Search results

As is well known, architectural design pedagogy persistently demands to look outside the classroom for real-world problems to deal with, and exemplary solutions to learn from. Studio-based learning alternately takes place between indoor and outdoor environments as well as built and natural environments. Especially the use of outdoor workspaces where students may generate and test their design proposals strengthens the case for a better understanding of human habitability and environmental sustainability. Nonetheless, outdoor activities are traditionally confined to on-site information gathering, whereas design and evaluation processes are carried out indoors simply as a desk-bound activity. In these cases, the empirical evidence to back up the problem modeling and the design decisions made inside the studio classroom is missing. In mainstream architecture education, indoor and outdoor learning experiences are operationally dissociated. The intent to create real outdoor studio classrooms not only opens a new research field in learning space design, but new challenges to the studio-based learning culture. We expose a few exemplary cases from an ongoing series of trials, started in 1999 by the Department of Architecture at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, to assess the effective integration of outdoor learning environments with our local studio-based learning culture.

In geopolitical conflict zones, the phenomenon of abandonment often correlates with challenges of legal definitions and ownership status. The abandoned properties in conflict zones share similar characteristics with what is commonly known as a brownfield site. However, due to the nature of geopolitical conflict zones, which is mixed with people and sentiments other than technical challenges, the usual solutions to the brownfield question, cannot provide enough tools to deal with the land management of areas engulfed in conflicts. This paper, therefore, aims to discuss and propose a land-use typology that describes abandoned properties in a geopolitical context.

The proposed land-use typology serves as the main conceptual framework that integrates the sustainable brownfield regeneration approach with social theories of space and place. As an inductive research approach, this conceptual framework brought the fundamental and comparative literature on brownfield regeneration to support the main argument related to the similarities and challenges of the regeneration of abandoned properties in conflict zones. The approach used in this paper addresses the broader consideration of land management in geopolitical contexts and urban conflict zones that considers the relationship of exercise of extreme power over space.

The findings highlight an insufficient understanding of the origin of the property problems in geopolitical conflict zones, especially after a power struggle, producing significant land management issues. In a geopolitical context, urban planners and economists' perspective on definitions of space and place defined by maps, GIS data sets, Excel and other similar tools may not bring any practical or long-term solution to the land management challenges. The study suggests that dealing with abandoned properties and regeneration plans in conflict zones requires identifying and evaluating geo-political, geo-social, geo-economic characteristics of the area before any further action.

This paper's findings are of particular interest to decision-makers and conflict stakeholders in geopolitical conflict zones, such as local governments, policymakers and peacekeeping agencies. The findings of this research can clarify and help them have an alternative understanding of the space engulfed in the conflict, other than a technocratic, mapping, GIS, statistical way of understanding and approaches to the complex aspect of a space.

This paper's conceptual framework provides a value-added contribution to the literature on land management in conflict zones by taking the reader's attention to the origin of the problems and their associated real estate issues in geopolitical contexts. For the first time, this inductive research proposes a land-use typology that considers the complexity of the interrelationship between land policies, land-use theory, social theories of space and place and the exercise of extreme power over space. This paper produced a concept that is not easily measurable by quantitative nor qualitative approaches.

This study aims to present a twofold machine learning (ML) model, namely, EDU-AI, and its implementation in educational buildings. The specific focus is on classroom layout design, which is investigated regarding implementation of ML in the early phases of design.

This study introduces the framework of the EDU-AI, which adopts generative adversarial networks (GAN) architecture and Pix2Pix method. The processes of data collection, data set preparation, training, validation and evaluation for the proposed model are presented. The ML model is trained over two coupled data sets of classroom layouts extracted from a typical school project database of the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Turkey and validated with foreign classroom boundaries. The generated classroom layouts are objectively evaluated through the structural similarity method (SSIM).

The implementation of EDU-AI generates classroom layouts despite the use of a small data set. Objective evaluations show that EDU-AI can provide satisfactory outputs for given classroom boundaries regardless of shape complexity (reserved for validation and newly synthesized).

