The focus of this research is to develop cost modelling tool which can help the designer to estimate affordable green home. This is in line with the aspiration of this country to become a developed and sustainable community. Therefore, this research aims to develop cost modelling tool for the construction project which is affordable and user-friendly. In order to achieve the aim and the objectives of this research, the theoretical framework was developed as a basis for establishing the cost modelling framework. It was started by identifying the green criteria which can be possibly implementing during planning, design and construction. Then it followed by determining the most appropriate cost model which can help the designers to predict the green home project at the design stages. The process continued with the development of the cost modelling tool by utilising Microsoft Excel (MS Excel) software to make it interactive and handy. This tool is expected to compliment with the shortfall of BIM (Revit software as for example) as it still lacking a real-time base cost modelling tool which can merge between green design and cost. Functional Testing was conducted once the cost model completed then it was calibrated to adapt with the environment of its use. User Acceptance Test (UAT) has been conducted to ensure that the tool is easy to use and operate. The result from UAT shows that the tool is user-friendly, handiness and economical to evaluate construction project especially green home. It also allows the designers to estimate and conduct comparative cost studies on the economics of the project during the design stage without going through the conventional process.

This thesis investigates the possibilities of improving natural smoke ventilation performance in public hospital buildings in Malaysia. In the hospital buildings, windows are the most common form of natural ventilation mechanism for thermal comfort and smoke ventilation. Natural smoke ventilation mechanism is to remove smoke, hot gases, and other effects of combustion in the case of a fire. Statistics on cases shows that numbers of catastrophic fire incidents in hospital buildings and other buildings reveal that smoke is the leading cause of deaths in the event of fires. Therefore, this research is conducted to investigate the possibility of windows design as means for natural smoke ventilation in public hospital buildings. In specific, the objective of this research is to investigate the effects of windows configuration in responding to the different wind directions on natural smoke ventilation performance. This research involves two stages. Firstly, the inventory exercise of three (3) selected public hospital buildings. This is to identify the wards and the windows design and, secondly, computer simulation using CFD software, FDS Version 6.3, to evaluate the existing windows configuration on natural smoke ventilation performance, and to evaluate the potential of the proposed windows configuration in enhancing the natural smoke ventilation performance. The analysis of fire and smoke behavior is conducted in 4-bed wards. The result shows that the existing windows configuration in the 4-bed wards is ineffective in safeguarding the life safety of patients as the Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) is below the Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) of 191 seconds. However, by increasing the size of the windows from 19 % to 22.73 %, the ASET for visibility and temperature increased by 113.7% and 76.47%, respectively. It is observed that the two models (M4 and M6) which are the vertical windows configuration with inlet louvers near the floor are able to serve as means for natural smoke ventilation strategy in public hospital buildings in Malaysia at 90º (parallel) wind direction. Thus, the findings of this research provide a guideline for fire and rescue departments, local authorities, healthcare providers, design professionals, and contractors in understanding, designing, constructing, and enforcing natural smoke ventilation design by means of windows design in the wards of public hospital buildings.

This thesis documents the evidence in establishing Afghan cameleers’ masjids in Australia and what led the Afghan cameleers to build masjids to establish their success in Australia. Muslim Afghans migrated and settled in several parts of Australia in the early 1860s for transportation work. The most significant contribution these Muslim cameleers brought to Australia was the development of the Masjid. The study of the Afghan cameleers’ masjid in Australia was not documented in previous studies. The old Afghan masjids in Inland Australia had fallen into ruins due to the course of nature. Inadequate documentation on the background history of the Australian Muslim civilisation was identified as the lack of evidence to proof their existence as heritage significance. This research aims at exploring the journey of the Afghan Muslim cameleers by tracing the relics and contributions they had left as they migrated from one place to place within Australia. The study adopted a qualitative method approach with a specific focus on historical qualitative research through on-site observation, historiography study and architectural morphology. The study performed a detailed assessment of the Perth Masjid built by the Muslim Afghan Cameleers. The result of the architectural morphology study from the first Afghan masjid until the Perth Masjid shows that the evolution of the Afghan masjid from a basic structure to an iconic building is very significant. Located in a prominent area in Perth, Perth Masjid is a landmark to be seen and acknowledged. The design characteristics of Perth Masjid is a unique representation of the Afghan culture and values of a religious building. In conclusion, this research has shed light on the significance of the Afghan cameleers in the development of Inland Australia, and Perth Masjid has become the hallmark on the struggles of the Afghan cameleers. The affordance of the Afghan cameleers has evolved from a mere, small, and temporary masjid to an iconic and permanent masjid. The growth of the Afghan community affordance from the effort of the early Afghan cameleers has resulted in a significant landmark and heritage symbol. Other masjids post-Afghan cameleers are established around Australia in a permanent state. Research to justify the theory of affordance to correlate to the choice of location and masjid architecture, duly reinforce the differences found between current Migrant Muslims’ masjid and the Afghan cameleers’ masjid.