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  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Dongzhu Chu, Huilin Lan, Yuwen Deng
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 934-948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.02.009

    Urban peninsulas are an important category with distinctive geographical characteristics in the history of human settlements. Despite their time-honored development, abundant cultural accumulation, and developed water transportation, a considerable number of world-famous urban peninsulas demonstrate a remarkable feature of high-density development because of their limited space for expansion. Based on the in-depth analysis of the connotation and features of urban peninsulas, this study summarizes five basic elements concerning the space of urban peninsulas, namely, capes, boundaries, networks, nodes, and cores. On the basis of these five elements, different high-density developmental modes of urban peninsulas are construed to provide a reference model for the location, density control, and urban structure of high-rise building clusters in peninsulas and further reveal the significance and value of high-rise buildings in shaping the special urban form of peninsulas.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Bekir Huseyin Tekin, Rhiannon Corcoran, Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 188-207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.013

    This paper presents a meta-synthesis conducted to identify, compare and synthesize published qualitative data related to the Maggie’s Centres, as a paradigmatic architectural example in the provision of non-institutional cancer support. These centres are internationally renowned for their unique architecture, where the careful design of indoors and outdoors spaces plays a critical role in their agenda for supporting care. Previous research has thoroughly analysed this approach to therapeutic environments, not only confirming the importance of designed space as originally conceived in Maggie’s philosophy but also identifying precise supporting effects associated with specific elements within their design. This paper aims to provide a new reading of Maggie’s contribution to cancer support by offering an examination of all these data through the lens of biophilia, which clarifies the impact of design decisions connected to nature on cancer patients’ lives. The analytic process included a systematic search strategy, extraction and classification of salient concepts using an open-coding approach, and lastly an interpretive evaluation. The systematically selected data helped to identify and rank the biophilic design parameters that appear the most critical for promoting and supporting human health and wellbeing in non-clinical therapeutic environments, from the user’s perspective. It also provided a compilation of distinctive design interventions related to biophilic parameters, which provides benchmark information for future research and design guidance in these environments.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Özge Ceylin Yıldırım, Elif Çelik
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 67-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.009

    This research provides a mixed method of investigating and analyzing pedestrian behavior in pedestrianized areas, which is one of the human-based urban development practices. The relationship between pedestrian behavior and perception of the city is discussed through a combination of architect and urban planner Gordon Cullen’s theory and Space Syntax methodology. This study examines the development and implementation of the methodology to understand the relationship between pedestrian behavior and space in Besiktas Koyici settlement, Istanbul. The methodology, integrated with on-site observations (observing 10 min at five different observation points in the settlement at predetermined times on weekdays and weekends), surveys (determining pedestrian movement and perception in terms of Cullen’s theory) and spatial configuration (Space Syntax analysis (connectivity, integrity) done with DepthMapX software), aims to analyze pedestrian behavior patterns. The concepts of sense of place and content, as well as the effects of their sub-concepts on their behaviors, were revealed because of a survey conducted with students and architects of variety of educational levels who are daily users of the field. Pedestrian counting and observations were used to create density, activity, and mobility maps of the area. It has been found that pedestrianized areas have a significant impact on pedestrian behavior through influencing vitality and appeal and that Cullen’s theory may be used to analyze pedestrian behavior and perceptions of the city. The study showed that spatial configuration and Cullen’s theory effect pedestrian movement by complementing each other.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Tong Zhang, Han Xu, Chuan Wang
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 865-876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.05.007

    The authenticity of architectural heritage is interpreted differently in diverse cultural traditions. Can this inspire the conservation and contemporary regeneration of architectural heritage to adapt to the changing needs of modern life and society, rather than static exhibits in museums? This research focuses on Ganlan (pile-built timber construction) architecture to demonstrate how adaptive conservation and regeneration can keep traditional construction systems living and sustainable. Ganlan, a vernacular architectural archetype in the humid subtropical regions of Asia, has the following common features: free plans with an assembling frame structure, open and interactive envelopes to cope with the hot and damp climate, and stilts to deal with the rugged terrain. This research employed a threefold method of field investigation, topological deformation, and experimental design in examining Lianghekou, a historic Tujia village in Western Hubei, China. The findings reveal that Tujia people build their stilt houses with adaptable features to meet the changing functional requirements and variable topographies. These traditions can be transmitted into the contemporary design, as our experimental design illustrates. The self-adaptability and topological deformation of Ganlan architectural heritage demonstrate a unique perspective of understanding authenticity, and contribute toward innovative application in the conservation and regeneration of vernacular architecture.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Weiqiao Wang, Jiang Feng
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 85-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.006

