Submit your paper

Civil Engineering
Our member journal, covering all aspects Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
of civil engineering today
n Rapid construction of modular buildings for emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
n Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK
n Wufengshan Expressway: a review of systems on China’s first intelligent highway
n Understanding building information modelling and its use in the Chinese construction industry

CHAIR AND HONORARY EDITOR

Paula McMahon, Sir Robert McAlpine, UK

Practical and diverse in its scope, Civil Engineering

publishes accessible papers for the non-specialist on
any subject relevant to civil engineering today. Topics
range from landmark projects to philosophical,
ethical, environmental, management and safety
issues.
Published authors receive a free electronic copy
of their article to share with their peers. Issues are
sent to our ICE’s 96,000-strong membership and
promoted to the wider civil engineering community.
This is a hybrid, Plan S compliant journal with an
ISSN: 0965-089X
option to publish fully open access.
EISSN: 1751-7672
ISSUES A YEAR: 6
The paper judged to be the best each
IMPACT FACTORS: 1.313 (two year);
year is awarded the Coopers Hill War
1.277 (five year)
Memorial Prize.
SJR: 0.323
Find out more about the ICE Publishing Awards:
www.icevirtuallibrary.com/awards

Part of the Institution of Civil Engineers, ICE Publishing journals provide comprehensive coverage
of civil and environmental engineering with real world impact. Published papers are seen by
researchers and professionals across the globe.

icevirtuallibrary.com/loi/jcien
Find out more www.icevirtuallibrary.com/cien ISSN 0965-089X
 Themed Issue Call for Papers

Infrastructure Asset Management The ultimate reference on Blue-Green

A themed issue on ‘corporate-level infrastructure asset management: an
unexplored domain of business significance’ is planned for 2023 Infrastructure solutions
ICE Manual of
Champions: Shafiq Alam, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland, Australia;
Dr Steven Male, Visiting Fellow in Infrastructure Asset Management, University of Bristol, UK
Editor in Chief: Professor Alan O’Connor, Head of School of Engineering, Chairholder and Professor of
Structural Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Corporate asset infrastructure, covering government and non-government
offices, industry complexes, workspaces in public assets like educational and
hospital buildings, and the retail sector have embraced rapid transformation since
the advent of information technology (IT)-driven decision processes in the late
ISSN: 2053-0242
E-ISSN: 2053-0250
Frequency: Quarterly
Blue-Green Infrastructure
twentieth century. The rapid spread of the internet enabled international Edited by Carla-Leanne Washbourne and Claire Wansbury
networking of offices and support services for remote working, has reshaped Why publish with ICE?
organisational structures and ways of working. Open workspace environments
with meeting rooms and hot-desking have driven strategic considerations to deal Established in 1836, ICE Publishing is
a leading provider of information for
with hybrid office and home working effectively. Climate change changing
researchers and practitioners worldwide in
transport demands, behaviours and travel patterns would accelerate this move. ICE Manual of Blue-Green Infrastructure draws together an exceptional
the fields of civil engineering, construction
The Covid-19 pandemic quickly established working from home as a suitable and materials science.  breadth of material to provide a complete practical reference on Blue-
option resulting in significant demands for home office working arrangements Green Infrastructure (BGI) solutions. Written and edited by leading
and IT-centric assets, and extensive changes to health and well-being require- We are the publishing division of the ICE,
an influential, not for profit, professional specialists, each chapter provides a contemporary overview of a significant
ments. Rapid changes of corporate asset formation over the last few decades also
created significant costs and management concerns for sustainability, resilience membership body with 92,000 civil area within the field and guidance on key considerations in BGI design,
engineer members around the world.  creation, retrofitting and maintenance. The book will help practitioners to
and appropriate levels of analysis: the strategic, tactical and operational aspects.
• Improve your professional profile explain the value of BGI, embed it into new development projects, retrofit
Abstracts are invited covering topics including, but not limited to: worldwide it to older ones and provide for its long-term successful maintenance.
„ Risks of inadequate future investment in corporate asset infrastructures
• Included in major science and
and workspace environments due to uncertain demand factors Key features include
engineering databases and indexes
„ Significant organisational change challenges created from managing • Peer review by international experts introduction to BGI, including definitions, and overarching benefits
corporate infrastructure assets generally, and which corporate asset and why and challenges
• Editorial support and guidance alongside
„ Inappropriate design standard and specification for life cycle performance professional copy-editing, typesetting
targeted chapters focusing on particular project types, landscapes
requirements when dealing with frequent changes and proof-reading
and approaches, including coastal and marine BGI, BGI on highways,
„ Business overhead cost increase due to more frequent changes to • No publication charges (Open Access
green bridges, green roofs, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS),
corporate establishments and higher health and well-being requirements titles excepted)
trees and soils
„ Impact on supply chain management for rapidly changing furniture and • Member of COPE – Committee on
Publication Ethics and CrossCheck BGI standards and key issues for the management and maintenance
materials requirements
of BGI
„ Development challenges due to inadequate condition and performance
data regime for the shorter working life of a particular workspace setting examples of successful projects across a range of sectors.
„ Professional challenges for delivering designs due to limited academic and
technical studies for a rapidly evolving industrial setting Part of the ICE Manuals series, ICE Manual of Blue-Green Infrastructure
„ Management of non-building assets, such as vehicle fleet, information is an essential reference for practicing engineers, masterplanners,
technology, safety, security and others in a sustainable manner landscape architects, water design specialists, ecologists, development
companies, and local planning authorities.
Abstracts due: 1 April 2023 Submissions due: 31 August 2023

FIND OUT MORE:

Information for authors: www.icevirtuallibrary.com/page/authors
About the journal: https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/journal/jinam
Submit an abstract: https://forms.office.com/r/X5Tz7LGzX8 Order Online: www.icebookshop.com | Email: orders@icepublishing.com | Phone: +44 (0)12 3546 5577
Contact: Kirsten Buchanan, Tel.: +44 (0)207 665 2204, Email: kirsten.buchanan@icepublishing.com
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers

Civil Engineering
Volume 176  Issue 2  May 2023

CONTENTS  May 2023

Civil Engineering Contact Information

Editor:
Simon Fullalove
tel: +44 20 7665 2448
email: editor@ice.org.uk
Journals Manager:
Ben Ramster
tel: +44 20 7665 2242
email: ben.ramster@icepublishing.com
EDITORIAL General Manager, ICE Publishing:
Mike Cookson
Advertising:
GUEST EDITORIAL TTL Marketing
One Great George Street, Westminster
SW1P 3AA, UK
BRIEFING tel: +44 20 7665 2472

One Great George Street, Westminster

Engineering for emergency response: Türkiye and Syria earthquakes 53 SW1P 3AA, UK
www.icevirtuallibrary.com
Low-lying islands and sea-level rise: how land raising offers a sustainable solution 54
ICE Publishing is a division of Thomas
Why civil engineering needs to do more to embrace neurodiversity 55 Telford Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of
A reminder of the critical importance of competent temporary works coordinators 56 the Institution of Civil Engineers
Production editing by Paul Allanson
MONITOR Illustrations by Barking Dog Art
Origination by
Kneath Associates, Swansea
Books 58 Printed in the UK by
Vanacomm, Sheffield
ICE Proceedings 62 Using fibre sourced from responsibly
managed and sustainable forest
TECHNICAL PAPERS ISSN 0965-089X (Print)
1751‑7672 (Online)

Rapid construction of modular buildings for emergencies: © The authors and the Institution of Civil
Engineers, 2023
a case study from Hong Kong, China Available online at
www.icevirtuallibrary.com/loi/jcien
Z. Chen, L. Jiang, M. Xiao, Y. Hu and S. Huang  65
Subscription Information
Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using solar power at Non-members:
Subscription enquiries and notification of
Redheugh gasworks, UK change of address should be sent to the
N. Whalley, E. King, T. Vickers and A. Wilson 73 Customer Services department,
ICE Publishing,
One Great George Street, Westminster
Wufengshan Expressway: a review of systems on China’s first SW1P 3AA, UK
intelligent highway tel: +44 20 7665 2460
fax: +44 20 7537 2529
Z. Tang, X. Peng, X. Su, M. Zhou and L. An 81 email: info@icepublishing.com
Civil Engineering, 4 issues per year
Understanding building information modelling and its use in the (plus two special issues)
2023 subscription price:
Chinese construction industry £222 online only
Z. Liu and F. Zhang 85 Specialist (ICE Proceedings) Journals
Collection, 98 issues per year
2023 subscription price:
£5105 online
Members:
Subscription enquiries should be sent to
Membership Registry,
Institution of Civil Engineers,
PO Box 4479, London SW1P 3XB, UK
tel: +44 20 7665 2227
fax: +44 20 7222 3514
email: subs@ice.org.uk

The papers and articles express the

PAGE 69 PAGE 77
CIVIL ENGINEERING EDITORIAL PANEL
Chair Paula McMahon, FWES, CMgr, FCMI, CEng, FICE, FRSA,
Sir Robert McAlpine, Stockton on Tees, UK
Abiodun Akinyemi, PhD, CEng, MICE, MCIOB, Skanska UK Plc,
Nuneaton, UK
Afshin Asadi, CMEngNZ, CPEng, FICE, Wilton Joubert Consulting
Engineers, Auckland, New Zealand
Alex Backhouse, CEng, MICE, Atkins, London, UK
Alper Beser, MSc, Independent Consultant, Dublin, Ireland
Paul Corbett, BSc(Hons), MSc, DIC, CEng, FICE, MIStructE, CMEngNZ, MIEAust
RPEQ, Jacobs, Auckland, New Zealand
Claudia Currie, CEng, TPP, FICE, FCIHT, FCILT, PIEMA, Atkins, Cardiff, UK
Erdal Ergul, PEng, BSc SurvEng, FICE, PLC Contracting LLC, Dubai,
UAE
Victor Ruiz Ezpeleta, CEng, MICE, Urban Development Agency,
Barcelona, Spain
Alex Heward, CEng, MICE, Laing O’Rourke, Dartford, UK
Bushra Hussain, BEng (Hons), CEng, FICE, MCIWEM.WEM, Aurecon,
Dubai, UAE
Katherine Ibbotson, PhD, FICE, CEnv, WSP UK Limited,
Manchester, UK
PAGE 81 PAGE 89 opinions of the authors, and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the ICE,
Thomas Telford Ltd, or the Editorial
Panel. Papers are formally refereed
by the Editorial Panel whereas, to
Gul Hameed Khalil, BSc (Hons), MSc (Geology), MSc (Geotech. Engng), ensure topicality, Briefing articles are
Joint Director, Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, HQ not refereed.
Karachi, Pakistan Civil Engineering is indexed in the
Debabrata Mukherjee, MEng, CEng, FICE, Atkins, Bengaluru, India Science Citation Index Expanded
Milda Pladaite, MEng, Leyton, Bruxelles, Belgium
Muhammad Ekhlasur Rahman, PhD, FIEAust, CPEng, FHEA, FICE,
Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Dian Saunders-Adderley, FICE, CEng, MSc, MBA, LLB, Agate Regional
Consultancy Services, Nassau, The Bahamas
Sakthy Selvakumaran, MEng, PhD, CEng, MICE, University of
Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Alpa Sheth, VMS Consultants Pvt, Ltd, Mumbai, India
Giulia Sospotti, MSc, CEng, WSP, London, UK
Andrew Stotesbury, MAPM, ACIOB, HND Building, Lendlease,
London, UK
Meshi Taka, CEng, MICE, MWES, MCMI, Waterman Aspen, Tyne and
Wear, UK
Bin Wang, MSc, PhD Sichuan University, Chengdu, P. R. China
Yan Zhou, BEng, MSc, DIC, MBA, CEng, FICE, MHKIE, CMgr, FCMI, Jacobs UK
Ltd, Walton-on-Thames, UK
49
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.2023.176.2.50
EDITORIAL  May 2023
Editorial
Abiodun Akinyemi PhD, CEng, MICE, MCIOB, PMP, CBAP
Technical Integration Manager, Skanska UK, St Neots, UK
China’s technological strength has been increasing since
the late 2000s and is now competing with the USA, Europe
and Japan (Bergeaud and Verluise, 2022). Furthermore, the
country is becoming increasingly self-reliant in science and
technology in its drive to being a global technology power.
This of course includes infrastructure, which is reflected in
three of the papers in this issue of Civil Engineering.
Chen et al. (2023) describe the use of China’s design for
manufacture and assembly (DfMA) technology on an epic
scale. In February 2022 Hong Kong was struck by a new wave
of Covid-19, and the Chinese government responded by
building a 1000-bed hospital and 10 000-bed isolation and
treatment facility in 51 days using factory-made modules. It
was a great feat considering the huge range of resources and
stakeholders managed.
The challenge also led to the development of several new
modular construction technologies, including adjustable
base supports, large-span roof modules, universal safety
barriers and an intelligent cloud platform for construction
management. However, the authors have identified a lack of
sustainability considerations in the development, which they
believe may challenge the circularity of the building modules
beyond their initial service.
Fittingly, our second paper reflects on the application
of sustainability principles in the remediation of a historic
gasworks site in the UK. Whalley et al. (2023) share lessons
that can influence sustainability thinking in the design process.
The solar-powered pumping system they employed to remove
hazardous coal tar and creosote from a former gasholder
was identified as the optimal solution from the sustainability
assessment of the site remediation options. This helped to
achieve the project vision and stakeholder goals.
Back in China, Liu and Zhang (2023) describe the concepts
and features of building information modelling (BIM) in the
construction industry and then analyse its application in China
compared to the USA, Europe and Japan. They describe the
level of BIM adoption on some of China’s landmark projects.
Of particular interest is the country’s innovative drive to reach
BIM level 4.0, which integrates BIM and other advanced
technologies like 5G (the fifth-generation technology standard
for broadband cellular networks), cloud computing and
digital twin throughout an asset’s life cycle. But the authors
conclude that BIM adoption in China still varies, with only few
stakeholders achieving the advanced level.
One such example is reported in our third paper by Tang et al.
50
Editorial
Akinyemi
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
(2023), who describe China’s first stretch of intelligent highway.
They note that only a few similar concepts put forward by the
USA, Europe and Japan have actually been built. The project
underscores China’s determination to lead in the area of
intelligent highways. The new 33 km road includes: wireless
electric vehicle chargers to improve charging convenience in
adverse weather; geothermal heating systems for de-icing
in snowy conditions; lane-level automatic lighting for better
fog visibility; and smart guard rails that make use of machine
vision to capture traffic accidents for real-time reporting. These
solutions among many others on the project adopt the latest
technologies including artificial intelligence, the ‘internet of
things’, 5G and so on, and represent the future of highways.
My thanks go to all the authors for sharing their experience
and knowledge with us in these papers, which I hope you
find a useful and enjoyable read. More recent ‘ahead of print’
papers can be found in the online version of the journal
at www.icevirtuallibrary.com/toc/jcien/0/0, and remember
that reading this journal counts towards your continuing
professional development.
References
Bergeaud A and Verluise C (2022) The Rise of China’s Technological
Power: the Perspective from Frontier Technologies. Centre for Economic
Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science, London,
UK. See https://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp1876.pdf (accessed
08/03/2023).
Chen Z, Jiang L, Xiao M, Hu Y and Huang S (2023) Rapid construction of
modular buildings for emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China.
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 176(2):
65–72, https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.22.00172.
Liu Z and Zhang F (2023) Understanding building information modelling
and its use in the Chinese construction industry. Proceedings of the
Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 176(2): 85–93, https://doi.
org/10.1680/jcien.22.00127.
Tang Z, Peng X, Su X, Zhou M and An L (2023) Wufengshan Expressway: a
review of systems on China’s first intelligent highway. Proceedings of the
Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 176(2): 81–84, https://doi.
org/10.1680/jcien.22.00059.
Whalley N, King E, Vickers T and Wilson A (2023) Sustainable hydrocarbon
remediation using solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK. Proceedings
of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 176(2): 73–79,
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.22.00144.
CALL FOR PAPERS: Civil Engineering relies entirely on material contributed
by civil engineers and related professionals. Illustrated articles of 600 words
and papers of 2000 to 3500 words are welcome on any relevant civil
engineering topic that meets the journal’s aims of providing a source of
reference material, promoting best practice and broadening civil engineers’
knowledge, Please contact the editor for further information
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.2023.176.2.51
GUEST EDITORIAL: MARK ENZER
Time to get serious about digitalisation
of the built environment
Mark Enzer, strategic advisor at Mott MacDonald, visiting professor at the University of Cambridge
and former director of Centre for Digital Built Britain, says civil engineers need to accelerate
digitalisation of the built environment if they really want to deliver net-zero emissions.
1. Introduction
The world around us is undergoing
huge change, and it is time for
industries that serve the built
environment to step up and take their
place on the side of the solution, not
the problem.
On one hand, societies face the
genuine existential threats of climate
change and biodiversity collapse, caused
in no small measure by what we have
built. More than 50% of carbon dioxide
emissions are associated with the built
environment; it is by far the biggest user
of natural resources; and the total mass of
the built environment now exceeds that
of everything that lives on our planet.
On the other hand, if we pull
Figure 1. KPMG’s report showed
significant returns from investing in
digitalisation
Time to get serious about digitalisation of the built environment
Enzer
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
together, we have the power to change
things. We are developing data and
digital capabilities and tools, which
could hardly be imagined even a few
years ago, that can help us to deal
with the big, system-wide issues. In this
context, digitalisation is not only key to
unlocking greater value from the built
environment, but it is also an essential
enabler in addressing the greatest
challenges of our generation.
However, digitalisation simply
cannot deliver its promised value if it
is not joined up. I believe we need an
ambitious, purpose-driven approach to
digitalisation of the built environment,
which we will explore by way of three
interconnected themes: outcomes,
systems and community.
First, we need to unpack what we
mean by the ‘built environment’ and
‘digitalisation’.
2. The built environment
Essentially, the built environment
is everything we have built. All the
networks for energy, transport,
water, waste, telecoms and flood
defences that make up our ‘economic
infrastructure’; all the residential,
industrial and commercial buildings
and the hospitals, prisons and schools
that make up our ‘social infrastructure’;
and all the interfaces with natural
environment, like urban spaces and
managed landscapes.
The built environment provides the
essential foundations for our society
to thrive. More than just providing
water, power or transport services, it
boosts the quality of life and supports
productivity and prosperity. We must
keep the built environment working for
as long as we want society to function,
so it must be sustainable, safe, resilient
and equitable.
3. Digitalisation
Digitalisation is not an end in itself,
rather it is an enabler. Most importantly,
digitalisation is about enabling people.
Done right, digitalisation enables people
to use information to make better
decisions, to improve processes and to
apply and integrate data and digital
technology more wisely.
It is clear that digitalisation makes
good business sense. In its ground-
breaking work, accounting firm
KPMG (2021) showed that every £1
invested in information management
could potentially secure £5.10 of
direct labour productivity gains and
£6.90 in direct cost savings (Figure 1).
Digitalisation of other industries has
delivered efficiencies of up to 30% of
the costs associated with undertaking
processes, and this quantum of saving
is still available to the built environment
because its level of digitalisation is far
behind other parts of the economy.
The root of the value of digitalisation
is in ‘making better decisions faster’,
based on better insight derived from
better analysis of better data.
4. Outcomes-focussed
The UK construction industry’s vision
for the built environment (CLFBE, 2021:
p. 4) articulates very neatly that the
whole purpose of the built environment
is ‘to enable people and nature to
flourish together for generations’.
Therefore, achieving better outcomes
must be the overarching aim of
industries that serve the existing built
environment or its future development.
We must ensure that outcomes
are aligned all the way from the
global level, as described by the UN
Sustainable Development Goals,
through to local outcomes that respond
51
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
GUEST EDITORIAL: MARK ENZER
Figure 2. A digitalisation route map could
be modelled on ICE’s path to low carbon
concrete
to local needs. The route to better
outcomes flows through the services
that the built environment provides.
Whether we consider mobility, shelter
or warmth, these services are the
connection between the outcomes
we desire and the systems we use to
achieve them.
With a focus on improving outcomes
for people and nature, it therefore
becomes crucial to understand built
and natural systems better so that we
can improve the performance of the
built environment by intervening more
effectively.
5. Systems-based
Assets and networks are inextricably
linked across the built environment.
In other words, the built environment
functions as a complex ‘system of
systems’. And significant challenges
like climate change, resource depletion
and biodiversity loss impact the entire
system. These systems-level challenges
demand systems-based solutions – they
cannot be solved in isolation. Silos in
policy, decision making, development
and operation can only produce
suboptimal outcomes.
To get more from the existing built
environment, as well as from what
we are yet to build, we must address
the whole system and all its asset
life-cycle processes. While we cannot
52
Time to get serious about digitalisation of the built environment
Enzer
control these complex systems, we can
influence them. Therefore, we must
strive to understand them better, which
is about mastering the relevant data,
information, knowledge and wisdom.
We must also intervene more
effectively, which is essentially about
making better decisions faster in our
projects and delivery processes. This is
what digitalisation can do for us, but it
needs to be a shared endeavour.
6. Community-enabled
The way that the industry has evolved
means that the built environment is
run in silos. The construction industry is
famously fragmented, primarily because
its principal way of working is by way
of projects. Each project is effectively
a prototype and, more often than not,
the supply chain is reconfigured for
each successive project.
So, at an industry level, learning
is not transferred, capability is
not progressively built and shared
solutions are not developed. While this
characterisation is an over-simplification,
it does point to real challenges to
effective digitalisation. To be effective,
many elements of digitalisation have
to be shared. If every organisation
undertakes digitalisation in their own
unique way, then it will not be effective
at an industry level.
Fundamentally, people must be at
the heart of digitalisation because its
purpose is all about enabling people
to decide and to act more effectively.
People make it happen and people get
the benefits. Therefore, digitalisation
must address human and organisational
factors: it is not just about technical
change, it is ‘socio-technical’.
7. What is needed
At a high level, a paradigm shift is
required: we must recognise the built
environment as a system of systems
and manage it accordingly. The
capabilities and tools to enable such a
paradigm shift are already becoming
available, such as systems engineering,
complexity science and digital twinning.
We now need systems-based policies
and strategies that will enable us to
understand and coordinate the built
environment effectively.
At a more practical level, there has
been progress in digitalisation in many
individual areas, with some outstanding
examples of good practice from industry
leaders. However, the sector as a whole
still lags all other comparable industries.
The fact remains that isolated efforts
have not transformed the industry, so it
is time for a more joined-up approach
to digitalisation, which must address all
of the following:
■ projects – the delivery of
interventions on the built
environment system
■ assets and systems – the operation,
maintenance and use of our built
environment
■ organisations – the ecosystem of
organisations that serves the built
environment.
In short, we need a practical national
route map for the digitalisation of the
built environment. The Low Carbon
Concrete Routemap published by the
Institution of Civil Engineers in April last
year (ICE, 2022; Figure 2) is an excellent
example of this approach. It provides
a clear vision and, most importantly,
a practical way forward that is shared
across the industry. We now need this
for digitalisation.
If civil engineers are to help meet
the challenges of achieving net-
zero greenhouse gas emissions,
providing climate resilience, delivering
infrastructure equity, creating a
circular economy and protecting
biodiversity, we need to accelerate the
digitalisation of the built environment.
We need a joined-up strategy that is
outcomes-focused, systems-based and
community-enabled.
References
CLFBE (A collaboration of leading figures in the
built environment) (2021) Our Vision for the Built
Environment. Centre for Digital Built Britain,
Cambridge, UK, https://doi.org/10.17863/
CAM.68205.
ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers) (2022) Low
Carbon Concrete Routemap. ICE, London,
UK. See https://www.ice.org.uk/engineering-
resources/briefing-sheets/low-carbon-concrete-
routemap/ (accessed 07/03/2023).
KPMG (2021) The Value of Information
Management in the Construction and
Infrastructure Sector. KPMG, London, UK.
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.2023.176.2.53
BRIEFING Emergencies
Engineering for emergency response:
Türkiye and Syria earthquakes
Sakthy Selvakumaran, Mark Scorer and Josh Macabuag of the charity Saraid provide their insights
from recently being on the ground as part of the emergency search and rescue efforts after the
2023 earthquakes.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck
south-east Türkiye and north-west Syria
on 6 February 2023, and was followed
9 h later by a second earthquake of
magnitude 7.5 (US Geological Survey,
2023). Both events occurred on the
East Anatolian Fault Zone and, over the
subsequent days and weeks, thousands
of aftershocks continued to impact the
region.
According to the World Bank, more
than 41 000 fatalities were reported
over the following 2 weeks, with over
108 000 people injured and more
than 1.2 million people displaced
(Gunasekera et al., 2023). In the
hours and days immediately after the
earthquake, local first responders − who
do 90−95% of rescues in the first 24 h
− and international urban search and
rescue teams were deployed to assist
emergency services with the rescue
efforts. These included the UK-based
charity Search and Rescue Assistance in
Disasters (Saraid).
As a classified team under the
UN’s International Search and Rescue
Advisory Group, Saraid facilitated the
arrival of search and rescue teams
through a reception and departure
centre in Adana and a sector
coordination cell in Kahramanmaraş.
The charity was able to deploy eight
engineers on the ground with more
back in the UK providing remote
support.
Role of an urban search and
rescue engineer
Civil engineers form a key part
of urban search and rescue teams
responding to disasters in the built
environment, but they have to
deploy their skills in a very different
and constantly changing set of
For further information please contact: Sakthy Selvakumaran Email: sakthy.selvakumaran@saraid.org.uk Web: www.saraid.org.uk
Engineering for emergency response: Türkiye and Syria earthquakes
Selvakumaran, Scorer and Macabuag
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
circumstances. A disaster zone has
extreme demands and the risks
continually change and evolve over
very short periods. Structures no longer
behave in the way they were designed
and there are many unknowns.
When assessing sites, urban search
and rescue engineers need to conduct
rapid visual assessments of collapsed
buildings and their surroundings,
identifying the original, current and
potential future load paths through the
structures despite having incomplete
structural and material information.
Engineers can help advise by
understanding the structure’s collapse
pattern and potential likelihood of
survivable voids and define safe zones.
Where casualties are identified, the
engineer’s primary role is to devise
the least-dangerous means to rescue
them. In all cases there is continuous
monitoring of the hazards and dynamic
risk assessment taking place. Engineers
also advise on installing temporary
props and shoring where needed to
prevent or slow further collapse, and
on how the structure may be safely
accessed or breached to rescue a
casualty. This includes advising on
how mechanised plant can be used to
delaminate and remove sections of the
building to expedite recovery.
Engineering responsibility
In Türkiye, urban search and
rescue engineers were able to help
rescue hundreds of people from
collapsed buildings as part of a strong
collaborative effort by the local
population, local emergency teams and
national and international rescue teams.
The earthquakes are a stark reminder
to civil engineers of the important role
that owners, designers, contractors
Saraid conducting search and rescue activities
in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye following the
February 2023 earthquakes (Rick Finder)
and operators play in providing resilient
buildings and infrastructure, and the
potential consequences when a disaster
strikes.
While Türkiye has strong seismic
design codes, there will be questions
over the coming months around
whether many of the affected buildings
were designed and constructed in
compliance with those codes.
Disasters such as these earthquakes
result from a combination of natural
hazards and societal and human
vulnerability. The challenge for civil
engineers is how to adapt for future
design and construction.
References
Gunasekera R, Ishizawa Escudero OA, Daniell
JE et al. (2023) Global Rapid Post-Disaster
Damage Estimation (GRADE) Report: February
6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes - Türkiye
Report. World Bank Group, Washington,
DC, USA. See http://documents.worldbank.
org/curated/en/099022723021250141/
P1788430aeb62f08009b2302bd4074030fb
(accessed 09/03/2023).
US Geological Survey (2023) M7.8 and M7.5
Kahramanmaraş Earthquake Sequence near
Nurdağı, Turkey (Türkiye). US Geological
Survey, Reston, VA, USA. See https://www.
usgs.gov/news/featured-story/m78-and-m75-
kahramanmaras-earthquake-sequence-near-
nurdagi-turkey-turkiye (accessed 09/03/2023).
53
Civil Engineering Low-lying islands and sea-level rise: how land
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023 raising offers a sustainable solution
Brown
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.2023.176.2.54
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

