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        <title>Frontiers in Built Environment | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/built-environment</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Frontiers in Built Environment | New and Recent Articles</description>
        <language>en-us</language>
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        <pubDate>2026-10-25T21:34:23.407+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
        <item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1917756</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1917756</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Developing a framework for integrating value management and total quality management in construction projects: a systematic literature review with narrative synthesis]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Ahmad M. Zamil</author><author>Mohammad Alhusban</author><author>Abdullah Alharkan</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The construction industry continues to experience persistent delivery problems, including cost overruns, schedule delays, quality failures and inefficient resource use. Although value management (VM) and total quality management (TQM) are widely recognised as approaches for improving project performance, the literature remains fragmented regarding their application and integration in construction practice. This study therefore synthesises the literature on VM and TQM and develops a conceptual framework for their integration. A systematic literature review with narrative synthesis was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach. The review covered studies published between 1994 and 2026 and included 102 eligible articles. The findings indicate that TQM is the more mature and institutionally embedded field, whereas VM remains comparatively under-adopted and is discussed mainly in relation to implementation barriers, gaps and critical success factors. These barriers extend beyond technical limitations to include organisational, cultural, institutional and governance constraints. Digital enablers, including building information modelling (BIM), digital twins, AI-driven decision support and Industry 4.0 systems, also create opportunities to connect value analysis, quality monitoring and performance feedback across the project lifecycle. Based on these findings, the study proposes the Integrated Value–Quality System (IVQS), which links VM-derived value priorities with TQM quality criteria, delivery processes and continuous-improvement routines through enabling conditions, integration mechanisms and feedback loops. The framework adds value by providing a construction-specific and context-sensitive architecture for translating strategic value objectives into operational quality delivery.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1954525</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1954525</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Interpretable time-series traffic-volume modelling for construction logistics management: a proposed decision-translation framework]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Thuy-Hien Thi Nguyen</author><author>T. Quan Nguyen</author><author>Bao-Ngoc Gia Bui</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Urban construction logistics is exposed to variable traffic and meteorological conditions, yet translating traffic information into construction-delivery decisions requires consideration of project-specific operational constraints. This study develops an interpretable time-series machine-learning pipeline for hourly traffic-volume modelling and proposes a framework for translating predictive signals into construction-logistics decision support. The modelling approach incorporates temporal variables, autoregressive traffic-volume lags, and concurrent meteorological observations, with model development and selection conducted using TimeSeriesSplit cross-validation. Candidate algorithms were compared under a time-ordered evaluation protocol, followed by out-of-time (OOT) testing, feature ablation, and interpretation using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and partial-dependence analysis. Random Forest demonstrated the most favourable cross-validation performance among the candidate algorithms within the full-feature specification and was selected for detailed OOT evaluation. Ablation analysis indicated that concurrent meteorological variables contributed only marginal incremental OOT improvement beyond temporal variables and historical traffic lags. The interpretability analyses examined fitted associations between predictors and modelled traffic volume without establishing causal relationships. These findings demonstrate the potential of interpretable time-series modelling to characterise temporal variation in traffic volume while highlighting the distinction between network-demand indicators and operational delivery outcomes. The proposed decision-translation framework identifies the additional information and calibration required to connect traffic-volume signals with construction-logistics decisions. Because the meteorological inputs comprise concurrent observations from an archived dataset, the OOT evaluation represents retrospective modelling rather than a deployable weather-informed forecasting system. Furthermore, traffic-volume predictions do not directly establish route travel time, delivery delays, or site-production disruptions. Operational validation against delivery windows, just-in-time disruption, cost, or emissions would require forecast-available weather information, route-specific travel-time data, delivery schedules, and site-operation records.