    Understanding the physical characteristics and cultural connotations of water is fundamental in obtaining a more in-depth view of the relationship between monastic lives and spaces. This study moves from several case studies to two case comparisons to a synthesis of two space prototypes to investigate how water management evolved into spatial water thought and became a common reference for monastic lives and spaces. Cistercian and Han Buddhist monasteries are investigated and considered to share many similarities in the internal institutional model of monks’ lives, as well as their corresponding architectural core values. They are suitable cases for exploring this research idea. In Cistercian and Han Buddhist monasteries, the role of water in monks’ lives and spaces is mainly reflected in the following aspects: 1) the form of the water body shaped the monastic spatial morphology in site selection; 2) the structure of water flow was closely related to spatial order and affected the spatial distribution; and 3) the performance of the water status formatted the connotation of space. This article attempts to depict a complete picture of the relationship between monastic lives and spaces from the perspective of water. Under the common pursuit of self-sufficient retreat life, water management was the common strategy for monastic venues to turn the wilderness into paradise refuges. Findings of this article show that the water culture of self-sufficiency and self-cleaning is the common reference, a shared universal value, and common parts of the spatial thought of the two monastic venues. Awareness of the importance of water in monastic lives and spaces helps us to pay attention to the relationship between the water environment and monastic venues. The research findings are linked to the current requirements of historical monasteries’ preservation, restoration, and even reconstruction, which are fundamental in maintaining the sustainable development of monastic lives and spaces.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Nicola Delledonne
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 917-933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.04.001

    Around the middle of the nineteenth century, in the context of an extensive project to reform opera, German composer Richard Wagner began to envision a new kind of theater building that finally saw the light in 1876 in Bayreuth as the Festspielhaus. In the following century, Italian architect Aldo Rossi evoked its characteristic features in his reconstruction project of the Carlo Felice Opera House in Genoa, a building that had been partially destroyed during World War II and was reopened to the public in 1991. At the same time, he restored the relationship between architecture and the city that Wagnerian precepts had more or less consciously eliminated. By revisiting the time that separates the two buildings, and specifically the changes that the most important playhouses underwent, this essay attempts to capture the distinctive elements of the Wagnerian playhouse in order to evaluate what remains of them, what was omitted, and what was subtracted from later buildings that either exist only as projects or that were in fact actualized.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Ruoshi Zhang
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 175-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.007

    Against the background of urban renewal, the landscape transformation of urban public space into urban parks has become an effective way of improving environmental quality and creating an emotional attachment for people. Meanwhile, existing studies have seldom adopted experimental methods to scientifically reveal the effect of different landscape features on emotional experience. Using a portable eye movement tracker, wearable wireless physiological sensor, and emotional attachment scale, this study collects participants’ ergonomics data, and their degree and dimension of emotional attachment while experiencing different landscape features in Wudaokou Park in Beijing, China. The data were analyzed with the help of ErgoLab platform and IBM SPSS software. The results indicate that the artificial and natural landscape features and their specific characteristics have different effects on eye movement index, heart rate variability, skin conductance level, and attachment degree and dimension. The design of Wudaokou Park was proven to significantly promote emotional attachment. Natural features play an important role, among which the use of wild plants and gazebos—showing the texture and structural logic of bamboo materials—stand out. The research not only expands the practical scope of ergonomics instruments and improves the rationality of the emotional attachment scale, but also provides emotion-oriented design methods for urban researchers and designers to improve the emotional experience in urban parks in the future.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Xin Yi, Fei Zhai
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 815-829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.02.004

    Events can bring important impetus to urban development. In addition to hardware investments, such as infrastructure, events also have important potential in the development of knowledge cities. Nanjing is a typical city where China’s knowledge industry is rapidly growing. Since the end of the last century, Nanjing has been promoting new district development on the city’s periphery and has hosted a series of events, including the 10th National Games in 2005 and the 2nd Youth Olympic Games in 2014. In this process, the city government also hopes to explore the potential of the knowledge economy and is committed to providing a new direction for urban development.

    This work reviews the history of Nanjing’s knowledge city development from two different dimensions (land development and knowledge development) and summarises the related achievements and lessons in different periods. The authors aim to identify the diverse effects of events in urban social and economic development based on the analysis of the differences in governance structure between land development and knowledge development. This work contributes to the literature on events and provides insights into the potential uses of events as a mechanism for knowledge-driven urban development.

