Evaluation of Criteria Influencing industrialized building system in Iran based on Vitruvius’s Three Principles of Architecture

The industrialized building system (IBS) has been a common construction method for decades. Today, IBS is employed as a pioneer construction industry in developed and some developing countries. However, IBS has no proper position in the Iranian construction industry. Despite numerous advantages of building industrialization, most constructors adapt conventional techniques rather than building industrialization. This not only imposes human and environmental impacts but also wastes time and cost. The present work mainly aims to evaluate qualitative criteria influencing building industrialization in Iran based on Vitruvius’s three principles of architecture so that these criteria could be exploited to enhance building industrialization quality in Iran. Based on Vitruvius’s theory, architects should consider stability, utility, and beauty in their designs. Therefore, this theory was adopted as a suitable approach for the analysis and evaluation of industrialized buildings. Also, this study seeks to prioritize the building industrialization criteria based on the significant aspects of Vitruvius’ principles. This study reviews the literature and theoretical foundation in the first phase and then adopts a descriptive-survey methodology and field studies. To collect data, a questionnaire was developed based on the Likert scale. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were verified. The statistical population consisted of academic professors and construction practitioners. The one-sample t-test, paired-sample t-test, and Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K-S) test were carried out in SPSS V.16.0. The findings revealed that the factor of structure in the principle of stability with the components of lateral load (i.e., wind and earthquake) resistance and shear load-resistant connections had the largest effect. Also, the economic factor of principle “utility” with the components of cost-effectiveness, construction time reduction, and mass construction had the second-largest effect in Iran.