Introduction. The most forward-looking method of choosing the optimal technology of the populated areas’ life support systems is the environmental and economic efficiency assessment of each type of such systems, wherein their life cycle assessment analysis is considered to be the primal stage. The scientific problem distinguished by the authors is the need to assess a life cycle of a gas supply system, which provides the organised supply and distribution of gas fuel to consumers. The study aims at finding the optimal combination of the environmental and economic factors for the gas control station variants by means of the life cycle analysis method followed by the environmental and economic efficiency assessment of the gas supply systems’ management and operation.

Materials and Methods. The authors' research was based on the object’s life cycle analysis method compliant with the quality management system, methods of selection theory and environmental and economic efficiency assessment of various objects.

Results. As a result of the research, it was determined that:

- a gas control station is of particular interest in terms of choosing the optimal technology of the organised supply and distribution of gas fuel to consumers;

- for gas control stations, the life cycle analysis and environmental and economic efficiency assessment method is the most appropriate one;

- a gas control station life cycle includes 11 stages, among which the operational stage is identified by the authors as the main one;

- for the selected variants of a gas control station layout, the environmental and economic efficiency assessment is made.

Discussion and Conclusions. The life cycle analysis of the gas control stations of the gas supply systems made it possible to distinguish the operational stage as the most significant one. For each of the two variants of such stations selected by the authors, the environmental and economic efficiency assessment was carried out. Upon calculation results, it was discovered that among the variants under consideration, a gas control station with an expander-generator unit has the highest environmental and economic efficiency and its layout could be widely implemented in future.

Introduction. The subsiding soils, which are widely spread in the south of Russia, create a number of problems and hazards due to the high probability of subfoundations subsidence in case of exceeding the values of initial soil moisture and initial pressure for subsidence. This is an important phenomenon to be considered at all life cycle stages of a building or structure, especially at the stage of design, when the scientifically justified design and technological solutions must be developed to ensure the reliable operation of facilities in the complicated engineering and geological conditions being studied hereby. The present article analyses the acting federal and regional regulatory and technical documentation in the field of buildings and structures design on the subsiding soils. Based on the numerical experiment, the incorrectness of the results sometimes received upon following the normative methodology is shown. A new calculating methodology based on determining the stabilised subfoudation soil deformation modulus according to the plate load tests and geotechnical monitoring data is proposed.

Materials and Methods. The research comprised:

– analysis of the existing approaches and methodologies for the subfoundations and foundations design on the subsiding soils;

– numerical experiments, including calculations according to the normative methodology, which implied variation of the original data of both the initial properties of soils and technological parameters of stabilisation, as well as statistical processing of the results;

– analysis of the carried out earlier by the authors geotechnical monitoring results of the buildings built on the stabilized soils and experimental study of the deformation properties using a patented device;

– determining the main factors having influence on the design solutions for the subfoudation soils and building foundations strengthening under a complicated set of operational loads and establishing a new dependence of the stabilised soil deformation modulus on the initial soil deformation modulus and percentage of soil reinforcement.

Research results. It has been established that the existing methodologies for calculating the stabilised subfoudation soils are not enough precise for determining the forecastable subsidence of buildings and structures, and the obtained design values do not always correspond to the factual deformations of subfoundations and foundations. The dependence of the stabilised subfoudation soil deformation modulus on the initial soil deformation modulus and percentage of soil reinforcement with the cement-sand mortar has been traced. A new calculating methodology has been developed based on determining the stabilised subgrade soil deformation modulus according to the data of the plate load tests using a patented device and geotechnical monitoring.

Discussion and conclusion. It has been established that the deformation modulus of the soil mass stabilised by the cementation method depends non-linearly on percentage of soil reinforcement with the cement-sand mortar and the initial soil deformation modulus, and this dependence is described by a second-order surface equation of a general form. It is recommended to apply the discovered dependencies for designing the technological parameters of the subsiding soils stabilisation in the Rostov region conditions.