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1971062</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1971062</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Towards acoustic sensory urbanism: soundscape assessment as a tool for noise action planning and sustainable urban design]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jerónimo Vida Manzano</author><author>Ángel F. Ramos-Ridao</author><author>María del Carmen Aguilar-Luzón</author><author>Rafael García-Quesada</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Urban noise management has traditionally prioritized the reduction of environmental sound through rigid regulations and strategic noise maps based on acoustic quality objectives, which set out the noise levels that can or cannot be exceeded. However, current research suggests that lower noise levels do not inherently improve quality of life. Traditional protocols are increasingly viewed as insufficient for achieving true acoustic comfort. This study advocates for a shift towards sensory urbanism, moved by the soundscape approach formalized in the ISO 12913 series of standards. By redefining the acoustic environment as a perceptual construct, this paradigm treats sound not as a pollutant, but as a valuable resource for sustainable urban design. This work explores how soundscape assessment serves as a complementary tool for noise action planning, capturing citizen preferences that standard sound level meters and traditional engineering-based noise management systems cannot detect. Building on previous experience of soundscape assessments in Granada, southern Spain, standardized protocols for measuring environmental acoustics and public perception in context have been used to refine the methodology and conduct targeted soundwalks. These soundwalks aim to evaluate the affective qualities of the city center and its expanding fringe areas. The findings indicate that context-specific factors, such as human activity and personal expectations, significantly dictate perception. Natural sounds, such as birdsong and water, are shown to enhance comfort even in high-decibel environments. Ultimately, integrating these assessments into urban planning could enable the creation of cities where the environment promotes public health and wellbeing, and safeguards intangible cultural heritage. Finally, this study contributes to the identification of design variables for a prediction model to help planners create the restorative, sensory-led acoustic climates that citizens prefer.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1951241</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1951241</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Beyond a single typology: applicable acoustic design in Nigerian public buildings]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Omoniyi Ogheneruemu Olagunju</author><author>Mishael Emmanuel Bulus</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study examines acoustic design strategies in Nigerian public facilities by identifying and synthesizing insights on their variations in public buildings and the application of these strategies across diverse typologies. Existing studies were reviewed using a PRISMA framework to identify patterns and organise them into themes toward interpretation and analytical coherence. Findings reveal that the major determinants of acoustic quality in public spaces include form, finishes, intended function, evolution, building style, budget constraints, site context, and user behaviour. Furthermore, strategies applicable to diverse typologies were divided into six major themes based on shared characteristics: architectural, material, environmental, technical, management and user-centred. In spite of existing studies on acoustic design, there is an underrepresentation of several building typologies, such as industrial, transport, civil/judicial, libraries, hospitality, and recreation. Certain acoustic themes, such as policy and budget, and the evolution of building style are also discussed only sparingly. Acoustic considerations extends beyond specific building typologies, therefore, this study recommends future research on under-researched typologies, integrated acoustic planning, acoustic codes, training programs and routine user feedback. Insights from this study offer valuable contributions to enhanced user comfort and satisfaction in public spaces, better-informed acoustic decision-making, and sustainable acoustic outcomes in resource-constrained environments such as Nigeria.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1965117</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1965117</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Professional perspectives on sensory and spatial barriers relevant to neuro-inclusive secondary school environments in Nigeria]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Omoniyi Ogheneruemu Olagunju</author><author>Ayomide Teslim Ogundele</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionSensory and spatial characteristics of learning environments can influence how neurodivergent students participate in education. This study examined professional accounts of built‐environment barriers relevant to neuro-inclusive secondary‐school design in Nigeria.MethodsSeven multidisciplinary professionals were interviewed virtually using a semi‐structured guide. Four had direct experience with secondary‐school‐aged learners, while others worked in therapeutic, special‐needs, rehabilitation, or care/support settings. Open‐ended responses were analysed inductively using reflexive thematic analysis, while responses to nine predefined design features were synthesised separately as prompted feature appraisals.ResultsFour themes were generated: sensory environmental stressors; environmental distress and spatial dysregulation; restorative and regulatory features; and spatial configuration, transition, and classroom ergonomics. Auditory and visual conditions, crowding, abrupt transitions, and limited retreat space were prominent concerns. Funding, space, institutional readiness, and implementation knowledge affected feasibility. A preliminary three‐tier retrofit framework prioritised acoustic control, lighting control, withdrawal/escape spaces, and sensory zoning (Tier 1); flexible furniture and wayfinding/predictability (Tier 2); and biophilic respite, visual simplification/colour, and temperature/ventilation (Tier 3).DiscussionThe findings provide mixed‐context professional proxy evidence relevant to Nigerian secondary‐school design. The framework is preliminary and unvalidated and should be tested through co‐design with neurodivergent students and objective environmental assessment.