BRIEFING Climate change

Low-lying islands and sea-level rise: how land

raising offers a sustainable solution
Small, low-lying atoll islands are often seen as helpless in the face of rising sea levels. New research
from the University of Southampton shows that these island nations can adapt sustainably by
sensitively raising and reclaiming land. Research leader Sally Brown reports.

Small, low-lying islands, such as the
Maldives, Kiribati, Tuvalu and the
Marshall Islands, are highly vulnerable
to sea-level rise. Global rises of over
1 m now appear to be inevitable due
to climate change, which will submerge
many coral atolls where the maximum
elevation is currently just 1 m above
mean sea level.
Atolls naturally accrete vertically and
migrate horizontally so do have some
potential to persist despite rising sea
levels. But engineered sea defences
and urbanisation have inhibited these
natural processes, leaving inhabited
islands vulnerable to increased flooding
over the longer term.
New research shows that sensitively
raising existing land and building new
islands (Brown et al., 2023) offers the
opportunity to mimic nature so that
they can withstand sea-level rise. An
example is the 2 m high 10.5 km2
reclaimed island of Hulhumalé, which
has been under construction since 1997
(see the photograph). In addition to
reducing population pressure on the
capital Malé, it means extreme events,
including tsunamis, now pose less of a
threat (Brown et al., 2020; Speelman et
al., 2021).
Infrastructure improvement
Furthermore, combining development
and urbanisation with land reclamation
provides a dual civil engineering solution
in the Maldives, where provision of
infrastructure such as sewerage on
some islands is often not affordable.
If more people are concentrated on
fewer islands at a higher elevation, this
allows for both further infrastructure
development and reduced flood risk
over many centuries. Only a few islands
would be needed and new islands
could be built if necessary or where
core facilities, such as drainage, needed
substantial improvement.
Economically important tourist
islands could also be raised, focusing
on soft techniques reinforcing natural
processes. These include beach
nourishment and coral conservation to
preserve and enhance biodiversity and
to ensure pristine looking environments
(Brown et al., 2023).
Ethics and application
Concentration of population is
controversial but is already happening
in the Maldives (Speelman et al., 2021).
While land-raising practices have
occurred elsewhere in the islands, such
as after the 2004 tsunami, the approach
outlined by Brown et al. (2023) does
not consider topophilia, politics,
traditions, culture and customary
practices that bind people together.
These issues are major barriers to land
reclamation and raising.
But with continued and possibly
faster rates of sea-level rise projected,
unacceptable solutions today may
become acceptable in the future.
Building and raising islands allows
people to remain in-country rather than
having to migrate internationally.
Other nations are considering
land raising (UNDP Climate, 2022),
recognising it is the only guaranteed
solution to stop land flooding under
sea level rise. Despite global climate
mitigation efforts, some sea-level rise
remains inevitable and adaptation
is still required. The challenge for
civil engineers is how to do this in a
resource-appropriate and culturally
sensitive manner.
Acknowledgments
Other who contributed to the
research are Robert Nicholls, Alan
Bloodworth, Oliver Bragg, Audrey
Clauss, Stuart Field, Laura Gibbons,
Milda Pladaitė, Malcolm Szuplewski,
James Watling, Ali Shareef and
Zammath Khaleel.
References
Brown S, Wadey MP and Nicholls RJ (2020) Land
raising as a solution to sea-level rise: an analysis
of coastal flooding on an artificial island in the
Maldives. Journal of Flood Risk Management
13(S1): e12567, https://doi.org/10.1111/
jfr3.12567.
Brown S, Nicholls R and Bloodworth A (2023)
Pathways to sustain atolls under rising sea
levels through land claim and island raising.
Environment Research: Climate 2(1): 015005,
https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/acb4b3.
Speelman LH, Nicholls RJ and Safra de Campos R
(2021) The role of migration and demographic
change in small island futures. Asian and Pacific
Migration Journal 30(3): 282–311, https://doi.
org/10.1177/01171968211044082.
UNDP Climate (2022) Te Lafiga o Tuvalu – Tuvalu’s
long term adaptation plan. YouTube, 3
November. See https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Gp14MhdaSTs (accessed 09/03/2023).
Land raising in the Maldives protects against
sea-level rise and creates more sustainable
communities

For further information please contact: Sally Brown Email: sb20@soton.ac.uk Web: www.soton.ac.uk

54
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.2023.176.2.55
BRIEFING Diversity
Why civil engineering needs to do more
to embrace neurodiversity
Over 15% of people in the UK have a neurodiverse condition. Mhairi Boland and Matt Burgess
of the all abilities group at Lendlease say civil engineers need to embrace neurodiversity, both to
attract and retain neurodiverse talent and also to make built environment design more inclusive.
Neurodiversity refers to a spectrum of
cognitive functioning that includes being
autistic and living with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, dyspraxia, dyslexia
or dyscalculia.
Another way of understanding
neurodiversity is through the idea of a
‘spiky profile’. Someone with a spiky
profile can experience the world very
differently and have challenges with
seemingly simple situations, such as
navigation or sensory experiences,
compared to a neurotypical person.
In the UK around 1 in 7 (over 15%)
of people have a neurodiverse condition
(BDF, 2023). Many already work in the
construction sector and all are potential
clients, customers, end-users and
colleagues.
Attracting and retaining
neurodiverse talent
The engineering and construction
sector has historically been seen as a
challenging, transient and sometimes
unforgiving environment with high
pressure, long hours and a lack of
diversity and inclusion. While this varies
considerably between sites and offices,
this outlook is often not attractive to
prospective employees.
Aside from time, cost and quality,
the focus is typically on physical safety.
But there is growing shift towards
psychological safety, with increasing
discussions of mental health, well-being
and flexible working.
Engineering and construction relies
on people, creativity and innovation.
To ensure the industry continues to
attract the best talent, it must also
embrace neurodiversity, normalise the
conversation and make neurodiverse
people feel welcome and respected. Not
only will this help attract new talent, it
For further information please contact: europeallabilitiesgroup@lendlease.com
Why civil engineering needs to do more to embrace neurodiversity
Boland and Burgess
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
will help to support and bring out the
best of neurodiverse people who already
work in the industry.
Designing for neurodiversity
It is also vital to ensure that the built
environment is designed to include
neurodiverse people. In May 2022, the
British Council of Offices published a
report called Designing for Neurodiversity
(BCO, 2022). It creates a starting point
rather than a definitive guide as the
needs of neurodiverse people are wide
ranging, requiring specific solutions for
specific work and health demands.
The report describes an enabling
workplace as an environment that,
‘provides all users with the physiological,
cognitive and psychological means
to fairly participate in all aspects of
employment’. In addition to permanent
offices this should include temporary site
offices and workplaces.
In October 2022, BSI published
PAS 6463 ‘Design for the mind
– Neurodiversity and the built
PAS 6463:2022 was published in October
2022 and is available for free download
environment’ (BSI, 2022). This covers
all buildings and external spaces for
public and commercial use, and gives
guidance on lighting, acoustics, décor,
flooring, layout, wayfinding, familiarity,
clarity, thermal comfort and odour. It
aims to ensure people with processing
differences can access and enjoy their
experience of the built environment.
Other recent guidance includes the
Neurodiversity Toolkit from the Business
Disability Forum (BDF, 2023), which
contains resources, blogs, case studies
and videos to help shape and deliver an
organisation’s neurodiversity strategy.
All civil engineers should ensure that
neurodiversity becomes a key part of
their professional approach to planning,
design and delivery.
Shared responsibility
Bek Seeley, managing director for
European development at Lendlease,
says the built environment industry
has a shared responsibility to embrace
neurodiversity. ‘This starts with having
diverse teams reflecting the wide
range of cognitive functioning and
is something all areas of our industry
should welcome and embrace. It is
genuinely vital to creating better places
that can be enjoyed by everyone, but
also drives stronger, more resilient teams
and businesses.’
References
BCO (British Council for Offices) (2022) Designing for
Neurodiversity. BCO, London, UK. See http://www.
bco.org.uk/Research/Publications/Designing_for_
Neurodiversity.aspx (accessed 09/03/2023).
BDF (Business Disability Forum) (2023) Neurodiversity
Toolkit. Business Disability Forum, London, UK. See
https://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk/knowledge-
hub/toolkits/neurodiversity-toolkit/ (accessed
09/03/2023).
BSI (2022) PAS 6463:2022: Design for the mind –
Neurodiversity and the built environment. BSI,
London, UK. See https://www.bsigroup.com/en-
GB/standards/pas-6463/ (accessed 09/03/2023).
55
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.2023.176.2.56
BRIEFING Temporary works
A reminder of the critical importance of
competent temporary works coordinators
The often extraordinary and huge-scale challenges of temporary works are highlighted in a special
issue of Civil Engineering this month. Daniel Jefferson of JN Bentley says the issue serves as a
reminder of the critical importance of competent temporary works coordinators on all projects.
Temporary works are an essential
part of any civil engineering or building
project, regardless of the size, but they
can also be the most hazardous if not
properly planned and executed. The
role of the temporary works coordinator
is therefore critical to ensure that
temporary works are designed, installed
and maintained safely.
The temporary works coordinator
plays a crucial role in managing
the temporary works process, from
planning and design to installation,
inspection and dismantling. However,
not all people in the role have the same
level of competency, which can result in
Competent temporary works coordinators
are critical to construction safety (Joshua and
Milward, 2023)
For further information please contact: Daniel Jefferson Tel: +44 7966 136420 Email: daniel.jefferson@jnbentley.co.uk Web: www.jnbentley.co.uk
56
A reminder of the critical importance of competent
temporary works coordinators
Jefferson
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
safety risks and project delays.
To address the issue, the UK
construction industry has developed
competency assessments to ensure
that temporary works coordinators
possess the necessary skills, experience,
knowledge, attitude and training
to carry out their duties effectively
(Temporary Works Forum, 2019).
Skills, experience and
knowledge
The role of the temporary works
coordinator requires a wide range
of technical and interpersonal skills.
Technical skills include knowledge of
engineering principles, geotechnical
design and structural analysis, as well as
familiarity with the relevant regulations
and codes of practice.
Interpersonal skills are equally
essential, as the individuals will need
to work collaboratively with other
stakeholders such as designers,
contractors and safety personnel.
Communication, negotiation and
leadership skills are also vital.
Experience is a critical factor in
assessing competency and needs to
be in line with the complexity of the
temporary works being managed.
Would-be coordinators should have
relevant experience in the design,
installation and maintenance of
temporary works. They should also
have a good understanding of the
construction process, safety protocols
and risks involved.
Attitude and training
Temporary works coordinators
should have a positive and proactive
attitude towards safety. They should be
committed to ensuring that temporary
works are designed, installed and
maintained safely, and should be
willing to take a proactive approach in
identifying and mitigating risks.
In particular they should have
received appropriate training in the
design, installation and maintenance
of temporary works. Ongoing
training − including attending relevant
conferences, seminars and training
courses − is also essential to ensure
they remain up to date with the
latest industry developments and best
practice.
Conclusion
The role of the temporary works
coordinator is crucial in ensuring
temporary works are installed and
maintained safely. Competency
assessments are key to ensuring that
the individuals involved possess the
necessary skills, experience, knowledge,
attitude and training to carry out their
duties effectively.
By assessing temporary works
coordinator competency, civil
engineering and building organisations
can minimise safety risks, reduce delays
and ensure that projects are completed
on time and within budget.
References
Joshua R and Milward D (2023) Soft touch
temporary works: Westminster Hall roof lantern
freestanding access, UK. Proceedings of the
Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering
176(5): 21–27, https://doi.org/10.1680/
jcien.22.00120.
Temporary Works Forum (2019) Competencies of
the TWC: TW/11/027 Rev F (issued: February 12).
Rev G (minor changes March 12). Temporary
Works Forum, London, UK. See https://www.
twforum.org.uk/viewdocument/competencies-
of-the-twc-tw11027 (accessed 09/03/2023).
Creating a more
sustainable world
Learn more about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how civil
engineers are helping to achieve them.

In March 2021, ICE Publishing signed the SDG Publishers Compact which is
designed to accelerate action among publishers to achieve the UN SDGs by 2030.

Helping you to work more sustainably

We have created an SDG Resource Centre that hosts content on sustainable engineering for you
to explore. Use it to:

n Browse our sustainability-focused blogs that cover a wide range of topics from effective
resilience strategies to achieving sustainable ground infrastructure

n Discover free papers in our most recent blogs

n Explore our books on sustainability such as Sustainable Infrastructure

Visit now www.icevirtuallibrary.com/sdgs

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

GOALS
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.2023.176.2.58
MONITOR Books
Books
REVIEWS
The climate book
by Greta Thunberg, published by Allen
Lane, 2022, £25, reviewed by Paula
McMahon, Sir Robert McAlpine, UK
‘This is the biggest story in the world,
and it must be spoken and far and wide
as our voices can carry,’ says author
Greta Thunberg. However, as civil
engineers we can and should do much
more than that. The climate book should
give you more than a few reasons to
realise that for yourself.
The publication takes the reader from
planetary beginnings to the present day,
with chapters on how the climate works
and how the planet is changing. It then
considers what we have done about it
and looks forward to what we must do
now.
The book is well laid out with easy-to-
find sections and topics covering many
fields. Each well-written topic from
experts is like a blog as they are short
and very much to the point, with suitable
graphics and accessible language to
make sense of the science.
But while the publication is physically
easy to read, it is not an ‘easy read’: the
facts, science and inevitable consequences
are laid bare. I thought I knew the issues
but this book opened my eyes. I urge
every civil engineer to get their hands on
a copy so together we can start to make
the changes we all need.
58
Monitor: Books
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
The power of water: a primer
for anyone entering the water
industry
by Peter Styles, published by
AuthorHouse UK, 2022, £20.95,
reviewed by Wayne Earp, WFE
Consulting, UK
Written by retired engineer Peter
Styles, The power of water is subtitled
as, ‘a primer for anyone entering the
water industry’. In reality it is somewhat
more than this, deserving a place on the
bookshelves of experienced practitioners
too.
In nearly 200 illustrated pages, the
author describes the technical aspects
of the design, construction, operation
and maintenance of water supply and
sewerage systems. This is enhanced by a
broad coverage of the industry’s history,
regulation, support functions, land
drainage and canals.
Particularly good is the section on
disasters, such as the 1952 Lynmouth
flood and 1984 Carsington Dam failure,
from which so many lessons can be
learned but are not always remembered.
The author has managed to condense
a seemingly vast subject into an
accessible, engaging and enjoyable read.
I know of no other publication that
shares so much knowledge about water
– certainly I would have seized on it at
the start of my own career.
Building regulations, codes
and standards: a guide for
safe, sustainable and healthy
development
by Mark Key, published by ICE
Publishing, 2022, £60, reviewed by
Meshi Taka, Waterman Aspen, UK
Building regulations, codes and
standards is a good read for an
inquisitive mind or researcher. The book
is not intended as a technical guide
for building regulations, codes and
standards for developments, rather it
revisits the roots of building regulation
and control.
Author Mark Key looks at prescriptive
and performative standards, complexity,
innovation and capitalism, regulation
makers and reactive amendments, and
international standards. This approach
sets the scene for the reader to consider
if the systems in place are fit for the
future and champions the idea of a
global framework.
While the book comprehensively
discusses building regulation and
control from a predominantly western
and developed country perspective, it
excludes several continents and regions.
To explore a global framework for safe,
sustainable and healthy development, it
must also explore the global context for
which it is required.
Civil Engineering Monitor: Books
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023

MONITOR Books

The ICE Library maintains one of the most comprehensive collections of civil engineering books in the
world, including all titles from ICE Publishing (shown in bold below). New books acquired in the past
3 months include the following (* indicates e-book only).