EDU-AI specifically contributes to the automation of classroom layout generation using ML-based algorithms. EDU-AI’s two-step framework enables the generation of zoning for any given classroom boundary and furnishing for the previously generated zone. EDU-AI can also be used in the early design phase of school projects in other countries. It can be adapted to the architectural typologies involving footprint, zoning and furnishing relations.

Traditional architectural forms and structures develop under the influence of such physical and non-physical determinants as climate, topography structure, socio-cultural values, economy and technology, and are based on centuries of accumulated knowledge. This study is an analysis of the rural Yayla settlements of four towns in the province of Antalya, located on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The southern inclines of the Taurus Mountain range facing the Mediterranean, are host to number of rural settlements at different altitudes that bear some region-specific architectural features. This study aims to understand settlement pattern and house design features that have developed under the specific climate, socio-cultural and socio-economic conditions of the traditional households in rural yaylas in the different bio-climatic zones of the region. The study has revealed that designs have developed over time to result in spaces that are comfortable and climate sensitive, and which attribute importance to the local resources, economy and culture; and that the housing designs have developed offer natural means of heat control and ventilation. The new understanding offered in this paper may contribute to the conservation of the local cultural features of the area, allowing their sustainable perpetuation into the future and serving as examples of good design practise for future settlements

The economic and financial crisis, especially the sovereign debt crisis, discovered many deficiencies and weaknesses in the banking sector in the European Union (EU). The need for special surveillance and supervision of cross-border banking cooperation and termination of the toxic link between sovereign debt and banking sector have accelerated the process of forming and establishing a Banking Union (BU). An integrated financial framework has been established in which the European Central Bank (ECB) through the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) has a key role and the responsibility for the overall supervision of the banking sector of the euro zone. The Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) and schemes of the Single Deposit Guarantee Mechanism (SDGM) are under the national supervisory authorities while the European Banking Authority (EBA) is responsible for developing the Single Rules. From the new architecture is expected the preservation of the single market and a common currency, breaking “toxic connections” between sovereign debt and banks, mitigation and removal of financial instability and economic growth. The research shows that the BU together with the ECB in a certain sense, also contributes to the normalization of credit and financial conditions in the single mark. Estimates through SSM, conducted by the ECB and the EBA, during, 2014 and 2015 on 107 banks in 21 countries indicate progress toward solvency and resilience of the banking system of the euro area. Despite some initial success the entire project BU seems to have missed on opportunities, resulted in late reactions, and was too complex to be feasible. The political will of national governments to give up sovereignty over its banking sector and transfer competencies to the supranational institutions is a key factor in the success or failure of a BU. It seems so but past experience indicates that there is no political willingness to solve problems. Mainly most of the government avoids cleaning a hidden “skeleton in closets” due to lack of means for recapitalization while some are trying for loans from the ECB to help their banks. The ECB plays a key oversight role at the EU level and has too much power, which can cause risks caused by conflicting goals. The ECB is losing the role of the final refuge of liquidity, which is the main disadvantage of a BU. The SSM is susceptible to criticism due to difficulty in operation because of slow incorporation of European legislation into national law. Slow implementation carries risks of fragmentation of the market, regardless of the responsibility of the ECB. The financial capacity of the temporary agreement with the SRM is insufficient in solving the crisis of more banks while procedural application is complex and time-consuming. Planned backstop with a centralized resource is a resolution that is insufficient for solving the failure of big systemic banks, which are too big to bail. The heterogeneity of the existing Deposit Guarantee Schemes (DGS) and the banking systems of the member states of the euro zone caused controversy in terms of setting of common insurance schemes. The procedures for the recovery and resolution of critical banks are problematic.

Flooding is an emerging problem in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, and is fast becoming a major barrier to its ongoing development. While flooding is presently of nuisance value, there is a growing concern that a combination of rapid urban expansion and climate changes will significantly exacerbate the problem. There has been a trend of population being rapidly accommodated in new urban areas, which are considered highly vulnerable to floods, while the development strategy by the local government still attracts more property investments into the three new districts on the right side of Saigon River. This paper aims to discuss the increase in the number of residences vulnerable to flooding, to underline the need for more appropriate future spatial development. For the vision, an application of compact and resilient theories to strategic planning and management of this city is proposed to reduce vulnerability. This paper also highlights the need to better understand growing vulnerability to floods related to urban expansion over low-lying former wetlands and the more important role of planning spatial development accompanied with transportation investment which can contribute to flooding resilience.

