Authors:Ding Yang Pages: 1 - 264 Abstract: There are an increasing number of optimal-design paradigms used in architectural design nowadays. In these paradigms, a design task is formulated, or partially formulated, as an optimization problem. Multi-Disciplinary Optimization and Multi-Objective Optimization, as two important optimal-design paradigms, have shown their great potential in improving the performances of complex buildings in recent decades. Nevertheless, current paradigms for ill‑defined conceptual architectural design still lack ways to ensure the achievement of a reliable optimization problem, which hinders reliable design solutions despite the use of advanced optimization algorithms. To address this problem, it is necessary to shift the focus from Optimization Problem Solving to Optimization Problem Formulation. This research particularly focuses on knowledge‑supported, dynamic and interactive Optimization Problem Re-Formulation in order to construct a new Multi‑Objective and Multi-Disciplinary Optimization (MOMDO) method suitable for use in ill‑defined conceptual architectural design. The proposed method consists of two subtype methods: Non‑dynamic, Interactive Re-formulation method (Subtype-I) and Dynamic, Interactive Re‑formulation method (Subtype-II), which can be used to explore design space in a convergent and divergent manner respectively. To support the re-formulation, various kinds of information and knowledge need to be extracted by utilizing different computational techniques, such as advanced sampling algorithms, Self-Organizing Map, Hierarchical Clustering, Smoothing Spline Analysis of Variance, Two-Level Variable Structure and modular programming. Moreover, a software workflow that can provide these computational techniques is developed; it integrates McNeel’s Grasshopper, ESTECO's modeFRONTIER and simulation software tools Daysim, EnergyPlus and Karamba3D. With the support of this software workflow, the proposed method is demonstrated via two case studies concerning the conceptual design of indoor sports halls. PubDate: 2023-01-11 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.25.6878
Authors:Joana dos Santos Gonçalves Pages: 1 - 348 Abstract: Sustainable Conservation are the processes of change through which the components of the inherited ecosystem from the past retain their value for present and future generations. As such, the value assessment is critical to recognise the values of heritage, not only by its aesthetical and historical values, but also by its contribution to a more sustainable future. Despite recent policies and standards highlighting the role of heritage for sustainability and encouraging urban conservation, sustainable conservation is not yet the most common practice. The behavioural dimension is intrinsic to the decision-making process; however, studies analysing designers’ decision behaviours regarding sustainability in built heritage are seldom found in recent literature. This research aims to increase the understanding of the gap in the implementation of best practices of sustainable conservation of built heritage, and to achieve solutions for behavioural change. It applies methods from psychology to analyse designers’ decisions behaviours, by eliciting common beliefs, challenges, and opportunities in the implementation of conservation intentions towards heritage buildings. The results demonstrate that design decisions result from conscious and unconscious processes, some of them socially driven, while others result from individual attitudes. Targeting the primary belief in the study population on the (in)compatibility between sustainability and heritage conservation, a building passport for sustainable conservation was developed aiming at raising awareness in the value of built heritage to sustainability. The results of this research can support the redesign of heritage buildings and demonstrate the importance of considering behavioural factors in the development of future sustainable conservation policies and tools. PubDate: 2023-01-09 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.21.6875
Authors:Cemre Çubukçuoğlu Pages: 1 - 250 Abstract: Hospitals are known as functionally complex buildings in various ways, namely due to their non-trivial spatial connectivity requirements. A spatial configuration has an impact on human behavior, human movement patterns and should match with the operational logic of the buildings. In hospitals, there are several typical problems that can be attributed to the configuration of the building, namely the inefficient circulation of medical staff, difficult way-finding for visitors, lengthy and complex procedures for patients, long walking times, privacy, hygiene issues and so on. This Ph.D. research aims to develop a computational design methodology for configurational layout optimization of hospital buildings concerning physical matters & human factors, which are directly attributable to the layout/configuration of the hospital. In the optimization models, the considered performance indicators are related with patients (e.g. ease of way-finding), staff (e.g. average walking-time), and operations (e.g. fitness for workflows). Two case studies are studied here as (1) reconfiguration of existing hospitals; and (2) designing the new hospitals by focussing on “layout planning” and “corridor design”. The developed models are programmed in the form of design tool-kits for supporting conceptual design phases. Effectively, this project presents an interdisciplinary methodological framework that can tackle hospital layout design problems by integrating Computational Design workflows, Graph Theory techniques, Operations Research, and Computational Intelligence into the field of Architectural Space Planning. PubDate: 2023-01-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2023.03.6891
