Bridging the gap between selection decisions of facade systems at the early design phase: Issues, challenges and solutions

Authors

  • Mohamad Kassema Technology Futures Institute, Teesside University, Middleborough
  • Donald Mitchell Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Centre for Window Cladding Technology, University of Bath, Bath

Downloads

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7480/jfde.2015.2.1016

Keywords:

Building facade, business process, curtain wall

Abstract

Building facade has a significant impact on the environmental and economic performance of buildings and projects. The specification of their elements at the early design phase depends on numerous technical, environmental and economic factors and involves several stakeholders. The procurement and delivery of the facade work package from the early design phase, through detailed design and manufacture, to installation is a process with several inherent risk factors due to the involved cost, technical and engineering complexities and its position on the critical path in all projects. This research investigates the process of selection and specification of building facade elements at the early design phases with the overarching aim of identifying the issues affecting specification decisions, their root causes and impact on projects. The research utilizes a mixed research approach which combines a retrospective case study and an industry survey as two research methods that build on each other. The findings suggest that the complexity of specification at the early design phases is exacerbated by factors such as the inadequate technical knowledge of stakeholders involved in the decision making process, the non-involvement of building facade consultants, the late involvement of specialist facade subcontractors, and in a few cases by some commercial exclusivity agreements that restricts specification decisions.

How to Cite

Kassema, M., & Mitchell, D. (2015). Bridging the gap between selection decisions of facade systems at the early design phase: Issues, challenges and solutions. Journal of Facade Design and Engineering, 3(2), 165–183. https://doi.org/10.7480/jfde.2015.2.1016

Published

2015-11-10

References

Al-Hajj, A., & Hamani, K. (2011). Material Waste in the UAE Construction Industry: Main Causes and Minimization Practices. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 7(4), 221-235.

Amaratunga, A. Baldry, D., Sarshar, M., & Newton, R. (2002). Quantitative and qualitative research in the built environment: application of “mixed” research approach. Work Study, 51(1), 17-31.

Andi, A., & Minato, T. (2003). Design documents quality in the Japanese construction industry: factors influencing and impacts on construction process. International Journal of Project Management, 21(7), 537-546.

Assaf, S. A., & Al-Hejji, S. (2006). Causes of Delay in Large Construction Projects. International Journal of Project Management, 24, 349-357.

Chin, S., Yoon, S. W., Kim, C. D., Choi, Y. K., & Chun, J. Y. (2004). An analysis of the Life-Cycle Curtain Wall Process through Supply Chain Management. Proceedings of International Group of Lean Construction, IGLC 12. Copenhagen, Denmark, September 2004.

CWCT (Centre for Window and Cladding Technology) (1999). Introduction to structural design of stick curtain walling. CWCT Technical Note, No. 26.

CWCT (2000a). Cladding types. CWCT Technical Note, No. 14.

CWCT (2000b). Weather tightness and drainage. CWCT Technical Note, No. 17.

CWCT (2000c). Introduction to wind loading on cladding. CWCT Technical Note, No. 2.

CWCT (2003). Introduction to building envelope acoustics. CWCT Technical Note, No. 37.

CWCT (2007). Movement accommodation in building envelope. CWCT Technical Note, No. 55.

CWCT (2011). Fire performance of curtain walls and rain screen. CWCT Technical Note. No. 73.

Eastman, C., Teicholz, P., Sacks, R., & Liston, K. (2011). BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors, 2nd Ed. New Jersey, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Efstathiades, C ., Baniotopoulos, C. C., Nazarko, P., Ziemianski, L., & Stavroulakis, G. E. (2007). Application of neural networks for the structural health monitoring in curtain-wall systems. Engineering Structures, 29(12), 3475-3484.

El-Razek, M. E. A., Bassioni, H. A., & Mobarak, A. M. (2008). Causes of Delay in Building Construction Projects in Egypt. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 134, 831-841.

Fallahnejad, M. H. (2013). Delay Causes in Iran Gas Pipeline Projects. International Journal of Project Management, 31(1), 136-146.

Hwang, D. W., Choi, S. W., Song, Y. W., & Choi, Y. K. (2006). Information exchange of curtain wall work for the application of supply chain management system, Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, 2006 (ISARC), Tokyo, Japan, October.

Jaillon, L., & Poon, P.S. (2010). Design issues of using prefabrication in Hong Kong building construction. Construction Management and Economics, 28(10), 1025-1042.

Jin, Q., & Overend, M. (2010). A thermal performance analysis model for the design optimisation of high performance glazed facades. Engineered transparency. International Conference at Glasstec, Düsseldorf, Germany, 29 and 30 September 2010.

