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- Choreographing network-based influences on the homeowners’ decision journey about energy-related renovationsPublication . Abreu, Maria Isabel; Oliveira, Rui; Lopes, JorgeCommunity engagement with the energy efficiency in housing is seen as a very challenging strategy that governments need to prioritize for climate agenda. Recent studies shed light on the underlying influences of some networks of actors in the homeowners’ decision to improve the energy-efficiency of their homes. Understanding the accurate role that both social and professional networks within communities play among homeowners seems to be paramount for energy policies enlargement and effectiveness. In a network level perspective, interpersonal communication, which has so far been undervalued, appears to be an influential mode of trust and information to energy-related activities. An exploratory research has been carried out in order to gain a sense about the whole chain in action between the above mentioned actors as agents of change. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with different Portuguese stakeholders involved in the renovation journey of owner occupied single-family houses were conducted. The findings signpost that interpersonal networks play a trustworthy and beneficial source of information along the entire renovation decision-making journey. In general, these interpersonal connections are conveyed in the social network activating the homeowners’ willingness to renovate, being a reliable channel for peer learning, guiding homeowners in the selection of professionals and acting also as an evaluative judgement tool to assess these same professionals in their technical advice. The results strengthen the view that the sense of neighbourliness, proximity and cooperation between citizens engaged in energy issues could pave the way to empower these utmost interpersonal networks which can have positive effects to encouraging house energy improvements.
- Moving from production to services: a built environment cluster frameworkPublication . Carassus, Jean; Andersson, Niclas; Kaklauskas, Arturas; Lopes, Jorge; Manseau, André; Ruddock, Les; Valence, Gerard deThe construction industry is no longer focused on providing a single product — i.e. a building or a physical infrastructure, but a variety of services and improvement to the human environment. Major trends such as Performance-based Building as well as Sustainable Build Environment are calling for major changes. These changes mean additional roles for the industry as well as the need for new indicators to measure its performance and its economic impact. This paper proposes a new approach based on the development of a framework for the analysis of the entire construction and property sector — the ‘built environment cluster’. It extends the analysis of an international study based on nine countries—Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Lithuania, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The need for improving statistical data is stressed particularly in the context of enlarging the scope of the industry. This new approach provides an excellent starting point for developing new performance indicators that will take into account the changing nature of the industry, for an integrative perspective providing a basis for strategic management, for studying sustainable development in construction and for understanding innovation processes and changes. A comprehensive perspective of the industry performance is crucial for policy initiatives as well as for strategic analysis for firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Strategic Property Management is the property of International Journal of Strategic Property Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Práticas da sociedade portuguesa e reabilitação sustentável do parque edificado residencialPublication . Abreu, Maria Isabel; Lopes, Jorge; Oliveira, RuiA mudança nas atitudes e práticas dos utilizadores dos edifícios existentes face à sustentabilidade e à eficiência energética é uma das estratégias fundamentais para a passagem a uma sociedade de baixo carbono. Um dos desafios é motivar os proprietários a reabilitar os seus edifícios no sentido de adotarem soluções sustentáveis e reduzirem os seus gastos energéticos. Estudos recentes têm apontado para a importância do contexto social onde se insere o proprietário que, em muitos casos, sobrepõe-se às campanhas de sensibilização públicas e até ao aconselhamento técnico. Outros estudos revelaram que as estratégias de motivação têm que olhar o proprietário do edifício de forma personalizada. A decisão de reabilitar parece emergir das aspirações pessoais, dos estilos de vida dos indivíduos e das condições e práticas sociais do dia a dia e não exclusivamente da análise simples de retorno do investimento ou da sensibilidade ambiental. Este estudo pretende trazer para a discussão a dimensão social e cultural da reabilitação sustentável dos edifícios residenciais em Portugal, explorando o papel das rotinas e práticas domésticas e identificando fatores-chave que possam influenciar a tomada de decisão. Primeiramente, foi realizado um conjunto de entrevistas a um grupo de profissionais ligados a esta área. Seguidamente, com base nas entrevistas, inquiriu-se um grupo de proprietários de edifícios residenciais portugueses. Os resultados revelaram que a comunicação dentro da rede social onde os proprietários portugueses inquiridos estão inseridos, bem como os estilos de vida e as práticas diárias da vida doméstica, têm uma influência central na formação inicial de intenções de renovação de partes de um edifício. A decisão é um processo negociado ao nível familiar e emerge da combinação de algumas condições da vida doméstica com fatores pessoais e contextuais. Não é um evento único, mas insere-se na prática do “ir renovando”. As reabilitações energeticamente eficientes de edifícios acontecem, em muitos casos, em consequência da decisão de reabilitar por outros motivos já estar tomada. É importante abordá-las como qualquer outro tipo de reabilitação, sem torná-las excecionais ou à parte das outras. Por conseguinte, é fundamental introduzir a ciência social para compreender comportamentos, práticas e rotinas sociais e culturais dos proprietários, no sentido de definir as melhores políticas de motivação para a reabilitação dos edifícios residenciais.
