Institutional-Repository, University of Moratuwa
Welcome to the University of Moratuwa Digital Repository, which houses postgraduate theses and dissertations, research articles presented at conferences by faculties and departments, university-published journal articles and research publications authored by academic staff. This online repository stores, preserves and distributes the University's scholarly work. This service allows University members to share their research with a larger audience.
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Recent Submissions
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Strategies to achieve net-zero carbon goals in construction industry
(Department of Building Economics, 2026) Rathnayake, RMDD; Perera, BAKS; Kavirathna, AS; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Jayasena, HS; Chandanie, H; Tennakoon, GA
The construction sector is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, highlighting the urgent need for effective strategies to achieve Net Zero Carbon Buildings (NZCBs). This study aims to investigate how to achieve Net Zero Carbon Goals in Construction. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to establish existing NZCB strategies, followed by a qualitative research approach using semi-structured expert interviews. The findings provide an integrated three-step framework for achieving NZCB including embodied carbon reduction, operational carbon reduction, and carbon offset, storage, and compensation as key steps. The study further identifies a range of applicable strategies under each step, including design efficiency, life cycle assessment, and carbon trading mechanisms. The results highlight that effective implementation of NZCB requires early-stage decision-making, lifecycle-based approaches, and the integration of advanced technologies. This study recommends industry stakeholders to prioritise integrated carbon reduction approaches, enhance professional awareness and training, and adopt digital tools for monitoring and decision-making. Policymakers are encouraged to introduce clear regulations and incentives to accelerate NZCB adoption. This study contributes to both theory and practice by refining NZCB strategy classification and providing an industry-relevant framework. Its implications extend to society by improving environmental performance and promoting sustainable development.
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Sustainability impacts of industry 4.0 in construction project management
(Department of Building Economics, 2026) Prasadinee, WKR; Chandanie, H; Nanayakkara, NB; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Jayasena, HS; Chandanie, H; Tennakoon, GA
Construction projects frequently face time and cost overruns due to ineffective Construction Project Management (CPM). The integration of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) digital technologies has emerged as a transformative approach to enhance traditional CPM practices. While I4.0 adoption offers considerable benefits, its sustainability implications remain underexplored. Given that I4.0 applications can produce both positive and negative impacts across sustainability dimensions, this study adopts a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) perspective to examine the environmental, economic, and social implications of implementing I4.0 technologies in CPM in Sri Lanka. A mixed-method approach was employed, with data collection in two phases: Phase I involved five expert interviews, and Phase II comprised a questionnaire survey. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using manual content analysis and the Relative Importance Index (RII) method, respectively. The findings reveal that I4.0 applications positively impact TBL sustainability: environmentally, through reduced resource use, lower construction waste, and early detection of environmental risks; economically, via improved project tracking, scheduling, and timely completion; and socially, through fewer manual errors, greater transparency, and accountability. Negative implications were also identified: environmentally, high energy demand and electronic waste; economically, high implementation costs and expenses for recruiting and training skilled personnel; and socially, workplace inequalities, digital surveillance, and potential job losses. This study provides an empirical, TBL-based evaluation of I4.0-enabled CPM practices in Sri Lanka, addressing a largely unexplored area and offering insights into sustainable digital transformation in the country’s construction industry.
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Temperature and humidity control in operating theatres: BMS vs. Thermostat systems
(Department of Building Economics, 2026) Ramasingha, KS; Soorige, D; Natasha, KADM; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Jayasena, HS; Chandanie, H; Tennakoon, GA
Maintaining proper temperature and humidity in operating theatres (OTs) is essential for infection control, patient safety, and equipment performance. This study examines the effectiveness of environmental monitoring and control practices in Sri Lankan hospitals, comparing building management system (BMS)-enabled facilities with traditional thermostatically controlled settings. Although international standards such as ASHRAE 170 recommend temperatures of 20–24°C and relative humidity of 40–60%, implementation is inconsistent. A multi-case study approach was used, involving two BMS-enabled and two non-BMS hospitals. Findings show that although BMS systems enable real-time monitoring, issues such as delayed responses, threshold deviations, and energy saving compromises impact compliance. Non-BMS setups lack centralized monitoring, rely on inconsistent manual adjustments, and offer limited transparency. Common challenges across all scenarios include technical errors, limited staff awareness, and behavioural impacts such as frequent door openings and comfort-based overlaps. The study highlights the need for targeted strategies across both system types. Key recommendations include staff training, engineering-clinical collaboration, visual compliance indicators, and adoption of IoT-based monitoring in non-BMS environments. This research addresses a gap in OT environmental management in Sri Lanka and suggests practical, system-specific solutions to improve safety and compliance.
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Temporary built environments in Sri Lankan film production design
(Department of Building Economics, 2026) Fernando, S; Samarawickrama, S; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Jayasena, HS; Chandanie, H; Tennakoon, GA
A temporary built environment refers to a spatial arrangement intentionally created or modified for limited duration use, where design decisions are shaped by reversibility, adaptability, and planned disassembly rather than permanence. While this concept is well-established within architectural discourse, comparable spatial conditions are evident in film production design, where environments are constructed, transformed, and dismantled to meet the temporal demands of filmmaking. Despite these visible parallels, film production design has rarely been examined through the broader architectural discourse on temporary built environments. This study investigates Sri Lankan cinema to examine how film production design functions as a form of temporary built-environment practice. A qualitative interpretive approach was adopted, drawing on structured interviews with four experienced Sri Lankan production designers. The analysis was guided by three spatial dimensions identified in architectural literature: temporality, material construction, and experiential narrative organization. The findings confirm that cinematic environments operate through these interrelated conditions while also exhibiting a distinctive characteristic specific to production design: dual functionality combined with operational flexibility. Film sets function simultaneously as representational architecture and as technical infrastructure, requiring continuous spatial adjustment during filming. The study argues that Sri Lankan film production design constitutes a specialized form of temporary built environment practice. By demonstrating how temporally bounded spatial systems operate beyond conventional architectural typologies, the paper expands the discourse on the built environment to include mediated and industrial spatial practices.
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The Effect of house plan types on house plan usage pattern transitions in upper middle-class residences: case in Aniwatte, Kandy
(Department of Building Economics, 2026) Wijerathne, HMPMK; Hirudini, SM; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Jayasena, HS; Chandanie, H; Tennakoon, GA
This research aims to explore the effect of house plan types on residents’ spatial usage pattern transitions over time with reference to upper-middle-class suburban residences, with a case study of Aniwatte East, Kandy. The houses are intended as permanent architectural forms, the extended period of occupancy results in a change of spatial intensity and spatial usage. The study is limited to upper-middle-class suburban houses in Kandy, as this specific socio-economic and contextual category remains underexplored in research. Through literature review physical parameters which affect house plan and the social parameters which affect usage patterns were identified. This research used a mixed-method approach for the case study of ten houses. Spatial data and usage data were collected via measured drawings, observations, and photographic records and interviews with the residents. The houses were analyzed across three phases, from the original plan, early occupancy, and current status, using both physical factors related to circulation, spatial utilization, material adaptability, durability, and furniture arrangement, analyzing with temporal parameters addressing the interval and frequency of house type transformation. The research identified six house types based on space use intensity. The results showed a trend from higher to lower intensity of use, indicated by the centralization of daily activities within a functional zone and increasing dormancy of peripheral areas. This change occurs mainly through interior rearrangement rather than structural alterations, preserving the original architectural form. The study provides insights for architects and housing professionals to create more adaptable and sustainable homes for upper-middle-class suburban residents.