Kagioglou M., Cooper R., Aouad G., & Sexton M. (2000). Rethinking construction: the generic design and construction process protocol. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 7(2), 141-153.

Kassem, M., Dawood, N., & Mitchell, D. (2011). A Structured Methodology for Enterprise Modeling: a Case Study for Modeling the Operation of a British Organization, Journal of Information Technology in Construction, 16, 677-690.

Kassem, M., Dawood, N., & Mitchel, D. (2012). A decision support system for the selection of curtain wall systems at the design development stage, Construction Management and Economics, 30(12), 1039-1053.

Kragh, M. (2011a). Façade Engineering and the design team of the future. Society of Façade Engineering. Executive Boardroom Commentary, 30-36. Retrieved from http://www.cibse.org/getmedia/28be6591-0d43-429e-a14c-8c64c7ecb315/kragh-paper.pdf.aspx

Kragh, M. (2011b). The decade of the façade engineer. Society of Façade Engineering. Intelligent Glass Solutions, 1, 44-51. Retrieved from http://www.cibse.org/getmedia/eb0a8348-e754-4e78-bd7e-c8674e861d91/kragh-4.pdf.aspx

Love, P. E. D., Mandal, P., Smith, J., & Li, H. (2000). Modelling the dynamics of design error induced reworking construction. Construction Management and Economics, 18(5), 567-574.

Mitropoulos, P., & Howell, G. A. (2002). Renovation projects: design process problems and improvement mechanisms. Journal of Management in Engineering, 18(4), 179-185.

Mohsen, F., & Elaheh, N. (2012) Building envelope as an environmental apparatus: integrating architectural and natural systems. ICSDEC 2012, 268-275.

Odeh, A. M., & Battaineh, H. T. (2002). Causes of Construction Delay: Traditional Contracts’. International Journal of Project Management, 20, 67-73.

Pavitt, T., & Gibb, A. (2003). Interface management within construction: in particular, building façade. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 129(1), 8-15.

Quirouette, R. (2013). Glass & Aluminium Curtain Wall Systems, Ontario Association of Architects.

Ramaswamy, V., & Gouillart, F. (2010). The power of co-creation: build it with them to boost growth, productivity and profits. New York, NY: Free Press.

Rossman, G. B., & Wilson B. L. (1991). Number and words revisited: being ‘shamelessly eclectic’. Evaluation Review, 9(5), 627-643.

Schade, J., Olofsson, T., & Schreyer, M. (2011). Decision making in a model-based design process. Construction Management and Economics, 29(4), 371-382.

Shebob, A., Dawood, N., Shah, R. K., & Xu, Q. (2012). Comparative Study of Delay Factors in Libyan and the UK Construction Industry. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 19(6), 688-712.

Singhaputtangkul, N., Low, S. P., Teo, A. L., & Hwang, B. G. (2014). Criteria for architects and engineers to achieve sustainability and buildability in building envelope designs. Journal of Management in Engineering, 30(2), 236-245.

Succar, B., & Kassem, M. (2015). Macro-BIM adoption: Conceptual structures, Automation in Construction, 57, September 2015, 64-79.

Sun, M., & Meng, X. (2009). Taxonomy for change causes and effects in construction projects. International Journal of Project Management, 27(6), 560-572.

Sweis, G., Sweis, R., Hammad, A. A., & Shboul, A. (2008). Delays in Construction Projects: The Case of Jordan. International Journal of Project Management, 26, 665-674.

Tran, D., Behr, R., & Parfitt, M. (2014). Global Differences in Building Enclosures, Journal of Architectural Engineering. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000146

Tribelsky, E., & Sacks R. (2011). An Empirical Study of Information Flows in Multidisciplinary Civil Engineering Design Teams using Lean Measures. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 7(2), 85-101.

Tumi, S. A. H., Omran, A., & Pakir, A. H. K. (2009) Causes of Delay in Construction Industry in Libya. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Economics and Administration (pp. 265-272).

Uihlein, M. (2013). State of integration: investigation of integration in the A/E/C community, Journal of Architectural Engineering. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000139

Vigener, N., & Brown M. (2012). Building Envelope Design Guide – Curtain Walls. Washington, DC: National Institute of Building Sciences.

Wikstrom, K., Artto, K., Kujala, J., & Soderlund, J. (2010). Business models in project business. International Journal of Project Management, 28(8), 832-841.

Yin, R. B. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Zoya Kpamma, E., & Adjei-Kumi, T. (2011). Management of waste in the building design process: the Ghanaian consultants’ perspective. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 7(2), 102-112.