- Measures for resource and sustainable practices management in building rehabilitationPublication . Oliveira, Rui; Lopes, Jorge; Abreu, Maria IsabelThe rehabilitation of buildings is a kind of practice that involves an improvement of the comfort and building habitability conditions through the reuse of existing resources. However the rehabilitation process requires ingenious solutions and specific knowledge by designers and builders. The reuse of material resources existing in buildings that align with the adoption of environment concerns could balance the embodied energy and water and emission reduction. Furthermore, the construction procurement could facilitate the rehabilitation process and also adopt a management contracting process which requires a specialized contractor to support the design and work’s needs. This article describes a set of measures from a management system to support the project management process of a building rehabilitation works. The set of proposed measures could facilitate the skilled labour and material resources management, which are focused on the principles and assumptions of sustainability. In addition, it could also give a contribution to devising different ways to organize and manage works in buildings with rehabilitation needs and in a way to have more sustainability benefits.
- Reabilitação de edifícios. Está o meio técnico preparado para o desafio?Publication . Oliveira, Rui; Sousa, Hipólito; Lopes, JorgeA reabilitação de edifícios, parece estar a tornar-se uma área estratégica de construção em Portugal, não só pela progressiva consciência da necessidade de abrandar a realização de obra nova, como também pela necessidade de privilegiar a reabilitação do parque edificado existente. A presente tendência de actuação na requalificação dos edifícios antigos demonstra que é necessário alterarmetodologias de intervenção. Para tal é necessário constribuir como medidas de carácter legislativo, com efeito dinamizador do sector.
- Younger vs. older homeowners in building energy-related renovations: learning from the portuguese casePublication . Abreu, Maria Isabel; Oliveira, Rui; Lopes, JorgeThe interest in energy-related renovations varies among homeowners and depend not only on personal and contextual factors but also on every-day life activities and social practices. In addition, some studies suggest that the homeowner´s life stage have a significant role in shaping this interest. This study aims to understand the influence of the homeowner’s age on the motivation for energy-related renovations of Portuguese single-family buildings and how this age is linked to the home-related and social practices that may encourage these renovations. A survey together with a qualitative research method were used. The younger Portuguese homeowners seems to be more environmentally conscious and adopt “little-by-little” energy renovations. For the older, if energy-related renovations are associated with aesthetics, indoor comfort conditions and sentimental meanings given to the home, it is more likely these renovations happen. However, both generations can be influenced by important life moments that trigger the renovation process.
- A model for construction sector development in middle-income sub-saharan african countriesPublication . Lopes, Jorge; Banaitienė, NerijaBuildings and other constructed facilities form the essential framework of a country's physical and economic infrastructure. Construction serves as a key capital input to production, driving economic growth and wealth generation. This impact can be particularly transformative in low -to -middle -income countries. Physical infrastructure, including construction, is a powerful engine of economic growth and is closely related to national economic performance. However, not all studies agree with the commonly held belief that construction investment has a positive impact on economic growth, particularly concerning the amount of investment and the relationship between construction investment and economic growth. So far, cross-country studies dealing with the construction sector -economic growth relationship have used indicators of national output and construction that are not strictly comparable between countries. This article reviews the main strands of the literature on the role that the construction sector plays in the national economy and economic development. It also uses novel data drawn from the "capital file" of the PENN World Table (version 10.1) to assess the development pattern of the construction sector in two groups of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries on the middle -income status of economic development, for the period between 1990 and 2019. The study reveals that construction shares, measured as the proportion of gross fixed capital formation attributable to construction in the gross domestic product, revolve around a norm determined by the level of built assets preceding the reference period. The results of the study could have policy implications for the economic sustainability of the construction industry in SSA.
