How to measure healthiness in buildings: Experiences in teaching with BIM tools

Introducing teaching about healthy solutions in buildings and BIM has been a challenge for the University of Alicante. Teaching attached to very tighten study plans conditioned the types of methods that could be used in the past. The worldwide situation of crisis that especially reached Spain and the bursting of the housing bubble generated a lack of employment that reached universities where careers related to construction, Architecture and Architectural Technologist, suffered a huge reduction in the number of students enrolled. In the case of the University of Alicante, students’ enrolment for Architectural Technology reached an 80% reduction. The necessity of a reaction against this situation made the teachers be innovative and use the new Bologna adapted study plans to develop new teaching experiences introducing new concepts: people wellbeing in buildings and BIM. Working with healthy solutions in buildings provided new approaches for building design and construction as an alternative to sustainability. For many years sustainability was the concept that applied to housing gave buildings an added value and the possibility of having viability in a very complex scenario. But after lots of experiences, the approved methodologies for obtaining sustainable housing were ambiguous and at the end, investors, designers, constructors and purchasers cannot find real and validated criteria for obtaining an effective sustainable house. It was the moment to work with new ideas and concepts and start facing buildings from the users’ point of view. At the same time the development of new tools, BIM, has opened a wide range of opportunities, innovative and suggestive, that allows simulation and evaluation of many building factors. This paper describes the research in teaching developed by the University of Alicante to adapt the current study plans, introducing work with healthy solutions in buildings and the use of BIM, with the aim of attracting students by improving their future employability. Pilot experiences have been carried out in different subjects based on the work with projects and case studies under an international frame with the cooperation of different European partner universities. The use of BIM tools, introduced in 2014, solved the problems that appeared in some subjects, mainly building construction, and helped with the evaluation of some healthy concepts that presented difficulties until this moment as knowledge acquired by the students was hard to be evaluated. The introduction of BIM tools: Vasari, FormIt, Revit and Light Control among others, allowed the study of precise healthy concepts and provided the students a real understand of how these different parameters can condition a healthy architectural space. The analysis of the results showed a clear acceptance by the students and gave teachers the possibility of opening new research lines. At the same time, working with BIM tools to obtain healthy solutions in building has been a good option to improve students’ employability as building market in Spain is increasing the number of specialists in BIM with a wider knowledge.

Ensenyar i aprendre literatura en contextos digitals: reptes i necessitats didàctiques

En aquest article es presenta una perspectiva del desenvolupament de la tecnologia al servei de l'ensenyament. El docent del segle XXI ha d'acomplir amb objectius cognitius, metodològics i tecnològics per a abastir el seu alumnat dins dels paràmetres de competència curricular, com també els instrumentals. La generació que està a les nostres aules són usuaris i gestors d'una societat en què estan consolidant habilitats i coneixements transversals que han de formar-se a l'escola tant com ho fan a l'àmbit domèstic.

La literatura: una aproximació a Jaume I a través dels projectes

En aquest article analitzem les possibilitats de la metodologia del treball per projectes, vinculats a aspectes culturals per a l’ensenyament de la literatura. El nostre estudi parteix d’un projecte dut a terme en un centre de l’Horta Sud. El nostre objectiu és donar a conèixer la importància del rei Jaume I i aproximar la literatura als joves valencians a través de la festa del 9 d’Octubre. El nostre és un integral en què totes les àrees treballaran conjuntament durant dues setmanes i mitja en una franja horària determinada. Aquest treball és destinat al curs de segon d’ESO d’un centre amb un nivell socioeconòmic mitjà-alt i on la llengua vehicular és el valencià.

Implementation Feasibility of a Digital Nervous System for the Construction Industry: For Efficient and Effective Information Management across the Project Lifecycle

The construction industry has long been considered as highly fragmented and non-collaborative industry. This fragmentation sprouted from complex and unstructured traditional coordination processes and information exchanges amongst all parties involved in a construction project. This nature coupled with risk and uncertainty has pushed clients and their supply chain to search for new ways of improving their business process to deliver better quality and high performing product. This research will closely investigate the need to implement a Digital Nervous System (DNS), analogous to a biological nervous system, on the flow and management of digital information across the project lifecycle. This will be through direct examination of the key processes and information produced in a construction project and how a DNS can provide a well-integrated flow of digital information throughout the project lifecycle. This research will also investigate how a DNS can create a tight digital feedback loop that enables the organisation to sense, react and adapt to changing project conditions. A Digital Nervous System is a digital infrastructure that provides a well-integrated flow of digital information to the right part of the organisation at the right time. It provides the organisation with the relevant and up-to-date information it needs, for critical project issues, to aid in near real-time decision-making. Previous literature review and survey questionnaires were used in this research to collect and analyse data about information management problems of the industry – e.g. disruption and discontinuity of digital information flow due to interoperability issues, disintegration/fragmentation of the adopted digital solutions and paper-based transactions. Results analysis revealed efficient and effective information management requires the creation and implementation of a DNS.