific advances and innovative technologies in Architecture, Engineering, Construction are key factors in this process, the tenets of which can help the countries move towards developing smarter, and more sustainable communities. In this respect, the nine pillars supporting Industry 4.0 are widely accepted by the research and practice communities to include: the integration of Virtual/Augmented / Mixed Reality (XR=VR/AR/MR); where mainstream Building Information Management in particular is seen as a vehicle for addressing such issues as industry fragmentation, value-driven solutions, decision making, client engagement, and design/process flow to name but a few. 

Advanced Simulation, Computer Vision, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Linked Data all provide immense opportunities for dealing with these challenges; more importantly perhaps, provide real tangible (evidenced-based) innovative solutions that until now, have never been possible before. These technologies are perceived as the ‘true’ enablers of future practice. Exemplars from other industries such as automotive, aerospace and oil and gas have provided showcase solutions using advanced technologies. However, until only relatively recently, AEC has only just started to recognise terms such as “golden key” and “golden thread” as part of BIM processes and workflows.

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE) links together the various pioneering smart and sustainable targets, bottom lines, endpoints and project deliverables through whole development cycles and project processes. The objective of the journal is to identify, develop and promote research and practice in integration between innovation and sustainability in order to help the AEC industry go through a smooth transition and paradigm shift. The journal highlights holistic problem-solving and decision-making, collaborative system and product development, innovative solutions enhancing sustainability, and mutually beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders of the built environment. It also gives emphasis to international collaboration, emerging challenges, issues arising from developing economies, and knowledge transfer to businesses and industries.

SASBE publishes original papers, review papers, case studies, and research reports as well as commentaries, technical notes, book reviews and conference news which focus on the linking of, and the holistic solutions for, key aspects of developing the built environment from project conceptualisation; through building, infrastructure and urban design; construction development; and facility operation and management; to deconstruction, recycling and reuse; for long term sustainable outcomes.

The coverage of the journal includes, but is not limited to:

  • Sustainable buildings, infrastructure, districts, cities and the community
  • Smart and healthy workplace and living environments
  • Innovative systems, technologies and products responding to emerging challenges
  • Smart and sustainable design, construction, and operation of new built facilities and regeneration of existing ones
  • Sustainable development processes, regulations, governance and community engagement
  • Management of information and knowledge on innovation and sustainability
  • Communication, education and training of sustainability principles and professional skills
  • Digital Twins, Smart Technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), Network of Sensors and Intelligent Agents
  • Computer Vision and Image Processing for Construction and Facilities Managements
  • Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Transfer Learning, Deep Learning and Data Driven Approach for Optimisation of Built Environment
  • Smart Contracts, Distributed Leger Technologies and Blockchain for AEC Industry
  • Demand-Response, Smart Grids and Sustainable Prosumer Based Community
  • openBIM, linked data and semantic web for automating design and code checking
  • Offsite Construction, Modern Methods of Construction, Additive Manufacturing, DfMA
  • Use of Social Media and Data Science for Construction and Facilities Managements
  • People-centred design systems based on virtual reality and cognitive tools (such as eye tracking and EEG)
  • Design for health and safety concepts in construction project Using BIM and VR
  • BIM-Based and Speech recognition platform for design checking