This research uses combined-methods geographical information system (GIS) analysis based on secondary data of flood records, population distributions, property development (with the details of 270 housing projects compiled as part of this research) and flooding simulation. This allows an integrated approach to the theories of urban resilience and compactness to discuss the implication of spatial planning and management in relevance to flooding vulnerability.

The flooding situation in HCMC is an evidence of inappropriate urban expansion leading to increase in flooding vulnerability. Although climate change impacts are obvious, the rapid population growth and associated accommodation development are believed to be the key cause which has not been solved. It was found that the three new emerging districts (District 2, 9 and ThuDuc) are highly vulnerable to floods, but the local government still implements the plan for attracted investments in housing without an integrated flooding management. This is also in line with the development pattern of many coastal cities in Southeast Asia, as economic development can be seen as a driving factor.

The data of property development are diversified from different sources which have been compiled by this research from the basic map of housing investments from a governmental body, the Department of Construction. The number of projects was limited to 270 per over 500 projects, but this still sufficiently supports the evidence of increasing accommodation in new development districts.

HCMC needs neater strategies for planning and management of spatial development to minimize the areas vulnerable to floods: creating more compact spaces in the central areas (Zone 1) protected by the current flooding management system, and offering more resilient spaces for new development areas (Zone 2), by improving the resilience of transportation system. Nevertheless, a similar combination of compact spaces and resilient spaces in emerging districts could also be incorporated into the existing developments, and sustainable drainage systems or underground water storage in buildings could also be included in the design to compensate for the former wetlands lost.

This paper highlights the need to better understand growing vulnerability to floods related to urban expansion over low-lying former wetlands and emphasizes the more important role of planning spatial development accompanied with transportation investment which can contribute to flooding resilience. Coastal cities in southeast countries need to utilize the former-land, whereas feasibility of new land for urban expansion needs to be thoroughly considered under risk of natural disasters.

A combination of compact spaces with improved urban resilience is an alternative approach to decrease the flooding risk beyond that of traditional resistant systems and underlines the increasingly important role of urban planning and management to combat the future impacts of floods.

Urban areas, especially in the coastal region of Bangladesh, face environmental degradation due to rapid urbanization, uncontrolled socio-economic activities and experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change. Nature-based solutions (NbS) as options for restoring, preserving, maintaining and elevating natural features or systems are becoming popular for reducing vulnerabilities caused either by natural hazards or human-induced activities. With this understanding, this study aims to explore the need of practicing NbS by studying the condition of a tidal canal (known as Thakurani Khal) and its peripheral areas of Mongla Port Municipality, a coastal and seaport town in Bangladesh.

This case study-based research uses multiple inquiries, including focus group discussions, pair-wise comparison, observation, GIS-based mapping, key informant interviews and secondary climate data review, to understand the spatial development of the area and community reactions to the changes in the urban environment.

The natural water flow of this canal is controlled by sluice gates that indirectly allowed the dweller to encroach its lands and convert the canal into a solid waste dumping area. These human-induced activities as well as the climate change-induced events (i.e. extreme heat, intensive and irregular rainfall, increased number of cyclones, etc.) have made the adjacent areas prone to waterlogging and drainage congestion. In this context, the revival of the original natural quality of the canal has been identified as an alternative to ensuring an adaptive urban environment.

This research highlights the importance of practicing NbS for developing urban resilience in the context of climate change.

Comfortable outdoor workspaces are important for employees in business parks and urban areas. Prioritizing a pleasant thermal environment is essential for employee productivity, as well as the improvement of outdoor spaces between office buildings to enhance social activities and quality of outdoor workplaces in a hot arid climate has been subjected to very little studies Thus, this study focuses on business parks (BPs) landscape elements. The objective of this study is to enhance the user's thermal comfort in the work environment, especially in the outdoors attached to the administrative and office buildings such as the BPs.

