QuiVal Research

🏙️ Value of the Building That Lasts

The second theme, Value of the Building That Lasts, focuses on how circularity and long-term resilience influence the value of real estate. Bringing together expertise in valuation, urban and regional economics, architecture and eco-design, this theme explores how buildings can keep and re-create value over time in a changing world.

The researchers within this theme:

📌 DC3 – Bianca Chiusi – The Impact of Circular Measures on the Life Span of Buildings
📌 DC4 – Mingyang Yu – Climate Change as a Local Factor in Circular Real Estate
📌 DC5 – Marina Montemuro Varela – Circularity Aspects as Factors in Real Estate Valuation

Together, these projects explore how real estate valuation can better account for longevity, climate adaptation, and circularity. By developing novel approaches for future-ready buildings, integrating climate factors into urban development, and examining the economic, environmental, and societal dimensions of value through quantum-inspired perspectives, their research contributes to a more adaptable, circular, and resilient built environment. 🌇

Quantum Inspiration and Implementation✨

After introducing our doctoral candidates individually, we are now highlighting the five core research themes of QuiVal.

The first theme, Quantum Inspiration and Implementation, brings together research from multiple disciplines, including big data, valuation, economics, mathematics, urban engineering, behavioural science and governance.

Within this theme:

📌 DC1 - Ali Khan - New Approaches to Options Valuation for Circular Real Estate
📌 DC9 – Seung Won Eo- Urban Analytics, Quantum Theory, and Real Estate Valuation
📌 DC11 – Rabab Raydan - Towards a Paradigm Shift in Real Estate Valuation

Together, these projects explore how quantum-inspired thinking can contribute to new valuation approaches for a more sustainable and circular built environment.

Stay tuned as we introduce the remaining four QuiVal research themes.

QuiVal stands for Quantum Inspired Real Estate Valuation and works with the Quantum Inspired Approach, but what exactly is that?

The Quantum Inspired Approach proposes a revisit of value and valuation through quantum inspiration. It suggests that this perspective can help real estate valuers assess and weigh the financial, societal, and environmental factors that contribute to valuation, while also comparing different scenarios of use or reuse. The result? More efficient resource use and lower CO₂ emissions.

To achieve this, the approach is built on two cornerstones that could change the way valuers look at value in real estate:

🔸Value Multifacetedness
A building can be dissected into multiple physical layers (such as stuff, skin, and structure) and functional layers (such as natural, social, and financial). Assigning different value types to these layers is referred to as Value Multifacetedness.

🔹 Value Fluidity
These value types must first be observed before they can be used in decision-making. Observation can be carried out by humans (analogue) or smart technologies (digital). However, values can fluctuate at any moment due to market dynamics, changing demographics, and crisis effects. This phenomenon is referred to as Value Fluidity.

Together, these concepts mean that a building can express multiple values simultaneously and at different levels. To observe and work with these values, the built environment requires tools capable of handling complexity. Quantum-inspired approaches may be able to address these complexities and outperform current classical approaches, leading to Quantum Inspired Valuation.

The QuiVal Consortium together!✨

During the co-creation workshop in Antwerp, focused on the first outcomes and results of the project, the QuiVal team came together to explore emerging insights, reflect on key findings, and identify opportunities for further collaboration.

Through open discussions and collective reflection, researchers and partners shared perspectives on the project’s progress and worked towards strengthening the frameworks and tools being developed within QuiVal.

These moments of exchange highlight the value of interdisciplinary collaboration and the strong community that continues to drive QuiVal forward.

Our newest Doctoral Candidate joining QuiVal is Hong Chen!

Hong holds a Master’s degree in Financial Mathematics and Statistics from City University of Hong Kong, with expertise in statistical modelling, machine learning, data mining, and stochastic analysis.

Her research combines AI and quantitative methods with environmental data analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA), focusing on improving the reliability of life cycle inventory data and supporting data-driven sustainability assessments. Through projects at the intersection of LCA and artificial intelligence, she has contributed to innovative approaches for analysing complex environmental datasets, including large-scale LCI matrix construction and AI-based methods for predicting environmental flows.

Within QuiVal, Hong’s PhD research explores the circular potential and value dynamics of secondary resources in the built environment. She aims to develop dynamic assessment frameworks for recycling and reuse potential under changing market and environmental conditions, supporting circular real estate valuation and the transition to a low-carbon built environment.