28th concrete days* S Nenadalova et al. (eds) £165.00

3D printing for construction with alternative materials* B Rangel et al. (eds) £129.99
A house needs to breathe…or does it? An introduction to building science A Bailes £61.76
C Goran-Granqvist and F Pacheco-
Adapting the built environment for climate change £240.00
Torgal (eds)
Advances in earthquake geotechnics* T Sitharam et al. (eds) £249.99
Advances on testing and experimentation in civil engineering* C Chastre et al. (eds) £44.99
Autocad 2022 training guide* L Sagar £11.99
Conceptual structural design: bridging the gap between architects and engineers (3rd ed.) O Larsen £55.00
Construction for a regenerative future U Persson £42.99
Construction microeconomics* C Brockmann £75.00
Construction project organising* S Addyman and H Smyth (eds) £99.99
Engineering in plain sight: an illustrated field guide to the constructed environment* G Hillhouse £37.99
Environmental geotechnology: meeting challenges through needs-based instrumentation A Afshin et al. £160.00
Guide to the Fidic conditions of contract for construction: the red book M Robinson £85.00
High Speed Two infrastructure design and construction Vol. 3: Design and engineering Institution of Civil Engineers £80.00
High Speed Two infrastructure design and construction Vol. 4: Architecture, digital engineering, Institution of Civil Engineers £75.00
environment and heritage
Highway bridge management G Cole and R Fish (eds) £80.00
ICE guide to careers in civil engineering Institution of Civil Engineers £15.00
ICE manual of blue-green infrastructure C Washbourne and C Wansbury £145.00
Industry 4.0 for the built environment: methodologies, technologies and skills* M Bolpagni et al. (eds) £199.99
Leveraging artificial intelligence in engineering, management, and safety of infrastructure* M Naser (ed.) £120.00
Materials for lightweight constructions* S Thirumalai Kumaran et al. (eds) £100.00
Modularization: the fine art of offsite preassembly for capital projects* M Kluck and J Choi £57.50
Movement: how to take back our streets and transform our lives T Verkade and M Brommelstroet £12.99
Nanotechnology for civil infrastructure K Khayat and W Meng (eds) £155.00
Nicholas Barbon: developing London 1667−1698 F Kelsall and T Walker £27.00
European Council of Civil
Notes on the history of civil engineering Vol. III £0.00
Engineers
Polymer concretes: advanced construction materials* M Niaki and M Ahangari £75.00
Practices and trends in ground improvement techniques* H Hazarika et al. (eds) £109.99
Recycled materials for construction applications: plastic products and composites* L Real £39.99
Re-use in construction: a compendium of circular architecture Institute of Constructive Design £50.00
Risk and systems: with applications in infrastructure project management D Carmichael £42.99
Seismic evaluation, damage, and mitigation in structures* I Mansouri and P Awoyera (eds) £175.00
Show me the bodies: how we let Grenfell happen P Apps £10.99
Social media for project management* J Ninan (ed.) £120.00
Structural and system reliability A Der Kiureghian £74.99
Sustainable infrastructure: principles into practice (2nd ed.) R Fenner et al. £70.00
The blessings of disaster: the lessons that catastrophes teach us and why our future depends on it* M Bruneau £22.99
The handbook of carbon management* P Molthan-Hill et al. £120.00
The Ipswich to Stowmarket navigation: John Rennie’s first canal project I Petchey £10.00
The London journal of John Mackay 1837−38 D Coke £20.00
Towards innovative transport systems: evolution and ground-breaking developments* S Miller £129.99

All books can be borrowed through the library’s online catalogue at www.ice.org.uk/knowledge-and-resources/ice-library or from the ICE
Members’ Resource Hub on the second floor of 1 Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AA from 9.15 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Recent ICE Publishing titles can also be purchased from the ICE Members’ Resource Hub or ordered by calling +44 1235 465 577,
emailing orders@icepublishing.com or by visiting www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/books.

59
Leading
Civil Engineering
books
ICE Publishing books portfolio provides
complete coverage of all major
disciplines in the civil engineering field
spanning buildings and structures,
maritime engineering, energy,
geotechnical and ground engineering,
water engineering, professional
practices and transportation. Our
titles include reference works,
edited collections, specifications
and best practice guides, written
and edited by industry experts
and academics from around
the world.

Find out more:

www.icebookshop.com
www.icevirtuallibrary.com
UK Specification for
Ground Investigation
Third edition
Association of Geotechnical and
Geoenvironmental Specialists (AGS).

The UK Specification for Ground Investigation provides best

practice guidance for designing and executing good-quality
ground investigations that will allow clients and land developers to
manage the risks and help to reduce project time and costs.

Ground investigations are an essential part of the design process

for any structure and land condition assessment. They are used to
validate the ground model, assess ground risk, obtain geotechnical
data for design and geoenvironmental data for the assessment of
the risk to human health.

This book will help to protect construction professionals and

clients, from unexpected ground conditions during construction.
Updates in this edition take account of changes to:

n health, safety and environmental legislation

n numerous new British Standards

n industry guidance.
PRICE: £75.00 / $112.50

The UK Specification for Ground Investigation is essential for all ISBN: 9780727765239
ground practitioners involved in ground investigation, including FORMAT: Paperback
geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, environmental PUBLISH DATE: May 2022
scientists, instrumentation and monitoring specialists,
PAGE SIZE: 297 x 210mm
hydrogeologists and geophysicists, as well as specialists in other
disciplines involved in specific investigations. NUMBER OF PAGES: 328pp

Purchasers of the print book can access the supplementary

Bill of Quantities and Schedule templates by contacting:
info@icepublishing.com.

Order Online: www.icebookshop.com | Email: orders@icepublishing.com | Phone: +44 (0)12 3546 5577
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.2023.176.2.62
MONITOR ICE Proceedings
ICE Proceedings
In addition to Civil Engineering, ICE Proceedings includes 18 specialist journals. Papers published in the
most recent issues are listed here. Summaries of all these and other papers and articles published can be
read free in the ICE Virtual Library at www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/journals.
Bridge Engineering
176, No. 1, March 2023, 1–69
Fatigue durability of reinforced
concrete bridge deck repair
methods
T. Nagatani, T. Mizobuchi and
Y. Hagihara
Reliability analysis of residual service life of
restored concrete bridge
Y. Zhuang, S. Easa and P. Lu
Behaviour of the integral bridge under multi-
component earthquakes
K. Kumbhojkar, M. K. Shrimali, S. D. Bharti and
T. K. Datta
Longitudinal seismic response of integral
abutment bridges
M. T. Abdel-Fattah and T. T. Abdel-Fattah
Effects of pylon configuration on the response
of cable-stayed bridge to sudden cable loss
M. T. Abdel-Fattah and T. T. Abdel-Fattah
Civil Engineering
Special Issue
Temporary works
176, No. 5, May 2023, 1–64
Embedding integration of
temporary works with permanent
works on railway projects
S. Williams
The changing nature of groundwater control
for temporary works
T. Roberts, M. Preene and W. Powrie
Soft touch temporary works: Westminster Hall
roof lantern freestanding access, UK
R. Joshua and D. Milward
Examples of integrating hydraulic equipment
into temporary works
M. Ascaso Til and W. Wong
Temporary works for dismantling steel
cantilever truss bridges in the USA
N. Miller and R. Zylstra
Lifting a 183 t concrete digester roof safely
and cost-effectively with hydraulic bottle jacks
D. Chesterton and M. Watford
Designing and implementing temporary works
schemes on UK nuclear licensed sites
S. O’Connor and C. McCord
Construction Materials
176, No. 2, March 2023, 47–92
Feasibility study on utilisation
of clay–waste tyre rubber mix as
construction material
J. S. Yadav
Effects of styrene butadiene styrene and
Lucobite on stone mastic asphalt performance
M. Vamegh, R. Babagoli and D. Daryaee
62
Monitor: ICE Proceedings
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
Empirical models for permanent deformation Engineering Sustainability
of cement-grouted bituminous mixes 176, No. 1, February 2023, 1–54
D. S. R. Reddy and K. S. Reddy Development of sustainable
Stress–strain behaviour and failure properties prefabricated housing system by
of ultra-high-performance concrete small-scale experimental model
A. S. Carey, M. N. McBride, Y. Hammi, R. Moser, R. Chippagiri, A. Bras and
D. A. Scott, D. Seely, M. F. Horstemeyer and R. V. Ralegaonkar
I. L. Howard Influence of ultra-fine steatite powder on the
properties of alkali-activated concrete
P. Rajagopal, R. B. Chokkalingam, A. Vinod Sreeja,
Energy B. Abdulsalam and S. Muthusamy
176, No. 1, January 2023, 1–49 Durability and fire-resistance performance of
Modern global oil market under slag-based geopolymer composites
stress: system dynamics and A. O. Mawlod and D. K. H. A. Bzeni
scenarios Environmental impacts of drilled shafts in sand
M. Madhavi and W. J. Nuttall M. Lee and D. Basu
Wind simulation using different parameters in
a weather research and forecasting model
Forensic Engineering
Y. Ma, H. Zhao, L. Feng, Q. Hu, D. Zhao, S. Wang,
176, No. 1, January 2023, 1–35
Q. Liu, K. Gao and Z. Xu
Investigation of mechanical
A novel fuel-cell-driven system for rail transit
and durability properties of
vehicles based on dual-source motors
sustainable high-strength
Y. Zhou, Q. Dong, L. H. Li, J. Ma, W. Wan and
concrete
J. Lian
M. Riaz, Z. Alam, T. Zafar, U. Javed and H. Akhlaq
Active fault investigation and slope stability
Engineering and evaluation for Aso Bridge in Japan
Computational Mechanics K. Yamashita, S. Tanaka and T. Yamaguchi
Deviation rectification of a high-rise building
175, No. 4, December 2022, 139–168 with piled raft foundation: a case study
Investigating the hydraulic J. Xiao, D. Guo, Q. Wang, X. Gao and J. Sun
resonance behaviour in pressurised
in-series piping systems
B. Essaidi and A. Triki
Geotechnical Engineering
Vortex-induced vibration analysis of 176, No. 1, February 2023, 1–104
submerged floating tunnel tension legs Size effect on creep behaviour
Z. Su, S. Sun, Y. Lu and Y. Pan and creep model of slate rockfill
Assessing dynamic compression of with oversized particles
AA2024-T351 with split Hopkinson pressure Q. Chen, C.-J. Zhou, C. Wang and
bar simulation C. Zhou
M. K. Gupta Study of the anisotropic tensile and
compressive strength of a foliated phyllite
F. A. Villalobos, P. A. Rodríguez and M. Vera
Engineering History Understanding rock–steel interface properties
and Heritage for use in offshore applications
A. Ziogos, M. J. Brown, A. Ivanovic and N. Morgan
In Focus: Digital tools
Effect of polypropylene fibre reinforcement on
176, No. 1, February 2023, 1–36
UCS and ductility of cemented sand
Semi-automated discrete-element
S. Khodabandehlou, M. Makarchian and
modelling of arch structures
M. Razmara
incorporating SfM photogrammetry Experimental study on site filling of sandy soil
N. Kassotakis, V. Sarhosis, M.-V. Peppa and for railway subgrade
J. P. Mills Z. Lu, C. Tang, S. Xian, J. She and H. Yao
Understanding accidental hybrid structure: an Cutting shoe design for open caissons in sand:
early concrete warehouse in the USA influence on vertical bearing capacity
D. Friedman J. O. Templeman, B. M. Phillips and B. B. Sheil
Heritage building information modelling: a Numerical evaluation of backfill compaction
case study of Kasthamandap, Nepal behind the face of reinforced soil walls
H. W. P. Paremain and D. G. Toll M. Ehrlich, S. H. Mirmoradi and M. Tortureli
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
MONITOR  ICE Proceedings
Disintegration characteristics of collapsible
loess after vibration compaction
C. Gao, G. Du, Z. Zhuang, B. Zeng, X. Chen and
F. Cheng
Ground Improvement
Biological improvements
176, No. 1, March 2023, 1–67
Behaviour of sand stabilised with
xanthan gum under unconfined
and confined conditions
P. J. Venda Oliveira and D. J. R. Cabral
Properties of biocemented, basalt-fibre-
reinforced calcareous sand
S. Lin, X. Lei, Q. Meng and J. Xu
Large-scale model tests of biogrouting for
sand and rock
S. Wu, B. Li and J. Chu
Stimulated microbial growth for permeability
reductions in granular soils
M. J. S. Roth, L. F. Caslake, J. DeJong, J. Greer,
D. Nelson and R. Parales
Bio-stabilisation of soft soil using cattle
manure
S. M. Rao, R. Sukumar, R. E. Joshua and
M. Rekapalli
Pull-out behaviour of simulated tree roots
embedded in compacted soil
S. G. Galpathage, B. Indraratna, A. Heitor and
C. Rujikiatkamjorn
Management,
Procurement and Law
176, No. 1, January 2023, 1–46
The role of the construction
project manager in developing a
culture of suicide prevention
C. Guerin and J. P. Spillane
Providing a model to choose the most
appropriate agile method in construction
projects
F. Pouyandeh, M. Golabchi and K. Taghizadeh
International construction joint ventures as a
resourcing model
Q. Chao, F. E. Rotimi and J. O. B. Rotimi
Maritime Engineering
176, No. 1, January 2023, 1–45
Local overshoot and wind effects
on wave overtopping at vertical
coastal structures
S. De Chowdhury, J. G. Zhou, A.
Khait, D. Causon, L. Qian, C. Mingham and
T. Pullen
Mechanism of wave-induced flow in reshaping
breakwaters
A. Rahmani, M. N. Moghim and M. R. Chamani
Conceptual study on dynamic responses of
semi-submersible platforms
M. R. Tabeshpour and F. Hajnoruzi
In addition to substantial discounts on ICE journal subscriptions, ICE members can also subscribe to the ICE Virtual
Journal, offering access to 15 papers from any volume for £45.00. Visit www.ice.org.uk/my-ice for more information
Monitor: ICE Proceedings
Municipal Engineer
176, No. 1, January 2023, 1–61
Does traffic really disappear
when roads are closed?
S. Melia and T. Calvert
Investigation of design of
independent metro station entrances in China
X. Liang, Z. Lu, F. Ye and W. Zhang
Modelling the pedestrian crossing choice in
urban streets (case study of Qazvin city)
B. Mirbaha, M. Minuee, A. A. Rassafi and
M. Layegh
Construction of neighbourhood centres with
high-quality supply in existing communities
Y. Zheng, T. Qu and J. Ning
Smart Infrastructure and
Construction
2021 European Conference on
Computing in Construction (EC3):
part III
176, No. 1, March 2023, 1–42
A recommendation system for energy saving
and user engagement in existing buildings
H. Pruvost, G. Calleja-Rodríguez, O. Enge-
Rosenblatt, N. Jiménez-Redondo and J. J. Peralta-
Escalante
Simulation modelling in a BIM environment:
the case of school re-opening during Covid-19
pandemic
S. Comai, S. Davide, S. M. Ventura and
A. L. C. Ciribini
3D deep-learning-enhanced void-growing
approach in creating geometric digital twins
of buildings
Y. Pan, A. Braun, A. Borrmann and I. Brilakis
Structures and Buildings
176, No. 3, March 2023, 161–241
Influence of additives on the
structural performance of
cement-stabilised rammed earth
X. Cárdenas-Haro, L. Todisco, J. León,
N. Sarmiento and C. Samaniego
Investigating the seismic behaviour of high-
performance steel plate shear walls
A. Ghamari and A. Johari Naeimi
Study of the damage indices of concrete
members reinforced with high-strength steel
H. Arshadi, A. Kheyroddin, H. Naderpour and
M. Haji
Retrofit of concrete columns with fibre strips
using grooves and corner battens
A. Saljoughian, D. Mostofinejad and A. Raji
Compression capacity for randomly corroded
welded hollow spherical joints
S. Zhang, Y. Yuan, H. Liu and Z. Zhao
Transport
176, No. 1, February 2023, 1–62
Influence of mix properties
of concrete slabs on the
performance of airport
pavements
H.-W. Park, D.-H. Kim, J.-H. Lee, W.-S. Yum and
J.-H. Jeong
A unified artificial neural network model for
asphalt pavement condition prediction
M. Mahmood, U. Anuraj, S. Mathavan and
M. Rahman
Instrumentation of heavy-duty asphalt slabs
for wheel tracking experiment
D. Moazami and R. Muniandy
An investigation of the electrical conductivity
of different stone mastic asphalt mixtures
C. Gürer, H. Akbulut, A. Elmaci, B. E. Korkmaz and
S. Düzağaç
Evaluation of urban rail transit operation
considering rider and operator satisfaction
X. Cai, H. Yang and Y. Gao
Urban Design and Planning
176, No. 1, February 2023, 1–48
Ecosystem services valuation in
developing countries: a review
of methods and applicability
approach
C. Z. Morando-Figueroa, C. Salazar-Briones,
J. M. Ruiz-Gibert and M. A. Lomelí-Banda
Measuring congestion at road-diet reductions
using probe vehicle data
B. A. Remache-Patino, D. J. Comeau, T. M. Brennan
and S. Park
Use-mix intensity and open-space ratio for
sustainable urban form: the case of Dire Dawa,
Ethiopia
S. A. Zelelew and Z. C. Mamo
Waste and Resource
Management
176, No. 1, January 2023, 1–29
Healthcare waste management
protocols challenged by Covid-19:
a case study
G. D. Gebreeyessus, B. D. Tegegne and A. S. Ali
Influence of cigarette filter quantity on asphalt
mixture: thermal and ageing performance
M. Khabaz Meherjardi, M. M. Khabiri and
H. Khani Sanij
Water Management
176, No. 1, February 2023, 1–51
A method for adjusting design
storm peakedness to reduce bias
in hydraulic simulations
S. Muhandes, B. Dobson and A. Mijic
City scale urban flood modelling
and mapping
M. A. H. Chowdhury and A. Akter
Flow patterns and free-surface dynamics in
hydraulic jump on pebbled rough bed
F. Bahmanpouri, C. Gualtieri and H. Chanson
63
 Submit your paper

Engineering History
and Heritage
Conservation, restoration and
adaptation of existing infrastructure
and structures

CHAIRPERSON
Richard Harris, University of Bath and Time for
Timber Ltd, UK

Engineering History and Heritage publishes papers

concerning existing infrastructure, buildings and
civil engineering structures around the world, and
issues related to their conservation, restoration
and adaptation to meet the challenges of the 21st
century.
To submit a paper to this journal is free. Papers
appear Ahead of Print (below) as soon as they are
ready to be published. Ahead of print articles are
fully citable using the DOI system.
This is a hybrid, Plan S compliant journal with an ISSN: 1757-9430
option to publish fully open access. EISSN: 1757-9449
ISSUES A YEAR: 4
The paper judged to be the best each year SJR: 0.128
is awarded the Telford Premium.
Find out more about the ICE Publishing
Awards: www.icevirtuallibrary.com/awards

Part of the Institution of Civil Engineers, ICE Publishing journals provide comprehensive coverage
of civil and environmental engineering with real world impact. Published papers are seen by
researchers and professionals across the globe.

Find out more www.icevirtuallibrary.com/enhh

Cite this article Research Article
Chen Z, Jiang L, Xiao M, Hu Y and Huang S (2023) Paper 2200172
Rapid construction of modular buildings for emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China. Received 13/09/2022
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 176(2): 65–72, Accepted 07/12/2022
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.22.00172 Published online 19/01/2023

ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Civil Engineering

Rapid construction of modular buildings for

emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
Zhenming Chen Yifei Hu
Chief Engineer, China Construction Steel Structure Engineering Corporation Research Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental
Limited, Shenzhen, China Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
(Orcid:0000-0003-3777-3456)
Lei Jiang
Executive Director of Industrial Technology Research Institute, China Shitao Huang
Construction Steel Structure Engineering Corporation Limited, Shenzhen, Senior R&D Manager, China Construction Steel Structure Engineering
China (corresponding author: jianglei@cscec.com) Corporation Limited, Shenzhen, China
Meng Xiao
R&D Manager, China Construction Steel Structure Engineering Corporation
Limited, Shenzhen, China (Orcid:0000-0002-3375-3207)

A new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic struck Hong Kong in February 2022. It led to construction of a temporary
1000-bed hospital and 10 000-bed isolation and treatment facility on an island site in just 51 days using factory-made
modules. To achieve such rapid construction, module assembly was carried out at a separate site between the factories
and site. Several new modular construction technologies were also developed, including adjustable base supports,
large-span roof modules, universal safety barriers and an intelligent cloud platform for construction management. But
to enable sustainable construction of such emergency buildings in future, further studies on demolition, recycling and
relocation of modular buildings need to be carried out in the post-pandemic era.

