Chi Kwan Chau

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) for badminton halls and, through a case study, illustrate how the facilities performance of a university badminton hall can be evaluated from the user perspective. Design/methodology/approach: After a desktop literature review, the findings were discussed by a focus group, and the discussion result formed the basis for establishing an analytic hierarchy of facilities performance for the badminton hall. Then, interviews were made with 169 badminton hall users to solicit their perceived facilities’ importance and performance levels of the hall. Using MATLAB, a computer program incorporated with an Analytic Hierarchy Process was devised to compute the importance weights of the performance attributes under assessment. The outcomes were interpreted using an importance-performance evaluation matrix. Findings: A facilities performance hierarchy, comprising nine KPIs, was established for the badminton hall. The factors influencing the users’ perceptions, the importance and performance levels of the KPIs and the areas of the hall requiring improvements were identified. Research limitations/implications: Future studies can take a similar approach of this study to develop KPIs and facilities performance hierarchies for other types of sports venues. Practical implications: The method used to identify the improvements required for the badminton hall can be applied to investigations on other sports facilities. Originality/value: The methodology of this research was first applied to study a badminton hall – as reported in this paper.

Road traffic noise is responsible for several negative health effects for citizens in modern cities. Inside urban parks, which citizens use for social inclusion and cohesion, psychological and physical restoration, and physical activities, road traffic noise may significantly reduce the potential of these places to induce or enhance well-being. Although access restriction schemes and screens could be effective solutions to limit noise inside urban park areas, preserving their potential regenerative role may engender mobility, social, aesthetic, and architectural issues. Due to the positive effects that natural elements and water sounds can have on human perception, and based on the previous findings of the beneficial effects of audio-visual installations, this paper investigates the possibility of using audio-visual installations that simply evoke some natural features to improve the restoration of individuals inside urban parks. The study has been carried out using immersive virtual environments in two different experimental laboratory sessions in Hong Kong (China) and Aversa (Italy). The results showed that the positive effects provided by evocative installations were similar to those provided by traditional installations. Furthermore, the effects on the restoration increased as the installations became larger and included enveloping shapes. Furthermore, we found that the amount of evocative water installations’ material was responsible for changes in restoration. In contrast, the Chinese groups were less influenced by these installations.

Based on data collected in 20 A-level high-rise commercial concrete buildings in Hong Kong, the research successfully established a probability density function model, which is used to describe the carbon emissions profile of a commercial building. Results indicate that the superstructure of a commercial building, on average, had a footprint of 226.65 kg CO2/m2 and 10.6 kg CO2/m2 separately in the material use stage and transportation stages. It also evaluates the carbon emissions of various building elements and divides them into three levels according to the magnitude of their contribution. The results show that upper floor construction and external wall in Tier 1 contribute nearly 80% of emissions and should be of great concern. In addition to the probability density function model, a regression model was also successfully established in the study to predict carbon emissions. Research has shown that building layers and gross floor area can predict carbon emissions per unit area, and there is a positive relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable. The regression model can help building designers determine design options to reduce carbon emissions in the early stages of design.

Institutions of higher education across the globe have commenced the appraisal of their sustainability performance via the utilization of various existing campus sustainability assessment tools. A comprehensive review of these existing tools reveals insufficient utilization of weighting methods and theoretical approaches that allow for the monitoring, review, and enhancement of the appraisal process and tools. Social media and spatial-based indicators usage are also deficient in the existing tools. This paper addresses these research gaps and develops a Modifiable Campus-wide Appraisal Model (MOCAM) for a comprehensive spatial-based information and assessment framework for policymakers, local authorities, and campus planners in countries with unknown campus sustainability status. In this model, the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) approach was utilized to identify environmental-dimension indicators with campus-wide and spatial-based attributes. The Twitter social media platform, Elastic stack, and Python Library were used for the extraction and analysis of local stakeholders’ user-generated content for the identification of localized indicators. The analytic hierarchy process was used for the determination and analysis of the attribute level of importance and weights. The model also broadens the application of symbolic interactionism by translating it from the predominant field of social science to sustainable campus appraisal.

This paper studies the effect of human perception of visual and audio settings in an urban environment on annoyance. Video clips were projected onto a window panel of a living room to simulate neighborhood views containing different percentages of sea, mountain greenery, and road. These video clips were combined with audio stimuli corresponding to the congruent traffic and sea sounds. 246 participants were presented with 11 audio-visual stimuli and requested to respond to questions after the presentation. The collected responses were used to formulate a multivariate ordered logit model to predict the probability of evoking a high annoyance response. The findings revealed that views embracing mountain greenery close-by could enhance annoyance, which is contrary to other findings that greenery could always moderate noise annoyance. In addition, a 60% sea view was found to be able to yield 1 dB equivalent reduction in total sound pressure level. The trade-off was comparable to that achieved by having sea sound at a level 5 dB higher than road traffic noise. Exposure to road traffic noise level being 3 dB higher than sea sound level (i.e., signal-to-noise ratio = −3) together with a 60% sea view could provide an additional 1.5 dB equivalent reduction.

Economic incentives are widely used to promote green buildings (GB) and consume social resources. However, few studies evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing economic incentives, including hidden costs and benefits. This paper applies cost–benefits analysis (CBA) and transaction cost (TC) theory to systematically evaluate the costs and benefits of implementing the green building economic incentives, with focused study on the Gross Floor Area (GFA) Concession Scheme in Hong Kong. The data of costs and benefits indicate how the GFA Concession Scheme motivates stakeholders and how much it benefits the built environment, which provides a solid foundation for the improvement of the GFA Concession Scheme. Expert interviews were conducted to verify and compliment the new CBA framework and provide empirical evidence for policy-makers and researchers to better understand the allocation of costs and benefits. The results show that the effectiveness of the GFA Concession Scheme is readily justified even if it has caused a lot of extra transaction costs and actual costs. A 10% GFA concession attracts developers to enter the GB market but discourages them to go for a higher level of GB. It is the right time to differentiate the GFA concession to promote a higher level of GB.