Our next doctoral candidate is Bayo Windapo!

Bayo is a Nigerian-born architect, researcher, and digital innovation advocate currently pursuing his PhD at ETH Zurich’s Chair of Circular Engineering for Architecture, while also leading Onile, a construction industry digital services startup. Bayo is a registered architect with over nine years of professional experience, he earned his master’s degree from the University of Cape Town and has contributed to impactful architectural projects across Africa. During his time as an Associate Architect at Wolff Architects, Bayo worked on notable projects including the Watershed at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and the Bahá’í Temple in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Beyond practice, he has also shared his expertise in architectural design, theory, and digital skills at institutions such as UCT and SEA, with a strong focus on BIM, computational design, and reality capture technologies.
Within QuiVal, his PhD focuses on how digital systems and emerging technologies can improve material reuse and optimize recycled material supply chains in cities like Cape Town and Zurich while also addressing important socio-economic considerations.
Email: [email protected]

Today we introduce DC12: Heli Song!

Heli Song is a real estate researcher with an international background spanning Estonia, the Netherlands, and the UK. Raised in Estonia and received her education in multiple locations. Her interest in real estate began early while assisting on a long-term redevelopment project in Tallinn’s Old Town, where she gained firsthand insight into how urban redevelopment influences asset values over time.
She holds an interdisciplinary BSc with a specialization in Economics from the University of Amsterdam and an MPhil in Real Estate Finance from the University of Cambridge. Her academic work focused on commercial real estate, housing markets, household finance, and the effects of macroprudential policies.

Within QuiVal, Heli focuses on developing new ways to assess value in real estate and housing markets. Her work combines quasi-experimental statistical methods with emerging approaches such as machine learning and quantum-inspired models.
Email: [email protected]

Next up! Doctoral Candidate 11: Rabab Raydan.

Rabab Raydan has a multicultural background shaped by experiences in Saudi Arabia, Germany, Lebanon, Portugal, Spain and the UK. She holds a Master’s in Sustainable Design, Construction, and Management of the Built Environment (Erasmus Mundus MBUILD) and a civil engineering degree from Beirut Arab University, where she led the ASCE Student Chapter.

Her work spans community service and research, including contributions to rebuilding efforts after the 2020 Beirut explosion and supporting NGOs in disaster relief. Professionally, she has worked as a Graduate Researcher at TECNALIA in Spain on EU projects focused on infrastructure resilience, climate adaptation and decarbonization, alongside experience in structural design for tall buildings and circular construction materials research.

Through her PhD within QuiVal, she aims to rethink traditional valuation models by developing dynamic frameworks that respond to climate change and support sector resilience.
Email: [email protected]

Aishuak Kerimzhanova is a doctoral candidate within the QuiVal research project, bringing a diverse academic and professional background to her work. She earned her Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Munich, specializing in Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Planning and Design, Computational Engineering, and Real Estate Development. Additionally, she holds a double degree in Construction and Industrial Engineering from institutions in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Lappeenranta, Finland. Her professional experience spans architectural and engineering bureaus, as well as the Infrastructure Department of the Municipality of Espoo. She also co-founded a real estate and interior design company in Almaty.

Within QuiVal, she examines the role of distributed ledger technologies, such as blockchain, and their influence on housing supply and demand through cryptographically secured transactions.

As a member of the QuiVal Doctoral Network, she anticipates collaborating with fellow researchers to develop innovative solutions for the real estate sector.
Email: [email protected]

Our next Doctoral Candidate: Seung Won Eo

Seung is a knowledge-hungry South Korean with an entrepreneurial spirit, specializes in Geographic Information Science (GIS). His passion for GIS ignited during his Master’s program at Seoul National University, where he contributed to a state-funded project on geospatial big data management and analytics. This experience honed his skills in handling large datasets, particularly using Python and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to extract geographic insights from Twitter data.

He recognized GIS’s potential for spatial information collection, analysis, and visualization. Building on his academic foundation, he co-founded a GIS start-up in South Korea, collaborating with professionals in construction, urban planning, and real estate. He developed methods to optimize site selection and forecast market demand by integrating diverse datasets.

His research focuses on combining GIS with quantum-inspired probability for precise property valuation and urban planning. He joined the QuiVal research project, which aligns with his interests in integrating GIS, sustainability, and innovative valuation methods.
Email: [email protected]