Introduction. The important condition ensuring the monolithicity of the erected massive monolithic reinforced concrete structures, divided in compliance with the standards into the heat-shrinkable blocks, is the quality of construction joints in terms of the new-to-old concrete bonding. The research on the bonding strength dependence on the technological parameters of the construction joints formation using the widely spread in recent years self-compacting concretes is a relevant task, because the number of publications on the respective topic is insufficient. The aim of the present paper is to develop a scientific concept regarding the influence of the certain technological parameters on the new-to-old concrete bonding strength during the construction joints formation.

Materials and Methods. The research was carried out using the self-compacting and ordinary heavy vibratory-compacted concretes with the compressive strength ranged from 34.5 to 69.2 MPa. The object of the study was the dependence of the new-to-old concrete bonding strength on the method of standardised surface pre-treatment of the “old” concrete in a joint and the compressive strength of the grade of the “new” self-compacting concrete. The composite Mörsch specimens in which the “old” concrete was cured for up to 3 days were used as the main samples. The construction joint relative strength was considered to be the joint quality evaluation criterion equalling to the ratio of the shear strength of concrete in a composite Mörsch specimen to the minimum axial tension strength values of the “new” and “old” concrete. The quality indicators of the concrete were determined by applying the standard methodology. The specimens were cured under conditions simulating the production of works in the spring-summer season.

Results. During the research, the construction joint quality criteria in terms of the “old” to “new” concrete bonding were analysed along with the changes they undergo depending on the studied recipe (concrete grade) and technological (length of the technological break, surface treatment method) factors. The dependences of the proposed construction joint quality criterion on the “new” concrete compressive strength (grade) were obtained and the inefficiency of the surface treatment with a metal brush was shown, especially if accompanied with the technological break extension. The required bonding strength values for B25 ... B35 grade concretes can be for sure provided by the surface pre-milling, whereas the extension of the technological break has negative affect on the bonding strength.

Discussion and Conclusions. Due to the revealed low bonding strength of the “old” to “new” concretes, regardless the technological factors, it is expedient to look into the ways of ensuring the construction joint quality by implementing structural solutions such as keyed joints and (or) additional reinforcement.

Introduction. The large-scale “wet” closure of collieries had led to irreversible changes in the underworked rock mass. First of all, there took place the mine-water level rise and hydraulic activation of buildings’ subfoundation soils, which induced the new geodynamic effects and hazardous deformations of buildings. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out the reconstruction of buildings’ subfoundations on the underworked territories. Under these circumstances, the high-pressure jet grouting with viscoplastic grouts using the hydraulic fracturing is considered a highly-promising trend of soil grouting. The work aims at studying the parameters of grouting and the degree of consolidation of hydraulically activated soils on the underworked territories.

Materials and Methods. The research was carried out with the rock full scale specimens, taking into account their physical-mechanical and strain-strength properties. The comprehensive approach to research implied studying the geotechnical conditions and the technological parameters of rock grouting along with the quality of stabilisation and waterproofing of hydraulically activated soils.

Results. In accordance with the comprehensive research methodology, at the first stage, the geotechnical and miningengineering analysis of the underworked territories were carried out and the geostructural typification of the ShakhtinskNesvetaevsky district territories was substantiated depending on the thickness of the covering deposits. At the second stage, the grout pad formation parameters at contact with the parent rocks were analytically determined. Moreover, for dispersive decompacted rocks the consistent patterns and the degree of filtration consolidation were established in the empirically-analytical way by viscoplastic grout injection. Using the computer and physical modeling method, the consistent patterns of subfoundation soils deformation before and after grouting were obtained for three geostructural types. At the third stage, the field studies of the grouting parameters and quality were carried out during the subfoundations reconstruction of two buildings in the city of Shakhty. It was proved that grouting in the hydraulically activated soils increases their strength up to 0.4 MPa and reduces subfoundations deformation by 2–2.5 times.

