Research in practice

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change · Working Group III

Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate ChangeInternational climate assessment · 2022 · Buildings Supplementary Material · Table 9.SM.6

Co-authored passive-wall research contributes to the IPCC’s assessment of the feasibility of building-envelope improvements.

United Nations Environment Programme

Emissions Gap Report 2019Global climate assessment · 2019 · Chapter 7 · Material efficiency

UNEP cites co-authored research on rating systems when discussing certification, building codes and material efficiency.

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies · hosted by WHO

Health for All Policies: The Co-Benefits of Intersectoral ActionHealth-policy study · 2024 · Chapter 12 · SDG13 climate action

The study uses co-authored urban-heat research to discuss green buildings and tree cover in heat-wave resilience.

World Bank

Analysis of Heat Waves and Urban Heat Island Effects in Central European Cities and Implications for Urban PlanningDevelopment reports · 2020–2021 · Also: Climate Modeling for Macroeconomic Policy: A Case Study for Pakistan (2021)

Two reports draw on co-authored studies when discussing vegetation-based cooling and heat-adaptation options.

European Commission · Joint Research Centre

Background report for the revision of EU Green Public Procurement criteria for BuildingsTechnical background reports · 2019 & 2024 · JRC138891 · JRC116121

The JRC report repeatedly uses the co-authored review to explain roof systems, planting choices and environmental benefits.

Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor

Capturing the benefits of AI in healthcare for Aotearoa New ZealandNational science-advice report · 2023 · Reference-group contribution · Printed page iv

Professor Amir is acknowledged in the report’s reference group, contributing to the wider consultation on AI in healthcare.

U.S. Department of Energy · PNNL

Healthy Building Industry Review ResourcesResearch resource catalogue · 2019 · PNNL-SA-159876

A co-authored healthy-building review included in PNNL’s historical DOE-hosted resource catalogue.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Laboratory Resources and Techniques to Evaluate Smart Home Technology: PreprintNational-laboratory technical conference paper · 2018 ·

A report from the US energy laboratory cites Professor Amir’s lead-authored smart-house review in its discussion of laboratory homes and technology evaluation.

University of Washington · CHaRT

Green roofsCommunity heat-resilience guidance · 2023 · Community Heat Resilience Tool · CHaRT

Green-roof research co-authored by Professor Amir and colleagues informs community guidance on heat-risk interventions.

UK Government

National Data StrategyNational policy strategy · 2020 · Section 4.1 · Footnote 13

The strategy draws on co-authored research to explain digital-adoption barriers among smaller construction businesses.

OECD

Adapting the Paris Metropolitan Area to a Water-Scarce FutureWater-resilience assessment · 2025 · Chapter 4 · Rainwater reuse

An OECD assessment uses the team’s rainwater-harvesting review when considering alternative water supplies for Paris.

Chartered Institute of Building · CIOB

Construction Client GuideProfessional client guidance · 2025 · Second edition · Page 38

CIOB cites the co-authored rating-systems review in practical guidance on sustainability certification.

Québec public-health institute · INSPQ

Urban Heat Island Mitigation Strategies: 2021 UpdatePublic-health guidance · 2021 / 2023 · English edition · Institut national de santé publique du Québec

The institute uses the co-authored comparative review to discuss urban greening, materials and city temperatures.

UI GreenMetric

UI GreenMetric GuidelinesCampus sustainability guidance · 2019 & 2023 · Smart-building references

Two studies led by Professor Amir are cited in international guidance for universities assessing campus sustainability.

ICE Manual of Blue-Green Infrastructure

ICE Manual of Blue-Green InfrastructureProfessional engineering manual · 2023 · Green roofs chapter

A co-authored review informs the manual’s discussion of financial incentives for green-roof adoption.

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

The Current State of Practice of Building Information ModelingTransport research report · 2023 · MassDOT Report 23-043

A MassDOT report draws repeatedly on research co-authored by Professor Amir and colleagues when examining BIM benefits and implementation.

