International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol. 11, No.

5, May 2020

Intelligent Systems for Functional Improvement of

Buildings
Osama Omar

 problems faced by the modern generation. Not only does

Abstract—The design and development of sustainable indiscriminate energy use have a direct impact on the quality
environments can be considered as a shared duty, especially in of life of individuals, but it is also connected to serious
the current state of climate change and ecological awareness. environmental effects such as the depletion of energy
The role of a few major stakeholders, such as architects, in
ensuring a reliable and suitable environment design is even
resources, global warming, climate change, carbon emissions,
more critical, as the construction industry currently consumes acid rain and waste retention. While the rise in energy usage
half the energy sources globally. Therefore, improving the way indicates the industry‟s economic growth in emerging
in which our environment is designed challenges certain nations, it also contributes to some concerns with regard to
cultural systems, such as education for future architects and energy sources. Consequently, the need to find alternative
engineers, which currently demonstrates evident limitations. energy sources is more crucial than ever, as the population
The digital transformation is increasingly affecting all aspects
of life. This research focuses on new development strategies for
grows and the demand for energy grows, while taking into
improving functionality in existing buildings through enhancing consideration the fact that renewable resource such as fossil
students’ ability to think critically in the face of environmental fuels are becoming more limited. In all developing countries,
challenges, using digital processing tools to achieve a buildings are among the biggest energy consumers
sustainable building. The research approaches are both (Pérez-Lombard et al. [4]; Junnila et al. [5]).
quantitative and qualitative, with an emphasis on For example, in Iran, the building industry is responsible
problem-solving (ARCH463: Intelligent Buildings). Four steps
for 36% of its total energy consumption. This makes it
have been followed: literature review; assessment and analysis;
guidelines creation; and tests and simulations. One of the results essential to study the energy consumption and environmental
of this research is to create development strategies for the impact of buildings during their life cycles. One of the most
functional improvement of an existing building through effective ways of overcoming the energy consumption
promoting course and interest in the students of an elective problem is to improve energy efficiency in the upcoming
course (ARCH463: Intelligent Buildings) in the second level of generation of buildings, reducing energy consumption,
architecture in the Faculty of Architecture, Beirut Arab
operational costs and CO2 emissions. This growing need for a
University, Beirut, Lebanon. Another outcome will be the
practical effectiveness of new technology devices in sustainable green and sustainable design has led to the development of a
intelligent building in the Arab countries. new concept, known as intelligent buildings (IBs), which
demands a steady process of equilibrium between all three
Index Terms—Intelligent buildings, environmental challenge, environmental, social and economic aspects (Alwaer and
architectural education, sustainable teaching, digital tools. Clements-Croome [6]). Not only do IBs attempt to provide
their residents and occupants with flexibility and comfort
while preserving economic efficiency, but they also address
I. INTRODUCTION user safety, as well as achieving greater environmental
The definition of sustainable design was established performance standards (Wong et al. [2]).
according to the World Commission on Environment and In this regard, the design team‟s challenge is to choose the
Development in 1987, then known as the Brundtland Report. most suitable alternative among a variety of existing systems
It declared that a sustainable development responds to current and solutions based on the customers‟ needs, so that the
needs without compromising future generations‟ ability to optimal configurations that meet both developers‟ and end
meet their own necessities (World Commission on users‟ expectations are fully implemented by optimum
Environment and Development [1]). selection and integration of the present technologies (EIBG
The European Intelligent Building Group has also defined [7]).
„intelligent building‟ as a building that creates an
A. Architecture Education Pedagogy
environment that maximizes the productivity of the
occupants of the building, while allowing efficient resource “The concept of education is one which only suggests
management with minimum lifetime costs for equipment and criteria by which various activities and processes can be
facilities (Wong et al. [2]; Wigginton et al. [3]). judged to see if they can be classified „educational‟. Thus,
In recent years, environmental and energy issues have giving a lecture may be educational, but it might not be if it
drawn a good deal of attention among the numerous does not satisfy the criteria; a student design project may be
educational but also might not be” (Parsons [8]).
“We conclude, in short, that architecture education is
Manuscript received October 29, 2019; revised January 7, 2020. really about fostering the learning habits needed for the
Osama Mohamed Omar is with Faculty of Architecture, Design and Built
Environment, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon (e-mail:
discovery, integration, application, and sharing of knowledge
o.omar@bau.edu.lb, ossamamoh.omar@gmail.com).

