The Southern Song planned and constructed the Diaoyucheng Fortress at Hezhou of the Sichuan Theatre, during the 13th century. This fortress became famous for its 36-year resistance against the Mongols and the death of Möngke Khan in 1259. Based on historical documents and data from re-analysis of archaeological report and field survey, this study explores its initiation, construction and transition, to build a coherent narrative for its transformation from a hinterland transport hub during the Song-Jin War (1125-1234) to a frontier stronghold during the Song-Mongol War (1235-1279), which experiences the establishment of Zhuanban Granary in the 1130s, the construction of Xinyuguan Fort in the 1160s-1170s, the transformation into a refuge in 1240, and the expansion into the Diaoyucheng Fortress in 1243-1279. By combining spatial analysis with military history, this study discusses how the peninsular site, the “dustpan” form, and the fort cluster were formed under the influence of military strategies in different war periods and the topography in Sichuan. With the comparisons with the fortifications across Eurasia around the same period, this study illustrates this fortress epitomizes the development of knowledge system for fortification design in ancient China, especially the river defense fortress taking advantage of topography and navy.
This study explores a new public space performance measure by integrating public space and walking research to examine the relationship between pedestrian traffic volume and social activity intensity in parks and plazas. Introducing the entry-exit correlation coefficient (EEC), the study utilized bootstrap resampling methods to analyze data and compare to 59 manual observations. Findings reveal a statistically significant negative relationship between EEC and social activities, with a coefficient of -0.2. Lower EEC values, indicating closer correlation between entry and exit, were associated with increased social activities in Dilworth Park. The high synchronization observed between EEC and social activities underscores the potential of EEC as a complementary tool to manual observation in public space research. Additionally, the study emphasizes the importance of considering thermal comfort in monitoring public spaces using EEC. While the study focused on a single case study, its results lay the groundwork for future research to apply automated pedestrian counting and EEC as performance measurements for public spaces.
In modernist architecture, color serves as a crucial tool in shaping spatial experiences. However, due to historical reasons, the color design of early modernist architecture has not been fully explored. The paper focuses on the iconic modernist work, the Bauhaus school building in Dessau. Through historical investigation and theoretical research, it elucidates the evolution of color cognition from the perspectives of color theory development, architectural color characteristics, and the interaction between visual perception and color. On this basis, it explores the color theory origins of the Bauhaus and Gropius, dissecting the conceptual framework and methods behind the color design of the Bauhaus school building in Dessau. Additionally, this article analyzes the spatial characteristics of architectural color from an experiential standpoint. The paper argues that Gropius conveyed his concept of “natural perspective” through color design, emphasizing the eternal value of natural internal logic. The Bauhaus redefined the role of color in architectural expression, based on natural laws, and deduced a scientifically designed method related to perception, promoting a shift in color design from subjective to objective and injecting deeper connotations into architectural color.
Experts question why cities, which are supposedly built for citizens, fail to address their social needs. Everyday life is challenging in our cities, especially because public spaces have generally been arranged and designed by considering the physical environment and without consideration for how these spaces should facilitate human interactions. This paper identifies “in-between spaces” as key scenarios for addressing this issue. These spaces offer the opportunity to feel comfortable and safe, foster a sense of community, and facilitate connections.
Little has been written about these spaces and, particularly, their characteristics. Therefore, the objective of this study is to provide a more in-depth understanding of in-between spaces by examining literature on such spaces throughout city history.
The results underscore the threshold character as the primary feature of in-between spaces and define various types of in-between spaces depending on their position within the gradient between public and private domains. The analysis also identified recurring characteristics, such as presence of reproductive labor, vegetation, or amenities, tendency to be programmed or unprogrammed within interior or exterior spaces and establishes relationships between these characteristics. Furthermore, the results suggest that the values promoted by these spaces and their recurring features can offer solutions to regenerate cities.