BRANZ · WSP

Climate change adaptation of buildings in New Zealand – research prioritisation assessmentBuilding-adaptation research report · 2024 · BRANZ External Research Report ER89 · WSP

A WSP report for BRANZ discusses research co-authored by Professor Amir, Zahra Jalali and Asaad Shamseldin when assessing building-adaptation research needs.

DDV · DLR

Fernerkundliche Identifizierung von Vegetationsflächen auf Dächern zur Entwicklung des für die Bereiche des Stadtklimas, der Stadtentwässerung und des Artenschutzes aktivierbaren Flächenpotenzials in den StädtenDBU-funded development report · 2015 ·

A DDV/DLR report uses the co-authored review to explain ecosystem services within a practical green-roof inventory and potential-assessment project.

Bogotá · DADEP

Techos verdes sobre paraderos de bus de BogotáUrban-infrastructure project report · 2014–2015 project · 2020 record ·

A bus-shelter field study cites the co-authored green-roof review when explaining environmental benefits and rainwater retention.

Wellington City Council · Proposed District Plan, Hearing Stream 11

Multiple Roles of Green Space in the Resilience, Sustainability and Equity of Aotearoa New Zealand’s CitiesSubmitted planning evidence · 2024 · Hearing Stream 11 · submitted by Dr Paul Blaschke

A green-space review submitted to the hearings draws on co-authored urban-climate research in its discussion of urban heat and green infrastructure.

Illinois Institute of Technology · Engineering LibreTexts

Building Envelope Inspection and Rehabilitation EngineeringOpen engineering textbook · Section 6.4 · Green Roofs

The open textbook uses the co-authored green-roof review to explain incentives supporting adoption in North American cities.

The Cyprus Institute · EU Interreg Balkan-Mediterranean programme

Zero Energy Hospitals in the Mediterranean and the Balkan RegionEU-funded hospital-design handbook · 2022 · Green-roof codes of practice

The handbook uses co-authored green-roof research to explain energy-performance mechanisms for hospital design.

Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia · CREAM

Malaysia Building Information Modelling Report 2019National industry report · 2020 · Printed pages 18 and 42; full reference page 44

Research coauthored by Professor Amir informed the BIM-readiness factors used in CIDB Malaysia’s national industry survey. The report explicitly connects factors from the team’s SME execution-framework paper to questions about organisational readiness.

The paper is coauthored with Ali GhaffarianHoseini and colleagues. This documents use of research factors, rather than authorship of the entire survey or a measured effect on national uptake.

BRANZ · University of Auckland · Building Research Levy

Roadmap for Automated Compliance Checking Adoption in New Zealand Offsite Manufacturing IndustryLevy-funded industry roadmap · 2022 · Printed page 10; bibliography page 32 · ER73 / LR12046

Research coauthored by Professor Amir helped inform industry-survey response options in BRANZ’s roadmap for automated compliance checking in New Zealand offsite manufacturing. The methodology explicitly identifies the team’s BIM review among the sources used to construct questions about adoption barriers.

The review is one of several methodological sources. The roadmap is authored by Yang Zou, Brian Guo, Johannes Dimyadi and Eleni Papadonikolaki.

Climate Service Center Germany · GERICS

Gebäudebegrünung und KlimawandelClimate-adaptation guidance · 2017 · Report 30 · Figure 6, printed page 13; bibliography page 35

Germany’s Climate Service Center drew on the green-roof review coauthored by Umberto Berardi, Professor Amir and Ali GhaffarianHoseini in its guidance for planners and municipalities. Figure 6 explicitly adapts the review’s explanation of green-roof heat transfer.

The report also draws on the review when explaining roof types, thermal performance and environmental benefits. This is documented technical translation into guidance.

Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change · Directorate General GIS

Yapı Bilgi Modellemesi Uygulaması — Akıllı Şehir Uygulama Rehberlik KılavuzuGovernment implementation guide · 2024 · Section 2.2, Proje Gerekçesi · References 26 and 42

Türkiye’s smart-city implementation guide cites research coauthored by Professor Amir within its rationale for BIM-enabled planning, information integration and sustainable building delivery. Both the BIM-uptake review and the Green Star/BIM adoption study appear in the guide’s evidence base.