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1956502</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1956502</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Fractional seismic simulation and synthetic inverse identification of nonlinear building models: discrete energy balance, convergence, and equivalent-damping calibration]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Alvaro H. Salas</author><author>Carlos D. Acosta M</author><author>Elizabeth Solórzano</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Fractional damping provides a compact representation of hereditary, frequency-dependent dissipation, but numerical and inverse conclusions can be misleading if the discrete energy behavior, damping calibration, and synthetic nature of the identification experiment are not made explicit. We develop a revised nonlinear seismic-response framework for single- and multi-degree-of-freedom building models with Caputo damping. The nonlinear restoring law is deliberately restricted to monotone cubic hardening; it is a mathematical benchmark and does not represent pinching, stiffness/strength degradation, or residual drift. The continuous system is locally well posed, globally continuable under a coercive potential, and dissipative in accumulated hereditary work. For time integration, a midpoint L1 product integration formula is coupled with average-acceleration Newmark kinematics and a discrete gradient of the nonlinear potential. The resulting fully implicit method has a uniquely solvable nonlinear step and satisfies a cumulative discrete energy balance; in an unforced free-vibration test, the relative balance defect is below 3×10−15. For smooth solutions, a detailed consistency–stability argument yields a global O(Δt2−α) displacement/velocity estimate under stated regularity and coercivity assumptions. A weakly singular manufactured solution demonstrates the expected loss of uniform-grid accuracy and the strong recovery obtained with a deliberately graded mesh. For the three-story benchmark, fractional damping matrices are no longer held fixed while changing α; instead, every fractional model is calibrated to 4% equivalent damping in the first and third modes, matching the Rayleigh comparator on the same physical basis. Under this calibration, the previously large monotone demand reduction largely disappears: across 12 independent nonstationary synthetic motions, the mean roof displacement varies only from 4.285 cm to 4.355 cm among the fractional and viscous models, and paired 95% confidence intervals contain zero. Finally, synthetic inverse identification is evaluated on 600 parameter pairs using five-fold cross-validation, regression baselines, repeated 1–10% noise tests, structural-parameter perturbations, and an unseen-excitation stress test. Clean within-family parameter estimation remains accurate, but model mismatch and unseen excitation substantially degrade the estimates. The study therefore supports a reproducible methodological framework and numerical identifiability within a controlled model class, not validated real-building parameter recovery or universal seismic performance improvement.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1959288</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1959288</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Culturally inspired acoustic retrofit for high-density pilgrimage corridors: a pilot physical model study and reproducibility-oriented validation protocol]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Methods</category>
        <author>Mohamed Y. Laissy</author><author>Haitham Farouk Rashed</author><author>Khaled Helal</author><author>Omar Alfarouq Alfadil</author>
        <description><![CDATA[High-density pilgrimage corridors combine large transient populations, public-address communication, mechanical services, transport interfaces, and hard reflective construction surfaces. This Methods article presents an evidence-bounded procedure for developing and evaluating a protected acoustic retrofit for Mina, Saudi Arabia, and comparable high-occupancy sacred or heritage circulation spaces. The method integrates historical acoustic benchmarking, configuration-qualified material screening, architectural deployment modeling, a pilot physical corridor model, a controlled follow-up C0/C1 pilot campaign, and a staged validation framework. The controlled campaign was performed on the retained pilot model in the engineering laboratories of the university. The source and receiver were fixed at S = (4.00, 10.50, 7.85) cm and R = (37.50, 10.50, 7.85) cm, respectively; continuous broadband pink noise was used at a fixed 70% source setting. A Meterk MK09 handheld A-weighted screening meter was used with the same 30-s observation interval for each record. Pre- and post-series indication verification checks were 94.0 dB and 94.1 dB, three source-off background observations were 43.2–43.4 dBA, temperature was 24.0–24.2 °C, and relative humidity was 42.8%–43.2%. Five paired observations yielded mean indicated levels of 76.0 dBA for C0 (SD = 0.245 dB) and 54.0 dBA for C1 (SD = 0.255 dB). The mean paired difference was 22.0 dB (SD = 0.274 dB; SE = 0.122 dB), with an exploratory two-sided 95% Student’s t interval of 21.660–22.340 dB (n = 5). The minimum C1-to-background margin was 10.2 dB, so no numerical background correction was applied. No IEC 61672-1 Class 1 or Class 2 conformity is claimed for the MK09; therefore, the results are interpreted as a controlled within-model pilot comparison, not as standardized insertion loss, certified absorption, or full-scale Mina performance.