Keywords: case study/construction/Covid-19 pandemic/modular buildings/steel structures

1. Development of modular buildings construction of Huoshenshan and Leishenshan Covid-19 hospitals

Modular technologies are widely used worldwide in low-rise
buildings for offices, homes, schools, warehouses and healthcare
facilities. In recent years they have also been introduced in multi-
storey and even in high-rise construction.
Modular construction combines various technologies based on
rapid construction principles (Generalova et al., 2016). It comprises
prefabricated room-sized volumetric units that are normally fully
fitted out during manufacture and are installed on site as load-bearing
‘building blocks’. Their primary advantages are economy of scale
in manufacturing of multiple repeated units, speed of installation on
site, and improved quality and accuracy in manufacture.
Potentially, modular buildings can also be demolished and reused,
thereby effectively maintaining their asset value. The current range
of applications of modular construction is in cellular-type buildings
such as hotels, student residences, military accommodation and social
housing, where the module size is compatible with manufacturing
and transportation requirements (Lawson et al., 2012).
Modular construction is widely used in Europe for multi-storey
residential buildings. The basic cellular approach in modular
construction can be applied to a wide range of building forms
and heights (Lawson et al., 2012). Shan et al. (2019) explored the
feasibility of engineering modular integrated construction systems
for high-rise buildings in Hong Kong, where wind actions can be
a dominating factor. The systems were hypothesised to adopt a
modular system based on an existing 31-storey reinforced-concrete
student residence.
In mainland China, prefabricated buildings stagnated in the
late 1980s but have recently started to become popular again. The
made more people see the potential of prefabricated buildings in
China. Modular techniques can significantly reduce construction
time, and the effective use of lightweight construction can deal with
various constraints and complexity of construction sites. Modular
buildings can also meet the functional space requirements for
emergency hospitals, which is of vital importance in response to
public health emergencies (Chen et al., 2021).
2. Categories of modular buildings
Due to an increasing need for rapid construction over recent
years, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, modular
buildings have been widely used for various purposes around the
world. Modular buildings can be generally categorised by their
service life and function.
Firstly, modular buildings can be classified by their service life,
either as long-term use or temporary use. It is generally believed that
the service life for a modular building for long-term use is at least
20 years, while a modular building for temporary use is designed
with a service life of 10 years at most. Modular buildings for long-
term use are commonly used in residential buildings while modular
buildings for temporary use are commonly used for emergencies.
The latter include accommodation for victims, patients, wounded
soldiers and goods during wars or pandemics.
To fight Covid-19, many temporary medical facilities were
built in China between 2020 and 2022. Most were emergency
hospitals and isolation and treatment facilities. Examples include
Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan and Lei Yue Mun quarantine

65
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
camp in Hong Kong, both of which were assisted by rapid modular
construction technology (Zhang et al., 2021; Zhou et al., 2021).
Leishenshan Hospital (Figure 1) in Wuhan is an emergency
hospital for treating patients diagnosed with the novel coronavirus-
infected pneumonia. It is an exemplar project of how to adopt
building information modelling (BIM) technology and other digital
technology such as big data, artificial intelligence, drones and 5G
(the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular
networks) for the fast construction of fabricated steel structure
systems in emergency engineering projects (Chen et al., 2021).
The emergency unit of the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen
(Figure 2) was required to be completed in only 20 days. This adopted
a modular steel structure building system with a high assembly
efficiency, including an integrated modular system for apartment
buildings and medical wards. Thanks to standardised transformation
and optimisation of existing modules in the market, as well as to on-
site modular rapid construction technology, the construction of the
emergency project was completed on schedule (Li et al., 2021).
Figure 1. Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan, an exemplar project for
its use of digital technology (source: pic.people.com.cn)
Figure 2. Emergency unit of the Third People’s Hospital of
Shenzhen was built in just 20 days by using standardised units
(source: www.sohu.com)
66
Rapid construction of modular buildings for
emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
Chen, Jiang, Xiao, Hu and Huang
In summary, the construction methods used in emergency
projects are normally selected on a case-by-case basis. For a new
emergency application, special construction methods should be
developed after having a thorough evaluation of the conditions of
the project, depending the type of buildings, the schedule and the
construction resources.
3. Lok Ma Chau emergency hospital and
isolation and treatment facility
A new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic struck Hong Kong in February
2022. This led to an outbreak of confirmed cases in communities and
aggravated the lack of medical resources including labour, facilities
and medicines. The central government of China immediately offered
assistance to Hong Kong, including gathering a construction delegation
for building several emergency medical facilities in Hong Kong. This
delegation consisted of more than 100 000 engineers and workers
from across China, including most of the engineers from China State
Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).
China Construction Steel Structure Engineering Corporation
Limited (CSCEC Steel) was then given the job of building an
emergency hospital and isolation and treatment facility and handing
these over to Hong Kong within 60 days. The project was located
at the Lok Ma Chau loop island site in the New Territories of Hong
Kong, close to the Shenzhen River border between Shenzhen and
Hong Kong. Figure 3 shows a planning model for the project.
Work started in early March 2022 and was completed by the end
of April 2022. The emergency hospital was built within 46 days and
covers an area of 157 000 m2 in two main grid-shaped blocks. It
comprises a clinic, isolation wards and supporting facilities for daily
life, providing 1000 negative-pressure isolation beds (including 100
intensive care unit beds). The isolation and treatment facility was
built within 35 days and covers an area of 185 000 m2 in multiple
oblong buildings. It provides 10 056 beds in total.
3.1 Challenges
It was estimated that at least 13 000 modules needed be designed,
manufactured and installed for the project. However, 60 days was
an extremely tight schedule. The total weight of steel required was
10 600 t, with 5800 t for the emergency hospital and 4800 t for
the isolation and treatment facility. It was estimated that the daily
capacity of the CSCEC Steel factory at Huizhou in Guangdong was
about 600 t, but the tight schedule of this emergency project would
not allow for a manufacturing duration over 17 days. Four of the
company’s other factories around China were therefore also used,
plus outsourced factories in the Great Bay area.
Before work could start, a pair of temporary trestle bridges were
built across the Shenzhen River to link the island site and Shenzhen
in just 7 days (Figure 4). Each bridge was 156 m long, 18 m wide
and 2924 t in weight. They were designed for a 100 t crawler crane,
a 10 m3 concrete truck and other common engineering machinery
for construction. The structural members and components for these
two structures were mainly fabricated in the Huizhou factory and
delivered to the site for assembly.
Traffic was another major difficulty for construction management.
Over 2000 vehicle movements per day on average were recorded
during construction (Figure 5). Considering that most areas of the
Civil Engineering Rapid construction of modular buildings for
Volume 176 Issue 2 emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
Chen, Jiang, Xiao, Hu and Huang

Figure 3. Planning model of the Lok Ma Chau emergency hospital and isolation and treatment facility in Hong Kong – the two grid-
shaped hospital buildings are in the centre

Figure 4. Construction of the pair of temporary trestle bridges

linking Shenzen to the Lok Ma Chau loop island site took just 7 Figure 5. An average of over 2000 vehicle movements a day was
days and was completed in early March 2022 recorded on site during the 51-day construction period

67
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
site were occupied by workers and vehicles, it was considered
impractical to assemble modules on the remaining space on site, so
this was carried out at an assembly depot in Shenzhen (see below).
Geological conditions were also a challenge for foundation
engineering, as the site was once a fish farm. The reclaimed land was
very soft (Figure 6), such that significant and uneven settlements
were likely. In addition, the weather at Lok Ma Chau loop in
March and April created problems. Over the 51-day construction
period, there were 20 days with maximum daily temperatures
over 27°C and 6 days of heavy rain and strong wind. Lack of site
accommodation led to many workers catching colds and fevers and
needing time off work.
During the peak period between days ten and 42, there were 1500
to 2000 workers on site each day, reaching 2010 on day 24. Prior
to work starting, CSCEC Steel had selected a number of qualified
contractors from its supplier database and quickly confirmed a
shortlist of 22 subcontractors with 4000 construction workers
specialised in steelwork, metal roofing and other relevant trades.
An advertisement on the company’s intranet for site engineers and
managers received over 1000 applications in one day.
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) installation was
identified as another challenge. In particular, the workspace and
schedule planned for MEP engineering was very limited, since
this part of the work was at the interface between installation of
the modules and decoration. Most MEP installation was therefore
completed in the factories or assembly depot before reaching the
construction site, a process termed ‘multi-trade integrated MEP’ in
Hong Kong.
3.2 Modular construction route
As mentioned above, a ‘three-point’ modular construction route
was used: the factories, the assembling depot and the construction
site. Effectively these also represented the three key steps of
modular construction: manufacturing, assembly and installation.
Ordinarily it would be acceptable to assemble modules on site but,
due to the limited space for stacking, a temporary assembly site
was needed.
Most manufacturing was achieved on an intelligent manufacturing
Figure 6. The reclaimed site was formerly a fish farm, resulting in
very soft ground conditions
68
Rapid construction of modular buildings for
emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
Chen, Jiang, Xiao, Hu and Huang
line at the Huizhou factory, which was 110 km away from the Lok Ma
Chau loop site (Figure 7). To solve the problems of low efficiency of
traditional equipment and poor stability of manual operation, CSCEC
Steel independently developed this intelligent manufacturing line
controlled by an industrial internet platform. Integrated with several
intelligent units, a comprehensive workstation was developed for
cutting, welding, straightening and assembly of members. As a result,
members and parts of modules were prefabricated before being
delivered to the assembly depot.
The assembly depot was the second node in the three-point
construction path (Figure 8). Due to a limited area for stacking
on site, all prefabricated members and parts were first sent to this
temporary depot 10 km from the construction site. The modules
were delivered to the site very quickly once they were successfully
assembled. A module went through a two-step procedure at the
assembly depot: step one was assembly of structural units, including
positioning the bottom frame, installation of corner columns and
installation of the top frame; and step two was internal assembly,
including installation of partitions, MEP systems, finishes and
medical equipment.
On-site installation was regarded as the most challenging element
of the three-point modular construction route (Figure 9). Due to
the weight of single modules, narrow spacing between buildings
and limited area on site, mobility was given the highest priority
when selecting machines for erecting. Hence, mobile cranes were
employed for installation. To improve installation efficiency, a tree-
shaped installation path for modules was designed for each hospital
building (Figure 10).
The arrows in Figure 10 illustrate the installation sequence,
where primary paths with red arrows are the ‘trunk’ of the tree,
and the secondary paths with blue arrows are the ‘branches’ of the
tree. The mobile cranes started from the centre of each building and
then moved left and right along the trunk. Installation of modules
on each branch was completed by two cranes, an 80 t mobile crane
for erecting modules along the trunk and a 50 t mobile crane for
erecting modules along the branches. The corridor modules at the
end of the branches were erected after all the other modules had
been installed.
Figure 7. Module components being manufactured on an
intelligent product line in Huizhou, 110 km from the site
Civil Engineering Rapid construction of modular buildings for
Volume 176 Issue 2 emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
Chen, Jiang, Xiao, Hu and Huang

Figure 8. Module assembly depot at Xiangmi Lake in Shenzhen, 10 km from the site

Mobile crane Access road Primary Logistics

installation path path
Trolly Storage yard Secondary
installation path

Figure 9. Modules being installed at Lok Ma Chau loop site in Figure 10. A tree-shaped installation path was used for installing
Hong Kong the modules forming the two emergency hospital buildings

69
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
Figure 11. Steel base supports on the raft slab had 134 mm of
height adjustment
Figure 12. The 9 m long roofing modules spanned up to three
modules and ensured roof watertightness
3.3 Technology innovations
In addition to selection of cranes and design of installation paths,
several new modular construction technologies were developed in
this emergency project. These included adjustable base supports
for modules, large-span roof modules, universal safety barriers
and an intelligent cloud platform for real-time construction
management. Implementation of these key technologies ensured
rapid construction and completion of this major emergency project
on schedule.
3.3.1 Adjustable base supports
To achieve rapid construction of modular buildings, a commonly
adopted method is to install base supports onto a footing. The most
advantageous feature of this method is efficiency in construction
for temporary modular buildings, especially under emergency
situations. However, this method did not suit the Lok Ma Chau
site. A pilot geological survey reported that the foundation at the
site was made of very soft and flexible soils. As a result, uneven
settlements were likely once the modules were installed.
A new idea was proposed to fit the poor foundation, as shown in
Figure 11. Firstly, a raft footing was built to increase the rigidity
2022-172fig12
Barking Dog Art
70
Rapid construction of modular buildings for
emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
Chen, Jiang, Xiao, Hu and Huang
of the foundation as well as to eliminate the potential for uneven
settlement. Secondly, adjustable base supports were installed on
the raft footing. The height of these could be adjusted vertically,
with a travel up to 134 mm (between –59 to +75 mm). Once the
base supports were adjusted to the same level, the modules could
be readily installed.
3.3.2 Large-span roof modules
Waterproofing for temporary modular buildings relies on
the metal sheeting on top of each module. However, this simple
waterproofing measure is ineffective in some cases as there can be
leakage along gaps between modules, potentially resulting in severe
problems for operation and maintenance. Waterproofing can be
improved by building a roofing system that spans multiple modules.
However, this is not ideal for rapid construction in an emergency
situation as a lot of welding work needs to be done on site, which is
not practical within a very limited construction duration.
A prefabricated lightweight modular roofing system was therefore
developed and applied in this case. The system had a span of 9 m,
long enough to cover three modules at once, as shown in Figure 12,
so the issue of inter-modular leakage was solved. Furthermore,
all the components were either prefabricated in the factory or
connected with bolts, avoiding the need for any on-site welding.
3.3.3 Universal safety barrier
Safety needs to be guaranteed for working at height. Safety
barriers and life lines are common measures to prevent workers
from falling. However, there are weaknesses in existing safety
barriers. Some have low compatibility in installation, requiring
much preparation work prior to assembling components, such as
piercing, polishing and welding.
In this case a new kind of universal safety barrier was developed.
As shown in Figure 13, it had only a few components, including
one upright, four metal knots to fasten steel wires, two connecting
plates with holes, two bolts and one connecting box. Compared
with traditional barriers, little on-site work was needed, and the
whole installation procedure was straightforward, achieving a good
balance between safety, ease in installation and rapid construction.
3.3.4 Intelligent cloud platform
An intelligent cloud platform was developed with three units
to provide real-time monitoring of people, plant and modules
resources during construction. All information was digitalised and
visualised to facilitate remote real-time construction management
in the headquarters away from the site (Figure 14).
In the platform’s ‘personnel’ unit, each person received biological
recognition at the entry every time they entered or left the site, and
this recognition synchronised the working status of each person to
the platform. Due to limited space on site, workers were dispatched
to the part which was most on the critical path of the construction
schedule. Once capacity was reached, the manager in the control
room would get access to this information immediately and could
give an instruction to the engineers on site.
‘Machine’ was the second unit, enabling automatic registration of
vehicles and engineering plant with image recognition. Its function
was very similar to that of the personnel unit – to have a real-time
record of all the machines on site, to digitalise the data and thus to
aid the mangers to redistribute plant resources within seconds.
The third unit was ‘module’. Each module was traced throughout
Civil Engineering Rapid construction of modular buildings for
Volume 176 Issue 2 emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
Chen, Jiang, Xiao, Hu and Huang

Figure 13. Simple universal safety barriers were developed for working at height

its whole life cycle – that is, from structural members before covering design, manufacturing, construction, operation,
assembly to modular buildings after installation. The module unit maintenance, demolition, recycling and rebuilding. This paper
made it possible to monitor the capacities of all the manufacturing mainly discusses the construction phase of modular buildings for
bases, the assembly efficiency at working sectors and the schedules temporary use, but each part in their life cycle is equally important.
of installation of modular facilities on site. These data provided
decision makers with evidence, and enabled all parties to co-operate
efficiently with limited loss of time.

4. Summary and suggestions

After a 51-day construction period, the Lok Ma Chau emergency
hospital isolation and treatment facility was successfully
completed and handed over (Figure 15). Major challenges were
identified prior to construction and corresponding solutions were
developed. Manufacturing, assembly and installation of modules
were considered as the most important matters. To achieve rapid
construction, a three-point modular construction route was
designed. It was proven that this specially designed construction
route could effectively reduce the construction duration. Several
new technologies on modular construction were also developed
for the project. Implementation of these key technologies further
ensured that the emergency project could be completed and handed Figure 14. Remote construction management headquarters had
over on schedule. intelligent units monitoring people, machines and modules
Research on modular buildings should be a life-cycle topic

71
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
Figure 15. Lok Ma Chau emergency hospital and isolation and treatment facility nearing completion in April 2022
Based on the trends in confirmed cases of Covid-19, the adverse
effects caused by the pandemic are expected to subside and gradually
cease in the coming years. In addition, over the past months, many
countries have introduced incentive policies for international
business activities. Given these circumstances, it is estimated that
there will be an increasing number of modular buildings becoming
unnecessary and even abandoned in the near future, such as isolation
and treatment facilities built during the Covid-19 pandemic.
To enable sustainable modular building systems in construction,
further studies on demolition, recycling and relocation of modular
buildings should be developed in the post-pandemic era. More
specifically, researchers and engineers should come up with solutions
on how to reuse existing temporary modular buildings or how to
design new recycled modular buildings, and thereby improve the
overall performance of modular buildings in their life cycle.
Acknowledgements
Publication of this paper is supported by National Key R&D Program
of 14th Five-Year Plan of China, Project No: 2022YFC3801905, ‘An
Investigation into Key Technologies on High-Efficiency and Low-
Carbon Manufacturing and Installation of Steel Structures’. Besides,
the technical work leading to publication of this paper was supported
by the project ‘Central Government-Aided Emergency Hospital and
Lok Ma Chau Mobile Cabin Facility’ organised by China Construction
Science and Industry Co., Ltd and China Construction Steel Structure
Engineering Co., Ltd. The authors are grateful for the efforts made by
the engineers, managers, workers and all the other participants who
helped to complete this important emergency project successfully and
on time.
72
Rapid construction of modular buildings for
emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
Chen, Jiang, Xiao, Hu and Huang
References
Chen LK, Yuan RP, Ji XJ et al. (2021) Modular composite building in urgent
emergency engineering projects: a case study of accelerated design and
construction of Wuhan Thunder God Mountain/Leishenshan hospital to
Covid-19 pandemic. Automation in Construction 124: 103555.
Generalova EM, Generalov VP and Kuznetsova AA (2016) Modular buildings
in modern construction. Procedia Engineering 153: 167–172.
Lawson RM, Ogden RG and Bergin R (2012) Application of modular
construction in high-rise buildings. Journal of Architectural
Engineering 18(2): 148–154.
Li C, Wen X, Shuai Y et al. (2021) Application of modular steel structure
building in emergency hospital for infectious diseases. Journal of BEE
49(365): 133–139 (in Chinese).
Shan S, Looi D, Cai Y et al. (2019) Engineering modular integrated
construction for high-rise building: a case study in Hong Kong. Proceedings
of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 172(6): 51–57,
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.18.00052.
Zhang Z, Pan W and Zheng Z (2021) Fighting Covid-19 through fast delivery
of a modular quarantine camp with smart construction. Proceedings of the
Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 174(2): 89–96, https://doi.
org/10.1680/jcien.20.00025.
Zhou M, Chen Y, Su X and An L (2021) Rapid construction and advanced
technology for a Covid-19 field hospital in Wuhan, China. Proceedings of
the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 174(1): 29–34, https://
doi.org/10.1680/jcien.20.00024.
How can you contribute?
If you would like to comment on this paper, please email up to 200 words
to the editor at journals@ice.org.uk.
If you would like to write a paper of 5000 words about your own experience
in this or any related area of civil engineering, the editor will be happy to
provide any help or advice you need.
Cite this article
Whalley N, King E, Vickers T and Wilson A (2023)
Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK.
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 176(2): 73–79,
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.22.00144
Civil Engineering
Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using
solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK
Neil Whalley BSc (Hons), MSc, FGS, CGeol
Environment and Sustainability Manager, Northern Gas Networks, Leeds, UK
Emma King BSc (Hons), MSc, FGS, CGeol, SiLC, NQMS-SQP
Technical Director, Sweco UK Limited, Leeds, UK (Orcid:0000-0002-8882-
368X) (corresponding author: emma.king@sweco.co.uk)
A former UK gasworks site has been cleaned up sustainably using solar power. The small but multi-award-winning
project involved designing and deploying an in situ remediation system driven entirely by photovoltaic energy. Over
22 months it recovered 6100 l of hazardous coal tar and creosote from a 9.5 m deep infilled former gas holder tank in
Gateshead, north-east England. This paper describes how options appraisal, stakeholder mapping and sustainability
assessment led to a genuinely low-emissions, cost-effective and durable treatment solution with the highest health
and safety standards.
Keywords: land contamination/remediation/renewable energy/sustainability
1. Introduction
The use of gas for a variety of domestic, commercial and industrial
applications started in the UK in the early 1800s (DoE, 1995). Prior
to the introduction of natural gas from the North Sea during the
1960s, gas was manufactured by industrial carbonisation processes,
typically using coal or petroleum products as feedstocks. Known as
‘town gas’, it was produced in community-based gasworks, which
numbered 1050 in 1949 when the industry was nationalised (DoE,
1995).
Gas holders (or ‘gasometers’) were an integral part of gasworks
sites and enabled low-pressure storage of manufactured gas,
providing a means to balance gas production supply and consumer
demand. With their distinctive appearance, gas holders were
Figure 1. Redheugh gasworks in 1939 showing its five gas
holders in use
Research Article
Paper 2200144
Received 29/07/2022
Accepted 31/10/2022
Published online 05/12/2022
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
Tim Vickers BSc, MIEnvSc, CEnv, CL:AIRE DoWCoP QP
Technical Manager, Sweco UK Limited, Leeds, UK
Adam Wilson BSc, MSc, MIEnvSc, CEnv, SiLC, NQMS-SQP
Technical Director, Geo2 Remediation Limited, Bradford, UK
prominent features on the skylines of British villages, towns and
cities. As gas distribution networks have become more sophisticated
over time, including transformation by the use of plastic pipes,
there is no longer a requirement for gas holders as gas storage is
provided within the pipe network itself. This has resulted in an
extensive programme of gas holder demolition over recent decades.
In many cases the only remaining features of gas holders are
below-ground tank structures that have been infilled with materials
such as demolition rubble and contain contamination such as coal
tar. Coal tar is a dense non-aqueous phase liquid hydrocarbon,
widely found on historical gasworks sites, which has the potential
to cause pollution of groundwater and watercourses.
This paper is about the design of a remediation scheme for a
redundant gas holder station in the north-east of England, with the aim
of addressing environmental risks posed by coal tar contamination.
2. Background
Northern Gas Networks (NGN) is the client and landowner of
the redundant Redheugh gas holder station in Gateshead, north-east
England (Figure 1). It appointed Sweco UK Limited as designer
and Geo2 Remediation Ltd as specialist contractor to undertake
remediation that would achieve environmental improvement
and reduce environmental risks and liability posed by historical
contamination at the site. The designer was appointed through an
NGN framework agreement for the provision of contaminated land
consultancy services. The contract value was £125 000 and the
contract was delivered between March 2017 and April 2020.
The site is an operational natural gas distribution site featuring
above-ground pressure-reduction infrastructure, a network of
below-ground utilities and three decommissioned gas holders.
It occupies an area of 2.1 ha and is located within a wider mixed
residential and industrial setting. The site has been a gas holder
73
Civil Engineering Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using
Volume 176 Issue 2 solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK
Whalley, King, Vickers and Wilson

of gas holder structures. Fill materials within the holder tank were
typically made ground of clayey gravel to gravelly clay with some
tarmacadam, plastic, wood, glass and metal. The in-ground tank
t
tree contained water resting at 0.2−0.5 m below ground level.
mS
Tea
Gas holder Monitoring wells installed into the gas holder tank identified
2
that hazardous hydrocarbon in the form of coal tar and creosote
Gas holder was present within the annulus of the tank. Hydrocarbon was
3 identified in all monitoring wells installed around the annulus, with
Gas holder thicknesses of up to 1.8 m. There was associated dissolved-phase
4 hydrocarbon contamination within the water in the infilled gas-
holder tank.
Outside the tank structure, surrounding ground conditions were
typically made ground of reworked natural material up to around
Gas holder
5
6  m deep overlying principally gravelly clay, superficial deposits
of alluvium and glaciolacustrine deposits identified to at least 23 m
0 m 50 deep. The solid geology beneath the site comprises the Pennine
Middle Coal Measures.
The alluvium is classified by the Environment Agency as a
Figure 2. Current site layout showing the location of the gas secondary A aquifer, meaning it comprises permeable layers that
holder 3 below-ground tank can support local water supplies, and may form an important source
of base flow to rivers. The glaciolacustrine deposits are classified
as unproductive strata, meaning they are unable to provide usable
water supplies and are unlikely to have surface water and wetland
West East ecosystems dependent on them (EA, 2017).
Gas Gas Gas Perched groundwater was identified in the superficial deposits
holder 4 holder 3 holder 2 with no laterally continuous groundwater body identified. The
Pennine Middle Coal Measures are classified by the Environment
Agency as a secondary A aquifer. Surface watercourses are present
within 200 m of the site.
The assessment of the study site was undertaken through a
tiered approach, with several phases of ground investigation.
Made ground Alluvium (secondary A aquifer) The conceptual site model was refined after each phase to build
Infill material glaciolacustrine deposits (unproductive strata) up an understanding of the potential pollutant linkages associated
Coal tar and creosote (firm to stiff gravelly clay) with the infilled gas holder 3 structure and associated levels of
Pennine Middle Coal Measures
Perched water and discontinuous groundwater environmental risk. This approach ensured that the assessment was
Groundwater proportionate and robust. The model produced for the site following
the most recent phase of investigation is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Simplified conceptual site model showing coal tar and The site environmental risk assessment identified that the
2022-144fig02
creosote in gas holder 3 tank annulus
Barking Dog Art hydrocarbon was substantially contained by the former tank
structure of gas holder 3 and was considered to be hydraulically
isolated from the surrounding strata. But given its age, its integrity
station since the 1890s, originally with four gas holder structures was expected to degrade to the point where this would no longer
to store town gas and subsequently natural gas. Each gas holder be the case in the future. As such, the contamination within the
consisted of a telescopic metal tank set within a circular outer tank gas holder tank was not considered to pose a significant risk to
which was constructed below ground level. environmental receptors under current site conditions and usage.
At the time of the project, three of the gas holders remained on However, it was noted that this assessment could change in the
site and were undergoing demolition, with comprehensive tank event of degradation of the in-ground former gas holder tank wall,
decontamination prior to dismantling of the holder structure and with potential for contaminant release and pollution of controlled
then infill of the below-ground tank. The historical site layout is waters.
shown in Figures 1 and 2. Gas holder 3 was demolished and the In response to the risk assessment, a remediation objective was
below-ground tank infilled during the late 1980s/early 1990s. established to deliver ‘environmental betterment’ by permanently
Several phases of ground investigation were undertaken between addressing the environmental risks and liability associated with
2003 and 2017 to characterise the dimensions of the gas holder, the the hydrocarbon contamination within the gas holder tank. This
nature of the infill materials and the distribution of contamination remediation objective supported NGN’s Environment Strategy
within it. target to ‘improve life on land’ (NGN, 2018).
The structure has a diameter of approximately 48 m with a To deliver the remediation objective, a remedial solution was
masonry wall and base. The base of the tank is approximately required which would achieve this in a practicable, sustainable and
5.7 m below ground level in the centre and 9.5 deep in the annulus robust manner. The following site constraints were identified and
2022-144fig03
(immediately
Barking Dog Art inside the tank wall), a profile which is characteristic considered in the remediation design process.