doi: 10.18178/ijesd.2020.11.5.1257 244

 International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, Vol. 11, No. 5, May 2020

over a lifetime.” (Boyer and Mitgang [9]). All fields of life are increasingly affected by digital
It is thought that the conception of generative design transformation. Students today need a broad range of
systems and reasoning systems has resulted in several design collaborative skills and need to work in interdisciplinary
theories, methods and models that help to offer more than just teams and distant workspaces, while simultaneously using
images, data or software; problem analysis models could future-oriented digital tools. It is the responsibility of
provide methods to reveal a problem and demonstrate an academic education to provide technical and social skills,
approach that can lead to a possible successful solution. triggering the courage and curiosity required for this lifelong
These generative methods have created design techniques learning (Vogt et al. [13]).
that can efficiently convey an extensive code of design In architecture, computer simulations have a relatively
understanding, including procedural understanding of design brief background. Computer modelling is generally
and reasoning (Ibrahim [10]). categorized alongside computational and applied
Skills in problem-solving and design-oriented thinking are mathematics, even though the development of its
often recognized as a main product of the architectural studio visualization techniques is inseparable from several key
pedagogy. Such competencies are obtained via courses in architecture features. Architects were involved in the
architectural design and elective courses such as ARCH463: development of computer-assisted representation methods
Intelligent Buildings, where learners are prompted to produce even early on. Horst Rittel, a former design science lecturer at
conceptual responses to a design problem (De Gaulmyn and the Hoschschule School fur Gestaltung in Ulm, Germany,
Dupre [11]). more than 20 years ago, referred to computer-aided
Various authors have discussed the need to learn – and the simulation as one of the most significant fields in which
need to gradually shift from learning – the content of design architects interact with computers. Thanks to the fast growth
to develop design skills in different contexts. The term of software and equipment, sophisticated numerical
“competence” refers to the extensive ability to act effectively simulations have become a new practice in science and
and successfully, according to Horváth [12]. The primary research, and particularly in architecture and design. Now
objective of creating competence is to allow potential that it is established as an omnipresent cultural technology, it
projects to function effectively in geographically dislocated is changing our interactions with the world even more.
cooperative design settings, depending on the design‟s Therefore, simulations are a fundamental concept in which
globalization, production, servicing and distribution. the repeated demands for trans-disciplinary action are
Competency allows the resolution of problems, not only in expressed. This is accurate not only for the arts but also, and
known situations but also even in unforeseen situations. perhaps even more so, for an architectural, technological and
From the forerunning exploratory research by Horváth [12], scientific dialogue.
which included studying the related literature, experimenting In this context, it becomes apparent that the debate of these
with early education courses and consulting with educational fundamental ideas extends beyond the traditional discursive
experts, the understanding is that competence is a complex borders of architectural discourse, and is more and more
whole. Competence is a combination of capacities that marked by a thorough dialogue of the theory and philosophy
complement each other in the context of design of technology and scientific history. Alongside the 3D
problem-solving. If just one capacity is lacking or simulation technologies applied in the professional field,
considerably weaker than the others, we cannot speak of fully these have also been applied in the architecture sector,
functional design competence. This explains why design especially since the early 1990s. Design studios began using
competencies can be tackled through several aspects and computer-modelling programs to perform 2D graphics, 3D
divided into different elementary competencies (Horváth modelling, image rendering, case simulations and interactive
[12]). animations. It has become obvious that architectural
By developing and conducting our recent global European education has been greatly affected by these types of
product realization course, we examined opportunities to software. Design studios worldwide have seen a profound
implement and demonstrate holistic design competence. change in their strategic design teaching techniques and even
According to Horváth [12], holistic design competence is a their furnishing methods. Students have become familiar
mixture of five abilities: capabilities, attitude, knowledge, with computer modelling programs since the 1990s, using
skills and experience (Fig. 1). These five abilities are strongly them in their architectural design courses (Omar and Youssef
linked, both epistemologically and methodologically [14]).
(Horváth [12]). B. The Main Questions
How Encourage students to build sustainable strategies for
improving the functionality of existing buildings in the face
of environmental challenges? Define the gap between
teaching sustainable principles in architecture education and
the best practice of this in the construction industry?
C. The Aim
The aim is to prove that encouraging students to embed
sustainable principles and strategies for functional
Fig. 1. Interacting constituents of design competence. Reference: Horváth improvement in their design concepts in the early stages of
[12].