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1922785</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1922785</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Risk factor identification and ANP-based risk assessment for the traffic-maintaining side during in-situ tunnel expansion]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Junsheng Zhang</author><author>Fang Yuan</author><author>Yucong Huang</author><author>Haibin Xu</author><author>Yuefei Jin</author><author>Chaojun Jia</author><author>Huajiang Kuang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[In-situ tunnel expansion is commonly conducted while maintaining existing traffic operation. Under such conditions, the traffic-maintaining side is simultaneously affected by construction disturbance, deterioration of existing structures, complex geological conditions, and operational traffic loads. Its risk sources are characterized by multi-source coupling, chain transmission, and dynamic evolution. To systematically identify and quantitatively assess the risks of the traffic-maintaining side during tunnel expansion, this study analyzes the risk formation mechanism from the perspective of interactions among hazard-inducing factors, risk-bearing bodies, and hazard-formative environments, and proposes four principles for risk identification, namely, systematicity, identifiability, dynamicity, and relevance. Based on literature review, statistical analysis of 35 typical tunnel accident cases, and fishbone diagram analysis, a risk assessment index system is established, including four secondary indicators, namely, existing tunnel factors, environmental factors, geological factors, and design and construction factors, as well as twelve tertiary indicators. ANP is further employed to characterize the engineering dependency relationships among risk indicators and the evaluation-priority feedback relationships between the control layer and the network layer, thereby establishing a risk assessment model for the traffic-maintaining side during tunnel expansion and enabling quantitative evaluation of an engineering case. The results indicate that adverse geological conditions, surrounding rock quality, fault fracture zones, and construction quality are the key risk factors affecting the safety of the traffic-maintaining side. The comprehensive risk score of the project is 2.882, corresponding to a general risk level. The proposed method can provide methodological support for risk identification, hierarchical control, and construction scheme optimization in in situ tunnel expansion projects.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1946962</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1946962</link>
        <title><![CDATA[A systematic review of passive design strategies for modular stacked housing in warm-humid climates]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Olatunde Daniel Babalola</author><author>Ayodeji Samuel Aremu</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Urbanisation is more rapid in warm-humid and tropical regions than anywhere else, and mechanical cooling (as distinct from ventilation) is increasingly treated as a necessity in the multi-storey housing rising there. Modular and volumetric construction is promoted as a quick, low-cost way to deliver dwellings, yet the performance of passive features in stacked modules under warm-humid conditions remains unproven. This review aimed to categorise reported passive design strategies, distinguish measured from simulated evidence, assess how far the evidence transfers to modular and stacked construction, and derive provisional design parameters. Following PRISMA 2020, six sources (Scopus, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis Online, Wiley Online Library, MDPI, and Google Scholar) were searched for peer-reviewed literature published from 2015 to 2026 reporting passive design strategies in warm-humid, hot-humid, tropical, or equatorial contexts, with quantified thermal, energy, or occupant-satisfaction outcomes. Of 6,377 records, 60 studies were eligible and synthesised into eight thematic categories. Quality was appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and criteria for simulation-based work. Natural and cross ventilation produced indoor temperature reductions of up to 8 °C in a single unvalidated conceptual simulation, while night ventilation reduced cooling loads by 24.5%. Envelope modifications, including phase-change roofs, insulation, and reflective surfaces, achieved peak ceiling-temperature reductions of 3–7 K. Integrated multi-strategy approaches reduced cooling loads by up to 59%. Thirteen studies addressed modular, prefabricated, or container-based systems, but none examined occupied stacked modular housing (four or more storeys) in warm-humid climates. Most of the nine sub-Saharan African studies were unquantified and non-residential. Passive strategies are clearly beneficial in warm-humid housing, but their application to stacked modular housing is not well proven. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to map passive-design evidence directly onto the stacked modular housing typology in warm-humid climates, and the first to show that no study reports measured or simulated performance for the occupied multi-storey configuration such programmes now adopt. The priority is an empirical, measurement-based research programme on multi-storey modular housing in tropical Africa.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1947550</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1947550</link>
