Special issue – Building Defects, Quality Failures, and Sustainability in the Built Environment: Challenges and Digital Solutions
Building defects and quality failures remain among the most persistent challenges facing the global construction industry. Their impacts extend beyond project performance, contributing to material waste, carbon emissions, rework, safety risks, project delays, increased maintenance costs, and premature deterioration of assets. As the industry pursues sustainable development goals, improving construction quality and reducing defects are becoming critical strategies for enhancing environmental, economic, and social sustainability outcomes.
Rapid advancements in digital technologies are transforming the way defects are identified, monitored, predicted, and managed. Technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Twins, computer vision, Internet of Things (IoT), reality capture, predictive analytics, and smart asset management systems offer significant opportunities to improve quality performance throughout the lifecycle of buildings and infrastructure. These innovations can support design quality and proactive defect prevention, reduce rework and waste, improve resource efficiency, strengthen operational performance, and enhance long-term asset resilience.
This Special Issue welcomes original research, review articles, case studies, and methodological contributions that address the causes, consequences, detection, prevention, prediction, and management of building defects and quality failures. Particular emphasis is placed on digital solutions that improve quality outcomes and contribute to a more sustainable built environment. The Special Issue aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from construction management, engineering, facility management, sustainability, asset management, digital construction, and related disciplines to advance knowledge and industry practice.
Topics of Interest
- Building defects and quality failures;
- Causes and consequences of construction defects;
- Construction quality management and improvement;
- Defect prevention and risk management;
- Rework, waste, and sustainability impacts;
- BIM for quality management and compliance;
- Digital twins for defect and asset management;
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning for defect detection, prediction, and quality management;
- Computer vision for automated defect detection;
- IoT-enabled monitoring and condition assessment of built assets;
- Data analytics and predictive modelling for defect prevention and quality improvement;
- Post-occupancy defect management and building performance;
- Asset management, lifecycle performance, and infrastructure resilience;
- Circular economy approaches for defect reduction and asset longevity;
- Carbon emissions and environmental impacts of defects;
- Industrialised construction and prefabrication quality;
- Digital transformation for quality and defect management;
- Digital design and construction and climate impact.
How to Submit
Further details and how to submit can be found here.
Submission deadline: 30th November 2026
Guest Editors
Dr. Argaw Gurmu
Dr. Rasmus Rempling
Dr. Mohammad Arif Rohman
