Introduction. In Rostov-on-Don the industrial and civil construction is carried out under a number of geological hazards: soils subsiding deformations, landslides, underfloodings, suffusions. Building up the new urban districts has always led to the groundwater surge. The Pliocene terrace building conditions in the eastern part of the city are characterised by the high risk of underflooding due to the shallow groundwater, low hydraulic gradients and water permeability of soils. The data on the present state of the groundwater level is not published in the media. Based on the materials on the territory geological structure and hydrogeological conditions, as well as on the numerical hydrogeological modeling, the present paper aims to investigate the groundwater balance determining factors and to develop the geofiltration monitoring recommendations for constraining the underflooding.
Materials and methods. The geological structure and hydrogeological conditions of the territory were analysed using the published reading and graphical materials, as well as the engineering and geological survey results. The aquifers’ geometrical parameters analysis and the spatial data visualisation were made by means of the QGIS geographic information system. For creating and analysing the numerical geofiltration models, the Visual Modflow software product of Aquaveo company was used.
Research results. The natural and technogenic geofiltration state of the territory under investigation had been forming for many years. The study of the designed numerical hydrogeological model indicates on the high risk of local underflooding as well as defines the conditions of its spreading throughout the entire territory. The role of the ravine-gully system that drains the aquifer and constrains the underflooding has been assessed. To control the territory groundwater balance and to specify the aquifers’ parameters, the layout of the observational hydrogeological wells network has been developed. Discussion and conclusion. The existing groundwater balance is vulnerable. Building up the territory is highly likely to cause additional infiltration of technogenic water and to lead to underflooding. The territory development project should envisage the geofiltration process monitoring and groundwater draining solutions.

Introduction. Nowadays the sector of high-rise and super high-rise buildings construction is rapidly developing. The deficiency of non-renewable energy sources and the deterioration of the environment are two major problems faced by every country. Therefore, the wind power engineering is intensely developing and is able not only to stop the rapid deterioration of environmental situation but also to improve accessibility of energy supply and considerably reduce the deficit of energy. It is rational to use the wind power to source the clean renewable energy for the high-rise buildings by installing the vertical axis wind turbines on the upper floors of the buildings. The aim of the work is to confirm that the vertical axis wind turbines are the best appropriate for installation on the upper floors of high-rise buildings in the cities due to unique advantages thereof (simple design, easy maintenance, adaptability to complicated and changeable wind environment, long operation life), which ensure the supply of the cities with the safe and clean green energy.
Materials and Methods. A small-size vertical axis wind turbine was taken for the study. The operation efficiency of various wind turbines was measured by changing the wind strength and direction under the same environmental conditions to determine whether a vertical axis wind turbine could operate safely, sustainably and efficiently in the complicated and changing wind environment of the city. Alongside it was proved that for ensuring the supply of the cities with the safe and clean energy the installation of the vertical axis wind turbines on the upper floors of high-rise buildings is more appropriate compared to the installation of horizontal ones.
Results. By changing the wind strength and direction, it was found that the vertical axis wind turbines have good and stable operation efficiency and can provide a constant source of clean energy for urban development in a safer and more stable way.
Discussion and Conclusions. The vertical axis wind turbines are ideally adapted to the complicated and changing wind conditions of the upper floors of high-rise buildings and can be safely and efficiently operated, making positive contribution to reducing the energy load and improving the state of environment.

Materials and Methods. The elaboration of the heating networks should be carried out in compliance with the currently enacted Code of Practices “Information modeling in construction. Rules for the objects’ information model creation at different stages of the life cycle». The life cycle can be divided into four stages. It is noted that each type of digital information model at each stage of the life cycle correlates with the certain level of elaboration, which envisages the minimum of geometric, spatial, quantitative and attributive data necessary to solve the task of information modeling at a specific stage of the object's life cycle.
Results. 4th generation heating supply technologies allow reducing the temperature of the heat-carrying agent, hereby creating conditions for commencing the heating networks’ transit to the low temperature type of systems. As a result, reducing the heat carrying agent’s temperature, allows using more flexible polymer materials for the pipelines. In addition, application of the comprehensive approach to the heating networks innovative development is the important prerequisite for further development of the district heating infrastructure and technologies.
Discussion and Conclusions. The main focus for improving the heating sector development should lie in the elaboration and implementation of the new technologies and digital information models, which will improve the quality of thermal energy generation, transportation and distribution.

