Mould-colonized water damaged building materials are frequently co-colonized by actinomycetes. Here, we report the results of the analyses of Actinobacteria on different wall materials from water damaged buildings obtained by both cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent methods. Actinobacteria were detected in all but one of the investigated materials by both methods. The detected con...

Buildings are the largest energy consumers and greenhouse gases emitters, both in the developed and developing countries. In continental Europe, the energy use in buildings alone is responsible for up to 50% of carbon dioxide emission. Urgent changes are, therefore, required relating to energy saving, emissions control, production and application of materials, use of renewable resources, and to...

To assess whether China’s emissions will peak around 2030, we forecast energy consumption and carbon emissions in China. We use an agent-based model driven by enterprises’ innovation. Results show some differences in both energy consumption peaks and carbon emission peaks when we compare trends at different levels. We find that carbon emissions and energy consumption will peak in 2027 and 2028,...

Tadao Ando’s design presents the concept of the spirit of place and establishes the nature and soul of architecture. The creation of a situation is to enlighten people and enable them to understand the potential meaning, revealing a state of awareness. Tadao Ando enables people to relate to his emotional design situation that reflects the Zen state of mind inherent in traditional Japanese cultu...

Mismanagement of building materials has constantly plagued the construction industry resulting in issues of cost overrun, delay, high levels of construction waste, wastefulness, project abandonment, climate change etc. The purpose of the research is to examine an IT management of building materials’ planning and control processes using web-based technologies. The study made use of a desktop rev...

Traditionally soil, stone aggregates, sand, bitumen, cement etc. are used for road construction. Natural materials being exhaustible in nature, its quantity is declining gradually. Also, cost of extracting good quality of natural material is increasing. Concerned about this, the scientists are looking for alternative materials for highway construction, and industrial waste product is one such c...