Authors:Kaiyi Zhu Pages: 1 - 432 Abstract: This thesis investigates the introduction, adaption, and implementation of the modern concept of heritage conservation in modern China after the opening of its treaty ports. Through an analysis of the different layers of disseminating and receiving knowledge in transnational exchanges, it explicitly points out the divergence between the Eurocentric concept of conservation and the Chinese tradition of treating historic buildings and sites. As a result of the complexity of understanding and adapting an imported idea, the heritage discourse in China is characterised by its own ambiguity. Conservation of modern heritage, in particular those built under colonial power, has seen conflicts of perceptions between conservation planning and interest-led practice. A progressive legislative framework for heritage conservation has had a limited binding effect on stakeholders’ actions to protect listed immovable built cultural heritage sites from artificial damage in China’s contemporary urban practices. By analysing various actors’ interpretations and expressions of the concept of “conservation” (known as “保护” in Chinese) derived from different temporalities, it explores the causes and effects of heritage strategies and approaches created by individuals, groups, and the state apparatus. Theoretically, it challenges the local acceptability of classic conservation principles that are primarily based on European thoughts and cultural background. Practically, it provides adequate clues for a multi-faceted consideration of listed heritage sites in future development. It highlights the significance of creating a powerful local narrative under the authoritative heritage discourse at a crossroads of ongoing globalisation and growing nationalism. PubDate: 2023-01-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2023.02.6890
Authors:Gül Aktürk Pages: 1 - 290 Abstract: Vernacular heritage sites encompass customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions, and values that are innate to a particular place and time. Climate knowledge of the particular place and time is embedded in vernacular settlements and lifestyles along with other environmental, cultural, and societal determinants of the place. Rebuilt, restored, and adapted, vernacular settlements evolved with changing climate, cultural practices, community aspirations, and a gradual influx of modernization and urbanization. However, its legacy —as represented by traditional houses from the pre-industrial period that were built by laypeople— is challenged by climate and disaster risks, e.g., loss of lands, food sources, water resources, intangible values, and displacement. Although the impacts of climate change combined with anthropic influences have been recognized as a threat to cultural heritage by scholars, this underappreciated form of cultural heritage has not been the focus of the integrated understanding risks of climate and disaster discussions. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to reveal the deteriorations caused by changing climate and anthropic interventions on vernacular heritage at both spatial planning decisions such as urban development projects and at local level practices such as maladaptation from the case of Fındıklı of Rize in Turkiye. The factors behind the deterioration of vernacular heritage sites under changing climate and the ways to achieve climate resilience are analysed through interviews with local people, the observations of on-site visits conducted in January and July 2019 in addition to mapping. PubDate: 2023-01-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2023.01.6889
Authors:Li Lu Pages: 1 - 334 Abstract: This thesis starts with a worrisome observation tied to various phenomena across modern built environments: humans today are experiencing a weakened relatedness to and reduced intimacy with the world around them. In stark contrast to the general trend, however, most Chinese literati gardens maintain their traditional rich conditions, enabling their visitors to experience a unique, high-quality experience of relatedness to and intimacy with the world, which may serve as an antidote to the existing disruptive modern condition. What lessons can be learned from the Chinese literati gardens to address this weakened intimacy of relatedness in modern built environments' Motivated by this question, this thesis takes the Heideggerian notion of Nearness as its foundation. Through a contextually relevant interpretation of the meaning of Nearness in Heideggerian discourse, it first establishes a theoretical framework through which to assess how the experience of Nearness—the ontological relatedness to and intimacy with the world— generally occurs within built environments. Next, taking the Master of the Nets Garden as a case study, it reveals the various embedded spatial-experiential settings and complex mechanisms that continuously facilitate rich, strong, and multi-dimensional experiences of Nearness. Finally, it reflects on some of the key relevant issues, including what benefits and enlightenments the findings of this thesis could bring to current architectural practices. Overall, by exploring this essential aspect of the literati garden, the thesis equips contemporary spatial practitioners with the theoretical and practical tools necessary to recapture the high-quality experiences of Nearness within their works in the modern era. PubDate: 2023-01-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.24.6888
