Journal of World Architecture

Design Thinking on Group Housing: A Comprehensive Systematic Literature Review

Samantha Kumar Tadiboina — 2026-03-11

Design thinking (DT) has emerged as a human-centred, empathy-driven, and iterative methodology with increasing relevance to architecture and built environment research. Although widely adopted in education, business, and innovation domains, its structured application in group housing design particularly in the Indian context remains limited. The present study conducts a comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR) to examine how DT has been utilized in housing, built environment innovation, user-centred frameworks, psychological needs assessment, and related interdisciplinary domains. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and adapting methodological rigor from established DT-based SLRs, the review synthesizes insights from six high-quality peer-reviewed publications: including systematic reviews of DT in education, innovation in sustainable built environments, user-centred design in architecture, and DT-driven community engagement. The review process involved defining search equations, applying explicit inclusion exclusion criteria, screening eligible studies, and thematically analysing selected literature. Findings reveal that while Design Thinking contributes strongly to empathy building, problem framing, co-creation, prototyping, and iterative evaluation, its integration into group housing has predominantly focused on physical and functional design rather than psychological, emotional, or socio-cultural dimensions of dwelling. The studies highlight substantial gaps in incorporating user aspirations, lived experiences, safety perceptions, community bonding, and behavioral patterns, especially within high-density urban housing. Research from the built environment domain shows that innovation frameworks integrating Design Thinking can significantly enhance sustainability, inclusivity, and user experience, yet these approaches remain underutilized in Indian housing practice. The review identifies four major thematic gaps: (1) limited empirical studies applying Design Thinking to real housing contexts, (2) insufficient integration of psychological and experiential needs in design processes, (3) weak adoption of participatory and iterative methodologies in public sector housing (e.g., JNNURM, PMAY), and (4) lack of scalable frameworks for translating user insights into design decisions. This SLR establishes a clear foundation for developing a DT-based framework for group housing, aligning user needs, psychological wellbeing, and community dynamics with spatial, functional, and policy-driven housing requirements. The review concludes that DT holds transformative potential for rethinking housing beyond physicality toward human-centred, emotionally resonant, and socially sustainable living environments.

Research on Collaborative Avoidance Design Technology for Road Horizontal Alignment and Underground Pipelines Based on BIM

Xiang Zhang — 2026-03-11

Traditional road horizontal alignment design faces bottlenecks such as limited terrain representation, inefficient information updates, and inadequate multi-factor collaboration. Underground pipeline design also encounters issues of professional fragmentation and frequent conflicts. The lack of coordination between the two leads to construction rework and increased costs. Based on this, this paper first constructs a BIM-based technical system for road horizontal alignment and then explores collaborative avoidance techniques for underground pipelines. Using engineering examples, it investigates the BIM-integrated application of collaborative avoidance between road horizontal alignment and underground pipelines. Through analysis, the paper aims to address the challenges of coordination in road and underground pipeline design, break down professional information barriers, proactively avoid conflicts, and provide technical support and practical references for enhancing the quality and efficiency of municipal engineering design.

Proportion and Road Performance of High- Durability Asphalt Pavement Materials Under Extreme Climates

Runqiu Xu — 2026-03-11

This paper studies the mix proportion optimization and road performance of high-durability asphalt pavement materials based on the road performance control objectives under extreme climates, incorporating real-world project cases. According to the actual requirements of the project, a mix proportion optimization plan for high-durability asphalt pavement materials is formulated, and its road performance is verified through tests such as freeze-thaw resistance, low-temperature crack resistance, high-temperature stability, and aging resistance. Practical applications indicate that the determined mix proportion optimization plan for high-durability asphalt pavement materials is suitable under extreme climatic conditions and aligns with the design expectations of this research, providing a reference for subsequent similar projects.

Research on Inspection Technology and Application of Connection Joints in Steel Structure Bridges

Wuhao Chen — 2026-03-11

To promptly identify and resolve quality issues in the connection joints of steel structure bridges and ensure the connection effectiveness of such bridges, this paper analyzes mainstream inspection technologies for welded joints, bolted joints, and riveted joints, based on the primary quality problems encountered in the connection joints of steel structure bridges. The aim is to provide references for the subsequent inspection of connection joints in steel structure bridge projects.

Humanized Design Strategies for Pocket Gardens in Old Communities in Hainan

Tongbin Cui — 2026-03-11

Old communities in Hainan face challenges like insufficient public spaces and aging facilities. Pocket gardens, as a micro-regeneration practice, can enhance living environments. However, current designs often overlook tropical climates and residents’ needs, leading to low utilization. This paper proposes humanized design strategies for pocket gardens, integrating climate adaptability, functional suitability, and community participation. Strategies include creating comfortable microclimates with natural shade and permeable pavements, establishing all-ages-friendly zones, fostering community co-creation, and utilizing low-cost, local materials. These strategies aim to craft usable, sustainable green spaces that foster a sense of belonging, providing practical references for urban regeneration and community governance in Hainan.

Research on Several Issues of Pile Foundations for Dynamic Machinery in Soft Soil Areas

Qing Chen — 2026-03-11

The selection of foundation dynamic characteristic parameters is one of the difficulties in the design of dynamic machinery foundations, and the pile foundations for dynamic machinery in soft soil areas have certain particularities. Taking the research on the vibration problem of a dryer foundation in Shanghai as an example, this paper discusses several key issues in the design of pile foundations for dynamic machinery in soft soil areas. Suggestions are put forward for the selection of key parameters, such as vertical compressive stiffness and shear stiffness of pile foundations, as well as for the design of such pile foundations in soft soil areas, which can provide reference for similar engineering designs and research.

Innovative Practice in the Renovation of Fire Water Supply Systems for Historic Buildings: A Case Study of the Fire Water Supply System Renovation of a Cultural Center

Haitao Xiong — 2026-03-11

Taking a cultural center as the research object, this paper proposes an innovative scheme balancing cultural relic protection and modern fire safety to meet the renovation needs of fire water supply systems for historic buildings. By in-depth analysis of the building’s structural characteristics and fire hazards, adaptive measures such as automatic sprinkler fire extinguishing technology and jet-type automatic tracking fire extinguishing devices are adopted, effectively realizing the unification of fire risk prevention and control and historic style protection. This provides a reference technical paradigm for the fire renovation of similar existing venues.

Research on the Problems and Countermeasures of Construction Materials Procurement Cost Control

Kaichen Xu — 2026-03-11

In the whole construction process of engineering projects, the procurement cost of construction materials accounts for a large proportion of the total project cost, and its control effect directly affects the economic benefits and overall construction benefits of the project, making it one of the core links in the management of construction engineering projects. At present, the overall development of China’s construction industry is in a good state, but most construction enterprises still have many deficiencies in the control of material procurement costs, failing to form a scientific and complete control system. This leads to frequent problems such as high procurement costs and resource waste, which restricts the sustainable development of enterprises. Combining with the actual workflow of construction material procurement, this paper analyzes the common problems existing in the current material procurement cost control process, and puts forward targeted and feasible countermeasures. It aims to provide a reasonable reference for construction enterprises to optimize procurement cost control and enhance core competitiveness, so as to promote the healthy and orderly development of the construction industry.