In the context of shifting the built environment to a circular economy, this paper first provides a meta-synthesis of the literature that clarifies the strategies related to the asset lifecycle in the circular economy (CE) context. The definitions of forty-two approaches, classified into seven categories (A to G) were analysed to identify their differences and similarities using a text mining method. Based on the definitions, approaches’, their needs and requirements, and their benefits and impacts have been listed. Four variables have been identified: the asset phases (V1), the sustainable approaches (V2), the benefits and impacts (V3) and the needs and requirements (V4). As the main contribution to knowledge, two diagrams have been drawn to picture the relationships between, first, V1, V2 and V3 and secondly V1, V2 and V4. An additional contribution is semantic information captured and drawn in a Force Directed Graph (FDG) to clarify the diversity of existing approaches and their relationships. More than a hundred approaches/concepts are staged in a diagram and their links are identified. Particularly the importance of the design phase and its related approaches are developed. The FDG illustrates the complexity of the building projects involving multiple stakeholders. The paper also provides the limitations of the variety of approaches that should be overcome to achieve CE. In particular, the limitations of reuse (components cannot be reused indefinitely) and limitations of design-only approaches (like prefabrication where deconstruction is not prepared). Further research is recommended about the Product Service Systems associated with Extended Producer Responsibility that appears to be key enablers for the CE. Work is also needed to define the circularity of buildings and the associated circularity assessment tools. The outputs could be used to rationalise policies to foster these approaches to enable the construction sector to develop strategies to overcome the current obstacles to the transition to a circular economy.@en

The sluggish adoption of building information modeling (BIM) is attributable to various technical, managerial, personnel, procedural, and institutional issues encountered by an organization in which such adoption takes place. However, these issues are under researched from a holistic perspective. Based on a proposed human-organization-technology (HOT) fit model, this paper aims to study the impacting factors of HOT fit in BIM adoption within construction project organizations (CPOs). The HOT fit indexes of 14 BIM case projects were operationalized using social network analysis (SNA) method and how different factors impact the HOT fit and its three subdimensions [i.e., human-technology (HT) fit, organization-technology (OT) fit, and human-organization (HO) fit] was investigated using a comparative case study. It was found that the project size has significantly negative relations with HOT fit, HT fit, and OT fit; while hierarchy steepness has positive correlations with HT fit, OT fit, and HO fit. OT fit was also found to have a weakly negative relationship with BIM level of details (LODs). A joint factor analysis further disclosed that the flatter the hierarchy, the larger the project size, and the higher the BIM LOD, the more difficult to achieve a high HOT fit, HT fit, or OT fit. Thus, CPOs should use steeper hierarchical structure and take a progressive BIM adoption strategy by adopting from smaller projects and/or lower LODs. This research empirically examined how project organizational and technological factors can impact BIM adoption. The HOT fit model can help CPOs evaluate their general HOT fit status, redesign optimal HOT configuration, diagnose the problems when the HOT fit is not ideal, and make strategic directions to better harvest the benefits of BIM. Limitations and future research directions are also identified. @en

Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) has been introduced into the construction industry to enhance production efficiency. DfMA is a design approach and evaluation system for improving manufacturability and assemblability. This paper outlines the past and ongoing Artificial Intelligence (AI) development in manufacturing-oriented DfMA, and provides a literature review of the concept and the use of DfMA in the construction. The applications, challenges and barriers of design optimization through DfMA and BIM-enabled DfMA are summarized. This desk study shows that studies related to construction-oriented DfMA are still in infancy. At present, articles about DfMA are focused on optimizing design and engineering for manufacturability and assemblability, but rarely describe its digital enablement. This study makes up for the lack of literature review in the evaluation of DfMA with concluding a preliminary application framework, and proposes a future-oriented study and new direction for BIM-enabled DfMA.@en