  • REVIEW
    Yongyu Hu, Yunlong Peng, Zhi Gao, Fusuo Xu
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 148-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.005

    The transformation of urban and building design into green development is conducive to alleviating resource and environmental problems. Building design largely determines pollutant emissions and energy consumption throughout the building life cycle. Full consideration of the impact of urban geometries on the microclimate will help construct livable and healthy cities. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations significantly improve the efficiency of assessing the microclimate and the performance of design schemes. The integration of CFD into design platforms by plug-ins marks a landmark development for the interaction of computer-aided design (CAD) and CFD, allowing architects to perform CFD simulations in their familiar design environments. This review provides a systematic overview of the classification and comprehensive comparison of CFD plug-ins in Autodesk Revit, Rhinoceros/Grasshopper, and SketchUp. The applications of CFD plug-ins in urban and building design are reviewed according to three types: single-objective, multi-objective, and coupling simulations. Two primary roles of CFD plug-ins integrated into the design process, including providing various micro-scale numerical simulations and optimizing the original design via feedback results, are analyzed. The issues of mesh generation, boundary conditions, turbulence models, and simulation accuracy during CFD plug-in applications are discussed. Finally, the limitations and future possibilities of CFD plug-ins are proposed.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Sanjana Balasubramanian, Chandramathy Irulappan, Jinu Louishidha Kitchley
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 949-962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.03.003

    Streets are one of the major elements that make-up the urban environment. Urban commercial and mixed-use street types occur as public spaces in every town and city all around the world. With the paucity of such spaces, streets have taken up to solve the problem. Hence, this study assesses the key physical, visual, and aesthetical characteristics and examines the influence of aesthetical attributes over the activity pattern, user behavioral responses, and the color palette observed. Moreover, this research has been carried out in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Four significant commercial streets were identified and featured in the main study. The research method comprehends a structured questionnaire and multiple interviews to amass data, photo elicitation, and video corroboration to identify the key visual characteristics to study and scrutinize the aesthetical responses to various attributes that make good-looking urban commercial and mixed-use street types. The results of the study indicate that the diversity and perceived pleasantness of the environment, which includes elements such as facades, colors, aspect ratios, maintenance, and vegetation, has a very close association with walking preferences. The outcome of the study would also help architects, urban designers and planners, and policy makers to create positive spaces to foster urban commercial street types as place-making and aesthetically pleasing streets.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Zhu Xu
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 28-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.004

    This article investigates the one-century construction history of Silla’s state monastery Hwangryongsa, understanding its architectural transformation in relation to the changing ritual-spatial concept within the context of the medieval Sino-Korean cultural exchanges. The initial construction between 553 and 569, supervised by the Koguryǒ émigré monk Hyeryang, followed the sixth-century Northern Chinese model to build Hwangryongsa as a dormitory-enclosed compound, in which the One-Hundred-Seat Assembly was enacted in the image hall as the earlier Chinese Buddhist tradition would do. This plan was soon altered under the increasing popularity of the newly developed Southern Chinese paradigm. An extensive reconstruction started in 574 for the purpose of imitating the Chen imperial performance of the One-Hundred-Seat Assembly at Taijidian compound of Jiankang palace, while the archaic, oddly-empty organization of the central image hall reveals a hidden connection between Hwangryongsa and Tongtaisi, the state monastery of the Liang and also the first Chinese monastery modeled after the Taijidian compound. Hwangryongsa was eventually transformed into a corridor-enclosed ceremonial courtyard fronted by three image halls and one nine-story pagoda by 645, and the transformation profoundly mirrored China’s medieval architectural reform of Buddhist ritual space between the sixth and seventh centuries.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Ali Moghri, Ahmadreza Khalili
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 846-864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.02.005

    A proper location is one of the most influential factors in shelter performance. Although considerable research focuses on finding a suitable site for temporary shelters, only a few address the effect of post-disaster circumstances on discovering the optimal location. This study primarily aims to investigate the influential factors in determining a suitable place for temporary shelters after a crisis. Therefore, an algorithm is proposed. This algorithm is achieved by analyzing and computing the post-crisis urban route and facility accessibility based on photogrammetric photographs taken by an unmanned aerial vehicle/satellite.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Dalong Liu, Tian Sun, Yufei Han, Xiuying Yan
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 981-991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.03.007