        <title><![CDATA[New hybrid models integrating the aquila optimizer with machine learning algorithms to predict the strength of geosynthetic-reinforced subgrade soil]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jun-Jiat Tiang</author><author>Bayram Ateş</author><author>Mohammad Azim Eirgash</author><author>Yang Zhao</author><author>Pradyut Anand</author><author>Abhishek Sharma</author><author>Wei Hong Lim</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Accurately predicting the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of geosynthetic-reinforced subgrades is critical for pavement design but remains challenging due to the complex, nonlinear soil-reinforcement interaction. This study develops a novel hybrid modeling framework that integrates the Aquila Optimization Algorithm (AOA) with machine learning models such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Ridge Regression, and XGBoost to enhance the prediction of soaked CBR values. A comprehensive database of 90 tests, encompassing key soil properties and reinforcement parameters, was used for model development. The AOA significantly boosted the predictive performance of all base models. The proposed AOA-XGBoost hybrid model demonstrated superior accuracy, achieving a convincing coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.980), a low mean squared error (MSE = 1.78), and a minimal mean absolute error (MAE = 5.075) on the testing dataset. This performance notably surpassed the plain XGBoost model (R2 = 0.954, MSE = 1.99, MAE = 11.82), corresponding to a 2.8% gain in R2, a 10.6% reduction in MSE, and a 57.1% reduction in MAE. Similarly, the AOA-ANN model (R2 = 0.945, MSE = 2.87, MAE = 13.87) showed a clear improvement over the plain ANN (R2 = 0.929, MSE = 3.06, MAE = 18.09), reflecting a 1.8% gain in R2, a 6.2% reduction in MSE, and a 23.3% reduction in MAE. Five-fold cross-validation, reported as mean ± standard deviation, confirmed the robustness and generalization capability of this ranking. AOA-XGBoost produced the best cross-validated results: R2 = 0.8819 ± 0.0765, RMSE = 6.4218 ± 3.1846, MAE = 3.5217 ± 1.4826, MAPE = 19.6842 ± 4.7315%, and A20 = 0.6427 ± 0.1186. Sensitivity analysis revealed that reinforcement characteristics, particularly the number of layers (29.4% contribution) and tensile strength (21.8%), are the most dominant factors influencing CBR values. Hence, the results conclusively demonstrate that the AOA-assisted hybrid framework, particularly AOA-XGBoost, provides a robust and highly accurate tool for forecasting reinforced subgrade strength, supporting process innovation in pavement design through data‐driven assessment, with substantial potential to reduce reliance on time-consuming laboratory tests and improve pavement design efficiency.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1925223</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1925223</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Conceptualizing circular renovation for aged educational buildings: a critical review of definitions, barriers, and approaches]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Fujing Ma</author><author>Torsten Schröder</author><author>Juliette Bekkering</author>
        <description><![CDATA[In Western Europe, the transformation of the existing building stock is becoming a key priority in the building sector. The integration of circular economy principles into building renovation is still emerging, and research specifically addressing the circular renovation of aged educational buildings remains limited. Furthermore, the interrelationship between circular design and renovation, as well as energy refurbishments, is underdeveloped. This literature review aims to clarify the key definitions of circular renovation; examine the key challenges and barriers constraining its implementation and upscaling in the built environment; synthesize existing and emerging circular renovation approaches in the building sector; and discuss their applicability to aged educational buildings. The findings highlight conceptual ambiguity in existing definitions and frameworks of circular renovation, with limited attention to how these issues apply to aged educational buildings. This review also identifies key challenges and barriers across both renovation processes and building elements. Moreover, existing circular renovation strategies remain fragmented regarding implementation at the building scale. Therefore, this review consolidates dispersed circular design strategies into a single classification, provides a definition of circular renovation for aged educational buildings, analyzes challenges and barriers across both renovation processes and building elements, and applies the ‘shearing layers’ concept as an organizing lens to classify circular renovation approaches at the building scale. These contributions are primarily a critical synthesis of a fragmented literature, along with modest conceptual extensions; on this basis, the review outlines a future research agenda to advance the circular renovation of aged educational buildings.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1965114</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1965114</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Mechanical performance and energy absorption capacity of concrete reinforced with hybrid fiber systems]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Josué Briones-Bitar</author><author>Brayan Pinto-Ponce</author><author>Marlon Pacaji-Ulloa</author><author>Edwin Vera-Navarrete</author><author>Eduardo Santos-Baquerizo</author><author>Edgar Berrezueta</author><author>Paúl Carrión-Mero</author><author>Fernando Morante-Carballo</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionFiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) can improve the post-cracking behavior of conventional concrete, but local experimental data on toughness and energy absorption remain limited in Ecuador. This study evaluates steel and polypropylene fiber systems for applications in slabs, industrial floors, and pavements.MethodsEight concrete mixtures (M0–M7) were evaluated using EFNARC panel tests to obtain load-deflection curves, absorbed energy up to 25 mm (E25), and residual load at 25 mm (R25). Compressive strength, slump, and material cost per cubic meter were also assessed to compare single-fiber and steel-polypropylene hybrid systems.ResultsM7 achieved E25 = 653.63 N⋅m, R25 = 21.70 kN, a peak load of 33.89 kN, f’c = 257.98 kg/cm2, and a slump of 18.33 cm. Compared with M0, M7 increased absorbed energy by approximately 18 times and residual load by more than 100 times. M6 achieved a slightly higher E25 of 656.86 N·m but had lower slump and R25 and a cost 13.9% higher than M7.DiscussionM7 provided the most favorable balance among post-cracking performance, compressive strength, workability, and material cost. The contribution of this study is to establish a local, replicable, and performance-oriented experimental basis that enables the selection of hybrid fiber-reinforced concretes based on mechanical and economic criteria.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1942111</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1942111</link>
