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Lofts are housing forms converted from warehouse-workshop into a “habitable environment” in coastal towns of Europe and the USA after the Industrial Revolution. Particularly positioned in coastal towns of New York, Loft life made an impact in the world over time. It became a new form of living when artists converted structures like factories into habitable environment. From past to today, all national and international developments during the process affected and accelerated development of the constant evolution of housing concept. In that sense, in this study, the meaning of Lofts in Istanbul and the effect and change of socio-cultural stratification on spatial conversion of housing consumerism has been examined in the context of Istanbul. Especially, process of gentrification, shaped by effects of urban transformation post 1980, and cultural development affected by this process, attendant Loft life has become an accelerating way of life. In this context, historical and stylistic value and especially usage of Loft living has been examined. In the first chapter; past, present and the post-1980 development of housing sector in Istanbul, in the second chapter, with a thriving cultural life, and Loft formation, has been examined in the context of structural criteria, resulting three different Lofts have been discussed in detail. In the third section, three different types of Loft have been analyzed in the context of space depending on examples. As a result of researches, three different types of Lofts, “Original”, “Semi” and “Imitation” concepts have become clear and it has been concluded that “Imitation Loft” formation gives direction to life in Istanbul.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss initial work to assess the moisture buffering performance of selected bio-insulations in lofts that suffer from excessive moisture following refurbishment.

These conditions were then reproduced in a physical lab-based experiment such that the comparative performance of the bio-insulations and stone wool could be measured.

It was found that the bio-insulations could remove over 60 per cent of the moisture in the loft air, and therefore reduce the risk of condensation and its severity.

The initial work reported here is indicative of the buffering potential of bio-insulations but further work is required to better quantify this performance. There is a need to further examine lofts with moisture problems and to produce reliable testing methods and protocols to be used when retrofitting loft insulation.

Installers and specifiers of loft insulation should ensure that insulation is installed correctly, as with the drive to increase loft insulation levels the risks of damaging the building fabric through condensation are increasing.

Excessive moisture can damage the building fabric and create health problems. Using insulations that perform well across a range of performance criteria tend to favour bio-insulations, which have a far less harmful impact on the environment than do typical fossil-fuel based insulations.

The paper presents preliminary findings that support arguments for specifying bio-insulations.

The purpose of this paper is to search for a modernization model of functionally obsolete office buildings, taking into consideration the different needs of potential users.

An analysis of possibilities of adapting existing buildings to a contemporary conception of office space.

The paper presents a practical adaptation possibility of an object from the 1970s to contemporary conceptions of “cell”, “den”, “hive”, “club” and “office like a city” type of offices.

Despite investigations being confined to Poland, a wider application of the method described in the paper seems possible in modernizing corridor‐system buildings constructed using prefabricated technology.

The solution proposed in the paper, based on contemporary knowledge bound with the design of office buildings, may allow better consideration of users' preferences in future modernization activities.

Analysis shows the possibilities for the conversion of technically and functionally obsolete buildings at the pre‐design stage. Based on the model's results, it is possible to integrate the program of modernisation efforts with an appropriate strategy of renting, which from the very beginning may be adapted to the requirements of companies of various organisational structures and needs.

Kish Island is one of the most attractive tourism destinations in Iran and it is becoming an increasingly popular destination for tourism investment. Many people have recently migrated to the island. Thus, one of the housing policies for the island is to maximize the efficiency of residential lands, particularly in providing affordable housing for low‐income people. The purpose of this study is to develop social, economical and architectural solutions for affordable housing design and overcome related problems using adapted vernacular solutions.

The methodology of this study involved identifying the research problem, followed by formatting the research framework, reviewing the comprehensive literature and documenting the concepts of affordable housing and vernacular architecture. Therefore, an affordable house design methodology was used to develop vernacular architecture to minimize cost and environmental impacts, while maximizing the social acceptability in housing projects for low‐income earners in Kish Island. Section A in Mir Mohanna, which is the most important residential centre for the low‐income people, was used as the study area in this research.

The results of this study clarified that the houses in Section A in Mir Mohanna did not meet the criteria of affordable housing and people's needs. Hence, some suggestions for affordable housing would certainly contribute towards formulating all these, including housing policy to be implemented on Kish Island.

The current paper was an attempt to find strategies for guiding the appropriate process of developing affordable housing on the basis of vernacular architecture for the country and other similar places. It is hoped that the recommendations might increase more regulated housing development and housing policies on Kish Island.