74
Civil Engineering Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using
Volume 176 Issue 2 solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK
Whalley, King, Vickers and Wilson

Table 1. Stakeholder mapping

Project vision: achieve voluntary environmental betterment by permanently reducing the quantity of hydrocarbon present and the associated
risks posed to environmental receptors, while still allowing the site infrastructure to operate
Project boundary: whole life, including capital and operational expenditure and impacts
Stakeholder goals Stakeholders
S1. NGN (client S2. Site users S3. Site users (gas S4. Site S5. Site S6. Environmental
and site owner) (NGN operations) holder demolition neighbours neighbours regulators (local
contractor) (residential) (commercial) authority and
Environment
Agency)
Environmental goals
Achieve permanent
environmental ✓ ✓ ✓
betterment (Env1)
Minimise whole-life
project environmental ✓
impact (Env2)
Social goals
Minimal impacts
on site neighbours/ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
residents (Soc1)
Economic goals
Minimal impacts on
wider site activities ✓ ✓ ✓
(Eco1)
Affordable whole-life
project cost (Eco2) ✓

■ Limited space for remediation equipment due to ongoing large-

scale demolition of the three existing gas holders across the
A mapping exercise was
wider site. undertaken to identify relevant
No readily accessible electrical supply or drainage within the
■
works area on site. project stakeholders and
■ Client safety restrictions on ‘live’ gas sites precluded telemetry
to monitor remediation equipment remotely.
their sustainability goals
■ Constrained vehicle access to the site.
■ Wider mixed residential and industrial setting sensitive to
vehicle movements, noise, dust and odour.

2. Sustainability assessment
A sustainability assessment was undertaken following the
approach set out in BS ISO 18504:2017: Soil quality – sustainable
remediation (BSI, 2017). This provides a framework for assessment
of the relative sustainability of alternative remediation strategies
in a local legal, policy, socio-economic and environmental
context, utilising standard terms and methods. A key element was
understanding the requirements and expectations of stakeholders
to ensure they could be considered during the remediation project
to maximise the chance of project success. Utilising this approach
enabled the project team to identify the optimum methodology to
achieve the remediation objective.
A mapping exercise was undertaken to identify relevant project
stakeholders and their sustainability goals for the duration of the
remediation project. This assessment was based on face-to-face
discussions with stakeholders and general awareness of stakeholder
priorities and expectations in relation to remediation works. The
outcome of the stakeholder mapping is presented in Table 1. Utilising
the BS ISO 18504:2017 framework, stakeholder feedback and
engineering judgement, the stakeholder mapping exercise process
enabled the identification of five main project goals informed by
project stakeholder priorities. These goals were used by the project
team to assign relevant project-specific sustainable remediation
objectives, indicators and metrics for use in the remediation options
sustainability assessment.
The process also enabled identification of quantitative material
remediation project performance criteria (such as litres of
hydrocarbon removed) for use in verification reporting to measure
and evaluate project success. The outcomes of this assessment are
summarised in Table 2. Using the assessment criteria identified
in Table 2, semi-quantitative sustainability assessment of each

75
Civil Engineering Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using
Volume 176 Issue 2 solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK
Whalley, King, Vickers and Wilson

Table 2. Sustainable remediation objectives, indicators and metrics

Project goals Sustainability Project objectives* Project indicators Project metrics

(stakeholders’ goals/
relevant stakeholders)
Goal 1 (Env1):
achieve permanent
environmental
betterment (S1, S4, S6)
Goal 2 (Env2): minimise
whole-life project
environmental impact
(S1)
Goal 3 (Soc1): minimal
impacts on site
neighbours/residents
(S1, S3, S4, S5, S6)
Goal 4 (Eco1): minimal
impacts on wider site
activities (S1, S2, S3)
Goal 5 (Eco2):
affordable whole-life
project cost (S1)
*Note that minimising health and safety performance was not included as a specific project objective as this is core to all NGN projects.
category
Environmental 1A. Permanently remove
environmental risks associated
with hydrocarbon contamination
inside gas holder 3
Environmental 2A. Minimise waste generation
2B. Minimise resource
consumption
2C. Minimise greenhouse gas
emissions
Social 3A. Minimise local air quality
impacts
3B. Minimise noise impacts
3C. Minimise dust and odour
impacts
Economic 4A. No constraints to operation
of gas infrastructure at any time
4B. No significant constraints
on wider gas holder demolition
project
Economic 5A. Minimise whole-life project
cost
1A-1. Quantity of hydrocarbon
removed
1A-2. Thickness of hydrocarbon
remaining
2A-1. Quantity of waste removed
from site
2B-1. Quantity of imported
backfill material required
2C-1. Operational emissions of
greenhouse gases (equipment
and transport fuel consumption)
3A-1. Project vehicle movements
3A-2. Project equipment fossil
fuel consumption
3B-1. Noise rating of project
machinery/equipment
3C-1. Site neighbour complaints
4A-1. Complaints/issues from
NGN operations
4B-1. Complaints / issues from
demolition project team
5A-1. Whole-life project cost
Litres removed
Metres as measured in monitoring
wells
Litres/tonnes removed
Tonnes
Tonnes of carbon dioxide
equivalent
Litres of fossil fuel consumed
dB
Number of attributable
complaints received
Number of complaints received
from NGN operations
Number of complaints received
from demolition team
Total project cost (capital and
operational – £ excluding value
added tax)

Table 3. Semi-quantitative remediation options sustainability assessment

Potential remediation Project objectives/category Total Comments
option score
Environmental Social Economic
1A 2A 2B 2C 3A 3B 3C 4A 4B 5A
Do nothing (baseline 1 28 Disregarded as objective 1A (permanent
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
assessment position) Fail environmental betterment) not achieved.
Entire source excavation, Robust methodology enabling thorough
disposal and backfill (includes contaminant removal but resource, waste,
3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12
dewatering and disposal of carbon dioxide and financially intensive. Social
liquids offsite) impacts anticipated.
Dewater tank of all liquids, Targeted waste removal with potential for some
dispose of offsite and install residual/recalcitrant contamination to remain,
low-permeability cap to tank some resource requirement and some social
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 20
such as clay or asphalt (includes impacts.
drilling of boreholes to facilitate
dewatering)
Targeted hydrocarbon removal Targeted treatment to remove permanently
using low-energy system only the necessary contamination with potential
(includes drilling of boreholes to 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 29* for some residual/recalcitrant contamination
facilitate hydrocarbon recovery) to remain. Minimisation of social and
environmental impacts and costs.
Potential remediation options were assessed against the baseline position of do nothing and assigned a comparative 1 (poor) to 3 (good) rating of
effectiveness or environment/social/economic impact based on engineering judgement (with reference to BS ISO 18504:2017 (BSI, 2017), Section 7.4.3).
Scores were then summed across all project objectives, with the most sustainable project remediation option being the highest scorer (as denoted by *).

76
Civil Engineering Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using
Volume 176 Issue 2 solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK
Whalley, King, Vickers and Wilson

potential remediation option was undertaken by assigning relative

scores to each objective. Building
The process ensured that the sustainability assessment of
remediation options identified the optimum solution to achieve
both the project vision and stakeholder goals. The assessment is
Building
presented in Table 3. The sustainability assessment identified the Gas holder
optimum solution to achieve both the project vision and stakeholder 3
goals to be targeted hydrocarbon removal using a low-energy
system fuelled by renewable energy. This option was deployed
Gravel
successfully as part of the project.
The assessment provided the project team with a suite of project
oad
metrics against which the success of the project could be assessed. ac r
Tarm
Interestingly, the identified optimum project option scored only
slightly higher in the assessment than the ‘do nothing’ scenario. It Location of hydrocarbon recovery
is inevitable that any remediation work will create waste, consume
100 mm diameter recovery well
resources, incur expenditure and/or create societal disturbance
50 mm diameter monitoring and recovery well
greater than the ‘do nothing’ scenario in pursuit of the remedial
objective of delivering permanent environmental betterment.
It is critical to note that while the ‘do nothing’ option scores Figure 4. Layout of the four remediation system compounds and
highly on first appearance, this project option was dismissed as it associated boreholes
did not deliver the project objective to remove permanently the
environmental risks associated with hydrocarbon contamination
inside gas holder 3.

3. Remediation system design and operation

The outcome of the remediation options appraisal was targeted
hydrocarbon removal utilising a low-energy system powered
by renewable energy. The remedial solution comprised targeted
hydrocarbon recovery starting with a pilot trial followed by a full-
scale operation of the remediation system.
Four self-contained remediation systems were deployed, each
consisting of a fenced compound which contained a 100 mm
diameter, 9 m deep recovery well installed within the gas holder 3
tank annulus and associated remediation equipment. The number 2022-144fig04
and location of the recovery wells was selected to provide good Barking Dog Art
coverage of the tank and targeted the annulus of the tank where
the maximum hydrocarbon thickness was expected to be present.
The layout of the remediation system infrastructure is shown in Figure 5. One of the four solar-powered remediation system
Figure 4. compounds – each occupied an area of just 12 m2
The need for a small operational footprint was a key design
consideration for the remediation system due to the space
requirements for the gas holder demolition works being undertaken
concurrently across the wider site. Each remediation system on the site. In addition, the equipment operated almost silently and
operated independently and occupied an area of only 12 m2, thus thereby minimised nuisance impacts to the surroundings. Examples
it could be easily accommodated on site around wider activities of similar solar-powered remediation systems in the UK are rare.
underway. Each pumping system could be set at user-defined intervals to
The remediation systems each consisted of a bottom-loading suit the recovery characteristics of each well and the hydrocarbon
pneumatic pump which recovered hydrocarbon and contaminated being recovered at that location, while also balancing the power
water from the well into intermediate bulk containers stored within requirements from the battery. The treatment systems operated
constructed bunded areas. Each pneumatic pump was powered by remotely without the requirement for permanent supervision. One
an individual receiver compressor connected to a battery and a of the remediation systems is shown in Figure 5.
timer and controller unit. Gas holders 2, 4 and 5 were undergoing decontamination and
The battery was charged by way of a 100 W photoelectric solar dismantling during the gas holder 3 remediation project. The design
panel, thereby providing a solely renewable energy source in of the remediation system, including the physical footprint occupied
compliance with live gas site restrictions when positioned outside by equipment and frequency of maintenance visits, required liaison
of defined gaseous hazardous atmospheres. This was an important with the demolition contractor to ensure that the remediation works
design aspect as there was no readily accessible electrical supply did not impact its programme.

77
Civil Engineering Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using
Volume 176 Issue 2 solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK
Whalley, King, Vickers and Wilson

Installation of the hydrocarbon recovery system was undertaken

Cumulative volume of hydrocarbon: l

3000 over 4 days in June 2017. Bail-down tests were completed on

2500
each newly installed recovery well to determine hydrocarbon
conductivity within the soil matrix and improve understanding of
2000
the volume of hydrocarbon available for recovery.
1500 Each recovery system was then programmed to operate at a time
1000 frequency dependent on the thickness of hydrocarbon, the recovery
rate and the volume removed at each location during the bail-
500
down test.
0 A 6 month remediation pilot trial was undertaken using the
15/06/2017
15/07/2017
15/08/2017
15/09/2017
15/10/2017
15/11/2017
15/12/2017
15/01/2018
15/02/2018
15/03/2018
15/04/2018
15/05/2018
15/06/2018
15/07/2018
15/08/2018
15/09/2018
15/10/2018
15/11/2018
15/12/2018
15/01/2019
15/02/2019
15/03/2019
15/04/2019
four self-contained remediation systems. It provided an estimate
of the potential hydrocarbon volume present, and its spatial
distribution, in addition to assessing the feasibility of consistently
Date
and robustly recovering hydrocarbon using pneumatic pumps
installed in the recovery wells powered only by on-site renewable
Figure 6. Cumulative volume of hydrocarbon recovered from each
energy generation.
well over 22 months
The remediation pilot trial confirmed the presence of significant
quantities of hydrocarbon which could be freely recovered from
monitoring wells installed within the former holder tank by in situ

The remediation pilot trial pumping techniques. Immediately following the remediation pilot
trial, full-scale operation of the remediation system commenced,
confirmed the presence with a total operating period of 22 months.
The volume of hydrocarbon recovered and the rate of recovery
of significant quantities of were monitored during the operational phase to enable system
hydrocarbon which could operation optimisation (pumping frequencies) and to measure the
effectiveness of the remediation activities.
be freely recovered In total, 21 maintenance visits were conducted monthly between

Table 4. Economic, social and environmental benefits

Remediation Environmental benefit Social benefit Economic benefit
system feature
Use of entirely Carbon dioxide savings and air quality Minimal impact on site neighbours No operational energy costs.
renewable energy benefits compared to use of electricity with no complaints received during
source from mains or fossil-fuel-powered on- operation. Four individual petrol-powered
site generators. generators would have cost
Quiet system compared to use approximately £25 000 more in
Four individual petrol-powered of traditional on-site generators. equipment and fuel than the solar
generators to enable the same Alternative required four individual power solution used.
operation would have generated petrol-powered generators for 50 h a
2022-144fig06 61 tCO2e, the same as the emissions week each rated at 94 dB.
Barking Dog Art from an average car driving
330 000 km. Carbon dioxide saved No air quality impacts from emissions
has monetised societal value of £4000 from generators or equipment.
based on prevailing UK Green Book
values (HM Treasury, 2019).
In situ remediation Waste generation minimised by No significant odours, noise or dust Waste disposal costs optimised.
targeting targeted recovery of hydrocarbon. during operation.
hydrocarbon
Vehicle movements associated with Vehicle movements associated with
waste disposal minimised thereby waste disposal and associated nuisance
limiting carbon dioxide and air quality and vehicle emissions minimised.
emissions.
No requirement for import of backfill
materials.
Remote operation Monthly maintenance visits required Vehicle movements associated with Minimal maintenance costs
with minimal only, thereby limiting carbon dioxide maintenance visits, and associated (mechanically simple). The alternative
maintenance and air quality emissions from vehicles. nuisance and vehicle emissions petrol-powered generators would have
requirements minimised. required personnel to switch them on
and off each day.
Minimal impact on wider demolition
project underway on site or general site
operations (no complaints received).

78
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
June 2017 and April 2019. During these visits, minor operational
faults with the remediation equipment were identified and, where
possible, were rectified on the same day. The recovery system
was checked and tested for functionality, and the volume of total
fluids (water and hydrocarbon) removed from each recovery well
and stored was also recorded. Volume calculations were completed
after each monitoring visit and pneumatic pumps were removed for
cleaning and maintenance.
Dip measurements using an oil/water interface probe were taken
to record water level, hydrocarbon thickness and depth to base
of well in each recovery/monitoring well. The data from each
maintenance visit was used to optimise the remediation equipment
during the visit and was also collated and reviewed so that trends in
remediation system performance could be assessed.
Each recovery system was set to pump at a specified frequency
dependent on the findings of the maintenance visit. Pump rates
and pumping intervals were adjusted at each control unit and were
determined by the physical properties of the hydrocarbon and the
rate of recharge into the recovery well.
The recovered hydrocarbon and associated contaminated water
were removed by way of vacuum tanker and disposed of as hazardous
waste by an appropriately licensed specialist contractor under duty of
care. Figure 6 shows the cumulative volume of hydrocarbon in litres
recovered throughout the duration of the project.
Recovery ceased when either no hydrocarbon was detected
in a recovery well over several maintenance visits or the rate of
hydrocarbon recovery was sufficiently low that continued operation
of the remediation system was not considered to be worthwhile in
terms of the reduction in environmental risk that would be achieved.
The data collated during the maintenance visits was used to assess
trends in system performance and informed the decision on when
to cease recovery in each well. Recovery from two wells ceased in
September 2018 and October 2018, respectively, for this reason.
A total of 6100 l of hydrocarbon was recovered during a period of
22 months of remediation system operation using only renewable
energy sources. The hydrocarbon thickness measured in the
monitoring wells reduced from 1.8 m pre-remediation to 0.02 m
post-remediation.
4. Conclusions and future use
The remedial solution overcame site constraints and delivered
a sustainable system which achieved permanent environmental
betterment using only renewable energy, with no significant impact
on wider site activities or site neighbours. Sustainability assessment
supported the selection of the optimum remedial solution.
Assessment of environmental, social and economic factors during
the design process led to the development of a wholly sustainable,
durable and robust remediation methodology.
The low-intensity renewable-energy-driven approach provided
multiple economic, social and environmental benefits, as
summarised in Table 4. The project has been successful in winning
the following awards.
■ Best In-Situ Treatment, 2018 Brownfield Briefing Awards.
■ Sustainability Award of the Year 2018, CIWEM (Yorkshire and
Humber Branch).
■ Sustainability Award, 2019 Ground Engineering Awards.
Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using
solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK
Whalley, King, Vickers and Wilson
The project demonstrated how a sustainable, low-intensity
remediation technique can be applied to remediate free-phase
hydrocarbon contamination in soil. The remediation system at
Redheugh gasworks successfully recovered 6100 l of hydrocarbon
during 22 months of operation, powered solely by solar energy
while having no significant impact on wider site activities or
site neighbours.
The project also demonstrated it is a successful approach to
deploy on sites where the physical characteristics of hydrocarbon
being removed require a slow sustained rate of recovery, and
where there are no specific remediation time constraints such as
in a development programme. The remedial action in this project
was in advance of an actual impact occurring, so timescales were
less critical.
Lessons learned included focusing operation on the summer
months when the remediation system has the potential to be most
productive because the hydrocarbon is more mobile. On sites
where telemetry can be installed, this has the potential to reduce the
frequency of maintenance visits to a lower frequency than could be
adopted on this project.
The client is currently using the same remediation technique on
a second site in north-east England and has implemented a more
intensive period of recovery over the summer months in response
to lessons learned on this project.
The low-intensity
renewable-energy-driven
approach provided multiple
economic, social and
environmental benefits
References
BSI (2017) BS ISO 18504:2017: Soil quality – sustainable remediation. BSI,
London, UK.
DoE (Department of the Environment) (1995) Industry Profile – Gasworks,
Coke Works and Other Coal Carbonisation Plants. DoE, London, UK.
EA (Environment Agency) (2017) Protect Groundwater and Prevent
Groundwater Pollution. EA, Bristol, UK. See https://www.gov.uk/
government/publications/protect-groundwater-and-prevent-groundwater-
pollution/protect-groundwater-and-prevent-groundwater-pollution
(accessed 10/11/2022).
HM Treasury (2019) The Green Book and Accompanying Guidance and
Documents. HM Treasury, London, UK. See https://www.gov.uk/
government/collections/the-green-book-and-accompanying-guidance-
and-documents (accessed 10/11/2022).
NGN (Northern Gas Networks) (2018) Environment Strategy – Fuelling
a Greener, Cleaner Future. NGN, Leeds, UK. See https://www.
northerngasnetworks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ENVIRONMENT-
STRATEGY-JUNE-2018.pdf (accessed 07/10/2022).
How can you contribute?
If you would like to comment on this paper, please email up to 200 words
to the editor at journals@ice.org.uk.
If you would like to write a paper of 5000 words about your own experience
in this or any related area of civil engineering, the editor will be happy to
provide any help or advice you need.
79
Share your work
with the world
Discover Plan S compliant open access
options from ICE Publishing

Civil and environmental engineering are applied subjects in which “industry

funds, shapes, partners and benefits from academic research”. Publishing with
us will enable you to reach researchers and practitioners around the world.

We are committed to sustainable, high-quality open access publishing with

options to suit you and your funders needs, increasing access to your work.

Green open access

If your funding body is a signatory of Plan S, you can post the accepted version of your journal
article on open, unrestricted websites or deposit it in an institutional repository, with a link
to the version of record. You can do this as soon as you receive an acceptance for publication
e-mail (there is no embargo period).

Gold and hybrid open access

To encourage knowledge transfer, we publish fully open access journal, Geotechnical Research.
All of our other journals offer a paid-for open access publication option. Every submitted article
is subject to the same peer review process. Article publication charges (APCs) are applicable,
but you may be eligible for a discount or waiver.

