This paper proposes a set of guidelines for using Building Information Modelling (BIM) to manage client requirements in the context of social housing projects. A process model representing main activities involved in requirements management has been devised, as well as nine constructs that can be used for assessing the effectiveness of using BIM for client requirements management. The process of managing and modelling clients’ requirements is important to improve value generation, considering the limited resources usually available for social housing projects, as well as the need to deal with the diversity of user profiles. The use of BIM-based tools to support this process can potentially improve the performance of those projects in terms of environmental and social sustainability. Design Science Research was the methodological approach adopted in this investigation. The main outcome of this study, the set of guidelines, emerged from an empirical study carried out in a social housing project from Brazil. This study explores the managerial perspective of client requirements modelling, proposing practical contributions, such as understanding the challenges of managing requirements in social housing projects, and theoretical contributions, such as descriptions of the activities involved in client requirements management and their interactions, and constructs for assessing BIM-based solutions for that problem.

Healthcare projects are known for having a high degree of complexity. Furthermore, the design of healthcare facilities is highly constrained by regulations containing a wide range of requirements. Using BIM for automated rule checking has been pointed out as an opportunity to improve requirements management in these projects. However, most existing research is focused on hard-coded approaches or on limited sets of requirements. The aim of this investigation is to propose a semantic-based framework for automated rule checking in the context of healthcare design. An empirical study was conducted in the redevelopment of a university hospital, using Design Science Research as a methodological approach. Results indicate that the nature of regulations and the subjectivity of requirements have a major impact on the possibility of their translation into logical rules, which is needed to enable automated checking. The main theoretical contribution is a taxonomy for automated rule checking and information transformation.

Social housing (SH) upgrades involve multiple stakeholders with sometimes divergent requirements and needs. Collaboration and participative processes are essential to ensuring an appropriate value for users is delivered through social housing upgrades. Living Labs are user-centred initiatives where researchers, public and private partners, and users collaborate to develop innovative solutions in real-live environments. However, scarce research exists on how Living Labs may support the upgrading of social housing, and there is a need to explore what the challenges are that can be expected in this context. This paper discusses an integrative literature synthesis of housing upgrades developed within the context of Living Labs. Nine information-rich cases identified in the literature were chosen for in-depth examination. A living lab process was proposed based on the literature and activities and tools used in Living Labs were identified. From the challenges highlighted by existing studies, a series of recommendations to support the development of Living Labs in social housing upgrades was proposed. These should support Living Labs implementation initiatives in this specific context.

The UK government made significant commitments to upgrading the energy efficiency of seven million British homes by 2020, aiming at reducing carbon emissions and addressing fuel poverty. One alternative to achieve better energy performance in existing houses is retrofit. However, there are difficulties associated with retrofitting social housing. It is currently challenging to compare scenarios (retrofit options) considering costs, potential energy efficiency gains, and at the same time minimising disruption to users. This paper presents a Building Information Modelling (BIM) protocol aimed to support decision making by social housing owners. It adopts BIM to simulate alternative retrofit options, considering: (a) potential reductions in energy consumption, (b) 4D BIM for retrofit planning and reduction of users’ disruption and (c) simulation of costs. A what-if scenario matrix is proposed to support decision making in the selection of social housing retrofit solutions, according to client and users’ needs. A case study of the retrofit of a mid-terrace house is presented to demonstrate the workflow. The main output of the work is the BIM protocol, which can support client decision making in diverse social housing retrofit projects, considering all three elements (energy simulation, planning for reduced disruption and cost estimation) in an integrated fashion. Such an integrated approach enables clients to make better informed decisions considering diverse social housing retrofit options through a simple process using readily available BIM technology.

Automation has been long explored to improve regulatory compliance during building design. Despite substantial research efforts on developing means to enable this process, there has been limited success in practical implementations. Designers’ inputs are often undervalued in such developments, leading to solutions that are not effectively incorporated into the design process. This issue is even more difficult in healthcare projects due to their complexity and convoluted regulatory frameworks. In this paper, we describe how designers perceive the use of automation to support regulatory compliance in healthcare projects, through the analysis of a series of semi-structured interviews. We found that regulatory documents have a large influence on design and their compliance often consists of an unformalised process in practice. Furthermore, we identified that subjectivity is perceived in requirements as needed due to the creativity involved in design, whereas automation can be understood as liberating in this context depending on how it is used. Improvement needs focussing on the revision of the regulatory framework as well as on software development have been highlighted by participants during the interviews, which led to the proposition of recommendations to help achieve their benefits in practice.