Introduction. Today, the construction enterprises face the problem of improving quality of a completed object of construction while reducing the cost of its production. This question is raised by Russian and foreign scientists studying the issue of organisational and technological reliability in construction. The analysis of the theoretical background of this topic clearly shows a quite positive situation. However, the organisational and technological reliability is intended not for theoretical research, but for practical application. If in the past the organisational and technological reliability was understood as the compliance of a facility with the technical standards and norms, this is not longer the point because many of the norms got outdated. Accordingly, it is necessary to include the state bodies in the process of creation the new and constant updating of the existing regulatory and technical data base in the field of organisational and technological reliability. Time losses in construction still reach up to 30% of the total period of construction. The objective of the present study is to investigate the currently available methods of enhancing the organisational and technological reliability in construction and to make suggestions on its improvement aimed at reducing the construction timeline.
Materials and Methods. The current methods of determining the organisational and technological reliability are presented. A brief description of the main methods is provided. The method proposed by the authors to the enterprises for application in construction of the residential houses is described in more detail. The method consists in the implementation and use of the enterprise quality management system.
Results. The main goal for such enterprises has been defined and recommendations on implementation of the “top-down” system have been provided. The quality management system model has been supplemented and plotted. A cyclical flow has been proposed, where a consumer looking to satisfy his needs, turns again to the same manufacturer whenever he has a new need for this product, and the manufacturer, in turn, constantly improves its quality management system.
Discussion and Conclusions. The quality management system model worked out in the course of the present research should help the enterprises to improve the organisational and technological reliability of their products by focusing on the consumer and to gain a larger share in the market.

Introduction. Information modeling of buildings and structures (BIM) implies comprehensive examination of an object including studying engineering, technological and economic information about a building and all interrelations and 42 dependencies it has [1–2]. Such approach enables considering a building and all things referring to it as a single facility.
Information modeling is an important tool to be used at various stages of the project implementation, including the design and construction stage [3]. Information modeling is used at each life cycle stage of a facility, including the investment stage, construction itself, and commissioning, which envisages maintenance of a building and management of the assets. Having the information model at this stage is a great advantage for the company managing a facility, due to reduction of the costs arising from the operational shortcomings. The aim of the research was to develop the facility’s operation stage model in the information environment, as the most expensive stage of a building life cycle and supplement it with the calculation of the need-for-repairs indicators.
Materials and Methods. During the research the data-analytical environment “Information and Analytical System for Housing and Communal Services” (IAS ЖКХ) for forecasting the technical state of a constructed facility was studied. The method of creating the three models of a multi-storey residential building's operation stage at the pre-investment period was applied: a building undergoing natural depreciation; repairs of the main structural elements directly affecting the existence and functioning of a facility are carried out; regular repairs of all elements are performed.
Results. Following the carried-out calculations, a rational model of building operation was approved, based on the period of efficient operation and the cost of repairs during this period.
Discussion and Conclusions. The method of the constructed facility operation stage modeling allows examining various scenarios of the building life cycle after its construction and evaluating the relevance of one or another type of operation of a particular facility.

Introduction. The sustainable design system of a built-up area requires integration of many types of information and ensuring the constant involvement of users, community members and various specialists throughout a building’s life cycle. The holistic designing approach implies focusing on the functional relationship between different parts of a building or a building complex as a whole that increases the complexity of a project. The key principle underlying sustainable buildings is an integrated design process taking into account the principles of environmental safety.
The present article focuses on the analysis of the managerial and organizational methodology used by the civil engineering professionals in the context of sustainable construction. The design, management and arrangement of a construction site for a building’s reconstruction or a large scale build-up within the urban area boundaries require the development of measures and solutions for the storage and use of toxic chemicals, allocating the places for hazardous wastes collection and disposal, wastewater treatment – the results of operation of a previous structure or a building complex. All these factors need appropriate monitoring, assessment of risks and measures of ecological recovery of a land plot, in cases when the original objects and territories change their functional designation and are rebuilt into objects having impact on the environment.
Materials and Methods. The development of sustainable design principles for arranging a construction site of capital construction facility on the areas that were exposed to long-term impact during the previous buildings’ and structures’ operation requires working-out the algorithms, methodology for assessment and monitoring the environmental situation on a construction site. The implementation of the present solutions requires the analysis of the sources of pollution, the duration of exposure, the nature and degree of construction site’ soil layer pollution. The development of modern managerial, organisational and technological solutions will minimise the processes of territory recovery and create sustainable construction operations.
Results. As a result of the conducted research there were developed: the algorithms for assessing the ecological state of a construction site soil layer, the recommendations on the methodology for a build-up area ecological state assessment and monitoring aimed at setting the sustainable design of the organisational and technological solutions within an investment and construction project.
Discussion and Conclusions. The implementation of the sustainable design processes in the investment and construction project on a build-up area soil layer preservation, the monitoring and assessment of its state enable avoiding extra costs due to the absence of the need for soil reclamation and purchase of soil of a different chemical composition from that originally formed in a particular area, and due to ensuring maximum possible preservation of vegetation.