This establishes research use in official implementation guidance, rather than authorship of the guide or demonstrated effects on a completed building.

Kyoto Sangyo University · Patent JP7301327B2

Depression and/or anxiety biomarkers in mice · JP7301327B2Granted patent · 2023 · Granted 3 July 2023 · Paragraphs 0026, 0045 and bibliography 0050

Professor Amir’s first-authored sick-building syndrome review is cited in the technical description of a granted Japanese patent concerning mouse depression and anxiety biomarkers. The review appears in the indoor-environment discussion that precedes the experimental rationale.

The inventors are Keiko Kato and Akiko Fujita. This is a research citation in the patent description; it does not establish Amir’s inventorship, patent ownership, clinical validation or commercial deployment.

SageGlass · Commercial smart-glazing manufacturer

An appealing alternative to double-skin façadesCommercial industry guidance · 2021 · 9 August 2021 · Illustration credit and reference 10

SageGlass draws on research coauthored by Professor Amir in its practitioner-facing comparison of double-skin façades and smart glazing. The article expressly credits a façade illustration to the team’s review and cites the study in discussion of performance and dynamic sunlight and heat management.

This documents commercial communication of the research. It does not imply that Amir developed or endorses the product, or that the review validates the manufacturer’s performance claims.

German Environment Agency · Umweltbundesamt

Operationalisierung von DAS-Indikatoren mit Fernerkundungsdaten — DASIFGovernment adaptation-monitoring research · 2024 · CLIMATE CHANGE 50/2024 · Printed page 34; reference page 105

Germany’s Environment Agency cites the team’s green-roof review when establishing the rationale for green roofs as a metropolitan climate-adaptation response. The DASIF report develops remote-sensing approaches for adaptation monitoring, including green roofs in major cities.

The review supports the indicator’s conceptual rationale. The remote-sensing algorithms and operational monitoring methods are the work of the report’s authors.

Natural Resources Wales

SoNaRR2020 — Air QualityNational natural-resources assessment · 2021 · Section 7, printed page 24; bibliography page 28 · Wales

Natural Resources Wales cites the team’s green-roof review beside an explicit opportunity to expand green infrastructure and vegetation for air-quality exposure reduction. The connection appears in the action section of its national natural-resources assessment.

The Air Quality report’s recommended citation year is 2021, within the SoNaRR2020 series. This is assessment guidance, rather than proof that a specific scheme was implemented.

China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development

Digitalization and Green Technologies for Sustainable DevelopmentInternational policy study · 2024 · Building improvement discussion; reference 44 · September 2024

A review coauthored by Professor Amir is cited in CCICED’s 2024 policy study on digital and green urban transformation. It forms part of the evidence accompanying discussion of smart-home technologies, IoT and building-energy improvements.

This establishes inclusion in the policy study’s evidence base. It does not establish that its recommendations were adopted or that the paper caused measured energy savings.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality · Ağaç ve Peyzaj AŞ

İstanbul Yeşil Alanlar Çalıştayı — Bildiri KitabıMunicipal workshop proceedings · 2020 · Workshop 5–6 February 2020 · Printed pages 539–540; reference page 543

A contribution to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Green Areas Workshop draws on the team’s green-roof review to compare international incentive policies. Its policy table is explicitly compiled from the coauthored research before discussing options relevant to Türkiye.

The chapter is by Ülger Bulut Karaca and Senem Asrak. The table’s research derivation is documented; municipal adoption of those incentives is not established.

Construction Logistics and Community Safety — Australia

CLOCS-A Standard — Logistics and Planning GuidanceProfessional planning guidance · 2023 asset · Literature review reference 29; work-area mapping in Table 1

Professor Amir’s coauthored construction-consolidation research is summarised in CLOCS-A’s published logistics and planning guidance. The source maps the study to the evidence supporting preparation of a Construction Logistics Plan.

