PhD Dissertation Final Oral Defense (April 2025)

Title of Dissertation: Assessment of Nature-inspired & Living Laboratory (NILL)TM Buildings

Candidate: Mariam Ahmed Abdalla Yousif Al Ali
Program: PhD in Engineering Systems Management
Supervisors: Dr. Serter Atabay and Dr. Salwa Beheiry

Abstract:
Laboratory buildings are known for their specialized technical activities that require different building design elements. Moreover, traditional laboratory building design and construction often prioritizes functionality over occupant well-being or sustainability. As such, applying green building rating systems or nature-inspired design strategies in the context of laboratory buildings is yet to be thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, nature- inspired design principles and living laboratory concepts offer promising solutions to enhance the design and construction of nature-inspired living laboratory buildings. As such, this dissertation work filled this gap and aimed to provide a comprehensive Nature-inspired & Living Laboratory (NILL) building assessment system to evaluate laboratory buildings based on principles of nature-inspired design and living buildings to promote occupant well-being, sustainability, and scientific research effectiveness. The objectives of the research focused on reviewing current literature on the application of green building rating systems, sustainability and green initiatives, and nature-inspired design in laboratory buildings, developing an assessment system by identifying a set of indicators that can be applied to nature-inspired living laboratory buildings, validating and assigning weights to the indicators of the proposed assessment tool through subject matter experts in the construction industry, and implementing the proposed assessment tool by applying the proposed indicators on a case study of current laboratory buildings. Hence, the research followed a mixed method approach, integrating both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis tools, such as literature review, expert interviews through Delphi Rounds, Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP), Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to develop and validate the assessment tool. Finally, a laboratory building was assessed using the NILL Building Tool and highlighted strong security and operational efficiency but revealed critical gaps in indoor environmental quality, energy and water efficiency, and biophilic integration, emphasizing the need for further design and operational enhancement to comply with higher NILL Building levels. Accordingly, the outcome of this novel research provided an understanding of the current status of laboratories as nature-inspired & living buildings and offered an assessment tool for further application that can be applied within research, academic/teaching, and industry laboratory buildings.

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