Authors:Federica Marulo Pages: 1 - 444 Abstract: In the context of rapid urban transformations, this thesis explores the possible preservation strategies for historic military systems that used to be embedded in extra-urban settings, but that now are absorbed in the development dynamics of complex metropolitan areas. The research stems from the main peculiarity of these heritage systems: namely, the coexistence of cultural and natural values, and their being at the crossroads of the architecture and landscape domains. Although the need to address nature-culture interlinkages has become a topical issue in the field of heritage preservation, military landscapes have been almost completely left out of this debate. Moreover, the lack of inter-scale strategies in current preservation practices for historic military systems further complicates the way nature-culture interlinkages are addressed. The development of a conceptual framework on this topic has required considering the diversity of existing approaches to landscape, architectural heritage and their interconnection. Italy and the Netherlands were selected as relevant contexts in Western Europe for comparison on this topic. Linking archival research, interviews and field observations, Italian and Dutch contemporary experiences with the revitalization and reuse of historic military systems (NL: New Dutch Waterline; IT: Entrenched Field of Mestre) were compared. Both national and international initiatives promoted in the frame of the World Heritage Convention were analysed. To understand the historical roots of the recent approaches, the evolution of landscape protection in the two contexts has been investigated, highlighting the different influences played by the national discourse on architectural heritage and spatial planning. This historical background, together with the cross-reading of the case studies, has led to the definition of a transnational conceptual framework on the possible preservation strategies for historic military systems with an inter-scale approach. Taking into account the peculiarities of each context, it provides a tool for facilitating the decision-making process, bringing historic military systems into the international discussion on nature-culture interlinkages. Ultimately, it can serve as a reference for other historic landscape systems sharing similar characteristics and preservation issues. PubDate: 2023-01-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.22.6886
Authors:Dejian Peng Pages: 1 - 362 Abstract: Nowadays, we are faced with serious challenges in public health worldwide. However, the challenges cannot be solved only in the domain of architecture, medical science or management. A successful hospital building is more than a nice building or an efficient healing machine. Patient journey is such a concept that tries to explore the possibility to solve the problems in hospitals in the domain of hospital architecture and hospital management. In this context, the research proposes a study of patient journey in hospitals from the perspective of architecture on basis of the outcomes achieved in management. Patient journeys are transferred from both clinical and administrative processes to special patterns. Moreover, in such a visual way, both the efficiency and effectiveness of hospitals and patients’ satisfaction during the journeys in hospitals are analyzed with case studies of China and the Netherlands. The system of spatialized patient journeys helps architects and hospital managers broaden their understanding of hospital. And the comparison results from case studies are useful for hospitals in China to improve performance and patients’ satisfaction. PubDate: 2022-05-12 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.7.6428
Authors:Zoheir Haghighi Pages: 1 - 226 Abstract: The urgency to use renewable technologies within the built environment results in new interpretations of and approaches to Architecture. New building regulations, together with international pledges for addressing climate change, made the implications of photovoltaic systems (aka ‘solar panels’) in the buildings more crucial than ever. Moreover, the current mainstream of placing PV systems on the roof and façade of buildings is neither aesthetically appealing nor technically efficient and consequently not a sustainable, long-term, and reliable approach. In response to this issue, the concept of Integration is introduced as an alternative to this approach. This research suggests the notion of Architectural Photovoltaic Application (APA) in response to the various shortcomings of the Integration, with its current definitions, for being adapted to different architectural styles and approaches. APA can be defined as an approach in which PV technologies are meant to be sources of on-site renewable energy and considered a part of building services that is also incorporated to the building anatomy through the design process. Through APA, PV systems do not need to play a role in the building construction, instead these systems are fully accommodated by Architects in the design process as another element of the building service. PubDate: 2022-10-31 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.20.6781
Authors:Wenwen Sun Pages: 1 - 208 Abstract: This thesis investigates the understanding and implementation of public space in the reformed Chinese context, particularly from the perspectives of urban design and architecture, by referring to the complex process and result of transculturation (transculturación). It delineates how public space as a Greco-Roman originated concept traversed the urban and architectural cultures of post-reform China, merging and negotiating with the local conditions, and evolved into a new phenomenon in Chinese urban design and architecture. By analysing public space as a cultural phenomenon, carrying specific meaning, through specific concepts and designs, this doctoral research develops an interpretative framework within which the meanings and transculturation of public space in Chinese urban design and architecture can be understood and elucidates potential for future urban design and architectural practices. Theoretically, it moves beyond the conventional research on public space that is primarily based on Western thoughts, an Indo-European notion, and a Greco-Roman tradition. Practically, it paves the way for future development of the design of public space, highlighting the cultural, social, and spatial dynamics in Chinese cities vis-à-vis the related political, economic, and governmental conditions within the context of ongoing globalisation. PubDate: 2022-10-25 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.19.6770