Part B is labelled Draft 1 for discussion and retains drafting notes. Describe this as evidence-review inclusion, rather than a mandatory national requirement derived from the research.

Institute of Scientific & Technical Information of Shanghai

城市信息模型（CIM）应用发展现状Public science-intelligence briefing · 2024 · 31 October 2024 · CIM application domains; reference 2

Shanghai’s science and technology intelligence platform cites a CIM review coauthored by Professor Amir in its Chinese-language briefing on urban digital transformation. The briefing presents the review’s application domains, from urban energy and infrastructure to microclimate and digital twins.

This is professional knowledge dissemination. The briefing’s references to Chinese pilot cities do not establish that those pilots implemented the team’s research.

Queen’s University · Physical Plant Services · Greengenuity capstone team

Green Roof Options for Campus BuildingsClient-facing student design report · 2021 · 26 March 2021 · Section 4.4.1, printed page 44; reference page 57

A design report prepared for Queen’s University’s campus facilities team uses the coauthored green-roof review to explain thermal parameters and the relationship between existing roof insulation and green-roof performance. The report proposes a campus implementation and maintenance resource.

This is a client-facing final-year student project. The report requires professional review before construction use; final adoption into campus requirements has not been established.

The Nature Conservancy-led research team

Examining the distribution of green roofs in New York City through a lens of social, ecological, and technological filtersApplied mapping study · 2022 · Ecology and Society 27(3):20 · Introduction and reference list

A Nature Conservancy-led study mapping New York City’s green roofs cites research coauthored by Professor Amir when explaining how roof design and location affect benefits. The project released an open dataset to support further research and urban green-infrastructure planning.

The cited review supports the study’s framing. The mapping and dataset are the work of its authors; this does not establish causal influence on New York City policy.

German Environment Agency · Umweltbundesamt

Wege zum abflussfreien StadtquartierFederal urban-water assessment · 2023 · TEXTE 34/2023 · Section 5.2.2.3.2, printed page 90; reference page 187

Germany’s Environment Agency cites the team’s green-roof review in its assessment of biodiversity and rooftop urban-gardening benefits within local wastewater and rainwater management. The research contributes to the report’s discussion of neighbourhood-scale co-benefits.

The connection concerns assessment evidence; authorship of the report’s legal recommendations is not implied.

UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs · Air Quality Expert Group

Effects of vegetation on urban air pollutionGovernment evidence review · 2018 · Section 4.1, printed page 15; reference page 31

The UK Air Quality Expert Group includes the coauthored green-roof review among the contextual reviews discussed in its assessment of vegetation and urban air pollution. The report brings research evidence and its limitations into a policy-facing synthesis.

The report explicitly notes limitations in quantifying policy-scale pollutant-concentration reductions. This case preserves that qualification rather than presenting a measured air-quality effect.

Norwegian Water Association · VANN

From Inspection to Maintenance: A Visual Guide for Assessing Green Roof ConditionsPractice-facing technical article · 2025 · VANN 03/2025 · Background page 242; reference page 247

A Norwegian practice-facing article on green-roof inspection and maintenance cites the coauthored review when explaining environmental benefits. Its applied study examines roofs in Trondheim and connects research with maintenance considerations.

The review supports the background discussion. The inspection checklist and study methods derive from other research and standards.

YAPI Dergisi · Gülru Koca

Çatı ve Cephe Bahçelerinin Yapıya ve Çevreye EtkileriProfessional architecture article · Reference 1 and performance discussions · Publication date not stated

Türkiye’s YAPI architecture magazine uses the team’s green-roof review to explain implications for energy, urban heat, stormwater, acoustics and biodiversity. Repeated in-text citations connect the research with practical questions for building design.

This is professional dissemination, rather than evidence of policy adoption. The inspected online article does not state a publication date.

