Refurbishment decision support tools: A review from a Portuguese user's perspective

The importance of the refurbishment market in the construction industry has grown considerably in recent decades, especially in developed countries, where it sometimes represents nearly 50% of the market. At the same time, sustainability has become an imperative target for development, and therefore sustainable principles will have to be an integral part of refurbishment projects in the near future. However, financial resources are very limited and the ability of decision-support tools to embrace all these aspects needs urgent assessment. The aim of this paper is to review what has been done in terms of refurbishment decision support tools, from a user's perspective. Thus, it first reviews the objectives and criteria of each tool to help users (architects, engineers and owners) to select the most suitable method for each particular situation. Their approaches and applicability are also discussed and classified on a simple scale to help users to choose the best algorithm from those tools whose objectives and criteria might meet their expectations. A complementary review is reported on what has been started in Portugal. Finally, the paper considers the likely options in terms of the main needs and areas of future research.