Introduction. The architectural and construction discourse, which has become widespread today, states that even though there develops the informational networking type of interaction among the participants of the socio-cultural exchange, the architecture will still get its rightful place because it is the most important component of the living environment of a community.
Despite the rapid and successful development of applied areas of the Architectural Science caused by the dynamics of mass construction (or construction of single buildings and structures, but those, which are originally clearly meant to meet the mass requirements of the society, its stereotyped ideas about the look of a modern urban metropolis) and changes in construction technologies, design and engineering methods, forms and production resources, there is no clear understanding of what does the architecture implicate, not merely in the frame of scientific achievements, but also in the frame of the technical, technological and material progress of civilization.
The problem set by the latest dynamics in the architectural and construction field (industry) is increasing the durability of wall building materials, mainly the ceramic bricks. The method of increasing the frost resistance of ceramic bricks made of Kushchevsky deposit clay raw material by adding a structuring additive into the clay mass, which ensures the required properties of the material’s pore structure, is presented in this scientific article.
Materials and Methods. The present scientific work builds up on the results of the research on the effect of the proposed additive on the frost resistance of a ceramic crock made of Kushchevsky clay raw material by plastic molding. The results of the chemical analyses of the clay raw material of Kushchevsky deposit and the modifying additive are shown. As an additive there is used the waste (a calcium-bearing by-product) which is released during manufacture of the phosphate mineral fertilisers and has the form of spherical granules of 30–100 microns in diameter.
In addition to determining the physical and mechanical characteristics of the burnt samples modified with a mineral additive, the porous characteristics of a ceramic crock were studied using the mercury porosimeter. With the help of the device, which is made on the basis of a quartz dilatometer and a freezer, the dilatometric measurements were carried out by freezing the water-saturated samples at the temperature of up to –20°C.
Results. The carried-out experiments showed the increase in the frost resistance of the plastic-molded ceramic crock made of the clay rock of the Kushchevsky deposit when adding the carbonate-bearing mineral additive due to formation of the optimal porous structure. During numerous successive periods of freezing and thawing there was recorded good resistance of the modified samples to tensile stresses arising in the crock. The implementation of this method (of adding the proposed additive into the clay mass) in the brick factories is guaranteed to provide the manufacture of the ceramic building products with increased frost resistance.
Discussion and Conclusions. Deformation curves of pores calibrating graduation in samples with and without a mineral additive are presented, along with the study results of the samples’ deformation during freezing.
In conclusion, a matrix with the results of the climatic annual parameters of the Russian Federation is presented, confirming the need for the building materials to comply with the improved performance characteristics. The implementation of this method in ceramic brick manufacturing lines will foster the production of products with increased frost resistance.

Introduction. Environmental safety assessment for selecting the optimal technology of building materials manufacture is quite relevant. The necessity of environmental assessment (environmental safety assessment) of each life cycle stage of any building material (from the purchase of raw materials or the manufacture of products out of natural resources to the disposal of products) has been distinguished as a scientific problem for the present research, alongside, the authors have supplemented the schematic diagram of a building material life cycle with the transportation stage (of raw materials, finished products). The object of the study is a notional building material, and the purpose of the study is assessment of the stress imposed on the environment components by each life cycle stage of a notional building material. This work should foster implementation of more environmentally safe technology of building materials manufacture.
Materials and Methods. The authors examined the interrelation between the properties of materials and the quality of the environment using the methods of comparative and system analysis, the graph method and the qualimetric method. Results. As a result of the conducted research, the potential impacts of a notional building material on the environment at all life cycle stages have been analysed — from purchase of raw materials, manufacture and use of products till their processing at the end of service life, recycling and final disposal (the cycle “from cradle to grave”). The authors proposed to take into account the stages of transportation of raw materials and finished products within the building materials life cycle to make a more accurate assessment of their impact on the environment. This approach allows taking into account the entire life cycle and applying the data to solving the environmental problems, such as reducing the amount of emissions, discharges and wastes, thus, fostering saving the resources.
Discussion and Conclusions. The environmental assessment of a building material life cycle, should, first of all, take into account the share of its negative impact in the aggravation of the global environmental problems, including global warming, ozone destruction in the stratospheric layer of the atmosphere, formation of ozone in the tropospheric layer, oxidation of water resources and soils, eutrophication of water bodies, depletion of non-renewable energy sources (oil, gas, coal). The carried out analysis allows the authors to conclude that significant differences in the degree of negative impact of the notional building materials on the environment components are observed at the stage of their manufacture.

Introduction. Urban riverine territories are the special functional and planning ecosystem, because in the course of formation they are first of all subjected to the natural and climatic factors that create additional unstable ecological and anthropogenic load. In this regard, the studied territories require special attention and need their own functional and planning structure to be developed. The aim of this study is to make an overview of the options of the urban riverine territories development and to identify their features depending on the natural and climatic conditions of the area.
Materials and Methods. The comparative and comprehensive analyses were applied to examine the data collected during studying the issues of planning development of the large cities’ of the Russian Federation riverine territories. The data obtained from the various open sources, both practical and theoretical ones, was synthesised. Comparative analysis allowed making a number of conclusions on the planning development perspectives of the riverine territories from the point of view of functional zoning.
Results. The riverine territories within the city boundaries were looked into as an object of the research. The results of the study showed the general trends and perspectives in development of the studied territories in the riverine cities. The overview of the accumulated experience of zoning the riverine territories having various typological characteristics is presented in the article.
Discussion and Conclusions. The analysis of the planning development of the large cities’ riverine territories allowed the authors to state that at present the development of territories is aimed at forming and supporting the social and cultural life of the citizens. The authors examined research perspectives of the planning structures of each of the riverine territory functional zone separately, taking into account its spatial development.