Find out more www.icevirtuallibrary.com/openaccess

Cite this article Research Article
Tang Z, Peng X, Su X, Zhou M and An L (2023) Paper 2200059
Wufengshan Expressway: a review of systems on China’s first intelligent highway. Received 06/04/2022
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 176(2): 81–84, Accepted 26/01/2023
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.22.00059 Published online 23/02/2023

ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Civil Engineering

Wufengshan Expressway: a review of systems

on China’s first intelligent highway
Zimu Tang Man Zhou
Undergraduate student, School of Civil Engineering, Suzhou University of Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Science and Technology, Suzhou, China (corresponding author: civilzm1988@163.com)
Xing Peng Lin An
Graduate student, School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Professor, Department of Civil Earth Resources Engineering, Kyoto University,
China Kyoto, Japan
Xiaolong Su
PhD candidate, School of Civil Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

Wufengshan Expressway, which opened in June 2021, is China’s first intelligent highway. Its smart systems include
5G communications (the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks), wireless chargers,
artificial intelligence, the ‘internet of things’ and the ‘internet of vehicles’. The use of these technologies has improved
operational efficiency, safety and management. It has also helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the
environment. This paper introduces the various systems installed on the new road and will serve as a reference for
future intelligent highways.

Keywords: artificial intelligence/ construction/data mining/development/road projects/roads & highways

1. Introduction data, ‘internet of things’ (IOT), cloud computing and other new
information technologies. All sections of the road are equipped with
With the advent of a new generation of information technologies a data acquisition and transmission system. It adopts a vehicle−
− such as mobile internet, big data and cloud computing − road co-operation system (Huawei, 2018), cloud platform plus
intelligent highways have gone from concept to reality. The initial artificial intelligence, and information management and control
development of intelligent highways in the USA had two strands: technology. This paper introduces the various advanced systems
first was construction of ‘Smart Corridors’ (Zhang et al., 2009) used on Wufengshan Expressway and aims to provide a reference
and second was the Connected Vehicle programme (Mirshahi et for development of further intelligent highways.
al., 2007). Meanwhile, Europe launched the Easyway programme,
with active traffic management and a co-operative intelligent
transportation system.
Japan put forward its ETC 2.0 strategy (Cho et al., 2011)
based on integration of highway electronic toll collection (ETC)
systems and vehicle information and communication systems
using dedicated short-range communications (DSRC). In 2008,
South Korea proposed its Smart Expressways project (Wang et al.,
2015), with safe driving assistance and vehicle−road high-speed
communication services.
Although many countries have put forward different concepts for
intelligent highways, few have been built. Wufengshan Expressway
is the first intelligent highway to be built in China. Forming part of
the proposed S39 Jiangdu−Yixing Expressway, it links Dantu district
in Zhenjiang city in the north with Changzhou in the south by way of
the new Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge. With an overall length of
33 km, the dual-four-lane-carriageway has six interchanges, four toll
stations and a service area (Dong, 2010) (Figure 1).
The expressway integrates a 5G (the fifth-generation technology Figure 1. Completed in June 2021, the 33 km Wufengshan
standard for broadband cellular networks) communication Expressway is China’s first intelligent highway
network, building information modelling (BIM) (NIBS, 2012), big

81
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
The systems used on Wufengshan Expressway were quantitatively
studied and summarised through in-depth field investigation and
face-to-face interviews with the project engineers (Chen et al., 2013).
The main technologies introduced in this paper are: the vehicle−road
collaborative system; the lane-level fog driving guidance system;
the de-icing system; the traffic incident rapid perception system; the
data acquisition and analysis system using unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAV); and various intelligent features of the service area.
2. Vehicle−road collaborative system
The vehicle−road collaborative system adopts advanced wireless
communication and new-generation internet core technology to
implement dynamic real-time information interaction between
vehicles and the road. Based on collection and integration of
Fog guidance light
Figure 2. The new expressway features automatic lights and other
driver assistance in fog
Heating cable network
Figure 3. A geothermal heating system automatically de-ices the
highway bridge decks
82
Wufengshan Expressway: a review of systems
on China’s first intelligent highway
Tang, Peng, Su, Zhou and An
dynamic traffic information, it carries out vehicle active safety
control and road collaborative management. This fully realises
effective coordination of people, vehicles and roads; ensures traffic
safety; and improves traffic efficiency. The result is a safe, efficient
and environmentally friendly road traffic system.
The vehicle−road collaborative system provides feedback of
the road traffic information to the intelligent vehicle information
terminal in real time. The vehicle information is fed back to
the roadside system to achieve assistance and control through
interactive operation, and to recognise unmanned driving.
The system applies cellular-vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X)
technology independently developed by China to analyse traffic
event information and control of autonomous vehicles or driverless
vehicles. It uses a 5G network to transmit real-time traffic and
environmental status of the road to vehicles through mobile phones
and intelligent vehicle terminals with low delay. This helps to
eliminate blind spots while driving to improve driver safety and
comfort. A successful test of the vehicle−road collaborative system
with autonomous vehicles has been carried out (Huawei, 2018).
During operation, the system uses modern information
technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud
computing and IOT to push real-time traffic data to each driver. It
also broadcasts the traffic light status in real time vocally, which
helps to save route-planning time. Real-time road conditions
and intersection traffic flow information are relayed to vehicle
navigation systems and displayed at intersections and on roadside
guidance screens.
3. Lane-level fog driving guidance system
Wufengshan Expressway has a 10 km long lane-level fog driving
guidance system. It automatically starts guidance lights and other
driving assistance devices in foggy conditions.
The system consists of ground guidance lights, roadside lidar
vehicle detectors, a control box, lane-level fog area management
software, transmission equipment and connection cables. The solar-
powered intelligent guidance lamps are laid on both sides of each
lane 20−30 m apart. Each lamp integrates a vehicle detector and a
mix of yellow and red light-emitting diode (LED) arrays (Figure 2).
With the help of 5G, the management software sends instructions to
the roadside detectors to control the ground guidance lamps when
there are sudden changes in visibility due to rain or fog. It will
also immediately start the collision prevention warning function,
prompting a safe distance between vehicles.
The impact of fog on vehicles has been significantly reduced and
operational efficiency significantly improved.
4. Geothermal de-icing system
Snow and ice cause a great number of traffic accidents in China
(Li, 2006; Song, 2005). De-icing agents are currently the most
widely used solution (Xu, 2008). They are divided into chloride,
non-chloride and mixed types (Cheng et al., 2004). However,
they have a negative impact on the surrounding vegetation and
infrastructure. One tonne of de-icing agent can cause US$615 of
road and bridge corrosion loss, US$113 of vehicle corrosion loss
and US$75 of plant corrosion loss (Tang et al., 2002).
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
To eliminate the adverse effects (Hu, 2010), Wufengshan
Expressway combines de-icing agents with a geothermal heating
system in the bridge decks (Figure 3). As soon as freezing or snowy
conditions are detected by roadside and embedded sensors, the de-
icing system automatically starts the heating circuits. It will also
automatically spray de-icing agent from roadside nozzles.
In the past year’s operation, there was no large area of snow on
the new road, and the operational efficiency was greatly improved
compared to the traditional highways on snowy days.
5. Traffic incident rapid perception system
The guardrails on Wufengshan Expressway are equipped with
a collision-sensing system, which combines machine vision and
millimetre wave radar. Machine vision captures traffic accidents
in real time, and quickly uploads its data to the control centre for
processing. It also detects the number of vehicles and specific
driving situations in the road. If special conditions such as traffic
congestion are detected, it will immediately contact the control
centre and take countermeasures.
6. Data acquisition with drones
Wufengshan Expressway uses unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)
and ground sensors for data acquisition and analysis. The UAV data
collection is based on field-programmable gate array plus micro-
controller unit technology (Miller, 2015), while the ground equipment
is based on a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) extensions for
instrumentation (PXI) platform. The test program set is customised
by LabView (Figure 4). The system also has a modular architecture
with openness, versatility and scalability (Fang et al., 2018).
Data collection on the Wufengshan Expressway is more thorough,
weather dependent and rapid than traditional data collection, and
saves on labour costs.
7. Intelligent features of service area
Wireless charging stations have been set up in the car park of
the Wufengshan Expressway service area to improve charging
UAV
Ground sensor UAV remote
control
Mission site Data centre Laboratory
Figure 4. Data acquisition and analysis is based on UAV
Wufengshan Expressway: a review of systems
on China’s first intelligent highway
Tang, Peng, Su, Zhou and An
convenience in adverse weather. The induction charging system
consists of a power supply module, charging board, on-board
receiving board and on-board controller. Magnetic resonance
technology is used to process the energy transmission between
the ground charging board and the electric vehicle charging board
(Jaylin, 2020).
Photovoltaic panels have been integrated into the service area
pavements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Smart lighting
columns have been installed to improve lighting efficiency in the
service area and these also feature LED display screens, radio, wi-fi,
surveillance cameras and charging points (Figure 5).
The service area buildings have an automatic fresh-air circulation
system with heat exchangers (Hall Fresh Air Official, 2017), and the
toilets are equipped with intelligent guidance and deodourisation
systems. An artificial intelligence voice instructs users which toilets
are free, while real-time sensors discharge non-toxic chemicals to
remove odour (Ma et al., 2018) (Figure 6).
Machine vision captures traffic
accidents in real time, and
quickly uploads its data to the
control centre for processing.
Wi-fi
Intelligent lighting
Video surveillance
LED
information
screen
Charging point
Figure 5. Smart service area lighting columns include video
surveillance and charging points
83
 Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
Electronic Temperature and
prompt humidity sensor
Gas
sensor
Infrared sensor
Water Air conditioning
Photosensitive sensor meter controller
Figure 6. Service area toilets have intelligent voice guidance,
ventilation and deodourisation
8. Conclusion
Wufengshan Expressway has made significant progress
in improving communication between people, vehicles and
infrastructure. Using 5G and other modern communication
technologies, this has significantly improved journey times and
operational efficiency. The intelligent systems have eased traffic
congestion caused by environmental factors, facilitated normal
driving behaviour and provided guarantees for traffic management.
Completion of the Wufengshan Expressway proves that 5G
technology can have practical application on highways and make real-
time vehicle−road coordination possible. Its success will promote the
popularity of smart vehicles in China, giving passengers an enhanced
2022-059fig06
travel experience. However, the overall cost of the system is currently
Barking Dog Art
very high and needs further optimisation to ensure wider use.
Also, after 1 year of operation, it is clear there are still some aspects
of the Wufengshan Expressway that need further improvement.
The technology of the vehicle−road collaborative system requires
upgrading to match the current technology of autonomous vehicles,
and synchronous collection of road, vehicle and environmental data
would further improve operational efficiency.
Acknowledgement
This study was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of the People’s Republic of China (Grant 52278209).
The financial support is gratefully acknowledged.
84
Wufengshan Expressway: a review of systems
on China’s first intelligent highway
Tang, Peng, Su, Zhou and An
References
Chen JX, Zhang XW and Guo R (2013) Research on monitoring technology
of risk factors in expressway slope construction. Road Building Machinery
and Construction Mechanization 2013(2): 55–58 (in Chinese).
Cheng G, Han P and Du SJ (2004) The discussion on the conditions and main
problem of the deicer. Shanxi Science and Technology of Communications
2004(5): 45–46 (in Chinese).
Cho W, Oh HS and Park BJ (2011) Wireless access technologies for smart
highway: requirements and preliminary results. Journal of the Institute of
Internet, Broadcasting and Communication 11(2): 237–244.
Dong XB (2010) Reflections on China’s expressway toll policy. Transportation
Finance and Accounting 2010(12): 9–11 (in Chinese).
Fang LY, Wang M and Pan J (2018) CPU/GPU cooperative fast band
registration method for multispectral imagery. Geomatics and Information
Science of Wuhan University 43(7): 1000–1007 (in Chinese).
Hall Fresh Air Official (2017) What is a fresh air system? How does the
haze removal technology of fresh air system remove haze? Kinghonor,
9 November. See http://www.kinghonor.cn/news/id-78.html (accessed
10/02/2023; in Chinese).
Hu YL (2010) Innovation of snow melting equipment. China New
Technologies and Products 2010(18): article 64 (in Chinese).
Huawei (2018) Strategy of C-V2X (cellular network-based vehicle to
everything). 2018 World Mobile Congress, Barcelona, Spain.
Jaylin (2020) Wireless charging technology of electric vehicle. Zhihu,
24 August. See https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/196771034 (accessed
24/08/2020; in Chinese).
Li H (2006) Overview of the national road traffic accidents. Road Traffic
Management 2006(1): 4–5 (in Chinese).
Ma GJ, Li LX, Wang D et al. (2018) Study on the planning and design
countermeasures of highway carbon neutral service zone. Highway
Transportation Technology (Application Technology Edition) 2018(6):
320–321 (in Chinese).
Miller PW (2015) MCUs pair with FPGAs to improve system efficiency.
Digi-Key, 6 May. See https://www.digikey.com/es/articles/mcus-pair-with-
fpgas-to-improve-system-efficiency (accessed 10/02/2023).
Mirshahi M, Obenberger J, Fuhs CA et al. (2007) Active Traffic Management:
The Next Step in Congestion Management. Federal Highway
Administration, Washington, DC, USA, FHWA-PL-07-012. See http://
transportationops.org/publications/active-traffic-management-next-step-
congestion-management (accessed 07/01/2007).
NIBS (National Institute of Building Standards) (2012) National BIM Standard-
United States. NIBS, Washington, DC, USA. See https://www.nibs.org/
projects/national-bim-standard-united-states (accessed 10/02/2023).
Song CN (2005) General situation of studies on non-linear temperature
field in layered pavement structural system. Highway 2005(1): 49–53 (in
Chinese).
Tang ZQ, Li ZQ, Hou ZF et al. (2002) Properties analysis on deicing and snow
melting by electrically conductive concrete. Journal of Chongqing Jianzhu
University 2002(3): 101–116 (in Chinese).
Wang XJ, Yang WL, Yang Y and Wang DZ (2015) New application scenarios
of wireless communication technology in intelligent transport system.
Journal of Chang’ an University: Natural Science Edition 40(S1): 17–20 (in
Chinese).
Xu PY (2008) Study and development directions of snow melt agents.
Forestry Science and Technology Information 2008(4): 68–72 (in Chinese).
Zhang Y, Gantt GW, Rychlinski MJ et al. (2009) Connected vehicle
diagnostics and prognostics, concept and initial practice. IEEE Transactions
on Reliability 58(2): 286–294.
How can you contribute?
If you would like to comment on this paper, please email up to 200 words
to the editor at journals@ice.org.uk.
If you would like to write a paper of 5000 words about your own experience
in this or any related area of civil engineering, the editor will be happy to
provide any help or advice you need.
Cite this article Research Article
Liu Z and Zhang F (2023) Paper 2200127
Understanding building information modelling and its use in the Chinese construction industry. Received 11/07/2022
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering 176(2): 85–93, Accepted 04/01/2023
https://doi.org/10.1680/jcien.22.00127 Published online 13/02/2023

ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

Civil Engineering

Understanding building information modelling

and its use in the Chinese construction industry
Zhaoqiu Liu PhD Fei Zhang PhD
Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Associate Professor, School of Civil Engineering, Yancheng Institute of
Technology, Yancheng, China (Orcid:0000-0002-9309-731X) (corresponding Technology, Yancheng, China (Orcid:0000-0002-8498-2894)
author: zhaoqiuliu@sohu.com)

Building information modelling (BIM) is both a digital modelling method and information integration platform for
interoperability in the construction industry. This paper reviews the concepts and features of BIM along with its
different meanings, historical evolution and data exchange standards. It then analyses its application in the Chinese
construction industry, with examples of recent major projects. It concludes that many civil engineers are still unable
to use BIM to its full potential due to implementation complexity and the industry’s fragmented production structure.

Keywords: application situation/Building Information Modelling (BIM)/concepts and features/construction/design methods & aids/
development tendencies

1. Introduction collaborative design, implementation and operation based on open

During the past two decades, building information modelling
(BIM) has been rapidly adopted by the construction industry.
According to recent figures, the BIM global market size was
close to US$6.5 billion in 2021 despite the continuing impact of
Covid-19, with roughly 26% of that market’s revenue coming from
Europe, 22% from North America and 33% from the Asia-Pacific.
It is expected that the growth will continue at a rate of close to 15%
over the next 5 years if the global economy recovers gradually, and
the size of the worldwide market will reach almost US$13 billion
by 2026 (CCIA, 2022). For specific BIM application fields,
commercial and residential buildings have been a driving force in
the North American market, while civil infrastructure and public
buildings have taken centre stage in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.
BIM revolutionises traditional architectural expression and co-
operation compared with computer-aided design (CAD) technology
and is a powerful tool for changing how the industry designs,
constructs, operates and maintains the built environment (Lemaire et
al., 2019). With the help of BIM, the engineering, energy consumption,
economy, safety and other factors can be analysed, inspected and
simulated; thus it also serves as a foundation for optimising the entire
delivery process and using science in decision making. Additionally,
it supports collaboration, virtual construction and good management
to raise the quality and efficiency of the construction industry (Idrissi
Gartoumi et al., 2022; Jalaei et al., 2021).
Many countries have released BIM standards or technical
services. Among these, the National BIM Standard (NBIMS) of
the USA (NBIMS-US) is well known for providing information
exchange and sharing by referencing existing standards. It delivers
best business practice for the entire built environment by using
the open BIM standard (NBIMS, 2022). As an initiative to use
the open data model by the Buildingsmart alliance and several
leading software vendors, open BIM is a common approach for
standards and workflows. The alliance is a global organisation
that promotes built-environment transformation by developing or
adopting open international standards (Buildingsmart, 2022).
Although BIM implementation is rapidly increasing, applications
across the life cycle of design, construction and operation are still
limited in the construction industry. As a result, the full benefits
of BIM have yet to be realised. The goal of this paper is to study
the concepts and features of BIM and then analyse its application
in China.
2. Concepts and features
2.1 Different meanings
When it comes to BIM, there are many definitions. For instance,
the NBIMS committee defines BIM as a digital representation of
a facility’s physical and functional characteristics, while a BIM
model is an information-sharing knowledge resource for a facility
that serves as a reliable basis for decision making throughout its life
cycle. The NBIMS committee also classifies BIM as:
■ a product, which is an intelligent digital representation of a
building
■ a collaborative process, which includes business drivers,
automated process capabilities and open information standards
used for information sustainability and fidelity
■ a facility for understanding information exchange, workflow
and processes that teams use as a repeatable, verifiable,
transparent and sustainable information-based environment
throughout the building life cycle.
Succar (2009) defines BIM as a set of interacting policies,
processes and technologies that produce a methodology for

85
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
Table 1. Different meanings of BIM
Model Digital building model
Digital 3D model
3D model
Geometry and data model
Data model
Process Collaborative process for information processing
Process for project management
Process for building life-cycle management
Process for modelling and data management
Cooperative work process
Others Software product
Tool for information integration
Repository of project information
Visual design and analysis technology
Methodology for data management
managing essential building design and project data in digital
format throughout the building life cycle. Bryde et al. (2013)
emphasise the integrity of BIM, which includes not only software
that allows geometrical modelling and information input but also
project management (PM)-related tools and processes. According
to Stowe et al. (2015), BIM is a powerful tool for designing,
reviewing, simulating and coordinating building projects using
three-dimensional (3D) intelligent parametric models. BIM
provides construction firms with the ability to explore and plan
all aspects of construction, particularly before breaking ground.
Borrmann et al. (2018) define BIM as a digital model that spans
the entire life cycle of a building, from early conceptual design to
long-term operation.
According to Miettinen and Paavola (2014), BIM is a multi-
dimensional, evolutionary and complex phenomenon. It is a digital
representation of a building, an object-oriented 3D model, or a
repository of project information that allows for interoperability and
information exchange with related software applications. Eastman
et al. (2012) define BIM in three parts: a more integrated design and
construction process helps to improve building quality at lower cost
and shorter project duration; a model contains precise geometry
and data to support the construction, fabrication and procurement
activities through which the building is realised; and a process
accommodates many of the functions required for a building life
cycle and all participants.
According to Gilkinson et al. (2014), BIM is a process rather
than a technology. It is the process of generating the building
data, creating a building model with those data and maintaining
the model and data throughout the life cycle of the building. The
comprehensive meaning of BIM can be summarised from various
definitions as follows.
■ BIM is a data model that has four levels of maturity (from
level 0 to level 3): BIM level 0 does not include any type of
collaboration, and a two-dimensional (2D) model cannot
exchange any information at this level; BIM level 1 entails a
combination of 3D modelling and 2D construction drawings,
and models are not shared among project members; BIM
level 2 is defined as collaborative BIM, which includes a 3D
separate discipline model for sharing information by way of a
86
Understanding building information modelling and
its use in the Chinese construction industry
Liu and Zhang
NBIMS committee; Borrmann et al. (2018)
Miettinen and Paavola (2014)
Stowe et al. (2015)
Eastman et al. (2012)
Liu et al. (2016); Ozcan Deniz (2018)
NBIMS committee
Bryde et al. (2013)
Eastman et al. (2012)
Gilkinson et al. (2014)
Liu et al. (2016); Ozcan Deniz (2018)
Bryde et al. (2013)
Liu et al. (2016); Ozcan Deniz (2018)
Miettinen and Paavola (2014)
Liu et al. (2016); Ozcan Deniz (2018)
Succar (2009)
common file format; BIM level 3, also known as open BIM,
allows all project participants to collaborate on a single and
shared project model (Trace Software, 2022).
■ BIM is a collaborative work process: by using open standards
such as Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), the data model
created during the design stage can be quickly transferred to
the downstream construction stage for effective collaboration
at any time or place. Similarly, during the construction stage,
the data model can be seamlessly transferred to the operational
stage for dynamic building maintenance management (Ozcan
Deniz, 2018).
■ BIM is an information integration tool: BIM can help relevant
disciplines quickly obtain the data and information they need.
BIM sub-models developed at different stages and disciplines
can finally be combined to form a unified model for information
exchange and sharing (Liu et al., 2016; Ozcan Deniz, 2018).
■ BIM is a visual design and analysis technology: collision
detection and code compatibility can be achieved during the
design stage using BIM’s 3D technology to optimise design
quality and reduce potential errors or losses. The use of four-
dimensional (4D) virtual construction in the construction
process can improve construction quality and the ability to
communicate directly with the owners (Liu et al., 2016).
Table 1 summarises the different meanings of BIM; it shows
that most works in the literature regard BIM as a digital model and
information integration process.
2.2 Historical evolution
For more than 40 years, the concept of BIM has been proposed
(Eastman and Jeng, 1999; Eastman et al., 2005; Kensek, 2014).
BIM formation can be traced back to the early stages of calculation.
In 1963, solid modelling software first appeared as a result of the
advancement of geometric computing representations. Constructive
solid geometry (CSG) and boundary representation (Brep) were
the two shape construction methods that emerged in the 1970s and
1980s. The CSG system employed a set of original shapes that
could be filled or hollowed, allowing shapes to be combined and
crossed to create a more complex appearance. This advance was
especially important when it came to architectural models because
Civil Engineering Understanding building information modelling and
Volume 176 Issue 2 its use in the Chinese construction industry
Liu and Zhang

penetration and subtraction were common design procedures.