Building and Construction Authority · Independent consultancy team

Independent Review of BCA Green Mark SchemesCommissioned professional review · 2019 study · References, printed page 10

Professor Amir’s coauthored comparison of green-building rating systems is cited in the independent professional review of Singapore’s BCA Green Mark schemes. The commissioned study examines robustness, benchmarking and lifecycle costs.

The verified connection is inclusion in the report’s references. It does not establish that the paper changed Green Mark criteria or produced the study’s cost-saving results.

Global Buildings Performance Network

A critical comparison of green building rating systems — policy evidence libraryCurated policy evidence library · 2017 · Resource appraisal · Methods, conclusions and limitations

The Global Buildings Performance Network’s evidence library profiles the rating-systems paper coauthored by Professor Amir. Its detailed appraisal summarises the study’s methods, findings, limitations and implications for sustainability assessment.

This is curated policy and practitioner dissemination. The library’s Policy Quality field is not a personal award, ranking or demonstrated policy adoption.

International Energy Agency · Energy in Buildings and Communities

Evaluation of Embodied Energy and CO₂eq for Building Construction — Subtask 2: A Literature ReviewInternational technical synthesis · 2016 · August 2016 · Reference 199, printed page 51

Professor Amir’s sustainable-energy review appears in the study corpus of IEA EBC Annex 57’s international literature synthesis. The report reviews methods and emerging research to support embodied-energy and carbon-assessment guidance.

The exact paper is included in the evidence corpus. An individual guideline requirement derived from this paper has not been established.

University of São Paulo · Escola Politécnica

PCC3533 — Building Thermal and Daylight Performance SimulationOfficial engineering syllabus · 2025 syllabus · PCC3533 · Official syllabus activated 1 January 2025

The University of São Paulo’s practical course on building thermal and daylight simulation includes Professor Amir’s coauthored sustainable-energy review in its official bibliography. The course connects simulation, indoor environmental quality and passive-design projects.

This documents curricular inclusion, rather than use by every student or a professional accreditation decision.

UIA Commission on UN SDGs · Danish architecture partners

An Architecture Guide to the UN 17 Sustainable Development GoalsProfessional architecture guide · 2018–2019 editions · Japanese edition · SDG 6 source list, printed page 135

Research coauthored by Professor Amir is included among the SDG 6 sources in the UIA-partnered architecture guide. The Japanese edition connects the wastewater-treatment review with professional discussion of clean water, sanitation and sustainable design.

Translated editions are one source family. The reference does not establish that any illustrated project used the paper. Denmark identifies the guide’s architecture partners; the source has international reach.

Climateworks Centre · CEFC-hosted report

Delivering freight decarbonisation: Strategies for reducing Australia’s transport emissionsNational freight strategy report · 2023 · Bibliography, printed page 36

Professor Amir’s coauthored construction-transport research is cited in Climateworks Centre’s report on reducing Australia’s freight emissions. The source connects the team’s New Zealand research framework with a wider national transport-decarbonisation evidence base.

The verified connection is the exact bibliography entry. A specific recommendation derived from the paper has not been traced.

Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia · Conservation publication

Riesgos latentes para la salud dentro de los repositorios y acervos del patrimonio cultural del INAHProfessional conservation publication · 2021 online · Published online 8 July 2021 · Special issue labelled 2020 · Reference 8

An INAH conservation publication in Mexico cites Professor Amir’s coauthored sick-building syndrome review in its discussion of health risks inside cultural-heritage repositories. It connects built-environment research with a specialist conservation audience.

The article record and full scholarly reference are verified. A specific operational recommendation derived from the paper has not been established.

Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering

A proposal to facilitate BIM implementation across the South African construction industryIndustry-oriented technical paper · 2022 · Volume 64(4), pages 29–37 · Citation page 30; bibliography page 37

A South African civil-engineering technical paper cites research coauthored by Professor Amir when explaining how BIM can reduce design clashes and rework. The paper proposes an industry implementation approach informed by expert interviews.

This is an industry-oriented research proposal, rather than adopted national policy. The paper does not attribute its interview methodology or local challenge categories to Amir’s review.