Sustainable development encompasses numerous development goals and strategies, with green buildings (GBs) being among the implementations of this concept. The development of GBs is a topic of increasing interest due to the massive development of conventional infrastructure that has the major limitation of environmental degradation, a fact also proven by the research of the scientific literature, with publications in the field enhancing in recent times. Even if strategies applying the GBs concept have many advantages, the public acceptance is not so high due to technologies that still need to be optimized, the relatively low return on investment, and the limited dissemination of information about this concept. Therefore, the manuscript provides a comprehensive assessment in a distinctive way of GBs in the context of sustainable development, clarifying notions and principles of application while integrating green materials and circular economy into the general scientific framework provided. Moreover, a score has been proposed which is assigned to the different types of buildings described, based on the assessment of several specific parameters. This paper provides stakeholders, from designers to occupiers, with a coherent overview of the GB concept and its beneficial role for future generations in order to develop this field by increasing the dissemination of scientific information based on a technical-engineering perspective.

The problem of the environment in the inhabited area, in particular of the hygienic-sanitary comfort, are current topics of concern for the builders. The interest of the authors meets the requirements of the tenant. In general, it seems that the cause of the hygienic-sanitary discomfort of the inhabited environment would be the faulty execution of the construction or an inconsistent architectural conception; the current paper presents several factors that cause this discomfort, the tenant being just one of them. The result of faulty operation/utilization of living spaces is inadmissible for those who live there, both materially and with repercussions on their health. Additionally, this paper demonstrates the deficiency of the existing energy performance certificate. The results of our research offer real solutions in eliminating, solving, and correcting the hygienic-sanitary discomfort of the environment inside the buildings; this can be achieved by designing, executing and operating spaces correctly, adequately and optimally, ensuring a healthy environment. The authors propose to improve the norms of protection of the built environment, by modifying the related energy performance legislation/certificate; moreover, new and real practical solutions have been suggested by the authors for the prevention and remediation of hygienic-sanitary discomfort.

Housing is an essential component of the living environment, and it has a substantial effect on physical and mental well-being. Multiple housing factors, including inadequate ventilation, overcrowding, construction materials, and exposure to allergens and pollutants, have been linked to a variety of diseases, such as respiratory ailments and dermatologic, rheumatologic, and cardiovascular disorders. The present narrative review shows the current state of knowledge in the field by centralizing and evaluating scientific publications with a focus on this linkage, detailing the implications for health status and the benefits of using natural materials in construction, implementing green building concepts, and applying technological transfer, where various decision factors can contribute to improving quality of life. Therefore, it is achievable to enhance the indoor air quality (IAQ) by promoting ventilation and air filtration, decreasing mold and moisture, and employing low-emitting materials in building construction and development. Overall, promoting healthy housing environments through an enhanced IAQ and using sustainable building practices can have a substantial positive effect on public health. To reduce the risk of housing-related diseases, future research should concentrate on identifying the most effective interventions to improve the living environment–health condition axis.

On university campuses, retrofitting studies have historically concentrated on individual buildings (or building components) instead of the entire campus. In the present paper, we examine how an incorporated strategic planning strategy might be used to investigate the socio-technical construction of a campus retrofit operation throughout multiple scale/sectors. The campus of the University of Oradea (CUO), Romania, with its beginnings in the 1910s was investigated using its new master plan. The developed strategies for a “green” and “healthy” campus depict a CUO redesign involving complex solutions for the green renovation of old buildings. In addition, the improvement effects of the modernization interventions already carried out were analyzed and quantified. Sixteen buildings (30% of the built area) were consolidated/rehabilitated/modernized, and/or equipped in the last decade, seven educational spaces being included in the circuit of the buildings fund (totaling 5491.59 sq m). For the renovated spaces, energy consumption was reduced by 20–88% and CO₂ emissions by 41.82–86%, depending on the specifics of each space. The reconfiguration, rehabilitation, and energy efficiency of the entire heating system of CUO (which uses geothermal water as a specific characteristic) significantly improved (20% decrease in energy and 21% decrease in geothermal water consumption). Our findings offer new directions and design solutions for the ecological modernization of other outdated university campuses, highlighting new perspectives in the green university campuses’ management, as a way to implement sustainability in the higher education environment. Data presented give professionals in the field (architects, designers, engineers, planners, and decision makers) a clear picture of the benefits due to ecological renovation, also offering the necessary tools to implement new solutions for reducing the impact of urban areas on the environment.

The Smart campus is a new idea in the development of information technology, being a combination of the Cloud Computing, the Internet of Things and other emergent technologies. This paper presents the result of our research efforts to find the best solutions for the development of a smart campus, which also guarantees data security with a special focus on data confidentiality. Our solution proposes 5 levels of security for the cloud security architecture; it provides a high level of security, as well as high data confidentiality - the essential backbone for a truly smart campus development.