The Third Front construction played a crucial role in China’s socialist development, resulting in an excess of stock space after four decades of evolution. This study focuses on 113 Third Front plants and mines in western Hubei to explore their contemporary reuse potential. Through field research and statistical analysis, the study examines the layout and conditions of these sites, utilizing the concept of “smart shrinkage” to assess their reuse value. Tools like the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model, network analysis, and cluster analysis are employed to develop a reuse value assessment model. The study finds that The Third Front construction plants and mines were concentrated in the transition zone from the plains to the mountains, and idleness and inefficiency became a common problem. These sites exhibit a unique “non-urban, non-rural” layout and possess heritage, asset, and ecological values. The study identifies various reuse strategies, including heritage preservation, property rights transformation, and ecological restoration through rewilding. These measures aim to revitalize the Third Front construction plants and mines, offering theoretical and methodological support for their sustainable development and potential recognition as world cultural heritage.
This study explores the symbolic value attributed by Indigenous inhabitants to their dwellings and how the physical structure of the home serves to align domestic activities with meanings related to their ancestral culture. To achieve this objective, we focused on the Peruvian Andes, specifically on Coporaque, an Indigenous village founded in the 16th century during colonial times. In this locality, qualitative research was carried out using the phenomenological approach, prioritizing the lived experience of the native inhabitants in their daily “life world” through in-depth interviews and direct observations. Our results broaden understanding of the Andean vernacular dwelling, making visible the ways in which the “Wasi” becomes a stage for the symbolic occurrence of domesticity. The results reveal several significant narratives on domesticity that support and give coherence to the life of these Indigenous communities, coinciding with the symbolic value that other cultures have attributed to dwellings. The study was able to conclude on the Indigenous house’s function in sustaining regional identities and how its physical structure is embodied in the inhabitants until it becomes one of the last bastions of resistance against the homogenizing pressure that the globalized world tries to exert on native peoples.
This paper innovatively adopts an interdisciplinary method, which is urban design, combined with social investigation, statistical analysis, and case analysis. In this study, 1350 residents in 45 blocks of Lansing were selected as samples to investigate the related issues of social capital, which include safety, contact with others, and sense of support for people living in certain areas. There are two ways to measure the distance from the center of the community to the nearest green space. One is the straight distance, while the other is path distance. Through statistical analysis, the path distance of less than 250 m is also added into the variables. The results overturned the hypotheses and showed that the distance of green space was positively correlated with social capital. The residents of Lansing may prefer the distant green space for recreational activities and create a way to participate in civic duty. The research can not only provide a basis for Lansing to formulate the appropriate resource management rules and norms and promote the accumulation of residents’ social capital, but also provide a reference for urban green space planning in other areas. At the same time, in the context of developing a smart city and constructing a new public system, we hope that the better optimization of the green space allocation will be achieved.
Land issues present a multifaceted challenge owing to its status as a long-term investment and the subject of conflicting interests, particularly within traditional village settings. Factors such as population growth, alterations in customary land usage, and external development encroachment pose significant challenges. A research inquiry conducted within Kanekes Settlement, a community belonging to the Baduy tribe, endeavors to elucidate the genesis and attendant issues pertaining to village expansion and potential decline. This research will enhance academic knowledge and offer valuable insights to policymakers, thereby supporting the sustainability of traditional villages. The investigation adopts a qualitative approach with an ethnographic methodology involving on-site direct observation, visual documentation, sketching, note-taking, and interviews conducted between 2021 and 2023. The birth process of a village within the Baduy context comprises three primary stages: 1) the proposal stage, 2) the developmental stage, and 3) the inauguration stage. Conversely, no explicit provisions or ceremonial procedures exist concerning the cessation of a village. Villages may become abandoned due to various factors, including but not limited to 1) economic hardship, 2) leadership transition following the death of a leader, 3) dwindling population, and 4) natural disasters.