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courses in architecture education will ensure the best practice facilitate the main goal of optimizing the power usage at
of sustainable architecture in future. these secondary stages, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The second
level of intelligent building evaluation criteria elements
D. The Methodology
comprises: interactive façades, intelligent skins, BAS, BMS,
The methodology used both quantitative and qualitative environmental sensors, interactive sensors, interactive
approaches, with a focus on problem-solving through course materials, extensive properties, indoor environmental
ARCH463: Intelligent Buildings. It followed four steps: controls, environmental techniques, solar cells, wind turbines,
1) Literature review: theoretical, sustainable principles; geothermal water and all the criteria mentioned before.
relationship between intelligent buildings and sustainable
features through lectures.
2) Evaluation and analysis: the sustainable performance of a
design, while comparing various design projects and
various versions of these design projects.
3) As a result of the previous steps, create guidelines for the
best efficient sustainable solutions in order to improve
design projects.
4) Test and simulate these guidelines through 3D physical
modelling; present and discuss the ecological footprint of
the project on the environment.
E. The Outcome
1) Build critical thinking ability in students for the
development of strategies for the functional improvement
of an existing building.
2) Enhance the practical effectiveness of new technology
devices in sustainable intelligent building through
providing technical and social skills, triggering courage
and curiosity in the students. Fig. 2. Main factors in intelligent building selection criteria. Reference:
Omar [15].

II. FACTORS IN EVALUATING INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS

Based on previous research and studies, theoretical data
shows that the definition and concept of the term “Intelligent
Building” is still vague. It is often used in ways that are not
always consistent, as shown in Omar‟s [15] research. In his
research, Omar addressed multiple definitions and meanings
assigned to this word. In fact, the reason why the term
“intelligent building” is not agreed upon is because each
definition is based on the competence of the subject using it.
Nevertheless, one prevalent commonality still exists between
all definitions: the primary objective of intelligent buildings
is to decrease power consumption and the quantity of CO2
generated in the building industry. In this regard, Fig. 2
shows the new approaches towards the selection criteria for
intelligent building in the 21st century.
Fig. 2 illustrates the fundamental level or key elements of
the definition of smart buildings from the architectural
standpoint: building management systems (BMS), building
automation systems (BAS), sensors, smart materials,
intelligent skin or interactive façades, based upon the eight
Quality Environmental Module (QEM) elements suggested
by architects Albert T.P. So and Professor Wong in 1999.
The selection of these requirements and conceptions will
promote the project team‟s key objective and goal of
accomplishing the most effective handling of energy usage Fig. 3. Fundamental and secondary levels of selection criteria for intelligent
by rationally using existing resources and by devising buildings. Reference: Omar [15].
methods to improve power usage, while at the same time
retaining a high standard of living. A key level containing 64 parameters concludes the third
The secondary definition level is split into two or more level of assessment selection criteria. This level guarantees
sections, expanding the architectural methods in order to that the base level and secondary level work consistently to

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achieve the main objective of intelligent building design, homework, increase the level of critical thinking from a
which is lowering energy usage while generating clean beginner‟s level to intermediate and high levels of critical
power and minimizing CO2 outputs (Omar [15]; Azari et al. thinking, bearing in mind the link between horizontal and
[16]). Furthermore, the parameters shown in Fig. 3 should vertical courses in the same level and the upper level.
support achieving the objective of intelligent buildings to
A. Experimental Case Study
decrease the usage of fossil fuels and to transfer to clean,
renewable energy, both of which will reflect on the The experiment was the final assignment in the course,
functional performance of buildings. after several levels of exercise. In this assignment, students
were asked to build teams of five to six students. Each group
had to present one intelligent building from around the world,
III. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING ensuring that it had at least five intelligent features, analyse it
through a PowerPoint presentation and try to simulate the
According to the Intelligent Buildings course description:
intelligent features in the building through a 3D physical
“The course provides the student with advanced knowledge
model, in such a way as to understand how the features work
of intelligent buildings. The course is to create an
integrated within the design of the building.
environment that allows organizations to achieve their
The targets of this assignment were to enhance the ability
business objectives and maximize the effectiveness of its
of students in terms of thinking in a creative way – or, in
occupants, while allowing efficient management of resources
other words, outside the box – and to increase their skills
with a minimum lifetime cost, and recognizing that
through building a 3D physical model, organizing the work,
intelligent buildings are responsive to human needs. At the
working together and applying the features in their design
end of this course students should know recent updates of
projects at a different level of architectural education.
technical innovations linked to intelligent buildings.”
In this context, it is worth noting that the Intelligent B. Students’ Work
Buildings course is located among the fourth year courses in  Phase One (Posters)
the contract sheet of the architecture programme. It is
targeted to support students with advanced technologies in
their design projects through both a theoretical element,
including a literature review about the latest technologies that
could add value to their design project, and practical
experience, through the application of a case study, which
will be discussed later in this paper. Further, this course
should reflect on other courses on the same level horizontally,
such as the design studio course and execution course, and
vertically in the upper level of the course, demonstrated in
the knowledge of each student and in their oral skills,
supporting them in their projects.
Students should also upgrade their levels of knowledge
and understanding, intellectual skills, and professional and
practical skills, through several intended learning outcomes,
as follows:
1) Knowledge and understanding
1) Define the cultural, social and intellectual histories,
theories and technologies that influence the design of
buildings, and the influence of history and theory on the
spatial, social and technological aspects of architecture.
2) Recall the principles associated with designing optimum
visual, thermal and acoustic environments and systems
for environmental comfort realized within the relevant
precepts of sustainable design.
3) Learn to critically assess the balance between high and
low technology.
2) Intellectual skills
1) Respond to change within the external and internal
aspects of intelligent building environments.
3) Professional and practical
1) Develop appropriate effective written and oral
communication skills relevant to intelligent buildings.
Different types of exercise and assignments in the course,
from individual to group work, and from classwork to

