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Suitability of ICTAD formula and CIDA price indices to calculate the amount of price escalated in construction projects
No full textPrice fluctuation is a significant risk factor, in every construction project market. It is unavoidable and difficult to forecast. However, it is often argued that there is a difference between the amount calculated with the CIDA price fluctuation formula method and the actual price fluctuation. Therefore, the aim of this research is to investigate the industry opinion on whether there is a difference between price escalations calculated using the CIDA price fluctuation formula and actual price fluctuation.
A qualitative research approach was selected to achieve the aim of this research. Through a broad study of literature, it was identified the most critical factors which affected actual price fluctuation deviation. Meanwhile, semi-structured interviews were carried out to identify the reasons affecting fluctuation difference by analysing the data, which was used, and comparing the opinions given by the interviewees.
The data was analysed using context analysis. The results of the research confirm that. there is a difference between the amount of price escalation using the ICTAD price fluctuation formula and the actual being used. The main reason behind this difference is the less accuracy of cost indices. To improve the accuracy of the results of this formula, appropriate data collection using an appreciate sample of contractors in producing price indices is recommended as the main
Life cycle thinking for packaging
No full textUnsustainable packaging practices are one of the leading problems in today’s world, leading to unnecessary resource consumption, increased waste generation, environmental pollution, and an overall negative impact on ecosystems. Global statistics show that 8 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year. It has been estimated that approximately 79% of plastic produced since 1950 has been sent to landfills or otherwise released to the environment. With the current trends, the United Nations predicts that the plastic content will overweigh the fish in the ocean by 2050 [1]
Materialising gender-fluidity through fashion
No full textAs the final year comprehensive design project for the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Design, Department of Integrated Design, Faculty of Architecture, University of Moratuwa, I have selected a project which is based upon my own clothing brand. It is an emerging ready-to-wear clothing brand based in Sri Lanka, which was launched in August 2020 through the Colombo Fashion Week named “HARID”. Currently, HARID retails at the Design Collective store in Colombo for a consumer group based upon it. The brand philosophy of HARID is to challenge gender-related stereotypical concepts. As the brand identity, HARID uses heritage craft practices
Cognitively intelligent models for Human-Robot interaction with MIRob
No full textMoratuwa Intelligent Robot, shortened as MIRob, is the first successful outcome of the research conducted by the Intelligent Service Robotics Group (ISRG) of the Department of Electrical Engineering-UoM. The tremendous effort of a team of Masters, MPhil and PhD students made MIRob project a success. Chapa Sirithunge is the most recent graduate from the team, who recently defended her PhD with the Intelligent Service Robotics Group. Her research: Framework for Adaptive Human-Robot Interaction Initiation for Domestic Environments, was supervised by Prof. Buddhika Jayasekara, lead of the group
Public vs private sector owned urban public space performance in terms of user perception in city of Colombo
No full textPublic spaces are considered one of the fundamental elements in the urban context to promote leisure and recreation for urban dwellers. Public spaces contain variations within each other from the physical appearance, activities, and to usage factors. Private sector involvement for public space provision was increased in the recent past where public space ownership and access controls were shifted from solely public to private. This was criticized as privatization of public space and lead to debates on the decline of publicness and privacy of space. In this context, this research studied the public space from the user perception by considering publicly owned and operated versus privately owned and operated public spaces within Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is also explored the balance between ownership and access controls to determine the user preference in terms of the publicness features. User defined public space features were identified using 35 semi-structured interviews and 119 online questionnaire surveys. Qualitative analytic tools were used to evaluate the results including Content analysis and Space-shaper models with the support of NVivo software. The results revealed that publicly owned spaces were preferred by the users due to easy access and freedom for activities while privately owned spaces were preferred due to better infrastructure, safety, and security within. Also, it is identified that urban public space offered users the freedom to experience based on the levels of ownership and access controls. Finally, people preferred ownership by public over private sector as anecdotal evidence and values dominated in the public space attributes. This study provides key insights for planners to consider in the public space planning and the importance of private sector involvement and balance in the provision of optimal urban spaces in cities
A Study on quality of life of middle-income group along urban canal waterfronts With special reference to Greater Colombo region
No full textIn most of the cases, canal network in Greater Colombo region work as the drainage system of the urban area and as the backyard of the city. Therefore, there is a lack of attention to the canal waterfronts by the government and by the public. Hence, this research was to find out and evaluate the factors, which will affect the quality of life of people along urban canal waterfronts. It has been discussed in terms of liveability through a series of carefully selected indicators. Liveability surveys were conducted along five canal waterfronts and the participants’ perceptions were taken. Every canal waterfront was assigned a rating of over 25 qualitative and quantitative factors (set of indicators) across six broad categories (dimensions): safety, comfort, health and wellbeing, mobility, environment, and socio-cultural factors. Each qualitative factor was given a rating from 1(tolerable)-5(intolerable). Qualitative factors were then combined with quantitative factors through a series of equations to form the liveability index. According to the proposed liveability index, transport dimension index is ideal (100), while the health and well-being dimension is the lowest (27). This will help for the creation of government policies, plans, rules and regulations and when implementing projects along urban canal waterfronts