- The local influences of sustainability in historic centres for buliding refurbisshment and for livingPublication . Oliveira, Rui; Lopes, Jorge; Abreu, Maria IsabelThe historic city centres are comfortable living places that also have architectural quality, cultural and historic heritage. These and other aspects have contributed to a sustainable behaviour and tourism attraction, which does not happen in recent residential areas. However, existing buildings in historic centres have many constraints which associate them to problems and make them less attractive, such as the proximity between buildings, less sun exposition and many others. This paper reports on a research project in which a toolkit with 50 parameters was developed to support decision-making in old building refurbishment projects in historic city centres. Each parameter includes technical regulations, constraints and best refurbishment practices. All solutions proposed by a parameter are ordered in 5 levels from the least to the higher sustainability benefits. The article describes a connection between the toolkit parameters about building localization aspects and their application as constraints during refurbishment works. In another perspective, it is shown the contribution of these parameters as good practices for living in city centres, tourism interest and building selection aspects for renting or buying. The methodology adopted in the study comprises a case study involving the consultation of a set of 7 building refurbishment project designs. All project designs analysed do not present full information description in the majority of localization parameters of the toolkit, such as public transport, parking cars, commercial or services areas, technical infrastructures conservation, sports and gardens areas, and land reutilization. Some of the information on the building project designs analyzed were possible to ascertain through "in situ" research and part of the buildings has good location, proportional sustainability benefits and easier management practices during refurbishment works. The results suggest a lack of interest in the provision of relevant information for the part of design consultants concerned with building refurbishment projects. This aspect needs to be tacked in order to promote more sustainable construction practices and, consequently, a more efficient functioning of this segment of the construction market
- Energy-related housing renovations from an everyday life perspective: learning from portuguese homeownersPublication . Abreu, Maria Isabel; Oliveira, Rui; Lopes, JorgeChanging the attitudes of existing building users towards sustainability is a paramount strategy towards a low-carbon society. One of the challenges lies in encouraging owners to renovate their houses. Recent studies have pointed out the relevance of the homeowner’s social context which, more often than not, outstrips public awareness campaigns and even techno-economic advice. The decision to renovate seems to emerge from deep social issues rather than exclusively from the simple analysis of investment return or environmental awareness. The present study aims to bring discussion to these social subjects for single-family buildings in Portugal and identify key factors which may influence decision making. Firstly, a set of in-depth interviews were conducted with a group of experts. Subsequently, and based on the interviews, a group of Portuguese single-family homeowners, who undertook at least one energyrelated piece of work, were surveyed. Together with the survey a structured observation method was put into practice. The results revealed that homeowner’s stage of life, personal/family events, everyday practices, lifestyles and social network framework have a major influence on their prime intention to renovate their homes. The desire to maintain or change the routines and the way family uses the indoor spaces are common drivers, however, motivations linked to aesthetics, trends and social status were revealed to be extremely influencing. The decision process is negotiated inside the family involving not only desired domestic life conditions but also skills, understandings and social values shared by the dwellers. The energy-related renovations take place, in many cases, as a consequence of a previous decision to renovate, taken due to other reasons. It does not consist of one single event but is rather part of a practice of a “little-by-little renovation”. Motivational policies should be drawn considering the energy-related renovations as any other type of renovation and not separately from the others.
- Development of a conceptual success factors model for construction projects: a case of LithuaniaPublication . Gudiene, Neringa; Banaitis, Audrius; Banaitienė, Nerija; Lopes, JorgeThis paper aims to develop a conceptual critical success factors model for construction projects in Lithuania. The concept of success of construction projects and literature review of critical success factors is discussed in the first part. Conceptual model adapted to Lithuania is developed and its elements are described in the second part. Grouped decision-making matrix for the multiple criteria analysis of critical success factors of construction projects is presented at the end of paper.