Condition Surveys and Assessment of Buildings: A Review of Approaches Adopted

Abstract

Building condition surveys and assessment is increasingly becoming an important issue. This is because people spend a lot of time residing or working in buildings and knowledge of the condition of a building can reduce the likelihood of fatalities in the event of a disaster or building collapse. Research on building condition surveys and assessment tends to adopt varying approaches that seems to be contradicting. This study aims at examining the dominant research approaches on building condition surveys/assessment and to underline their assumptions, limitations and arguments. A review of the literature on condition surveys and assessment of building is executed. This literature is categorised into major themes, synthesised and the typical focus is challenged. The results show that four dominant approaches have been adopted in literature namely: model-based approach, fuzzy theory approach, condition index approach and the digital approach. The study argues that a combined or hybrid approach provides an alternative approach that will unearth reliable data on a building that can be triangulated or validated by comparing the different data on the condition of a building.