    The ocean is a crucial area for future economic development. The marine environment has high energy-efficient and ecological requirements for building construction. Meteorological parameters are the key basis for the analysis and design of building energy efficiency. The lack of meteorological parameters for energy efficiency, particularly hourly data, under oceanic climatic conditions is a universal problem. The appropriate calculation methods of hourly meteorological parameters under oceanic climatic conditions are explored in this study. The impact of the calculation errors of the hourly meteorological parameters on building energy consumption is also analyzed. Three key meteorological parameters are selected: temperature, humidity, and wind speed. Five hourly calculations methods, including linear interpolation, cubic spline interpolation, pieceated three-Hermite interpolation, Akima interpolation, and radial basis function interpolation, are selected to calculate the error of the difference method, with Xiamen, Haikou, and Sanya as the locations of meteorological research. Appropriate interpolation methods are selected for the three parameters, and the seasonal and regional characteristics of the errors of each parameter are compared. Different interpolation methods should be selected for different meteorological parameters in different seasons. The error data of the three parameters of different magnitudes are constructed. A quantitative relationship between the sum of squares due to error of the three meteorological parameters and the rate of change of cooling energy consumption is established. The hourly calculation errors of meteorological parameters have an important impact on the calculation of dynamic energy consumption. The energy consumption differences caused by the errors of different parameters are significant. Obvious regional and seasonal differences also exist. This research strengthens the research foundation of building energy consumption calculation under oceanic climate conditions.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Gema M. López-Manzanares
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 42-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.012

    The development of the scientific theory on the stability of vaulted structures was driven mainly during the 18th century based on applying the laws of Mechanics and the knowledge of the properties of materials. In the specific case of structures such as domes, the development of the theory is closely related to the theory of arches and vaults. Still, the main contributions are made in technical reports on the construction, stability, and repair of domes, such as the dome of Saint Peter’s in Rome and Sainte-Geneviève or Pantheon in Paris. This article, therefore, analyses the relationship between theory and practice and the development achieved in the specific subject of masonry domes during the 18th century from the point of view of the Limit Analysis of Masonry Structures. In a more general sense, the objective of this research is to study in greater depth the theory of Limit Analysis itself, that is, to learn from the work carried out in the 18th century by mathematicians, architects, and engineers, who, although unaware of the existence of the theoretical framework of Limit Analysis as such, moved within it.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Navid Khaleghimoghaddam, Havva Alkan Bala, Güzin Özmen, Şerefnur Öztürk
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 877-890. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.02.007

    Environment psychologically affects individuals. According to the base of cognitive psychology, there is a direct relationship between human behavior, environment, and emotional process. Assuming that pleasantness and unpleasantness are associated with peripheral nervous system activation, the current study aims to explore if the pleasant or unpleasant architectural places can stimulate the brain regions engaged in emotions or not. As the main contribution, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measuring blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) changes to effectively detect the brain’s region that mainly responds to the emotional-perceptual processes. Based on the results of examining the emotional assessment model of „Pleasure-Arousal” applied to 140 students, 30 most-rated images representing 15 pleasant and 15 unpleasant places were shown to 32 participants in a 1.5-T MRI scanner. After applying standard preprocessing steps (re-alignment, slice-timing, coregistration, segmentation, normalization, and smoothing) to functional MR images, first-level analysis was applied to each subject. The results were evaluated using statistical corrections at different levels for female and male participants with the second-level analysis. In conclusion, it has been shown that there is a significant linkage between environmental experience and brain activation so that the architectural qualities can change blood flow in specific brain regions.

  • REVIEW
    Saba Fattahi Tabasi, Saeed Banihashemi
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(6): 1151-1176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.05.006

    The demand to satisfy environmental and economic performance requirements of buildings highlights the application of the responsive skin facades in offering superior performance, as compared to conventional façades. With this respect, responsive skins have become a growing field of research during the recent decade while a thorough review of studies investigating their design and technology aspects is still missing. To fill the identified gap, this study aims to present a systematic literature review and state of the art in an untouched research area of the responsive skins, integrated with their geometric and mechanism design approaches. To this end, a total of 89 studies, collected from two major bibliographic databases of Scopus and Google Scholar from the first of 2010 to the mid of 2021, were reviewed and several classifications and analyses on the associated design thinking, skin systems and responsive mechanisms were presented. The gap analysis of the findings indicates that the lack of controllable substitution design for mechanical skins is one of the reasons preventing the application of responsive skins in construction industry. Furthermore, the gap between simulation and constructability and the relationship between the designed skin geometry with climatic analysis and performance provide basis for future studies.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Hadis Abbasi Mahroo, Mohsen Vafamehr
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 129-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.003