Discussion and Conclusions. Application of the comprehensive methodology to the study of grouting in the hydraulically activated soils of the underworked territories made it possible to substantiate the process flow schemes and parameters of consolidation and waterproofing of dispersive and fractured hard rocks. Based on the analytical, computer, laboratory and field study results, the consistent patterns and the degree of variation in the deformation-strength properties of the hydraulically activated subfoundation soils after viscoplastic grouting were established.

Introduction. Based on the evolutionary approach to the analysis of the lightweight concrete application expediency in earthquake-resistant construction it has been revealed that development of the above mentioned technologies fosters the reduced material consumption in construction and the increased durability of buildings under the seismic loads. The efficient solutions for constructing the earthquake-resistant buildings are constantly searched for, and the reasons for reducing the range of energy-efficient products made of the autoclaved aerated concrete are noticed. The research is aimed at compiling an inventory of modern technological methods of increasing the buildings seismic resistance.

Materials and Methods. The list and properties of raw materials used for single-stage technology manufacture of the foam concrete mixtures have been provided. The list of equipment used for assessing the studied materials’ mechanical properties has been defined.

Results. The new experimental data confirming the significant influence of the individual properties of fiber on the value of the dispersedly reinforced foam concrete ultimate deformability and bending tensile strength has been obtained. The positive effect of the length of fiber on the foam concrete mechanical properties has been confirmed. The considerably positive effect of the dispersed reinforcement on the homogeneity of mechanical properties observed in the foam concrete mass has been distinguished.

Discussion and Conclusions. The work performed has elucidated the importance of the individual properties of fiber as a tool for managing the operational properties of foam concrete. The ultimate properties of the aerated rock material are influenced by the length of fibers and their ultimate deformability. The length of fiber is important for the bending tensile strength, whereas the values of this parameter in the composite material are regulated by the ultimate extensibility.

Introduction. Professional requirements set for the specialists in organisation of construction (job foremasters and foremen) grow from year to year along with the emergence of new building technologies, materials, machines and equipment. After implementation of the new professional standards in our country, such specialists are urged to acquire the additional knowledge, abilities and skills necessary for fulfilling their job functions and activities in compliance with their proficiency level. Therefore, searching the ways of enhancing the vocational training of the specialists in organisation of construction has become the objective of the authors’ research.

Materials and Methods. To achieve this objective, the authors have developed a series of additional activities for teaching the specialists in organisation of construction, based on improving the competencies required in their profession. This series of activities includes the initial, intermediate and final stages of vocational training. The initial stage is implemented during the first three years of bachelor and long first degree (specialist) programmes within direction of study “Construction” and the remaining two stages – during the last years of university study or after graduation.

Results. The article presents the Don State Technical University experience of enhancing vocational training of the specialists in organisation of construction. The article contains the information on integration into the educational process of the photo and video tests, construction machines simulators, business games (including the ones on erecting the building structures out of the crane operator’s field-of-view), thematic references on difficult (challenging) issues of construction production, glossary of construction slang, as well as the information on organisation of the student scientific circle “Student construction control”.

Discussion and Conclusion. The experience of enhancing vocational training of the specialists in organisation of construction accumulated by the authors is successfully implemented at the Continuing Education Department and the Production Technology in Construction Chair of Don State Technical University. It can be recommended for implementation in other universities where students of the direction of study “Construction” are educated.

Introduction. Within the current Russian urban planning practices, there is no any specific criteria for the spatial and environmental characteristics of building or development of the multifunctional urban territory. The lack of methodology for the strategies of urbanistic, ecological and economic development and planning of the urban space leads to deteriorated understanding of the urban environment sustainable development and urbanised space comfort of any climate zone. The aim of this scientific research is to identify the main principles of the residential areas development in the major cities of the south of Russia in the current conditions. So far, these issues have not been studied in relation to the environmental factors and regional features.

Materials and Methods. The research included the comparative analysis of the residential areas development in the riverine cities of the south of Russia, the comprehensive system analysis of these areas’ architectural, planning and landscape features evolution along with the approaches to building thereof by applying the graph-analytical methods.

