Purpose: The heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems are responsible for a significant proportion of the energy consumption of the built environment, on which the occupant's pursuit of thermal comfort has a substantial impact. Regarding this concern, current software can assess and visualize the conditions. However; integration of existing technologies and real-time information could enhance the potential of the solution proposals. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore new possibilities of how to upgrade building information modeling (BIM) technology to be interactive; by using existing BIM data during the occupation phase. Moreover, the research discusses the potential of enhancing energy efficiency and comfort maximization together by using the existing BIM database and real-time information concomitantly.Design/methodology/approach: The platform is developed by designing and testing via prototyping method thanks to Internet of things technologies. The algorithm of the prototype uses real-time indoor thermal information and real-time weather information together with user's body temperature. Moreover, the platform processes the thermal values with specific material information from the existing BIM file. The final prototype is tested by a case study model.Findings: The outcome of the study, “Symbiotic Data Platform” is an occupant-operated tool, that has a hardware, software and unique Revit-Dynamo definition that implies to all BIM files.Originality/value: The paper explains the development of “Symbiotic Data Platform”, which presents an interactive phase for BIM, as creating a possibility to use the existing BIM database and real-time values during the occupation phase, which is operated by the occupants of the building; without requiring any prior knowledge upon any of the BIM software or IoT technology.

Governments face challenges in delivering essential public services due to their limited funds. This has led to an increasing reliance on the Public–Private Partnership (PPP) model, an alternative financing model involving a long-term collaboration between the private and public sectors to provide public services. Turkey, as a developing country facing financial limitations, has embraced the PPP model to address urgent public needs. Over the past decade, the Turkish Government has extensively utilized the PPP model, particularly in executing city hospital projects. However, investors have faced challenges in project execution due to various risk factors. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to explore the critical risk factors associated with PPP city hospital projects in Turkey. In this context, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify potential risks related to PPP city hospital projects. A questionnaire survey was implemented to assess the probability of occurrence and the severity of the impact of these risk factors. The collected data underwent analysis to determine the priority of these risk factors. The findings revealed that the top five most critical risk factors in PPP city hospital projects in Turkey are “foreign exchange rate fluctuations”, “inflation rate volatility”, “high finance costs”, “fiscal issues”, and “economic crises”. Conversely, “unavailability of equipment” was identified as the least significant risk factor. The insights gained from this research can offer valuable guidance for prospective investors interested in participating in PPP city hospital projects in Turkey and other developing countries with similar conditions.

Contracting parties in construction projects confront significant challenges due to changes. This is an inherent industry characteristic. Managing changes properly with the help of a taxonomy encompassing many of the causes of changes can have a longitudinal and positive effect on project performance, knowledge management, and stakeholder management. However, studies to date have failed to propose an in-depth taxonomy for change causes in construction projects. Therefore, a taxonomy for change causes that can be applied to different construction projects has been developed. First, a systematic literature review and desk study sessions were conducted to identify the initial list of the taxonomy components. Six case studies were then analyzed to reveal the change causes of these cases. Based on the extracted change causes from the literature review and case studies, a taxonomy was developed by conducting focus group discussions with six experts. In the next step, the applicability and validity of the refined taxonomy were evaluated through face-to-face interviews. As a result, a taxonomy with a three-level hierarchy was proposed. This taxonomy is divided into three levels with 13 main categories, 50 subcategories, and 52 change causes. The proposed taxonomy is expected to contribute to practice by reducing the frequency of changes through proactive management of potential changes and standardizing knowledge management practices for managing change.

In this paper, we discuss the next phase of architectural design, and concerning the requirements of this point of view, we propose a new learning approach that includes digital-design thinking (by the approach) and design-driven innovation (as outcomes). The paper aims to reflect an architectural understanding shaped by current global facts and developing technologies. Moreover, we discuss this understanding from the academic perspective, which is compatible with the globally evolving socio-cultural, environmental, and economic norms. Therefore, under the title, The Multidimensional Exploration Methodology, we present a new education scheme and a learning methodology that transfers this aligned view to the architectural design studio education model and trains new designers accordingly. The learning method is developed by taking references from existing methods and blending them into each other in a way compatible with architectural design. While addressing the student as a professional, this method challenges them via real problems through challenge-based learning and adopts the new architectural understanding through the cognitive learning method. Furthermore, it aims to develop designers’ perceptions and approaches that align with the digital world through design-science research methodology within the framework of a new understanding. Consequently, it develops practical skills with the learning-by-doing model. This new architectural concept has emerged, backed up by the power of data and shaped by users’ roles and responsibilities in the digital age. This understanding, which is not only limited to Form and Function but also consists of ‘Form + Function + Interaction’, should be covered by design schools as a progression for the human-centred design approach.