This research follows Four-phases methodology. Phase 1 is the investigation of the literature review including the Concept and consideration of BP urban planning, Achieving outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) and shading elements analysis. Phase 2 is the case study initial analysis targeting for prioritizing zones for shading involves three main methods: social assessment, geometrical assessment and environmental assessment. Phase 3 entails selecting shading elements that are suitable for the zones requiring shading parametrize the selected shading elements. Phase 4 focuses on the optimization of OTC through shading arrangements for the prioritized zones.

Shading design is a multidimensional process that requires consideration of various factors, including social aspects, environmental impact and structural integrity. Shading elements in urban areas play a crucial role in mitigating heat stress by effectively shielding surfaces from solar radiation. The integration of parametric design and computational optimization techniques enhances the shading design process by generating a wide range of alternative solutions.

While conducting this research, it is important to acknowledge certain limitations that may affect the generalizability and scope of the findings. One significant limitation lies in the use of the shade audit method as a tool to prioritize zones for shading. Although the shade audit approach offers practical benefits for designers compared to using questionnaires, it may have its own inherent biases or may not capture the full complexity of human preferences and needs.

Few studies have focused on optimizing the type and location of devices that shade outdoor spaces. As a result, there is no consensus on the workflow that should regulate the design of outdoor shading installations in terms of microclimate and human thermal comfort, therefore testing parametric shading scenarios for open spaces between office buildings to increase the benefit of the outer environment is very important. The study synthesizes OTC strategies by filling the research gap through the implementation of a proper workflow that utilizes parametric thermal comfort.

Vernacular architecture is an architectural style of buildings that were constructed by artisanal builders who lacked formal qualifications, used local materials and had a deep understanding of local climatic needs. This approach addressed climatic, energy, materials and construction issues in a low-cost way. Building interiors were often made comfortable by using passive internal climate regulation methods, which could be key to resolving some of the current issues of the modern world.

Tamil Nadu is a land full of local architecture, with Konearirajapuram settlement a thriving specimen of its vernacular architecture, as one of the original Vathima villages (planned Brahmin villages). Here the authors present an appraisal of this settlement's native architecture with its various passive design elements. A questionnaire survey was also conducted among local residents, living in both vernacular and contemporary residential buildings, to understand the quality of indoor environmental comfort in the different building types (single courtyard, multiple courtyards and multiple story houses with courtyards).

The results of this study show that energy-efficient bioclimatic design strategies of traditional buildings can be analyzed with the help of climatic data and analysis tools such as Mahoney tables and Olgyay's bioclimatic chart. The study shows that vernacular design techniques and principles conserve more energy than modern buildings. The findings suggest that practical solutions for improving contemporary residential developments can be found in traditional architectural approaches and that these approaches should be incorporated in new developments to achieve energy efficiency and a sustainable future.

A detailed survey and the user preferences are plotted in detail in this paper; similarly, Mahoney table and its requirements are analyzed with respect to context; and the results are elaborated and justified.

This study analyzes an entire settlement of Konearirajapuram with 300 units of vernacular residences high in comfort even at extreme climates. Assessment is carried in both qualitative case and quantitative case. Even though there are no previous studies analyzed to identify the effectiveness of the artisanal builders of bioclimatic architecture. Hence, this study brings out the solution for current energy problems from the traditional settings, because the traditional buildings requires no active systems for indoor comfort except a fan, which is negligible in terms of energy use.

This paper aims to address Passive Design Strategies (PDSs) in the traditional houses of Sabzevar and to assess the adaptation level of these strategies to the climate of the region.

Identifying the Sabzevar climate, five samples of traditional houses have been chosen to be analyzed via two stages. In stage one, the efficiency of each strategy is weighted through qualitative analysis, and in stage two, the houses are simulated in EnergyPlus 9.3.0 to quantitatively evaluate their heating and cooling performances.

The obtained results from the energy performance analysis of the case studies indicate that the houses present diverse energy performances in different seasons. Those buildings with PDSs for both cold-arid and hot-arid climates, however, are more adaptable cases to the climate of the region.

The results of this study are expected to provide a basis of materials and methods for the climatic assessment of the traditional buildings, specifically traditional houses and will open new doors to future studies about the integration of these potential PDSs with the new technological developments and climate considerations as well as protecting the conservation policies of these buildings by means of optimizing and improving their energy performance and implementing effective retrofit scenarios.