Authors:Herman van der Bent Pages: 1 - 174 Abstract: This thesis examines the energy performance of dwellings of Dutch non-profit housing associations towards a future sustainable housing stock. Improving the energy performance of dwellings aims to improve the quality of dwellings and therewith to lower the actual energy consumption. Lowering the actual energy consumption of dwellings contributes to the battle against climate change. This thesis addresses four studies. Study 1 assesses the energy performance progress of over two million dwellings of Dutch non-profit housing associations between 2017 and 2020. It gives insights into the development of the housing stock, the effect of changes of and within the stock, the effect of characteristics of housing associations and it relates the improvement of the energy performance to the sectoral goal. Study 2 assesses advanced models to improve estimations of actual energy consumption of dwellings and therewith to better estimate the effect of renovation measures on actual energy savings. Study 3 assesses the energy performance of dwellings with heat pumps. It gives insights into the energy performance of dwellings with heat pumps as a promising renovation measure towards a future sustainable housing stock. Study 4 assesses the process to create a model to benchmark the energy performance in a changing policy context. The four studies contribute to the understanding of the improvement of the energy performance of dwellings of non-profit housing associations towards a future sustainable housing stock. PubDate: 2022-10-24 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.16.6768
Authors:Warakan Supinajaroen Pages: 1 - 306 Abstract: This dissertation concerns the optimisation of the use of spatial data from the National Continuously Operating Reference Stations (NCORS) in Thailand. Thailand, among many countries, has established NCORS to observe and process the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals into spatial data to improve the positional accuracy in spatially related activities. Despite many potential user groups, only some of them appeared actually to use NCORS data. In order to investigate and recommend policy venues to encourage the use of NCORS data, this research formulates an NCORS data ecosystem concept, applies the concept to identify the gaps in NCORS data use in Thailand, and examines the policies to address the identified gaps. The research shows that Open Data is a prerequisite to make data available to the maximum extent, but not a guarantee that the data also will be used. Next to Open Data, also users, including Open Data intermediaries, must be empowered. The facilitating conditions should be satisfied to enable users to use the data. These conditions require time to take effect. Only then will the spatial data not be kept away in hidden places but will become accessible and usable for as many users as possible in Thailand and deliver social and economic benefits reported in other countries. PubDate: 2022-12-05 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.18.6829
Authors:Biyue Wang Pages: 1 - 212 Abstract: There is an increasing need for understanding the impacts of institutions on the integrated planning of transport and land use. High-speed railway (HSR) station areas, as nodes in transport networks and mixed-use areas, have become a focus in planning. The fast development of HSR station areas in China causes many problems, such as remote locations, oversized station areas, transfer difficulties, and unsustainable urban development. Facing these problems, this study aims to explore the influences of actors, decision-making processes, and institutions on the planning and development of HSR station areas in China. An analytical framework is built based on Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), Policy Network Theory, Institutional Analysis and Development Framework, and State Entrepreneurialism. Qualitative methods offer an effective way of investigating Chinese governance in the development of HSR station areas, including content analysis, case studies, and interviews. The findings show that HSR station areas are mainly used as a tool to promote urbanization. Both the Chinese national government and local governments have an important role to play in the planning of HSR station areas because they control different resources. Their interactions in the decision-making process, influenced by institutions, determine the location of HSR stations and the size of station areas, and lead to transfer difficulties and slow development of station areas. This dissertation reveals the causes of the development problems of Chinese HSR station areas, demonstrates the drawbacks of the current mechanism, and proposes strategies to promote the integration of transport and land use in China. PubDate: 2022-12-05 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.17.6828