Generic building model
A building description system (BDS) was developed in 1975 to • concepts and
break down the building into its constituent parts. The software Building description technologies
• standards and projects
employed a graphical user interface, orthogonal and perspective system
• constructability
• design Building product model
views and a sortable database to enable users to conduct categorical • construction
• design management
searches through attributes such as material types and suppliers. Glide • evaluation • company
The BDS, designed by Charles Eastman, could reduce design • design • construction • constructor
• evaluation • progress control • physical information
costs by more than half through ‘drafting and analysis efficiency’.
Eastman’s next project, an interactive design graphics language
(Glide) developed in 1977, demonstrated the majority of the 1970s 1980s 1990s
modern BIM platform’s features.
Paul Teicholz established the Center for Integrated Facility
Building information
Engineering (CIFE) at Stanford in 1988, which marked another modelling
milestone in the development of BIM by further developing the 4D • building life cycle
• software application
building model with construction time attributes (Eastman, 1999; Building information • project control tool
modelling • information conversion
Tolman, 1999). This marked an important turning point in the two
• building life cycle method
BIM development trends that split and evolved over the next two • software application • technology application
Building information
decades. On the one hand, the development of multi-disciplinary modelling
• project control tool • 3D simulation
• information conversion • modelling technology
tools helped to improve the efficiency of the construction • building life cycle method • 4D or 5D simulation
industry, while the BIM model, on the other hand, served as a • software application
• project control tool
• technology application
• 3D simulation
• big data
• internet of things
prototype and could be tested and simulated in accordance with • information conversion • modelling technology • cloud computing
method • 4D or 5D simulation • 5G technology
performance criteria. • technology application • big data • digital twin
With the advancement of information technology, a more • 3D simulation • internet of things • multidimensional model
• modelling technology • cloud computing • information security
advanced system known as building product model (BPM) was
released in 1989. The BPM system defined building information
in the form of a product library for the first time. Based on the 2000s 2010s 2020s
BPM, a generic building model (GBM) system was introduced in
1995 that proposed an information model concept that covered the
building life cycle (Eastman, 1999). This represented a significant Figure 1. Evolution and trend of BIM
advancement in the development of BIM.
The first commercial version of Archicad was released in 1984
on the Apple Lisa personal computer, making it the market’s engineers and contractors.
oldest BIM architectural design tool (Quirk, 2012). Although basic Throughout its history, BIM has been inextricably linked to the
issues such as the lack of phased components and the complex advancement of information technologies. At present, with the
programming environment of home components using geometry development of some emerging technologies such as big data, the
description language (GDL) has not been resolved, Archicad has internet of things, cloud computing, digital twins and 5G (the fifth-
been used to design over one million projects worldwide. generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks)
To handle more complex projects, Revit software was released wireless systems, the construction industry will see greater use
in 2000. It adopted parametric modelling by way of object- of BIM. Figure 1 shows the evolution and trend of BIM. As BIM
oriented programming in C++. Autodesk purchased Revit in 2002 evolved to where it is today, the current approach is to use a unified
and began promoting the software application through its object- model, which means that the standardised interoperability of BIM
based project: Architectural Desktop. Revit revolutionised BIM files between different data models must be achieved. In practice,
by developing a parameter family platform that used a visual different participants may use different software applications to
programming environment and time attributes to form a 4D model complete their tasks. When one participant passes the model to
associated with a building. This also allowed the contractor to the next, it must be added or subtracted from the total. This means
generate a construction schedule based on the BIM model and that all components can be combined before construction to run
simulate the construction process. A 4D model was useful for collision detection between different models. If one is found, a
optimising the construction plan, accelerating the construction specific portion can be retrieved and reprocessed. As a result,
progress and improving construction management efficiency. it is critical to test the interoperability of BIM software across
Furthermore, the 4D approach improved design quality, facility workgroups (Michaud et al., 2019; Volk et al., 2014).
life-cycle performance, near and long-term costs, budget control However, there is currently no ‘one-size-fits-all’ version of
and the design and construction process (Fischer, 2000; Kam et al., BIM software. The appropriate software depends on the role
2003). The Freedom Tower project in New York’s Manhattan was of participants and may differ from project to project due to
the first to use Revit for design and construction planning (Quirk, interoperability issues and contractor regulations. As a result, the
2012). This project was completed in sections, but the BIM model BIM software selection process is not entirely isolated. Companies
2022-127fig01
connected them to provide real-time cost estimates and material must Dog
Barking fullyArt understand their requirements and the benefits of
quantities. The improvements of construction site coordination using specific software products, as well as quantify their return
and efficiency enabled the development of integrated software that on investment. In the future, estimation and costing solutions in
can be used to simultaneously view and interact with architects, the BIM field appear likely to thrive. Luban and Glodon in China,

87
Civil Engineering Understanding building information modelling and
Volume 176 Issue 2 its use in the Chinese construction industry
Liu and Zhang

Table 2. Examples of BIM standards for example, can read BIM files and extract pertinent data and
information for quantity calculation and cost analysis (Glodon,
National standards International open standards
2022; Lubansoft, 2022).
and guidelines (services)
NBIMS (USA) IFC 2.3 Related data exchange standards
AEC-BIM (UK) IDM
BIM has many related standards, some of which are national or
CBIMS (China) BSDD
regional standards, such as NBIMS-US, and others of which are
EUBIM (European Union) IDS
BIM Guide (Singapore) BCF international open standards, such as IFC, Information Delivery
JIA BIM (Japan) Manual (IDM) and Buildingsmart Data Dictionary (BSDD).
COBIM (Finland) Table 2 lists a few BIM standards (Buildingsmart, 2022).
IDS, Information Delivery Specification; BCF, BIM Collaboration Format
The IFC standard is widely acknowledged as an open data
exchange format for interoperability within the construction
industry (Laakso and Kiviniemi, 2012; Nawari, 2012; Venugopal
et al., 2012). As an effective tool for implementing BIM, IFC is
IFC1.0 IFC2× IFC2×2 IFC2×2 A1 IFC2×3
a data expression standard published by Buildingsmart for the
construction industry. Information exchange and sharing among
1997 2000 2003 2004 2006 project participants, as well as data exchange between different
software applications, are both possible under the IFC standard.
Meanwhile, the IFC standard can integrate data and information
IFC2×4 IFC4 IFC4.1 IFC4.2 IFC4.3 RC1 IFC4.3 generated at each stage of a project into a unified model, thereby
contributing to comprehensive information utilisation. The
International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) released IFC 1.0 in
2009 2013 2018 2019 2020 2022 1997. The IFC standard was constantly improved over the next two
decades by IAI and the subsequent Buildingsmart alliance. Since
Figure 2. Evolution of the IFC standard the release of IFC 4.3 in 2022, about 11 extended and updated
versions have been released. Figure 2 shows the evolution of the
IFC standard.
Although IFC is a robust product-modelling standard, its model
requires massive amounts of data to define objects, relations and
e

attributes. In practice, exchanging the entire information model is

ang

exc
n e ed

Info nge c
xch

olo SDD)
atio ardis

not always necessary. As a result, a specific model view definition

ha
ISO

rm onte

(MVD) is required to specify how to use IFC to implement the

(B
orm nd

atio nt
gy

29 ess
6-3
inf Sta

Pro
48

model exchange. A broader definition of MVD is the development

n
00
min

1 (I
c
12

of a subset of the IFC model that provides specific information

DM
Ter
ISO

exchange for specific participants in construction workflows (Lee

)

Data et al., 2018).

In general, different phases and participants are frequently
ISO 16739 (IFC)
involved in a project. In most cases, specific data and information
are required at various stages of a project. Therefore, IDM defines
Information exchange format
the exchanged contents. In 2006, Buildingsmart introduced the
Figure 3. Relationships between IFC (ISO, 2018), BSDD (ISO, 2022) concept of IDM, which proposed a way for identifying the required
and IDM (ISO, 2016) information in a specific exchange through process modelling. IDM
was designed to determine the data exchange requirements for any
particular workflow and to describe the exchange requirements
based on the data description criteria (such as Express) to achieve
high participation of specific parties and to implement efficient
BIM 4.0
Whole process information exchange and sharing in a specific business process.
4.0 Management
Enterprise application extension
IDM defines the information standards required for a specific task
BIM 3.0
throughout a project’s life cycle. It is data standard independent
BIM phase

Construction stage and contributes to meeting business needs and improving building
3.0
Model application
Project application communication processes. As a result, the necessary information is
BIM 2.0 available and the quality of the exchange is ensured.
Barking
2.0Dog Art Modelling-oriented
Stand-alone application
BSDD is a library of classes, properties, relations and units
BIM 1.0
that provides a standardised workflow to ensure data quality and
1.0 Concept-oriented consistency. It is an open, international and multi-language library
Concept Design Construction Operation
that can be used to supplement and extend the IFC standard. BSDD
uses a global unique identifier (GUID) to associate the same concept
Figure 4. Development phases of BIM in China (the concept can be subdivided into objects, activities, attributes
and units), which is stored in the global server and distributed to

88
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
(a)
(c)
Figure 5. Four typical BIM projects in China: (a) Shanghai Disney Resort, (b) Beijing Phoenix Media Center, (c) Beijing Daxing International
airport and (d) Shanghai Tower
project participants. This concept can be expressed in a variety of
languages and ways. The names and descriptions of the concept in
different countries, regions and language systems maintain one-to-
one relationships with the GUID to ensure that project participants
receive consistent information through data exchange.
IFC, IDM and BSDD are the three basic pillars for information
exchange and sharing throughout a project’s life cycle, and they
are also the basis for maximising the benefits of BIM. Their
relationships are shown in Figure 3.
3. Application analysis
3.1 Development situation
In the Chinese construction market, BIM application has
gone through four phases over the last two decades (as shown in
Figure  4). The first phase, from 1998 to 2005, is known as the
‘concept introduction period’, the second, from 2006 to 2013, as the
‘preliminary application phase’, the third, from 2013 to 2018, as the
‘fast application phase’, and the fourth, from 2018 to the present,
as the ‘deep application phase.’ The first phase was dedicated to
Understanding building information modelling and
its use in the Chinese construction industry
Liu and Zhang
(b)
(d)
researching the IFC standard and the BIM concept. The second
phase focused on support standards and software applications, and
some large projects began to use BIM.
However, the application field is limited to planning and design,
and the design industry is undergoing a transformation from
CAD to BIM. In the third phase, BIM was applied to large-scale
project implementation, and national policy strongly supported
the development of BIM-related technologies. Some construction
firms began to use BIM in construction and management, but the
link between design and operation was weak. The deep application
of ‘BIM+’ is increasing in the fourth phase, including ‘BIM+5G
technology’, ‘BIM+cloud computing’, ‘BIM+information security’,
‘BIM+digital twin’, and so on. Owners and builders have begun to
integrate BIM with design, construction and operation throughout
the construction process.
According to some Chinese market statistics, more than 1100
BIM-connected products were sold in 2021, while project areas
of BIM service exceeded 580 million m2. The Chinese BIM
market was about US$1.45 billion in 2021, a 15% increase over
the previous year (Forward Intelligence, 2022). In terms of BIM
development status in projects of various sizes, less than half of
89
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
small projects use it, while more than 70% of medium and large
projects do. In terms of BIM use time, more than half of businesses
have used it for 2−5 years, 17% have used it for more than 10 years,
and 12% have used it for 15 years (Bimbox, 2022). In terms of
application stage, 35% of businesses use BIM in the design stage,
37% use it in the construction stage and 28% use it in other stages
(Wen et al., 2021; Zheng et al., 2019).
3.2 Typical BIM projects
BIM and associated technologies have been used in some
projects in China’s developed regions, including the China Pavilion
at Shanghai World Expo, Shanghai Disney Resort, the International
Cruise Terminal of Tianjin seaport, Shanghai Tower, Nanjing South
railway station, Beijing Phoenix Media Center, Beijing Daxing
International airport, Wuhu Yangtze river bridge and the Fast500m
aperture radio telescope, among others (Du, 2020; Li, 2020).
Although these applications can achieve complex design, multi-
professional collision inspection and virtual construction schedule
simulation, it is still a long way from full life-cycle applications.
The following are four examples of typical BIM projects in China.
■ Shanghai Disney Resort project (Figure 5(a)) is located in
Shanghai’s Pudong New District. It is the first Disney theme
park on the Chinese mainland. More than 70% of project
implementation was based on the BIM environment, which
greatly improved collaborative construction efficiency. The
project teams could share resources, technical support and
co-operation mechanisms, and knowledge-based patterns
using the BIM platform. The use of BIM allowed the project
management team effectively to integrate the different
participants and more than 140 different disciplines; as a result,
design changes were significantly reduced during the project
bidding phase. If the project management team had adopted the
usual design approach, the number of design changes would
have exceeded 3000 as opposed to 360 using the BIM platform
(BIM Information, 2022; Zhang and Jiang, 2018).
■ Beijing Phoenix Media Center project has a curved appearance
(Figure 5(b)). In view of this, the project management team
needed to seek new working methods and create more-detailed
3D models to integrate various non-graphical information
and establish a sharing data environment. In comparison to
traditional workflow, the project management team implemented
work in a BIM environment, which reduced potential risks,
saved time and improved construction quality (Wang, 2013).
■ Beijing Daxing International airport project (Figure 5(c)) fully
implemented life-cycle management and multi-participant
schema based on BIM technology. This project used BIM
to achieve information transfer and sharing at all stages,
including investment planning, survey and design, construction
and operation, and to meet the needs of quality control, project
scheduling and investment control at different stages. BIM was
used to perform the deepening design and performance analysis
of the steel grid structure, as well as 3D modelling, deepening
coordination and stress calculation of the hangar steel grid
using related technical tools such as Revit and Tekla. BIM and
cloud computing technology were used to discover issues that
needed to be coordinated during the deepening design process
of the entire structure, and the 3D size verification work of the
installation and positioning was also independently completed.
90
Understanding building information modelling and
its use in the Chinese construction industry
Liu and Zhang
Furthermore, the real and dynamic construction process was
simulated using BIM five-dimensional (5D) software, and some
potential problems that affected the actual project progress
were discovered during the simulation process, allowing the
specific operational plan to be optimised and the construction
period to be shortened (Du, 2020). This project won the 2018
BIM Application Demonstration Project of Beijing award.
■ Shanghai Tower (Figure 5(d)) is located at Lujiazui financial
centre. The core project management team in the BIM
platform consisted of only three people, who were responsible
for supervising the overall project’s delivery and schedule
consistency. Because of increased control and decreased
repetitive work, the project was completed in 73 months, which
is 30% faster than comparable projects (BIM Information,
2022). Different participants in the BIM environment shared
the information model effectively to communicate and
exchange under virtual conditions. In terms of modelling, a 2D
model could not adequately express the torsional appearance of
the project, but a BIM visual 3D model was able to do better.
The four projects mentioned above are examples of BIM
application in complex projects, and they include a comprehensive
office building, a super high-rise building, a cultural and tourism
building and a large airport engineering project. According to
application experience, the benefit of BIM in these complex
projects was determined by the top-level design. Conflicts between
different disciplines were reduced before construction with the use
of BIM, as were the large number of design changes. Therefore, the
refined design and construction were enhanced.
4. Results and discussion
4.1 Existing problems
BIM generates a large amount of data and information that can
be deeply processed and reused for the construction industry, so
significant requirements are placed on collaborative management
of the large model and big data generated by BIM for a complex
project. Simultaneously, significant requirements for computing
power and low-cost storage capability of massive data and
information are also proposed. Therefore, to effectively manage
and utilise such massive data and information, an appropriate
data management system is required, one that can handle relevant
data in different submodels. This data management system can be
implemented using BIM-related tools such as different standards
and software applications that play their respective roles by way of
a unified platform mechanism.
BIM’s value is based on information sharing and collaboration.
From the standpoint of the development situation and application
practice, BIM can effectively reduce the occurrence of ‘error,
missing, and collision’ in a project’s construction process, thereby
reducing waste and improving the project quality. However, the
application of BIM at present is mostly limited to the early stage
of design, construction and management. There is still a scarcity of
mature solutions for information integration and collaborative work
across the entire project life cycle.
There are some  obstacles to the promotion of BIM in the
construction industry, such as imperfect policies, incomplete
regulations and standards, unbalanced development, immature local
Civil Engineering Understanding building information modelling and
Volume 176 Issue 2 its use in the Chinese construction industry
Liu and Zhang

software applications and insufficient technical talent, which can Concept promotion stage
be summarised into three aspects: insufficient data (information),
insufficient platform (integration) and insufficient standardisation
(systematisation). Both the numbers of high-level BIM projects
and the depth and breadth of application remain low (as shown in 49%
Figure 6), and there is still a lack of unified understanding of how
effectively to use BIM, which further leads to a lack of effective
co-operation between different participants (Fan et al., 2014;
Pidgeon and Dawood, 2021; Xu et al., 2014). The development and 17%
Initial application 24%
popularisation of new technology, such as BIM, often encounter
stage
various obstacles; the entire construction industry and jobholders 10%
No plan stage
must slow down, reflect calmly and respond positively.
The current application situation of BIM in the Chinese
Application and popularisation
construction market exhibits the following characteristics.
Figure 6. Application of BIM in the Chinese construction industry
■ BIM has been used in large-scale design and construction
enterprises, but its popularity remains low, and thus BIM remains
a so-called high technology used by a small number of employees.
■ Only a few owners of state-owned or large commercial projects
pay more attention to BIM application and begin to require UK and USA Europe
(Revit, Microstation, etc.) (Archicad, Magicad,
partial use of BIM in the design and construction process. Tekla, etc.)
■ The substantive application of BIM in the field of design and
construction is limited to entity model creation, visual analysis, Integrated Series-connected
information route information route
collision inspection and 4D virtual construction.
■ Due to the business opportunities, software developers are
enthusiastic about BIM and use it in part in their product Technical Cloud platform
alliance route information route
development. However, the application depth is limited, and some
software developers use BIM to promote or sell their products. Japan China
(J-BIM: Gioobe, TP-Planner, (Cloud BIM platform,
■ BIM’s promotion and popularisation show a significant Sircad, Tfas, etc.) P-BIM, BIM+, etc.)
regional imbalance; for example, large cities or developed
regions pay more attention to this technology, whereas small
cities or remote areas do the opposite. Figure 7. Main modes of global BIM development
■ BIM research is becoming increasingly popular in some
institutes or universities, and an increasing number of BIM
research centres have been established. Meanwhile, some
research findings have been applied to real-world projects. adopted
Barking DogasArtthe
primary scheme. Britain and the USA promote the
■ College teachers and students are also enthusiastic about BIM, use of BIM in the ‘integrated information route’ mode, where
but how effectively to teach and learn this technology is the products such as Autodesk’s Revit and Bentley’s Microstation can
most difficult challenge due to its application complexity when provide different solutions for different stages or specialties by
compared to CAD. integrating products from their research or outsourcing to create
■ There are still some issues with the current understanding of collaborative and shared products. In Europe, software such as
BIM conception. What is BIM, exactly? The answers may Archicad, Magicad and Tekla use the ‘series-connected information
differ. Some believe that BIM is only suitable for complex route’ mode to implement open BIM by way of the IFC file format
projects, while others believe that BIM values are difficult to and support open collaboration among various software. In Japan,
achieve. Still, others directly associate BIM with CAD. a ‘technical alliance route’ mode is used to establish a domestic
■ Although national BIM implementation specifications and solution software alliance known as J-BIM to realise data and
classification standards have been released, the unified data- information integration between different software (Li, 2019;
sharing interface has yet to be realised for various enterprises Ouyang
Barking and
Dog Art Huang, 2021a, 2021b).
and software applications. On the contrary, due to the lack The cloud platform integration route mode is the main line of
of an effective collaborative platform, design efficiency and BIM development in China; for instance, YJK, PKPM, Glodon,
construction quality in the construction industry have not and Hongye have developed a cloud BIM platform to promote
improved significantly. information integration and sharing. Meanwhile, China BIM
Union, established by the China Academy of Building Research
4.2 Development tendencies (CABR) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation
The main line of global BIM development is now ‘open and (CSCEC), focuses on the promotion of BIM in China. The concept
integration’ (as shown in Figure 7). BIM is used as the foundation of of P-BIM has been introduced following the research process
design in Britain and the USA, with open application programming (Huang, 2016). BIM application is divided into three levels in
interface (API). Meanwhile, in Europe and Japan, a unified data the P-BIM framework: professional BIM, phase BIM (planning,
format, such as an IFC standard or a co-operative alliance, is often design, construction and operation) and project BIM.

