CMA534 Sustainable and Large-Scale Construction Assessment Semester Oct 2025 – Feb 2026

CMA534 Group Project – IBS Building Project.

Introduction

This group assignment predominantly relates to industrialised building systems (IBS), building maintenance, and tall buildings. Before embarking on this project, students will be exposed to different types and methods of the IBS system, the calculation of IBS scoring, the type of maintenance, and the concept of tall buildings in the classroom.

Objectives of Project

1. To develop students’ understanding of different types of IBS construction methods and types of building maintenance.
2. To demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the IBS construction process and building maintenance.
3. To foster good communication skills among group members through proper work delegation and deliverables production.

Learning Outcomes of this Assignment

1. Identify and collect relevant research data for a precedent study.
2. Relate basic structural elements and structural principles in construction.
3. Enable students to assess and understand the methods of calculating the IBS Score

Tasks – Methodology 

• Students are required to form a group of 4 members. Anything less or more shall be subject to the lecturer’s approval.
• The group will need to study a building (preferably an apartment) constructed fully or partially using the IBS method and identify all the IBS components used, including appropriate sizes, etc.
• Each group must design a simple 7-storey apartment block using IBS components, with a maximum size of 92.9 square meters per unit (1000 square feet). Each unit must include a living hall, a dining area, three bedrooms and two toilets.
• The design should mainly incorporate appropriate sizes of IBS structures (shear wall or frame structure) and components, such as precast walls, blockwork, hollow core slabs, precast staircases, toilet pods, prefabricated timber roof trusses, etc. The units shall be arranged in clusters and made into seven levels (refer to Figure 1).
• Calculate the IBS Score for the proposed system in detail (You may make any appropriate assumptions).
• Prepare the outline of the Building Maintenance Strategic Plan proposal for a long-term period to sustain the apartment building. Provide information on the maintenance organisation, policy, and strategy approach for maintenance management. This includes types of maintenance implementation, scope of work, and any relevant information regarding maintenance.

Figure 1: Examples of the apartment unit arrangement.

Submission Requirement

The report should be written in an A3 (landscape) size report. The report MUST INCLUDE the following.

1. Introduction: Precedent study (related to the proposed IBS system) 2. Content:
2. Apartment design (Plans and Elevations). ii. Proposed IBS categories (rationale of choosing the proposed system) iii. IBS Score
3. Schedule of modular components
4. Method of Installation Building Components vi. Building Maintenance Strategic Plan proposal vii. Others: Any relevant information about IBS and building maintenance that might be interesting.
5. Conclusion

Project Schedule

Marking Rubric

Suggested References

1. Chew, Y.L. (2012). Construction Technology for Tall Buildings, (4th Edition). World Scientific, Singapore
2. Michael Chew Yit Lin, Construction Technology For Tall Buildings, 5th Edition, World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd, 2017, ISBN: 9789813220683
3. Chudley,Roger Greeno,Mike Hurst,Simon Topliss, Advanced Construction Technology, 5th Edition, Heinemann Educational Publishers, 2015, ISBN: 9780435046835
4. Anna Magrini, Building Refurbishment for Energy Performance, Springer, 2016, ISBN: 9783319375489
5. Roy Chudley , Roger Greeno, Building Construction Handbook, 11th Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2016, ISBN: 9781138907096