Authors:Guus van Steenbergen Pages: 1 - 384 Abstract: Nationale opgaven zoals het woningbouwbeleid, de energietransitie en klimaatadaptatie zijn vraagstukken die door regionale instanties concreet moeten worden gemaakt in samenhang met de vraagstukken van de regio zelf. De regio, het niveau tussen de gemeenten en de provincie, heeft meestal geen duidelijke bestuurlijke grens en geen formele plaats in het Nederlandse bestuur. In dit proefschrift is gezocht naar de betekenis van de provincie als regionale gebiedsautoriteit in een situatie waarin diverse publieke en private partijen samenwerken en maatschappelijke organisaties hun stem laten horen. Het onderzoek is gericht op gebieden tussen grote steden waar een aanmerkelijke verstedelijking, ingebed in groen- en waterstructuren, was voorzien. Plannen en planprocessen zijn geanalyseerd, net als het handelen van de provincie in drie regio’s: de regio Rotterdam-Zoetermeer-Gouda, het gebied tussen Arnhem en Nijmegen en de regio Eindhoven-Helmond. Het proefschrift laat onder meer zien dat planologische sturing een zwakker instrument is dan financiële sturing. Na de decentralisatie van ruimtelijke ordening en landinrichting is de invloed van de rijksoverheid op regionale gebiedsontwikkeling groot gebleven. Voorts blijkt uit het onderzoek dat planconcepten in de praktijk flexibel zijn. Als de uitvoering aan de orde komt neemt het risico toe dat het planconcept uit elkaar valt. Het onderzoek toont aan dat de provincie haar rol als regionale gebiedsregisseur actiever zou kunnen invullen. De Omgevingswet zou dat mogelijk moeten maken. PubDate: 2022-09-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.15.6734
Authors:Raquel Viula Pages: 1 - 472 Abstract: Provision of daylight without the risk of discomfort glare is one of the aspects that determine the quality of the classroom environment. Although discomfort glare from daylight is under investigation for a long time, a knowledge gap concerning the applicability of the existing metrics to the spatial conditions of the classroom is identified in this work. An investigation on the applicability of existing metrics to the prediction of discomfort glare in classrooms has been carried out based on two experimental studies. The analysis shows that the existing metrics have poor predictive ability particularly in the sitting positions away from the window light source. A study is then carried out to investigate how can more appropriate predictive models of discomfort glare be developed, based on three different methods. A modification of the Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) equation produced a significantly better discomfort glare model than any of the metrics that have been studied in this work. Following this finding, a new metric, DGPlog(Ev)new, is proposed. The produced metric suggests that discomfort glare in the classroom is better identified based on a range of equations for different sitting positions or that new variables that account for sitting position need to be included in a predictive model of discomfort glare for these spaces. A set of architectural design guidelines towards a discomfort glare free classroom is then proposed, based on the newly produced model and on the collected data. PubDate: 2022-09-06 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.14.6710
Authors:Els van der Laan-Meijer Pages: 1 - 454 Abstract: Het oeuvre van de tuin- en landschapsarchitect Lucas Pieters Roodbaard (1782-1851) is toonaangevend voor de Noord-Nederlandse landschapsparken uit de eerste helft van de 19de eeuw. Zijn oeuvre is te verdelen in drie categorieën: openbare wandelparken, landschapsparken bij buitenplaatsen en landschapstuinen bij (stads) villa’s. Aan de hand van ruimtelijk architectonisch onderzoek is een schat aan oorspronkelijke plantekeningen uitgebreid gedocumenteerd en geanalyseerd om zo tot de kern van de ontwerpmethode van Roodbaard te komen. Daarmee is zijn vorminstrumentarium, ook wel de ‘meetkundige gereedschapskist’ ontrafeld. Het heeft geresulteerd in zes compositorische ontwerpprincipes. Dankzij dit onderzoek en de nieuwe inzichten in Roodbaards handschrift kan een aantal landschapsparken worden geïdentificeerd en aan zijn oeuvre worden toegevoegd. Het gaat daarbij niet alleen om Roodbaards collectie van landschapsparken, maar ook om de samenhang van deze collectie met het omliggende historische cultuurlandschap. Dit overzicht biedt handvatten om het oeuvre van Roodbaard aan te duiden als een buitenplaatsenlandschap dat een samenhangend tuinen landschapsarchitectonisch ensemble vormt in het Noord-Nederlandse cultuurlandschap. Dit ‘parkachtige’ landschap, ook bekend als de Noordelijke Lustwarande, is grotendeels gelegen in het kustlandschap dat grenst aan het Unesco Werelderfgoed Waddenzee. In de epiloog is een proeve van een reconstructie van een ontbrekende ontwerptekening gemaakt voor het landschapspark De Braak te Paterswolde. Het vormt de opmaat voor de integrale reconstructie van deze bijzondere collectie groen erfgoed. PubDate: 2022-07-07 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.13.6557
Authors:Haicheng Liu Pages: 1 - 206 Abstract: In the Geomatics domain, a point cloud refers to a data set that records the coordinates and other attributes of a huge number of points. Conceptually, each of the attributes can be regarded as a dimension to represent a specific type of information, such as time and Level of Importance (LoI). Drastically increasing collection of high dimensional point clouds raises essential demand for smart and highly efficient data management solutions. However, effective tools are missing. File-based solutions require substantial development of data structures and algorithms. Also, with such solutions, enormous effort has to be made to integrate different data types, formats and libraries. By contrast, state-of-the-art DataBase Management Systems (DBMSs) avoid these issues, because they are initially devised for generic use of data. However, DBMSs still present limitations on efficiently indexing non-uniformly distributed points, supporting continuous LoI, and operating high dimensional data. These problems motivate the PhD research which focuses on developing a new DBMS solution. It is aimed at efficiently managing and querying massive nD point clouds to support different types of applications. PubDate: 2022-06-28 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.12.6536