    Architects have been following nature in their constructions for a long time. Observations of nature reveal that it has many highly developed structures that provide scientists and engineers with a lot of useful clues for creating more efficient structures and building forms. Therefore, revealing systematic thinking about natural species is a crucial requirement for today’s buildings. A software analysis method was used to design four modules in the roof structure of the Iranian University of Science and Technology’s exhibition. The roof structure is based on the Voronax structure, which is a relaxed formof Voronoi, which is seen in the structures ofmany natural creatures. They were analyzed in terms of optimization and structural simulation using Grass-hopper plugins and tools by taking into account VonMises stress in the structural design. The results indicated that by increasing the density of Voronax cells in the areaswith high Von Mises stress concentration, a more efficient structure could be achieved in terms of load-bearing and designing predefined free-form roof structures. By analyzing predefined roof structures in an optimum way, the study took a step toward optimizing these kinds of structures.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Xiaodan Yang, Qinghua Zhou, Darui Tian
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 118-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.05.009

    Landscape character assessment (LCA) is an effective tool for understanding people’s perceptions and preferences of landscape characteristics. Other than the assessment indicators and subjects, the reliability of photos as assessment objects is equally important for the LCA result. However, the commonly used onsite photos are mainly obtained at randomly selected locations by the researchers. We can neither know whether those photos represent the researchers’ own preferences, nor, to our best knowledge, can their reliability be tested scientifically. This method is also difficult to apply in large-scale geographical areas. To address these issues, we (1) propose an improved method including the protocols of photography and the sampling of photography locations, in which the fractal principle and stratified random sampling method were combined to minimize the effects of the researchers’ preferences and other factors; (2) apply the method to the Guanzhong region as an example, and obtain sampling photos and their geographical coordinates, which can be used as a data package for LCA; (3) use Fractalyse to test the sampled result and receive good validity. In conclusion, this study extends the methodological chain of the LCA and supports the application of LCA in large-scale regions.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Rui Chen, Miao Xu, Liyuan Zhang, Zhen Yang
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 830-845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.03.006

    Against the backdrop of a healthy city initiative in helping encourage and facilitate walking behavior, this study first elaborates the fitness function of the ladder trails, which largely form the daily living spaces for the people in mountainous cities or areas. It then analyses the existing research on the elements and guidelines of environmental design from the perspective of their pedestrian friendliness while discussing their suitability to the needs of the elderly. With the research framework set up in the first part, empirical research focusing on the walking behavior of the elderly has been carried out based on two comparable cases of Chongqing Mountain trails. Observing, survey, and interviews have been applied to collect the data. This study concludes with a summary of the elements and principles for designing ladder trails, which are walking-friendly for the elderly.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Ji Li, Tianchen Dai, Shengchen Yin, Yiqing Zhao, Deniz Ikiz Kaya, Linchuan Yang
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(6): 1121-1133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.05.008

    The UNESCO label of World Heritage can attract a high number of tourists to heritage properties for their Outstanding Universal Values (OUV). Although international studies have demonstrated the World Heritage system can contribute to stimulating cultural tourism and boosting the local economy, how this heritage-led development process promotes urban conservation and morphological changes in cities is yet to be explored adequately. This paper aims to explore the urban morphology of a historic Chinese city after its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, taking the Old Town of Lijiang as case. The methods of spatial plan analysis and discourse analysis are used to analyse the data. The research findings have demonstrated that, theoretically, the Conzenian approach of urban morphology can be an effective framework for World Heritage OUV-monitoring. Methodologically, the analysis of spatial plans and multi-stakeholder interviews can reveal local urban morphology from macro to micro levels. Case-specifically in Lijiang, urban physical characteristics and building structures have been well maintained while traditional social fabric and neighbourhood networks have almost vanished. This research has incorporated the urban morphology approach into (world) heritage management in China, as well as worldwide, in order to maintain the balance between urban conservation and economic growth.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Karen Lee Bar-Sinai, Tal Alon-Mozes, Aaron Sprecher
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 104-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.002