        <title><![CDATA[An entropy weighted multicriteria decision framework for masonry unit selection]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Bonga PraiseGod Khuzwayo</author><author>Walied Elsaigh</author><author>Roderick Rankine</author><author>Mark Walker</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionMasonry unit selection requires the simultaneous evaluation of structural performance, construction productivity and environmental performance. However, these criteria are commonly assessed independently, limiting traceable decision making when competing engineering objectives must be considered together.MethodsThis study develops an integrated framework that combines Structural Efficiency, Production Efficiency and Embodied Energy within an entropy weighted multicriteria decision analysis procedure. Structural Efficiency is calculated as the ratio of a common required axial design load to wall self weight, Production Efficiency is derived from completed wall area per unit construction time, and Embodied Energy is calculated from total renewable and nonrenewable primary energy indicators. Structural Efficiency is used solely as a relative demand to self weight measure for preliminary comparison and does not represent structural capacity or wall safety. The framework is demonstrated using a 1.000 m2 wall basis and four masonry alternatives comprising conventional fired clay brick masonry, conventional hollow concrete block masonry, a Brickworks Limited ten hole fired clay brick and a KEBE K190 vertically perforated clay brick. Manufacturer specific environmental inputs are obtained from independently verified Environmental Product Declarations, while productivity values for the manufacturer specific products are transferred from experimentally evaluated conventional masonry systems and are treated explicitly as analytical assumptions. Sequential rounding to three decimal places is applied throughout.ResultsThe entropy weights are 0.216 for Structural Efficiency, 0.078 for Production Efficiency and 0.706 for Embodied Energy. Conventional hollow concrete block masonry ranks first with a score of 0.984, followed by the KEBE K190 brick at 0.844, the Brickworks Limited brick at 0.731 and conventional fired clay brick masonry at 0.485. The ranking remains unchanged under independent ±10% perturbations and is reproduced by TOPSIS and VIKOR.DiscussionThe framework provides a transparent and reproducible basis for preliminary engineering screening, subject to the comparability, representativeness and quality of the input data.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1976552</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1976552</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Unsupervised geomechanical state reconstruction in deviated wellbore using a hybrid Transformer graph attention deep learning architecture]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Naveen Kumar B</author><author>Aslam Abdullah M</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Discrete interval state reconstruction of wellbore trajectory dynamics and downhole geomechanical conditions is essential for mitigating non-productive time (NPT) and optimising the rate of penetration (ROP). Conventional automated monitoring relies on empirical geomechanical formulas that fail to capture non-linear dynamics, or on supervised learning paradigms requiring manually labelled drilling dysfunction datasets, which are scarce and prone to human bias. This study introduces a Domain-informed, unsupervised hybrid deep learning architecture that couples multi-head self-attention mechanisms with spatial-cosine Graph Attention Networks (GATs) to model unlabelled logging-while-drilling (LWD) and mechanical data. Evaluated on a 205-sample directional dataset spanning 1,500 m to 6,600 m measured depth, achieving a true 24.88 m spatial resolution across 16 primary and Domain-informed variables, the proposed Hybrid Transformer GAT Autoencoder, comprising an ultra-lightweight total of 4,316 trainable parameters, was validated using a 5-fold spatially stratified Group-K-Fold protocol. The hybrid architecture achieved a reconstruction coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.8895 and a mean squared error (MSE) of 0.0911, outperforming the standalone Transformer (R2=0.8328) and GAT (R2=0.5128) baselines. Monte Carlo stochastic perturbation tests confirmed that the hybrid model retained superior noise resilience under sensor perturbations of up to 20%. Permutation feature attribution identified formation resistivity, well inclination, and an acoustic impedance proxy as the most influential variables for reconstruction performance. The proposed framework provides a compact unsupervised methodology for macro-scale interval-state reconstruction and potential future operational monitoring.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1942204</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1942204</link>
        <title><![CDATA[A guided bending strategy for the geometric and structural design of an elastically bent geodesic timber column]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-16T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>David Andersson Largueche</author><author>Riccardo La Magna</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Large elastic deformations provide an alternative form-giving strategy for complex double-curved timber structures, which are otherwise difficult to realize without extensive machining, gluing, or material-intensive milling. Geodesic curve networks offer particularly advantageous geometric properties for such applications, as they allow initially straight laths to be bent and stacked efficiently while remaining tangent to the design surface. This property helps overcome the structural limitations typically imposed by the material strength and bending curvature. This research presents the fundamental geometric principles necessary for accurately modeling geodesic grid structures and outlines the key design constraints associated with their implementation. It further introduces ongoing work on guided bending, an inverse-design approach that employs tailored incisions to weaken the cross section and steer the deformation of a lath into a prescribed spatial configuration. The presented project serves as a demonstrator for these methods. The paper focuses in particular on the geometric and structural development of its elastically bent geodesic timber column, a primary load-bearing element composed of mechanically laminated lamellae formed through guided elastic deformation. The project illustrates the structural viability of elastically bent compound beam assemblies and shows how guided bending can significantly broaden the feasible design space for such systems.