Authors:Berk Ekici Pages: 1 - 306 Abstract: Population growth and urbanisation trends bring many consequences related to the increase in global energy consumption, CO2 emissions and a decrease in arable land per person. High‑rises have been one of the inevitable buildings of metropoles to provide extra floor space since the early examples in the 19th century. Therefore, optimisation of high-rise buildings has been the focus of researchers because of significant performance enhancement, mainly in energy consumption and generation. Based on the facts of the 21st century, optimising high-rise buildings for multiple vital resources (such as energy, food, and water) is necessary for a sustainable future. This research suggests “self-sufficient high-rise buildings” that can generate and efficiently consume vital resources in addition to dense habitation for sustainable living in metropoles. The complexity of self-sufficient high-rise building optimisation is more challenging than optimising regular high-rises that have not been addressed in the literature. The main challenge behind the research is the integration of multiple performance aspects of self-sufficiency related to the vital resources of human beings (energy, food, and water) and consideration of large numbers of design parameters related to these multiple performance aspects. Therefore, the dissertation presents a framework for performance optimisation of self-sufficient high-rise buildings using artificial intelligence focusing on the conceptual phase of the design process. The output of this dissertation supports decision-makers to suggest well-performing high-rise buildings involving the aspects of self-sufficiency in a reasonable timeframe. PubDate: 2022-06-28 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.10.6535
Authors:Elmira Jafari Pages: 1 - 252 Abstract: This dissertation puts together planning documents and multiple archival sources to demonstrate how urban planning and the role of planners have evolved in an ever-changing transnational context of Iran. It challenges the prevailing approach in the literature of Tehran urban studies that simply flattens the complexity of local-foreign collaboration and labels transnational planning of Tehran a top-down “Westernization” project. To depict a more nuanced picture of Tehran master planning at the time of transnational exchange and rapid urban growth, this dissertation introduces a new engaging and argumentative periodization with four distinct phases which brings transnational planning of Tehran to the fore, while reflecting on diverse political and socio-economic upheavals between 1930-2010. Dissection of Tehran master plans in each period through the lens of multiple actors offers a unique opportunity for a renewed interpretation of transnational planning of Tehran and the way Iranian planners steered Tehran urban developments while engaging with foreign experts and their planning systems. It presents a detailed analysis of overarching ‘ideas’ behind each plan, their translation to urban ‘policies’ and later on their broader (un)wanted ‘impact’ on the city and its regions. By recognizing a great diversity in transnational approach in Tehran planning practices, the dissertation concludes with how transnationalism first gave rise to the formation of the modern planning system and how later on led to contestations against it which revolutionized the role of urban planners and the political agenda for Tehran urban growth. PubDate: 2022-07-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.11.6574
Authors:Shima Ebrahimigharehbaghi Pages: 1 - 302 Abstract: In 2020, owner-occupied housing accounted for 57% of the housing stock in the Netherlands. Homeowners are fully responsible for the implementation of energy retrofits. Moreover, the processes of energy retrofitting are complex and homeowners face problems such as finding financial support, reliable information and contractors. The complexity of implementing energy retrofits may discourage homeowners from continuing the process and achieving the expected benefits. Behavioural aspects and transaction costs (TC) are among the most important factors influencing consumer decision-making processes. Behavioural factors primarily illustrate a range of personal, contextual, and external factors that influence the decision-making process of homeowners. These include cognitive awareness and biases, attitudes and beliefs, experience and skills, homeowner characteristics, sociodemographic characteristics, property characteristics, and the behaviour of others. TC are any hidden costs that influence decision making but are not included in the direct physical costs of renovation services and products. This dissertation developed an integrated framework of behavioural factors and TC that impede the decisionmaking process for energy retrofits. Key findings include (1) the significant importance of behavioural factors and TC barriers. (2) the behavioural factors are particularly important in the early stages of energy retrofits and the TC barriers after the final decision. (3) the importance of behavioural factors and TC barriers differs according to the type of energy retrofit and non-energy retrofit. (4) Accounting for cognitive biases significantly improves the prediction of households' actual decisions about energy retrofits. This modelling is more accurate than the model that assumes households make rational decisions. PubDate: 2022-07-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.06.6573