Results. The conducted research elucidated the planning structure features of the major riverine cities of the south of Russia (Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd, Krasnodar), as well as the principles of their planning structure development depending on the landscape factors and historical periods specifics. After analysis of the national and foreign experience in designing and building the residential areas, the modern trends inducing thereof have been distinguished, which are not yet theoretically substantiated at present. The research results made it possible to formulate the modern principles of functional and planning organisation of the residential areas in the riverine cities of the south of Russia, taking into account the comfort of the living environment for population.

Discussion and Conclusion. Based on the conducted research, a conceptual model of functional and planning organisation and building the residential areas in the riverine cities of the southern region has been proposed for the first time. It can improve the comfort of people’s living and enhance the architectural, artistic and landscape look of the residential areas.

Introduction. The relevance of the research is induced by the gaps existing in the modern Architectural Science with regard to the conception of innovative digital technologies capable to optimise the reconstruction of the Sydney Opera House and the restoration of the St. John the Theologian Church in the Rostov region. Creating a digital twin of a building simplifies the work on its possible reconstruction. The research is targeted at studying the interrelation of the digital IFC models of the Sydney Opera House and the St. John the Theologian Church in Grushevskaya Cossack village, Rostov region, complemented by creation of their lifecycle-extending projects.

Materials and Methods. The methodological base of the research includes the traditional scientific methods, as well as the interdisciplinary approaches used in the modern Architectural Science. The work studies progress in the designing, reconstruction and modernisation principles of the objects of capital construction, on the example of the building information modelling technologies (BIM), as well as the experience of using computer technologies in reconstruction and reequipping the construction facilities. The computer model of the Sydney Opera House building, along with the photographic evidence of architectural elements, detail drawings, historical buildings’ facade fragments were used in the research for elaborating the St. John the Theologian Church model and designing the new facility — the gate bell tower.

Results. The excellence of BIM over the traditional designing methods has been established, which is expressed in the possibility to perform digital modelling and make calculations on re-equipping the facilities with the modern engineering systems aiming to bring the parameters of the operated equipment in compliance with the up-to-date level of requirements and assessments accepted for the current state of constructions and structures, which determines the range of restoration and reconstruction measures.

Discussion and Conclusion. The article describes the interrelation in structuring the transfer of building information model parameters among the differential programmes involved in the model creation using the IFC format. Application of advanced technologies in the architectural design and construction adjusts and rationalises the processes of construction, operation and reconstruction of the objects of capital construction aiming to manage their life cycle efficiently.

Introduction. The sustainable development of the territories depends directly on the sustainability of the economic, social, urban and environmental subsystems. The aim of the work is to enhance the system of generalised benchmark indicators of integrated assessment designated to conduct the analysis of the current state of the urbanised territories, to assess their socio-ecological and economic capacity and to forecast their development. The scientific background for the study is formed by the works and research of E.G. Aksenova and E.P. Sokolova. However, many issues arising in the frame of implementation of the landscape formation, construction and engineering infrastructure development programmes are still poorly explored and thus determine the relevance of the research on this topic.

Materials and Methods. Studying the methodology of integrated assessment of the urbanised territories became an object of this research. Currently, there exists quite many methods and technologies for conducting the socio-ecological and economic assessment of the built-up areas. An integrated approach and empirical research methods made it possible to deepen and expand the frames of the currently available studies in this field, supplement them with the benchmark indicators of integrated assessment of the territories, distinguish the main directions of such assessment, identify assessment zones, develop and propose assessment criteria.

Results. The proposed benchmark indicators for assessing the territory enable conducting a complex analysis of the state of the urbanised landscapes, which results in development of the proposals and targeted programmes on their rational use. The materials of the suggested integrated assessment of the territory can foster implementation of the design solutions on the municipal entity layout; identify the divergence between the existing infrastructure and the territory layout; forecast further development of the territories and determine the priority directions for their development; identify inconsistencies in the system of planning and forecasting the built-up areas development; define the levels of anthropogenic and technogenic load on the environment; work out the programmes and activities for development of the territories having the potential to become the growing points.

