Editorial

Citation

Shelbourn, D.P.a.M. (2014), "Editorial", Structural Survey, Vol. 32 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/SS-07-2014-0030

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Structural Survey, Volume 32, Issue 4.

Welcome to this fourth issue of Volume 32 of Structural Survey: Journal of Building Pathology and Refurbishment. This issue contains a book review and four original research articles reporting a range of contemporary research.

Professor Tim Dixon provides a review of a new textbook entitled Sustainable Building Adaptation: Innovations in Decision-making by Sara Wilkinson, Hilde Remoy and Craig Lanston. The book is commended for providing some excellent insight into the continuing debate over adaptation versus new build. The use of international case studies and the focus on the commercial sector are highlighted as particular strengths and the text is highly recommended for students, academics and practitioners.

Folorunso and Ahmad report an investigation of the defects associated with external paint surfaces in areas located in tropical and salty environments. Using a survey of residents and developers, the research reveals a variance in the patterns of defects and need for maintenance for external surfaces located in areas adjacent to the ocean. Despite the maintenance challenges posed by these characteristics, users still prefer to use paint for their buildings based on aesthetic preferences and the flexibility. The paper concludes that areas that are exposed to the direct impact of saline air are more prone to paint failure.

Al-Hammad et al. present the development of a systematic approach to the evaluation and selection of curtain wall systems for medium to high-rise buildings in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. The process of weighted evaluation was utilised to assess various options of curtain wall systems using a number of financial and non-financial performance criteria to facilitate the decision making process. In all, 13 different types of curtain wall systems were subjected to several filtering processes, namely feasibility ranking, evaluation by comparison and weighted evaluation which is composed of paired comparisons of criteria and matrix evaluation. The approach presented should help project owners, architects and design professionals in specifying the optimal curtain wall system taking cognisance of the project specific characteristics and circumstances.

The third paper by Brennan and Cotgrave reports an ambitious attempt to investigate the current state of understanding of sustainable development in the UK construction industry. Using a focus group approach the study sought to gain a detailed understanding of the state of knowledge and perceptions towards sustainable development from a range of different stakeholder perspectives. Specifically the focus groups were asked to consider how university's could help achieve change within industry. Findings indicate a good level of understanding among practitioners who were found to be very much in support of sustainable development. A number of barriers are reported and the study recommends the need for a deep cultural and behavioural shift which could be achieved through changes in the curricular within university's. Recommendations are made for the industry and HEIs to work closer together in developing programmes that are more current and relevant to the emerging needs of the industry.

The final paper in the issue is from a team of experienced researchers at Leeds Metropolitan University and concerns the application of the coheating test in buildings. Stafford et al. discuss how the coheating test is the standard method currently in use for measuring the overall thermal performance of the building fabric. The approach discussed clarifies some of the technical pitfalls which may be encountered in the execution of coheating tests and points to ways in which the maximum value can be extracted from the test period, leading to a meaningful analysis of the building's overall thermal performance. The authors claim that the coheating test provides an opportunity, basis and environment for a whole raft of detailed investigations which may be undertaken with a view to gaining a much fuller understanding of the building's thermal performance. The full and correct application and interpretation of these tests are said to be important in achieving energy saving targets.

We hope you enjoy this issue of the journal and extend our thanks to the authors for their contributions. We are of course indebted to the work of our reviewers and express our sincere appreciation to those who have contributed to the development of this collection of papers.

David Proverbs and Mark Shelbourn