In the past decade, the construction speed of high-rise office towers worldwide has exhibited explosive growth. The unique morphological characteristics of high-rise office towers result in higher shape factors and relatively larger thermal loads. The traditional workflow of “design-evaluation” in the early stages of design imposes constraints on the diversity of tower morphology, the timeliness of performance evaluation, and the efficient integration of systems. Therefore, targeting the geometric characteristics of high-rise office towers, a systematically developed and universally applicable design grammar, named “Vertex-Based Polygonal Generative Grammar (VPGG)” is proposed. Additionally, a corresponding early-stage performance driven High-rise Office Tower Generative Design Framework (HOT_GDF) is introduced. Case study results demonstrate that, with the support of Artificial Neural Network, utilizing this system can not only globally explore the diversity of tower morphologies but also efficiently uncover greater energy-saving potential in complex architectural forms compared to simpler cubic forms, with an improvement of up to 7.76% during the early stages of design. Designed from the perspective of architects, the framework achieves logical, refined, and visual real-time interaction between computers and human minds during the early stages of tower design. This enhances design efficiency and facilitates design decision-making. It systematically integrates considerations for environmental performance, such as thermal load and thermal comfort, into the design process. Furthermore, it couples various aspects of morphological design with corresponding building performance, helping users in making design decisions from a rational and quantifiable perspective. This captures greater design potential, encompassing both form and performance, for high-rise office towers during the initial design phase.
The contemporary era has witnessed damage to the various dimensions of the sense of place in numerous historic and urban heritage sites, which has led to issues such as the disruption of urban life, neglected aspects of the urban poor, and abandonment. This study aims to identify the most important factors contributing to the sense of place in historic fabrics in the present day. A comparative analysis is carried out on the two neighborhoods of Imamzadeh Yahya in Tehran (a progressively dilapidated neighborhood), and Shah Abol-Ghasem in Yazd (with continuity of urban life). The assessment of the residents’ sense of place in the two neighborhoods (n1 = 271) and (n2 = 267) was carried out using the questionnaire tool, and the contributing factors were determined. The results of the two cases were compared using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings showed that the sense of place in Imamzadeh Yahya, with a significant difference (P = 0.00), is at a much lower level than in Shah Abol-Ghasem. Also, most of the factors affecting the sense of place in Imamzadeh Yahya were significantly different (P < 0.05) and at a much lower level compared to Shah Abol-Ghasem, as assessed by the inhabitants.
This study investigates the air movement preference of males and females after moderate-intensity exercise. 35 participants dressed in 0.6 clo exercised for 15 min in a room at 30 ℃ and then entered another room at 24 ℃/26 ℃/28 ℃. During the experiment, participants were able to adjust the fan speed according to their own thermal comfort needs. The results indicate that after a change in metabolic rate, female prefer higher fan usage and greater air movement compared to males. When the body returns to thermal comfort, male have higher fan usage and prefer higher air movement than female. There were no difference in subjective evaluation and skin temperature between female and male. However, the skin evaporative heat loss of female was significantly lower than that of male. The correlation between air temperature, air speed and the time after entering the room tailored to the thermal requirements of distinct genders following moderate-intensity exercise has been established, which can provide a comprehensive control strategy for achieving both comfortable and energy-efficient thermal environments.
This research presents an innovative approach to evaluating indoor spaces, combining qualitative attributes with numerical architectural metrics. A hypothetical comparative visualization system is introduced, utilizing HDR visual imaging and thermal imaging in 360° field of view across multiple indoor environments. The study aims to provide architects and occupants with a user-friendly tool informing them about the primary considerations of their built spaces, with a specific focus on indoor environmental qualities in remote Arctic regions. Key inquiries delve into the efficacy of the spherical approach and the capacity of comparative visualization to offer insights into space quality. Preliminary experiments contrast indoor environments in terms of circadian lighting, thermal uniformity, and view access to outside in the 360° field of view (VAR360). The resulting visualizations hold significance in introducing an immersive approach for depicting specific non-visible environmental qualities, particularly in relation to the window characteristics of spaces. It demonstrates the integration of multiple environmental variables, both steady-state and temporal, from central points within spaces, providing a comprehensive view over their non-visible qualities. These results should be useful for researchers and practitioners within building sciences, computer vision, and photobiology, showcasing an out-of-the-box approach for categorizing indoor spaces based on standards and human-environmental qualifications.