Exploring green features that make building materials green
No full textThe construction industry plays a significant role in the economic growth of a country. Nevertheless, the construction industry has created severe adverse environmental impacts. Therefore, green building technologies are implemented to alleviate the adverse effects of the construction industry. Using green materials instead of conventional building materials with high environmental impacts has been identified as one such implementation. However, there seems to be much confusion in defining green building materials. Hence, it is vital to explore the features of green building materials. Therefore, this article investigates green features that qualify the building materials as green building materials. A qualitative research approach was selected as the research methodology, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven green building experts. The data was analysed using content analysis. Findings revealed that recycled content, local availability of materials, embodied energy of materials, use of rapidly renewable material, usage of waste material for the production process, material wastage content in the production process and pollution prevention in the production process are the green features. The study results guide the identification of green building materials that can replace the materials with poor environmental sustainability
The Contribution of temporary assemblage towards sense of place: a study in Aluth Nuwara sacred area, Sri Lanka
No full text‘Sense of place’ is a complex phenomenon emerging from the associations of the inhabitants, the values they attribute on the built environment, and the manner in which they behave in that place. Every built environment gets its form and character out of a composite of both the permanent structures and temporary assemblage. This is mostly evident in living sacred built environments where impermanent and ‘supposed to be non-lasting’ structures assembled for temporal benefits, amidst formally arranged permanent spaces, play a significant role in making them functional places. However, the existence of temporary physical assemblage has throughout been considered as ‘problematic’ in formal institutional planning, in spite of the utility, character and the sense of place that they add to day-to-day lived-in environments. In a context, where the available studies are limited, this paper discusses on these temporary interventions and their impact in experiencing of places, in-order to widen the awareness and in-depth understanding of planners, urban designers and the authorities, who are responsible for the making of sustainable built environments. The paper first presents a review of the existing literature in order to identify a suitable theoretical framework to study the impacts of temporal assemblage on sense of place. Second, employing the conceptual framework profound in ‘Bennett’s six triads’, it presents the study on the mutual transactive relationships between the activity spaces and the behavior patterns of the inhabitants, as observed by the authors, in Aluth Nuwara Devala sacred area in Sri Lanka. It emphasizes the manner in which the temporary assemblage, within the formal built environment, impacts the settings, values and the behaviors of the inhabitants and thereby form the sense of place. The study highlights that temporary assemblage adds sense to places not only by their presence but also by changing people’s behaviors
with reference to selected Contemporary Residential Spaces in Colombo, Sri Lanka
No full textVisual perception of a space is influenced by the composition and behaviour of light. Daylight as a natural element, creates different atmospheres in the same space by its variation of intensity, colour, and direction. It creates dynamic shadow patterns, fluctuating brightness and contrast levels. Although the capacity to create variation - therefore contrast, is an important characteristic of daylight - it is often neglected in research, where comfort and visual performance take prominence. This is a research initiative to emphasise the value of daylight variation on spatial quality and human perception. The research adopts a two-step process, where, digital images are first mapped to generate contrast diagrams, and secondly, the generated digital images form the basis for a survey utilising a seven-point semantic differential scale, to explore the relationship between daylight variability and human perception. The temporal variation of daylight is explored by diagramming the spatial images at selected times of the day and year. The scope of the study is limited to selected contemporary residential spaces and focus on the manner of integrating daylight into spaces. Results show that a direct relationship between daylight variability and human perception for side lit spaces is not evident, yet it is evident in top lit options
The Role of co-operatives in neoliberal Sri Lanka: a case study
No full textThe co-operative movement of Sri Lanka is a historically embedded phenomenon. Since its emergence in the latter stage of the British colonial era of the country, the movement has been creating a unique value system in Sri Lanka’s political economy thus enabling ‘weaker sects’ of society to be ‘productive members’. Yet, once Sri Lanka opened up its economy in 1977, this social and economic role, the ‘double nature’, of co-operatives was exposed to an ambivalent situation. Against this backdrop, this article critically examines the role of the co-operative movement in ‘neoliberal Sri Lanka’. Based on the case study method, it analyses how primary co-operatives of the country operate in the free market conditions. The article shows that Sri Lankan co-operatives are continuously losing their momentum and strongholds in the market as they are struggling to cope with the challenges in the free market conditions. In conclusion, the article argues that Sri Lankan co-operative movement needs to transform itself into a ‘voluntary people's movement’, if it is to continue into the future