Authors:Fatma Tanış Pages: 1 - 274 Abstract: This dissertation is an invitation to the reader to explore Güzel İzmir / Beautiful İzmir in Turkey. Through three different semi-fictional narratives, it aims to draw attention to specific and singular spaces as they were recorded and remembered through old postcards, black and white photographs, stories, and written travelogues in the past centuries and decades. Thus, it wants to discuss the specificity of an eastern Mediterranean port city by addressing it on eye-level through the experiences of a wanderer. By acknowledging the important role of narratives in building an image of the city, this doctoral research proposes that developing a particular narrative writing method may help to re-establish emotional connections between present-day inhabitants of port cities and their environments. It offers an alternative way of writing and an unconventional reading of the urban and architectural history of İzmir to revive socio-spatial practices by writing narratives of Beautiful İzmir. PubDate: 2022-05-30 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.08.6483
Authors:Lisa Rammig Pages: 1 - 350 Abstract: Glass is transparent and that differentiates it from most other building materials. As a result it has played a significant role in the development of architecture, given that its use is not only driven by its functionality as a protective layer, but by its ability to transmit light and hence define spaces. The use of glass has typically brought designers, engineers and builders to the limits of their abilities, whether this was driven by the processing and handling of the material, or the limitationin the understanding of its design capacity. The transparency of the material is of incredible value but it also poses challenges when working with glass; The way it is connected is always visible. As a result, the connections and connectivity of glass are one of the most important considerations when designing with it, both technically and architecturally and in particular for structural applications. In the past century, glass has increasingly been used as a structural component. However its inherent brittleness typically still requires opaque metal connections to transfer load. These connections define contemporary glass architecture – firstly, because they are immediately apparent in a transparent structure and, secondly, as they are part of the engineering design language. However, designers and architects are still aiming to increase the transparency of glass enclosures and structures, leading to a demand to further reduce the visibility of structural connections within the glass. This research aims to address the connectivity of glass through experimental testing of heat bonded glass-glass connections that form a fully transparent atomic bond. Applications for transparent connections are addressed through case studies that explore various novel transparent bonding techniques. PubDate: 2022-05-30 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.9.6481
Authors:Susanne Gosztonyi Pages: 1 - 404 Abstract: Adaptive façades are designed to actively regulate the exchange of material and energy flows and thus improve the balance between comfort and energy consumption. However, their technical complexity leads to higher development efforts, maintenance and costs, and ultimatelyfewer implementations. Embedded adaptive functions could be an opportunity to reduce these drawbacks. If embedded adaptivity is to work within a design, the particularities of geometry and material arrangements must be considered. Nature offers fascinating models for this approach, which frames the objectives of this doctoral dissertation. The dissertation examines both adaptive façades and biology criteria that support a function-oriented transfer of thermo-adaptive principles in the early design stage. The research work discusses whether the technical complexity can be reduced by biomimetic designs and which role geometric design strategies play for thermo-adaptive processes. The research work is divided into three phases, following the top-down process in the discipline biomimetics, supplemented by methods from product design and semantic databases. The first phase is dedicated to the analysis of the contextual framework and criteria of façades aiming at thermal adaptation. Further, transfer systematics are developed that guide the analysis and selection process. In the second phase, analogies in biology are collected that appear suitable. Selected examples are examined to identify and systematically describe their functional principle. Two exemplary descriptions herald the third phase, in which functional façade models are created and evaluated. The result of this research work provides a conceptual approach to generate function-imitating biomimetic façade designs, so-called physio-mimetic façade designs. PubDate: 2022-05-30 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.4.6479
Authors:Abdullah Alattas Pages: 1 - 344 Abstract: Indoor navigation applications are actively investigated and developed due to their capacity to provide users with essential information in the modern extensive building complexes. Therefore, many researchers have developed a range of indoor navigation applications, which have focused on aspects such as localization, indoor route computation, and human spatial cognition. Unfortunately, current indoor navigation systems do not consider the user's access rights when it comes to navigating safely and effectively. This thesis delivers several contributions, which are based on international standards, to provide Indoor navigation aware of the user’s access rights. The thesis proposes: 1) a combined model of ISO’s LADM and OGC’s IndoorGML; 2) an enhancement of the UML class diagram of the conceptual model of IndoorGML; 3) a 2D LADM country profile of the Saudi Arabia; 4) a 3D LADM country profile of Saudi Arabia; 5) a conversion of the combined LADM and IndoorGML conceptual model to a technical model; 6) definitions of access rights for users of indoor environments during crisis based on the integrated model of LADM and IndoorGML; 7) a 3D web-based prototype application for indoor navigation making use of user access rights. The developed concepts and implementation have been acknowledged by the standardization organization ISO and OGC and considered for amending IndoorGML and LADM. PubDate: 2022-03-09 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.05.6314
