Papers by Abhinesh Prabhakaran
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Management, Procurement and Law
Earthship buildings are marketed as being an epitome of sustainable alternative housing. Built by... more Earthship buildings are marketed as being an epitome of sustainable alternative housing. Built by reusing or repurposing mostly reclaimed urban waste products, their design includes the utilisation of low-embodied-energy materials, passive solar heating and cooling, photovoltaic power systems, rainwater harvesting and solar hot water heating, along with black- and greywater-treatment systems. This study explores stakeholder opinions of whether Earthship buildings can contribute towards the future of alternative housing in the UK. Opinions were sought through a questionnaire completed by UK members of online social media groups whose shared focus is related to sustainability (n = 50). The results reveal that the public believe that the main benefits are their minimal environmental impact and also their reliance on renewable energy resources, while the main barriers are identifying suitable building plots and obtaining the necessary planning permissions. Notwithstanding that the parti...
Automation in Construction
Smart and Sustainable Built Environment
PurposeThe Furniture, Fixture and Equipment (FFE) sector is well placed to leverage virtual reali... more PurposeThe Furniture, Fixture and Equipment (FFE) sector is well placed to leverage virtual reality (VR) technology for competitive and operational advantages; however, the diffusion of VR applications in this sector has followed a steep curve. This study reports on the implementation of two novel VR applications in the FFE sector and also investigates the challenges and benefits associated with their use and adaptability.Design/methodology/approachA sequential exploratory mixed research methodology consisting of three phases was adopted for this study. This included identification of factors that affect/facilitate the implementation of VR (Challenges and Benefits) using experiments during in-house prototyping of VR applications, a rigorous literature review and questionnaire survey to solicit FFE Stakeholder's (n = 117) opinion on the utility and usefulness of the proposed applications and to the understand factors that facilitate and inhibit their implementation in FFE's c...
Automation in Construction, May 1, 2022
Climate Emergency – Managing, Building , and Delivering the Sustainable Development Goals
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
PurposeThis study aims to propose a novel approach to developing an interactive and immersive vir... more PurposeThis study aims to propose a novel approach to developing an interactive and immersive virtual environment for design communication in the furniture, fixture and equipment (FFE) sector. The study further investigates its effectiveness in enhancing the design communication and coordination between the stakeholder.Design/methodology/approachQuasi-experimental research was adopted involving 12 FFE professionals, designers and end-users in single-group pre-test-post-test design. The tests were performed primarily to ascertain the impact of the application of interactive virtual reality on delivering furniture design selection and coordination tasks. Further interviews were used to elicit participants' views on the functionality and usefulness of the proposed approach.FindingsThe findings indicate that an interactive immersive virtual FFE environment: enhances the productivity of the design team through a collaborative virtual workspace offering a synchronised networked design...
MATEC Web of Conferences, 2020
Building Information Modelling (BIM) and its associated technologies have proved to be one of the... more Building Information Modelling (BIM) and its associated technologies have proved to be one of the most promising developments in the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. Over the past few decades, the AEC sector has been restricted in its communication of design as a result of single interface methods based on 2D and 3D visualization of information. Thus, most issues with respect to construction are identified fairly late, resulting in costly changes. With the introduction of BIM, many other approaches to data visualization can be leveraged including Mixed Reality (MR) applications for the virtual representation of spaces and objects beyond 3D. MR offers a revolution in the virtual representation of objects and space through context awareness as well as the incorporation of information beyond 3D offering countless opportunities for more effective design visualization and coordination. Despite the capability of MR, however, few examples exist of its application to design coordination in the AEC. In addressing this gap this study proposes a novel methodology for the application of MR in design coordination as well as investigates the impact of introducing MR into BIM workflow with a focus on the identification and avoidance of clashes. A prototypical model of the MR design coordination is presented and discussed. Findings indicate that MR improves design productivity and quality but also highlights potential infrastructure issues inhibiting the mainstreaming of MR for design practice.
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Papers by Abhinesh Prabhakaran