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1867168</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1867168</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Hybrid open-vocabulary and closed-set helmet detection with slicing-aided hyper inference for robust drone-based construction-safety monitoring]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Abdul Razaque</author><author>Gulnara Bektemyssova</author><author>Meenhoon Khan</author><author>Abrar M. Alajlan</author><author>Arman Keresh</author><author>Nuralykyzy Saltanat</author><author>Ziyada Malika</author><author>Saparkhankyzy Ayagoz</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionManual monitoring of helmet use is impractical in dynamic, congested, and safety-critical construction environments, particularly when unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capture workers from varying altitudes, viewpoints, illumination conditions, and occlusion levels. This study proposes a hybrid helmet-detection framework integrating YOLO-E and YOLOv12 to improve detection accuracy, small-object recognition, color fidelity, and open-set awareness for real-time construction safety monitoring.MethodsThe proposed framework combines the language-guided open-vocabulary capabilities of YOLO-E with the real-time feature extraction and object-detection capabilities of YOLOv12. Slicing-Aided Hyper Inference (SAHI), image preprocessing, synthetic-weather augmentation, and prompt-sensitivity analysis were incorporated to improve robustness under challenging operating conditions. The framework was evaluated using a publicly balanced PPE dataset and a newly developed UAV-based helmet dataset containing 6,471 annotated helmet instances captured across different altitudes, viewing angles, lighting conditions, weather scenarios, helmet colors, and occlusion levels. We conducted ablation experiments to measure the contribution of each component of the framework.ResultsThe SAHI-enhanced hybrid framework increased mean average precision at the 50% IoU threshold from 89% to 97%, improved small-object recall from 0.41 to 0.80, and reduced localization error to 2.25 pixels. The proposed approach also achieved scores of 0.96 for weather robustness and 0.97 for color fidelity. Comparative experiments showed that the hybrid YOLO-E + YOLOv12 framework achieved superior precision, recall, and F1-score relative to the evaluated baseline and existing detection architectures, including Mask R-CNN, Faster R-CNN, RetinaNet, and SSD.DiscussionThe results demonstrate that combining open-vocabulary recognition, closed-set detection, SAHI-based small-object enhancement, and robustness-oriented preprocessing provides a scalable solution for UAV-based helmet monitoring. The framework is particularly suitable for construction safety auditing and large-scale surveillance scenarios requiring real-time detection under variable environmental conditions, while its open-set awareness improves adaptability to previously unrecognized visual conditions.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1976360</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1976360</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Landscape buffers as microscale streetscape design factors for enhancing perceived walkability]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Coryn Brinks</author><author>Xiaowei Li</author><author>Jun-Hyun Kim</author><author>Zeenat Kotval-Karamchandani</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Walking, as an active mode of transportation, has been highlighted for its benefits to physical and mental health, environmental sustainability, and social connectivity. However, walkability studies have often emphasized neighborhood-scale walkability indicators over microscale streetscape design. This study examined associations between landscape buffer typologies, surrounding context and perceived walkability through a two-phase visual evaluation. Phase I presented 28 simulated streetscape images comprising seven landscape buffer scenarios across two urban and two suburban settings. The dataset contained 95 survey records; the main model analyzed 8,768 ratings from 74 respondents. The seven scenarios, namely concrete, lawn, shrub, biodiverse planting, lawn with trees, shrub, shrub with street trees, and biodiverse planting with street trees, were displayed in a fixed, non-randomized order. Participants rated five dimensions of perceived walkability: overall satisfaction, safety from crime, aesthetic pleasure, safety from cars, and comfort. Phase I showed significant main effects of landscape buffer scenario, setting, and perception dimension on perceived walkability ratings, as well as significant interaction effects among these factors (all p < 0.001). Vegetated scenarios with street trees generally received the highest ratings. Urban scenes were rated more positively, whereas suburban scenes showed larger differences between concrete and planted-buffer conditions. Phase II provided an exploratory comparison between seven returning participants’ two-dimensional (2D) ratings and their subsequent immersive ratings. The overall media test was not significant; preliminary context- and dimension-specific differences require caution, given the small sample and fixed media order. Landscape buffers incorporating street trees were associated with more favorable perceived walkability ratings, with larger differences relative to the concrete condition in suburban scenes. These patterns support further evaluation of planted buffers as context-sensitive streetscape interventions, although fixed presentation order limits causal interpretation.