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Fig. 5. An example of group work (3D physical model). Reference: Author.

 Phase Three (Intelligent Features)

Fig. 4. An example of group work (posters). Reference: Author.

 Phase Two (3D Physical Models)

Fig. 6. Different steps to build the 3D physical model (group work).

Reference: Author.

There were three stages of evaluation for student work, as

can be seen above: (a) posters, as shown in Fig. 4, which
evaluated the theoretical and background knowledge; in this
stage student choose one building that have most of
intelligent and passive features and technics to correlated it
with intelligent and passive strategies that learned from
theoretical part. Then they represent their criticism through
posters, which include information about buildings and its
location, architect, drawing, Intelligent and passive features
inside this building as shown in Fig 4(b) evaluation via a
practical experiment, through building physical models with
all the intelligent features mentioned in their posters as
shown in Figs 5, 6; and (c) an oral presentation for each
group to discuss their understanding and knowledge of
everything demonstrated through the posters and physical
model, in order to stimulate a critical discussion about the

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principles of intelligent building that should be found inside CONFLICT OF INTEREST

the buildings. Further, through the oral presentations, The authors declare no conflict of interest.
students demonstrated the idea of adding different strategies
in their design projects to reflect functional performance ACKNOWLEDGMENT
improvement, such as:
I want to thank all the students who took this course –
1) Passive architecture techniques play a major role in
ARCH 463: Intelligent Buildings – with me, with a special
decreasing the cooling and heating load in the building,
thank you to the students who took this course in the autumn
which founded from studying several buildings that
of the academic year 2017–2018: I appreciate all that you did
shown passive features and technics for example like
with me during this course. I also want to thank a special
Shading system above the windows to decrease the heat
group in this class, whose work is represented in this research:
transfer through direct daylight. Also, like double skin
Hadi Jalloul, Khodor Joujou, Nadine El Makarky, Nour
that found in several building that decrease the cooling
Yassine and Sara Youssef.
and heating load inside the building.
2) Inserting building management systems and building
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Finally, it's an experimental way of teaching to teach
students learning process of intelligent systems for functional Copyright © 2020 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed
improvement of buildings and discussing with students how under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original
to start grasp different (sustainable, intelligent, passive, etc. ) work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
strategies in their design projects.

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Osama Omar is an associate professor of Nanotechnology and simple architectural solutions to limit the global
architecture, who was born in Alexandria, Egypt warming effects. He Published several researche papers and books:
(10/03/1981). He achieved his PhD degree in - Intelligent building, definitions, factors and evaluation criteria of
“nanoarchitecture and global warming” in (2012) selection. (Beirut, Lebanon: Alexandria Engineering Journal, 2018).
from Alexandria University, Faculty of Engineering, - Optimization of daylight utilization in energy saving application on the
Alexandria, Egypt. Also, His master degree library in faculty of architecture, design and built environment, Beirut Arab
“advanced daylighting technology for sustainable University (Beirut, Lebanon: Alexandria Engineering Journal, 2018).
architectural design” (2009) from the same place. In - Towards eco-neighborhoods, solutions for sustainable development,
addition, he finished his bachelor degree of architecture (2004) from construction and energy saving technologies (Beirut, Lebanon: Journal of
Alexandria University, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria, Egypt. Architecture and Urbanism, 2018).
He is working as associate professor of architecture in Faculty of He had several research interest in nanomaterial`s in building construction,
Architecture-Design and Built Environment, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, indoor environmental controls, teaching architecture engineering education
Lebanon. He is concerned for environment protection using innovative of zero carbon and zero energy design.

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