The eco-environment-oriented development (EOD) mode is an innovative project organization and implementation approach that integrates ecological governance, industrial operations, and regional development. However, this mode still requires more in-depth research to strengthen its applicability to spatial perspectives and rural patterns. This study contributes to this context by proposing a rural spatial governance framework based on the EOD mode, focusing on the three main governance elements: space, capital, and subject. By constructing a conceptual model of the multidimensional governance effectiveness of EOD systems, it reveals the coupling mechanisms of three rural elements and proposes governance modes with spatially integrated optimization, capital value circulation, and rural subject connection as the focus of elemental regulation. This mode is further demonstrated through instantiation. In response to the developmental dilemmas of the villages’ overall decline owing to coal mining subsidence on the Weibei Plateau, an integrated transformation plan for production, living, and ecological spaces is formulated, based on which the stage-specific focuses are clarified in the holistic governance path of “space-capital-subject”. The research findings exemplify the application value and feasibility in regulating element relationships and balancing multiple benefits and can provide a reference at the spatial level to promote rural sustainable development through ecological governance.
This study explores the impact of multi-scale urban morphology on solar radiation in high-density environments, focusing on Nanjing as a case study. Using Grasshopper, the research decomposed urban models into four scales-district, block group, block, and plot-and analyzed eight morphological indicators, including site coverage (SC), floor area ratio (FAR), and block surface ratio (BSR). Solar radiation was simulated for the entire year, the summer solstice, and the winter solstice. Key findings reveal that different scales exhibit varying influences on solar radiation. At the district scale, BSR shows the highest correlation with annual solar radiation (R2 = 0.96), while at the neighborhood cluster scale, the minimum distance between buildings (DBmin) is most correlated (R2 = 0.7). At the block scale, BSR significantly correlates with summer solar radiation (R2=0.55). At the plot scale, no single indicator strongly correlates with solar radiation, but a combination of indicators is more relevant. These findings enable rapid solar performance assessments in urban design, promoting efficient solar energy use.
This study simulates wind effects on a standard tall building model as specified by the Commonwealth Advisory Aeronautical Council (CAARC). We generated data to enhance living conditions through passive flow control, which mitigates building weathering, reduces wind loads, and improves energy efficiency and natural ventilation. The research also aids building designers with robust numerical predictions. The validity of these results was confirmed by comparing drag coefficient (CD) values with those from previous studies. The findings demonstrate that passive flow control significantly reduces wind-induced drag forces on the building at various angles of attack (α) by altering wind-induced pressures, reducing vorticity, and decreasing vortex shedding magnitudes. The objective was to identify the optimal placement of segmented cladding materials with desired gaps between segments to allow airflow to influence temperature variations when exposed to wind at 293 K and a heat flux of 500 W/m2 at wind speeds of 1, 2, and 4 m/s (Reynolds numbers of 5.2 × 103, 10.4 × 103, and 20.8 × 103). Using 2D numerical analysis, twenty-four different facade and building model combinations were simulated. This study offers practical guidance on facade selection and positioning to optimize wind resistance and enhance the livability and functionality of building environments.
This paper presents a rule-based procedural generation approach for layout design by design knowledge encoding. Taking linear shopping centres as example, the proposed method encodes the layout design elements of the walkway space, tenant areas, and staircases into generative rules based on geometric operations. The generative rules integrate the shopping centre layout’s spatial patterns and geometric features and incorporate userspecified interaction parameters to form a generation tool prototype for early-stage layout design. The results show that the method can deal with the complex spatial elements of linear shopping centres and provide design references for architects, which helps combine generative algorithms with the design process.