Authors:Yu-Chou Chiang Pages: 1 - 172 Abstract: Shell structures carry loads with their thin yet curved shapes. Being thin means shells require little material, which is desirable for minimizing embodied carbon footprints. However, the feature of being curved implies shells require immense effort to design and fabricate. To address the challenges, this dissertation consists of three parts: developing a design algorithm based on radial basis functions (RBFs), inventing a fabrication technique based on reconfigurable mechanisms, and producing prototypes based on the new algorithm and mechanism. The first part of this dissertation introduces a new algorithm based on RBFs for designing smooth membrane shells, which is more versatile than existing methods. The algorithm can generate membranes with both tensile and compressive stresses. It can also tweak an initial shape to meet free-edge conditions. It can also incorporate horizontal loads in the form-finding process. The second part of the dissertation presents a new system of flat-to-curved mechanisms, which allows a shell to be fabricated in a flat configuration and deployed into a double-curved state. Such a mechanism consists of panels connected by tilted hinges. The mechanism can contract non-homogeneously and change its Gaussian curvature. The last part of this dissertation demonstrates the integral application of the RBFs form-finding algorithm and the flat-to-curved mechanisms. The prototypes designed and produced deliver form-found shapes that have spans ranging from 0.2 to 4 meters. This dissertation contributes to the development and distribution of shell structures by developing computer algorithms and digital fabrication techniques to minimize the hurdles of designing and fabricating shell structures. PubDate: 2022-01-27 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.03.6269
Authors:Jelle Koolwijk Pages: 1 - 174 Abstract: The aim of this PhD project was to explore the multi-level interplay between the interorganizational structures and interpersonal relations in building project organizations. In the first two studies, quantitative approaches were used to validate assumptions about how interorganizational structures are shaped by actors and how interpersonal relationships affect the effectiveness of project teams in the construction industry. These two studies were integrated in a third qualitative case study that explored the interplay between inter-organizational structures and interpersonal relationships in long-term partnerships. The third study sampled three cases of strategic partnerships which are characterized as longterm, highly integrated and collaborative relationships. To gain theoretical sensitivity in this thirdstudy, a conceptual framework was developed using the concepts from the first two studies. The major finding across the three studies is that the way integration in the supply chain develops is highly dependent on the interaction between project actors. The way actors use the interorganizational rules of a project organization, influences the level of trust and no-blame culture that emerges through interaction. In turn, the level of trust can influence the rules of actors. More specifically, dominant actors seem to able to change the rules of the system. When a dominant actor uses his power position to change the rules of the social system, it can make other actors lose their commitment to the partnership. This research shows that successful long-term and close collaboration between firms continuously requires careful consideration of how the organizational structures are designed and used and their effect on relationships between actors. One should not assume that integrated contracts and integrative practices that have been shown to work in one project, will automatically lead to close and long-lasting relationships between actors in another project. PubDate: 2022-01-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.01.6262
Authors:Stephan Hauser Pages: 1 - 236 Abstract: Oil is a dangerous product. Its transport, storage and refining present numerous environmental and health challenges. Local, national and European regulators have taken steps to locate it in space since the beginning of industrial oil drilling in the 1860s. But key leaders of the oil industry in Northwest Europe, and beyond, have also served as policy makers and aimed to keep legal constraints (decrees, laws, taxes) as limited as possible to prevent the emergence of obstacles in the development of their industry. This process led to a cruel lack of anticipation in the design of rules and urban spaces when dealing with safety. Public authorities continuously established limited frames upon the oil industry and wrote rules in general terms to protect this strategic industry. Today, the pollution and the risks oil companies generated restrict opportunities for the future re-use of industrial sites, and there has been little done on the law-making scale to guide the transformation of oil spaces. Using the case of port cities like Dunkirk, in France, that have emerged as oil ports for their respective countries over the last 150 years, this thesis examines the emergence and application of spatial and environmental regulations along with oil industrial expansion. The objective is to highlight the need to shift from the current reactive process of improving legal frames after a disaster to one that anticipate and deal with the visible and invisible oil heritage. PubDate: 2022-01-19 DOI: 10.7480/abe.2022.02.6263
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