Discussion and Conclusion. The materials of the integrated assessment of the territory are the basis for the long-term forecasting and determining the perspectives of development of all spheres of urban landscapes activities. The scientific results obtained in the frame of the conducted research are the elements of knowledge which have a different degree of scientific significance. The theoretical significance lies in the development of the methodology of forming the main criteria for assessing the urban territories. The practical significance lies in the development of the recommendations for the rational use and layout of the urbanised territories based on the presented assessment methodology.

Introduction. One of the main problems in the operation of buildings and structures is possibility of their damage due to non-uniform deformation of subfoundation soil caused by the various natural and technogenic factors. To establish the possible character and degree of damage of the above-surface structures, it is necessary to calculate the value of subfoun- dation relative differential settlement at the level beneath the foundation bottom. The subfoundation settlement is calculated within the compressible soil thickness using the specific gravity values and soil deformation modulus. The increment of settlement is induced by the increase of vertical stresses in the massif and increase of soil deformability upon growth of moisture. The purpose of the study is to establish the dependence of the magnitude of the relative difference in settlement on the deformation properties of soils with uneven occurrence of layers in order to predict the nature of damage to above-ground structures.

Materials and Methods. An example of subfoundation deformation calculations at the bottom level of the free-standing foundations of a building having flexible constructive scheme has been studied. A model of stratification of two heterogeneous geotechnical elements with a 1:4 boundary slope and differing physical and mechanical properties has been used. It has been assumed that one of the geotechnical elements has natural properties enabling the building foundations to rest on it without prior site preparation. Another geotechnical element has significantly worse properties. The calculations on determining the settlement have been made in accordance with the layer-wise summation methodology.

Results. The regularity in alteration of the predicted settlement value depending on the ratio of firm and soft soils thickness in the irregular stratification has been established. It has been proven that the difference between the specific gravity values of the heterogeneous beds within 10 % does not affect the depth of compressible soil thickness if the calculation of settlement is made using the layer-wise summation methodology.

Discussion and conclusions. The calculation results analysis of the subfoundation settlement of the equidistant column foundations was carried out, the engineering solution was proposed to ensure reliability per limit state groups.

Introduction. The article describes a forward-looking technology in the field of construction industry and urban management – CIM (City Information Modeling) – an information model of a city. Emergence of the information modelling have led to the possibility to create the 3D models not only of individual objects, but also of a city as a whole with its buildings, infrastructure, geological and environmental factors. But creation and maintenance of the city models require the software tools. The aim of the present research is to make a review of the available software, describe its properties and field of application. CIM application capacities are also defined. The tasks, which can be solved by means of such a model, are described. The result of using GIS technologies in creating a city information model with respect to the data on housing stock energy efficiency level is shown.

Materials and Methods. Within the research, an analytical review of the existing software for creating an information model of a city was carried out, the works of the scientists, who contributed to the issue of urban modeling, were studied. The information sources useful for further research were identified. Geo-information systems ARC GIS 10.1 ESRI were used to create a city information model.

Results. A city information model can be described as a replication of the historical and cultural, socio-economic and religious events and phenomena; the three-dimensional models, geo-information virtual systems created by means of the space-based processing and information technologies, including BIM (Building Information Modeling) and GIS (Geographic Information Systems). The software complexes, which function based on the analysis of the valid data and creation of design entities, are used to create the information models of the urban territories. The major companies importing the urban modeling software, Autodesk and Bentley, offer both BIM and CIM tools.

Discussion and Conclusions. The term "Smart City" has become especially popular due to development of BIM technologies. This is an innovative approach based on the digital technologies application, which directly affects the activities and efficiency of provided services and rising the city living standard. For solving the thematic problems, there exist the focused technologies and tools of the modern urban environment development. The main task of the "Smart City" is enhancement of the comfort standard of the residents’ living. This task is solved by creating a city information model integrating the information about the terrain, buildings and structures, roads, green spaces, etc.