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1949325</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1949325</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Shear behavior of cement mortar after exposure to elevated temperatures under different cooling conditions]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Yanfu Zhao</author><author>Hongtu Xiu</author><author>Haoran Shi</author><author>Ding Ding</author><author>Song Yang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[In this study, the effects of elevated temperature and cooling method on the direct shear behavior of cement mortar were experimentally investigated. Mortar specimens were exposed to temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 500 °C and subsequently subjected to natural air cooling or water cooling. Direct shear tests were performed under a constant normal stress of 1 MPa, while acoustic emission (AE), post-failure morphology, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize damage evolution. The results show that the peak shear stress and shear modulus of air-cooled specimens exhibit a non-monotonic temperature dependence, with local maxima near 300 °C, whereas water cooling causes more pronounced mechanical deterioration. Reduced pre-peak AE activity and partial closure of pre-existing interfacial microcracks observed at moderate temperatures suggest a temporary reduction in mechanically active defects, although the underlying physicochemical mechanism cannot be uniquely determined from the present evidence. At higher temperatures, extensive thermal microcracking develops in the cement paste and paste–sand interfacial regions. Water cooling further intensifies thermal damage because of the rapid temperature gradient and associated thermal stresses. The final shear fracture propagates predominantly through the cement paste matrix and paste–sand interfaces rather than by extensive transgranular fracture of sand particles.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1915058</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1915058</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Comparative analysis of multi-objective optimization algorithms for sustainable flyover design framework]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jaya Rajkumar Ramchandani</author><author>Suddhasheel Ghosh</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionUrban flyover infrastructure requires balancing multiple conflicting objectives, including structural efficiency, economic viability, and environmental sustainability.MethodsThis study presents a comparative analysis of nine optimization algorithms applied to flyover design, integrating Radial Basis Function (RBF) surrogate models with explicit construction-related carbon emission metrics. The framework simultaneously minimizes flyover length, construction cost, and environmental impact. A real-world case study from Aurangabad, India was used to benchmark algorithm performance in terms of Pareto front diversity, convergence quality, computational efficiency, and solution feasibility.ResultsResults highlight the superiority of NSGA-II and NSGA-III in generating diverse Pareto fronts, while methods such as Nelder-Mead provide rapid convergence for targeted design refinements. Sensitivity analysis further demonstrates the robustness of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms under parameter uncertainty.DiscussionThe novelty lies in integrating surrogate modeling with multi-objective optimization for flyover design, with explicit environmental objectives. This work contributes methodological innovation, practical guidelines for algorithm selection, and sustainability advancement in civil engineering. By providing evidence-based recommendations, the study supports engineers and planners in achieving resilient, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible flyover designs.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1914666</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2026.1914666</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Artificial intelligence driven transformation of 3D concrete printing in architecture: a systematic review]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-10-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Sumuditha Premachandra</author><author>Neesha Ruvindi Silva</author><author>Dulini Yasara Mudunkotuwa</author><author>Charita Darshana Makavita</author><author>Chameera Udawattha</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The combination of artificial intelligence (AI) with 3D concrete printing (3DCP) is becoming an important approach in architectural design and construction. AI techniques are increasingly being utilized for design generation, material optimization, and assessment in 3DCP. This paper presents a systematic literature review of AI applications in architectural additive manufacturing, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and focusing on the use of machine learning, deep learning, artificial neural networks, and computer vision across different stages of the 3DCP workflow. Peer-reviewed studies indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases were analyzed. The review revealed three key research areas: AI-driven design and form generation, optimization of material and structural performance, and fabrication monitoring. The findings highlight the potential of AI to reduce material usage, improve printability, and automate quality control assessments, while also identifying challenges related to data availability, standardization, and real-world implementation in 3DCP.]]></description>
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