Between 2006 and 2012, Mexico implemented a “frontal war against organized crime”. This strategy increased criminal violence and triggered negative consequences across the country’s economic, political and social spheres. This study aims to analyse how the magnitude and visibility of criminal violence impact the housing market of Mexico City.

The authors used different violent proxies to measure the effect of the magnitude and visibility of violence in housing prices. The structure of the data set is an unbalanced panel with no conditions of strict exogeneity. To address endogeneity, the authors calculate the first differences to estimate an Arellano–Bond estimator and use the lags of the dependent variable to instrumentalise the endogenous variable.

Results suggest that the magnitude of violence negatively impacts housing prices. Similarly, housing prices are negatively affected the closer the property is to visible violence, measured through narcomessages placed next to the bodies of executed victims. Lastly, housing prices are not always affected when a violent event occurs nearby, specifically, when neighbours or potential buyers consider this event as sporadic violence.

There are only a few studies of violence in housing prices using data from developing countries, and most of these studies are conducted with aggregated data at the municipality or state level. The authors are using geocoded information, both violence events and housing prices, to estimate more disaggregated effects. Moreover, the authors used different proxies to measure different characteristics of violence (magnitude and visibility) to estimate the heterogeneous effects of violence on housing prices.

Externalization that became prominent in 1980s with the globalization brought along dramatic changes in social and spatial areas. The social, cultural and economic events that took place on an international level thanks to globalization made the impact of change felt which was reflected on the urban space and, therefore, on the house, resulting in an increase in the importance of the residential sector. Externalization and developed economic structure enabled more investments into houses which introduced a concept of housing populated in urban fringes starting from the city centers. The housing concept which was shaped by the impacts of the urban transformation after 1980 turned into a new emerging lifestyle in Istanbul in 2000s. Accordingly, the study aims to establish the position of housing in Istanbul and new meanings formed by the socio-cultural changes. In this sense, housing before and after 1980, globalization, gentrification, urban transformation, spatial segregation, socio-economic and cultural aspects were discussed based on the structural benchmarks, and 4 different housing forms, namely the “Loft”, “Residence”, “Terraced House”, and “Gated Communities”, with individual structural examples. This study, thus, aims to question the form of tenancy of these houses created through varying concepts and concerns today. The results obtained showed that the housing as an indicator of cultural life in Istanbul has turned into a lifestyle that is shaped by similar aspects and commercial concern, despite different approaches or production forms, eliminating the traces of the cultural life of the society.

Ann Taylor was founded in 1954, and its classic black dress and woman's power suit were staples for years. In 1995 Ann Taylor LOFT was launched to appeal to a more casual, costconscious consumer. Under Kay Krill's leadership, the division began to outperform the original flagship. When Krill was promoted to President/CEO of Ann Taylor Stores Corporation in 2005, she was challenged with rebuilding the Ann Taylor brand - (i.e., meeting the “wardrobing needs of the updated classic consumer”) while maintaining the image and market share of LOFT. By mid-2008, an additional problem appeared: the macroeconomic climate was posing considerable uncertainty, especially for retail businesses. Krill was firmly committed to long-term growth. However, given the 2008 situation, what could she do to unleash what she believed was the firm's “significant untapped potential”?

THE increase in aircraft sizes which is envisaged in the next few years, raises the question of adequate lofting space where the traditional method by fairing by eye is still used. This problem can be met by the adoption of a mathematical technique which not only eliminates the need for considerable space but also provides close and accurate control of the body form. Whilst the size factor may make the lofting problem more acute and so lead to a better appreciation of a mathematical method, the use of such a method is equally valuable in the case of smaller aircraft in that it enables the loftsman to blend all parts of the body form together and to provide the layout draughtsman with accurate shapes for all parts which contain part of the body contour.

Whilst the overall need to conserve energy is generally accepted, the importance of undertaking a detailed survey before the start of any insulation work in existing buildings is seldom recognised.

THE rapid progress made in aircraft design during the past few years is demanding a more modern way of obtaining the lines of an aircraft than the older methods of lofting as borrowed from the shipbuilding industry. With the current demand for reduced drag a more exact method of defining the lines than was possible by eye, as formerly practised, becomes imperative. If it be shown that the lines of an aircraft can be determined mathematically, a tool becomes available to the designer with which he can define his shapes to whatever degree of accuracy he wishes to work. Furthermore, the designer will have more complete control of the lines than in the past, when he had to rely on lines lifted from the loft floor. Finally, if mathematical analysis of aircraft shapes is feasible then it is possible to define any given point on the envelope with exactitude and if the shape be curved he can give the curvature in all the planes and the slope of tangents in all planes. This becomes useful in determining clearance points, etc.