91
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
As information processing technologies such as cloud
computing, big data, the internet of things, mobile internet, digital
twins and artificial intelligence gradually permeate people’s daily
lives, national strategies such as ‘Internet+’, ‘Digital Economy’ and
‘Digital China’ have been promoted. Technology and innovation
have emerged as new drivers of national development in the
Digital China era. In this case, BIM contributes to the construction
industry’s use of digital modelling, sensing interconnection, virtual
holography, enhanced interaction, artificial intelligence and other
technologies, as well as to ‘Made in China 2025’. Every completed
building in the future will have two major parts: a physical entity
and a digital virtual body, elevating the construction industry to
a refined level of manufacturing (CCIA, 2022). In addition, to
improve significantly the efficiency of the construction industry,
future BIM development must combine advanced communication
and computer technology. It is expected that the following
application prospects will emerge.
■ Use of a mobile terminal. People can now access information
from anywhere and at any time thanks to the popularity of the
internet and mobile smart devices. The construction industry
will see an increase in the number of contractors equipping
their employees with these mobile devices for more efficient
on-site work.
■ The spread of a wireless sensor network. Monitors and sensors
can now be installed anywhere in a building to monitor the
temperature, air quality and humidity. In addition, the wireless
sensor network can collect heating information, ventilation
information, water supply information and other control
information to help engineers understand the overall status of
the building. As a result, an effective decision for design and
construction scheme optimisation can be provided.
■ Use of cloud computing technology. The powerful computing
capability of cloud computing technology will be required
for information processing and analysis in the field of energy
consumption assessment or structural analysis. Furthermore,
during the model rendering and analysis process, real-time
calculations can be performed to help designers compare
different design schemes and solutions as quickly as possible.
■ Digital reality capture. This technology can be used to scan
buildings, bridges, roads and railways using a laser scan
to obtain original data. Designers will be able to use this
immersive and interactive approach to work in a 3D space in
the future to show product development intuitively.
■ Digital twin technology. The digital twin is a highly accurate
digital model for describing and simulating things in the real
world, as well as a digital management technology for a product’s
entire life cycle. To form a complete record of the construction
process, the entire process of digital simulation includes not only
the product itself but also the production equipment, construction
technologies, participants, schedules, quality records and other
information. As a result of the combination of digital twins
and BIM, cities, buildings, products and participants can be
integrated to realise the digitalisation management of the entire
human settlement environment and promote a comprehensive
digital change in the construction industry (Agrawal et al., 2022;
Lu et al., 2021).
■ Collaborative project delivery. In some ways, BIM is both a
workflow and a technology for changing the design method and
92
Understanding building information modelling and
its use in the Chinese construction industry
Liu and Zhang
construction process for a project. It is a collaborative process
between designers, contractors and owners, and anyone can
contribute valuable ideas.
In general, BIM will change every day in the future, and participants
in the construction industry must lead these developments and changes
through wise decisions. The following are the predicted development
goals for BIM application.
■ The role and division of different participants in the different
stages of a project will be refined further.
■ The combination of a collaborative design system, project
management system, and communication and exchange system
will be realised in the BIM 3D environment.
■ The level of virtual reality technology will be improved further.
■ The construction management and property management will
be promoted further, and a unified BIM model will be fulfilled.
5. Conclusions
BIM’s primary role is to share data and information fully while
also providing a solid foundation for collaborative work among all
participants. Different meanings of BIM are studied and summarised
in this paper to help civil engineers gain a better understanding.
The role of BIM is analysed through a discussion of its historical
evolution. Although different views exist on the concept and role of
BIM, there is no doubt that it can improve the efficiency and quality
of engineering construction from the standpoint of historical and
technological evolution, and thus promote the construction industry
to reach the manufacturing industry’s productivity level.
The BIM model is an integration database of data and information
covering the life cycle of a project, but the life cycle of a project
usually lasts decades or even hundreds of years, making creating a
unified model difficult. Therefore, to realise a complete BIM model,
an effective standard is required to integrate the data and information
generated at various stages of a project’s life cycle. Many standards
are related to BIM, including international open standards and
national or regional standards. The concepts, developments and
relationships of IFC, IDM and BSDD are analysed in this paper.
IFC is used as a common data exchange standard, with IDM and
BSDD serving as supplements and extensions to IFC.
The application of BIM is gaining popularity among governments
and enterprises in the Chinese construction industry. As a result,
this paper discusses the development situation and typical projects
of the Chinese BIM market before summarising the benefits and
problems. Because of the rapid emergence of new information
technologies, the modes and tendencies of BIM development are
also discussed.
In general, BIM application is not without challenges,
necessitating rational treatment and careful selection. The work that
follows will focus on the field of ‘BIM+’ to broaden the application
scope from design and construction to operation.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank China BIM Union and BIM
Research Center of Yancheng Institute of Technology for their support.
Civil Engineering
Volume 176 Issue 2
References
Agrawal A, Fischer M and Singh V (2022) Digital Twin: from concept to
practice. Journal of Management in Engineering (ASCE) 38(3): 64–77.
BIM Information (2022) BIM classic application case 3 - Shanghai Disneyland.
China Revit, 25 September. See http://www.chinarevit.com/revit-51907-1-1.
html (accessed 22/11/2022; in Chinese).
Bimbox (2022) https://bimbox.top/7419.html (accessed 17/11/2022; in
Chinese).
Borrmann A, König M, Koch C and Beetz J (2018) Building information
modelling: why? what? how? In Building Information Modeling –
Technology Foundations and Industry Practice (Borrmann A, König M, Koch
C and Beetz J (eds)). Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 1–24.
Bryde D, Broquetas M and Volm JM (2013) The project benefits of building
information modelling (BIM). International Journal of Project Management
31(7): 971–980.
Buildingsmart (2022) http://www.buildingsmart.org (accessed 18/04/2022).
CCIA (China Construction Industry Association) (ed.) (2022) Analysis Report
on BIM Application in China’s Construction Industry (2021). China
Architecture & Building Press, Beijing, China, pp. 124–183 (in Chinese).
Du MF (2020) Smart Building. China Machine Press, Beijing, China, pp.
172–186 (in Chinese).
Eastman CM (1999) Building Product Models: Computer Environments
Supporting Design and Construction. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp.
35–107.
Eastman CM and Jeng TS (1999) A database supporting evolutionary product
model development for design. Automation in Construction 8(3): 305–323.
Eastman CM, Wang F, You SF and Yang D (2005) Deployment of an AEC
industry sector product model. Computer Aided Design 37(12): 1214–
1228.
Eastman CM, Teicholz P and Sacks R (2012) BIM Handbook: A Guide to BIM
for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors, 2nd edn.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, USA, pp. 15–28.
Fan SL, Skibniewski MJ and Hung TW (2014) Effects of building information
modelling during construction. Journal of Applied Science and Engineering
17(2): 157–166.
Fischer M (2000) Benefits of 4D models for facility owners and AEC service
providers. In Construction Congress VI: Building Together for a Better
Tomorrow in an Increasingly Complex World (Walsh KD (ed.)). American
Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA, USA, pp. 990–995.
Forward Intelligence (2022) Report of Market Prospects and Investment
Strategy Planning Analysis of China Building Information Modelling
Industry (2022-2027). Forward Intelligence Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, China, pp.
78–95 (in Chinese).
Gilkinson N, Raju P, Kiviniemi A and Chapman C (2014) Building information
modelling: the tide is turning. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
Engineers – Structures and Buildings 168(2): 81–93.
Glodon (2022) https://www.glodon.com/index.html (accessed 18/11/2022; in
Chinese)
Huang Q (2016) BIM Discussion. China Architecture & Building Press, Beijing,
China, pp. 121–136 (in Chinese).
Idrissi Gartoumi K, Aboussaleh M and Zaki S (2022) Building information
modelling a key for construction industry recovery post-Covid-19.
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Engineering
Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1680/jensu.22.00014.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) (2016) ISO 29481-1:2016:
Building information models — Information delivery manual — Part 1:
Methodology and format. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO (2018) ISO 16739-1:2018: Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) for data
sharing in the construction and facility management industries — Part 1:
Data schema. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO (2022) ISO 12006-3:2022: Building construction — Organization of
information about construction works — Part 3: Framework for object-
oriented information. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland.
Jalaei F, Zoghi M and Khoshand A (2021) Life cycle environmental impact
assessment to manage and optimize construction waste using Building
Information Modelling (BIM). International Journal of Construction
Management 21(8): 784–801.
Kam C, Fischer M, Hänninen R, Karjalainen A and Laitinen J (2003) The
product model and fourth dimension project. Journal of Information
Technology in Construction 8(12): 137–166.
Kensek KM (2014) Building Information Modelling. Routledge, Abingdon, UK,
pp. 4–18.
Laakso M and Kiviniemi A (2012) The IFC standard: a review of history,
development, and standardization. Journal of Information Technology in
Construction 17(9): 134–161.
Lee YC, Eastman CM and Solihin W (2018) Logic for ensuring the data
exchange integrity of building information models. Automation in
How can you contribute?
If you would like to comment on this paper, please email up to 200 words to the editor at journals@ice.org.uk.
If you would like to write a paper of 5000 words about your own experience in this or any related area of civil engineering, the editor will be happy to provide any
help or advice you need.
Understanding building information modelling and
its use in the Chinese construction industry
Liu and Zhang
Construction 93: 388–401.
Lemaire C, Rivest L and Boton C (2019) Analyzing BIM topics and clusters
through ten years of scientific publications. Journal of Information
Technology in Construction 24: 273–298.
Li YG (2019) BIM Standard and Technology Policy of China, USA and UK.
China Architecture & Building Press, Beijing, China, pp. 148–219 (in
Chinese).
Li YG (2020) Typical Cases of BIM Application. China Architecture & Building
Press, Beijing, China, pp. 97–146 (in Chinese).
Liu ZQ, Zhang F and Zhang J (2016) The building information modelling and
its use for data transformation in the structural design stage. Journal of
Applied Science and Engineering 19(3): 273–284.
Lu QC, Xie X, Parlikad AK, Schooling JM and Konstantinou E (2021) Moving
from building information models to digital twins for operation and
maintenance. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Smart
Infrastructure and Construction 174(2): 46–56.
Lubansoft (2022) http://www.lubansoft.com/ (accessed 18/11/2022; in
Chinese).
Michaud M, Forgues EC and Carignan V (2019) A lean approach to optimize
BIM information flow using value stream mapping. Journal of Information
Technology in Construction 24: 472–488.
Miettinen R and Paavola S (2014) Beyond the BIM utopia: approaches to
the development and implementation of building information modelling.
Automation in Construction 43: 84–91.
Nawari ON (2012) BIM standard in the structural domain. Journal of Civil
Engineering and Science 1(2): 42–51.
NBIMS (National BIM Standard) (2022) https://www.nationalbimstandard.org
(accessed 10/02/2022).
Ouyang D and Huang JZ (2021a) Global BIM development trend discussion II:
focus on BIM standards. China Engineering Consulting 4: 60–63 (in Chinese).
Ouyang D and Huang JZ (2021b) Global BIM development trend discussion IV:
focus on BIM development trend. China Engineering Consulting 6: 76–78
(in Chinese).
Ozcan Deniz G (2018) Emerging CAD and BIM trends in the AEC education:
an analysis from students’ perspective. Journal of Information Technology
in Construction 23: 138–156.
Pidgeon A and Dawood N (2021) BIM adoption issues in infrastructure
construction projects: analysis and solutions. Journal of Information
Technology in Construction 26: 263–285.
Quirk V (2012) A brief history of BIM. ArchDaily, 7 December. See https://
www.archdaily.com/302490/a-brief-history-of-bim (accessed 15/11/2022).
Stowe K, Zhang SJ and Teizer J (2015) Capturing the return on investment
of all in building information modelling: structured approach. Practice
Periodical on Structural Design and Construction 20(1): 04014027.
Succar B (2009) Building information modelling framework: A research and
delivery foundation for industry stakeholders. Automation in Construction
18(3): 357–375.
Tolman F (1999) Product modelling standards for the building and
construction industry: past, present and future. Automation in Construction
8(3): 227–235.
Trace Software (2022) BIM Maturity Levels. Trace Software, St-Romain-de-
Colbosc, France.. See https://www.trace-software.com/blog/bim-maturity-
levels/ (accessed 16/11/2022).
Venugopal M, Eastman CM, Sacks R and Teizer J (2012) Semantics of model
views for information exchanges using the industry foundation class
schema. Advanced Engineering Informatics 26(2): 411–428.
Volk R, Stengel J and Schultmann F (2014) Building information modelling
(BIM) for existing buildings: literature review and future needs. Automation
in Construction 38: 109–126.
Wang Z (2013) The Research for Applications of BIM in Non-linear
Architectural Design (for Instance of Beijing Phoenix International Media
Center). Master’s thesis, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and
Architecture, Beijing, China, pp. 33–42 (in Chinese).
Wen QJ, Ren ZJ, Lu H and Wu JF (2021) The progress and trend of BIM
research: a bibliometrics-based visualization analysis. Automation in
Construction 124: 176–191.
Xu HE, Feng JC and Li S (2014) Users-orientated evaluation of building
information model in the Chinese construction industry. Automation in
Construction 39: 32–46.
Zhang KJ and Jiang DM (2018) Introduction to BIM in the application of the
engineering quality, progress and cost collaborative management. Value
Engineering 23: 71–73 (in Chinese).
Zheng X, Lu YJ, Li YK and Xia JZ (2019) Quantifying and visualizing value
exchanges in building information modelling (BIM) projects. Automation in
Construction 99: 91–108.
93
ICE Manual of
Bridge Engineering
Third edition

Edited by Gerard Parke and Nigel Hewson

The ICE Manual of Bridge Engineering is the industry’s leading guide

to the engineering of all types of bridges. This book has been written
by a team of leading experts and contains all of the key topics that
any bridge engineer needs to refer to. All aspects from bridge design,
materials and management of bridges to loadings, construction and
accessories such as expansion joints, parapets and bearings are covered
in this manual. Bridge inspections and economic and sustainable
maintenance are also included. Fully updated to a third edition, this
book features new chapters on bridge aesthetics and temporary
works. It is aligned with the guidance given in the Eurocodes. It
will become your go-to authority on all aspects of bridge design,
construction and management.
Fully illustrated and with many examples of best practice, this book
features chapters on
n prestressed and reinforced concrete bridges
n loads, load distribution and analysis PRICE: £250.00 / $375.00

n steel and aluminium bridges ISBN: 9780727763051

n arch bridges FORMAT: Hardback

n suspension bridges PUBLISH DATE: March 2022

PAGE SIZE: 276 x 219mm

n cable-stayed bridges
NUMBER OF PAGES: 808pp
n moveable and footbridges
n repairing and strengthening
n among other topics.

ICE Manual of Bridge Engineering will be of interest to all practitioners

involved in any aspect of the analysis, design, construction, repair,
inspection, maintenance, and refurbishment of bridges. It will also
appeal to students at university or college, contractors, government
agencies and research centres.

Order Online: www.icebookshop.com | Email: orders@icepublishing.com | Phone: +44 (0)12 3546 5577
Concise Guide to Reinforced
Concrete Design to Eurocode 2
Author: Patrick Purcell

Concise Guide to Reinforced Concrete Design to Eurocode 2 explains

the principles of limit state design in Eurocode 2 by means of simple
worked examples of reinforced concrete design. The book introduces
the reader to the basic principles applicable to each section and
guides to design elementary reinforced concrete structures. Further
practice problems and outline solutions are provided along the way
and design charts, tables and formulae are included as design aids
throughout. Each chapter contains a summary of the key structural
design steps and more in-depth coverage of the design of reinforced
concrete structural elements are presented which will be of benefit to
any practitioner or student.

This book contains chapters on

n limit state design

n flexure

n shear

n deflection

n curtailment
PRICE: £45.00 / $65.50
n slabs ISBN: 9780727765727

n columns FORMAT: Hardback

n pad footings PUBLISH DATE: March 2022

PAGE SIZE: 234 x 156mm

n detailing.
NUMBER OF PAGES: 180pp

Concise Guide to Reinforced Concrete Design to Eurocode 2 is a

concise, pick-up-and-go introduction to concrete technology for
students of engineering and architecture, and an aide for junior
engineers, architects and draughtspersons looking for the essential
information for designing with Eurocode 2.

Order Online: www.icebookshop.com | Email: orders@icepublishing.com | Phone: +44 (0)12 3546 5577
 Submit your paper

Engineering and
Computational Mechanics
Numerical and computational analysis
of applied mechanics

CHAIR AND HONORARY EDITOR

Matthew Gilbert, University of Sheffield, UK

Engineering and Computational Mechanics publishes

refereed papers and other short contributions on
fundamental applied mechanics in civil engineering.
Practically oriented papers are particularly welcome.
Papers cover solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, the
behaviour of granular materials, structural, stress and
strain analysis, and the dynamics of structures and
fluid/structure interactions. Papers specifically covering
materials science or soil and rock mechanics will not
normally be included. However, contributions dealing
with problems at the interfaces between geotechnical
engineering, structural engineering and fluid mechanics
may be considered. Similarly, papers dealing with the
application of materials in engineering mechanics are also ISSN: 1755-0777
welcome.
EISSN: 1755-0785
This is a hybrid, Plan S compliant journal with an option
ISSUES A YEAR: 4
to publish fully open access.
SJR: 0.202

The paper judged to be the best each year is

awarded the Telford Premium.
Find out more about the ICE Publishing Awards:
www.icevirtuallibrary.com/awards

Part of the Institution of Civil Engineers, ICE Publishing journals provide comprehensive coverage
of civil and environmental engineering with real world impact. Published papers are seen by
researchers and professionals across the globe.

Find out more www.icevirtuallibrary.com/encm

 Themed Issue Call for Papers

Infrastructure Asset Management The ultimate reference on Blue-Green

A themed issue on ‘corporate-level infrastructure asset management: an
unexplored domain of business significance’ is planned for 2023 Infrastructure solutions
ICE Manual of
Champions: Shafiq Alam, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland, Australia;
Dr Steven Male, Visiting Fellow in Infrastructure Asset Management, University of Bristol, UK
Editor in Chief: Professor Alan O’Connor, Head of School of Engineering, Chairholder and Professor of
Structural Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Corporate asset infrastructure, covering government and non-government
offices, industry complexes, workspaces in public assets like educational and
hospital buildings, and the retail sector have embraced rapid transformation since
the advent of information technology (IT)-driven decision processes in the late
ISSN: 2053-0242
E-ISSN: 2053-0250
Frequency: Quarterly
Blue-Green Infrastructure
twentieth century. The rapid spread of the internet enabled international Edited by Carla-Leanne Washbourne and Claire Wansbury
networking of offices and support services for remote working, has reshaped Why publish with ICE?
organisational structures and ways of working. Open workspace environments
with meeting rooms and hot-desking have driven strategic considerations to deal Established in 1836, ICE Publishing is
a leading provider of information for
with hybrid office and home working effectively. Climate change changing
researchers and practitioners worldwide in
transport demands, behaviours and travel patterns would accelerate this move. ICE Manual of Blue-Green Infrastructure draws together an exceptional
the fields of civil engineering, construction
The Covid-19 pandemic quickly established working from home as a suitable and materials science.  breadth of material to provide a complete practical reference on Blue-
option resulting in significant demands for home office working arrangements Green Infrastructure (BGI) solutions. Written and edited by leading
and IT-centric assets, and extensive changes to health and well-being require- We are the publishing division of the ICE,
an influential, not for profit, professional specialists, each chapter provides a contemporary overview of a significant
ments. Rapid changes of corporate asset formation over the last few decades also
created significant costs and management concerns for sustainability, resilience membership body with 92,000 civil area within the field and guidance on key considerations in BGI design,
engineer members around the world.  creation, retrofitting and maintenance. The book will help practitioners to
and appropriate levels of analysis: the strategic, tactical and operational aspects.
• Improve your professional profile explain the value of BGI, embed it into new development projects, retrofit
Abstracts are invited covering topics including, but not limited to: worldwide it to older ones and provide for its long-term successful maintenance.
„ Risks of inadequate future investment in corporate asset infrastructures
• Included in major science and
and workspace environments due to uncertain demand factors Key features include
engineering databases and indexes
„ Significant organisational change challenges created from managing • Peer review by international experts introduction to BGI, including definitions, and overarching benefits
corporate infrastructure assets generally, and which corporate asset and why and challenges
• Editorial support and guidance alongside
„ Inappropriate design standard and specification for life cycle performance professional copy-editing, typesetting
targeted chapters focusing on particular project types, landscapes
requirements when dealing with frequent changes and proof-reading
and approaches, including coastal and marine BGI, BGI on highways,
„ Business overhead cost increase due to more frequent changes to • No publication charges (Open Access
green bridges, green roofs, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS),
corporate establishments and higher health and well-being requirements titles excepted)
trees and soils
„ Impact on supply chain management for rapidly changing furniture and • Member of COPE – Committee on
Publication Ethics and CrossCheck BGI standards and key issues for the management and maintenance
materials requirements
of BGI
„ Development challenges due to inadequate condition and performance
data regime for the shorter working life of a particular workspace setting examples of successful projects across a range of sectors.
„ Professional challenges for delivering designs due to limited academic and
technical studies for a rapidly evolving industrial setting Part of the ICE Manuals series, ICE Manual of Blue-Green Infrastructure
„ Management of non-building assets, such as vehicle fleet, information is an essential reference for practicing engineers, masterplanners,
technology, safety, security and others in a sustainable manner landscape architects, water design specialists, ecologists, development
companies, and local planning authorities.
Abstracts due: 1 April 2023 Submissions due: 31 August 2023

FIND OUT MORE:

Information for authors: www.icevirtuallibrary.com/page/authors
About the journal: https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/journal/jinam
Submit an abstract: https://forms.office.com/r/X5Tz7LGzX8 Order Online: www.icebookshop.com | Email: orders@icepublishing.com | Phone: +44 (0)12 3546 5577
Contact: Kirsten Buchanan, Tel.: +44 (0)207 665 2204, Email: kirsten.buchanan@icepublishing.com
 Submit your paper

Civil Engineering
Our member journal, covering all aspects Volume 176 Issue 2 May 2023
of civil engineering today
n Rapid construction of modular buildings for emergencies: a case study from Hong Kong, China
n Sustainable hydrocarbon remediation using solar power at Redheugh gasworks, UK
n Wufengshan Expressway: a review of systems on China’s first intelligent highway
n Understanding building information modelling and its use in the Chinese construction industry

CHAIR AND HONORARY EDITOR

Paula McMahon, Sir Robert McAlpine, UK

Practical and diverse in its scope, Civil Engineering

publishes accessible papers for the non-specialist on
any subject relevant to civil engineering today. Topics
range from landmark projects to philosophical,
ethical, environmental, management and safety
issues.
Published authors receive a free electronic copy
of their article to share with their peers. Issues are
sent to our ICE’s 96,000-strong membership and
promoted to the wider civil engineering community.
This is a hybrid, Plan S compliant journal with an
ISSN: 0965-089X
option to publish fully open access.
EISSN: 1751-7672
ISSUES A YEAR: 6
The paper judged to be the best each
IMPACT FACTORS: 1.313 (two year);
year is awarded the Coopers Hill War
1.277 (five year)
Memorial Prize.
SJR: 0.323
Find out more about the ICE Publishing Awards:
www.icevirtuallibrary.com/awards

Part of the Institution of Civil Engineers, ICE Publishing journals provide comprehensive coverage
of civil and environmental engineering with real world impact. Published papers are seen by
researchers and professionals across the globe.

Journal ASCI 128

icevirtuallibrary.com/loi/jcien
Find out more www.icevirtuallibrary.com/cien ISSN 0965-089X