    With the advent of on-site robotic tools, they can be deployed for editing landscapes – defined as the modulation of grounds with a high degree of sensitivity to matter and form. The paper contributes a theoretical grounding and two experimental frameworks for territorial-based robotic fabrication. Each experimental framework supports a robotic capacity for informing and forming grounds, demonstrated in relation to extreme territories using simulation setups. The frameworks include (1) a layer-sensitive modulation for protecting topsoil and (2) a performance-based robotic forming for creating wind barriers. For each framework, the paper proposes a setup, an exploration method, and an evaluation process. Drawing on the presented frameworks, the paper outlines three potentials of territorial-based robotic fabrication: the capability to modulate grounds vertically, the possibility to perform cross-scalar forming, and the opportunity to form dynamic, performative landscapes. The paper concludes with potential ways in which robotic tools could be leveraged for advancing precise landscape editing across scales.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Yinan Dong, Dongqing Han, Marco Trisciuoglio
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(6): 1077-1091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.04.011

    One of the main reasons for the decline of urban historic areas in China is the coexistence of multiple property rights. It also deeply affects conservation and regeneration practice. This paper aims to propose a graphical method that illustrates the association between property rights, space, and resident behavior. Based on typological maps and justified graphs, a three-step method was proposed to visualize the relationships between these three elements. The final graph and quantitative data were used to observe the evolution of the courtyard building from a diachronic perspective, as well as to compare the residential behavior in different types from a synchronic perspective. The results show that following the subdivision of property rights, the building layout become more diverse due to various illegal additions, while the residential behavior within different building types tends to be consistent. Moreover, the study observed the traditional Chinese courtyard buildings’ adaptability. The findings contribute to understand the evolution of Chinese urban historic areas and internal motivation, and provide guidance for the conservation and regeneration practice.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Damien Claeys
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.008

    In architectural design, representation tools are often compared according to their alleged effects on the creativity of designers. Moreover, their mediating capacities are often mythicized, to such an extent that one might surmise the direct transmission of the mental images from the designer’s consciousness to an external representation. In this speculative essay, we demonstrate that the process of representation at work in architectural design originates from the designer’s consciousness natural cognitive ability, rather than from the use of a specific mediation tool between the designer and his environment, between the mentally constructed architectural project and its representation. The effects of any tool of representation—analog or digital—on our perceptual apparatus depend primarily on the cognitive mechanisms affecting the discontinuous flow of internal representations formed by our consciousness. In other words, we propose to shed a new light on these limitations through the heuristic modeling of an architectural project designer confronted with his own cognitive biases, and the limits of the representation processes. In the present essay, the discontinuities and uncertainties inherent to the processes of representation are reintegrate in the models.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Jin Duan, Wenlong Lan, Ying Jiang
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 806-814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2021.12.009

    Urban spatial identity, as the core content of a distinctive urban image and the representation of urban competitiveness and attraction, is critical to cities in the rapid development process. In view of maintaining and strengthening the spatial identity in a historic urban area, which is the key issue of urban construction in China at present, based on the literature review of Chinese urban spatial identity studies, three research paradigms are summarized: landscape, culture, and economy. Although the traditional evaluation method of spatial identity in historic urban areas has focused on the scarcity of characteristic resources, the relation-ship between characteristic resources and human beings has been ignored. Therefore, based on the declaration of the fundamental mechanism of urban spatial identity in historic urban areas, a new evaluation method was proposed considering four aspects, including object, subject, content, and indicators. The results indicated that the framework of evaluation and design, which is based on the assessment of the relationship between characteristic resources and human beings, is an effective strategy to improve the scientific evaluation of urban spatial identity. Our study has substantial implications for urban planners and managers in solving the urban identity crisis issue in historic urban areas.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Amir Tabadkani, Sara Aghasizadeh, Saeed Banihashemi, Aso Hajirasouli
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 963-980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.02.006

    A courtyard is an architectural design element which is often known as microclimate modifiers and is responsible to increase the indoor occupant comfort in traditional architecture. The aim of this study is to conduct a parametric evaluation of courtyard design variants in a residential building of different climates with a focus on indoor thermal comfort and utility costs. A brute-force approach is applied to generate a wide range of design alternatives and the simulation workflow is conducted by Grasshopper together with the environmental plugins Ladybug and Honeybee. The main study objective is the evaluation of the occupant thermal comfort in an air-conditioned residential building, energy load, and cost analysis, derived from different design variables including courtyard geometry, window-to-wall ratio, envelope materials, heating, and cooling set-point dead-bands, and building geographical location. Furthermore, a Deep Learning model is developed using the inputs and outputs of the simulation and analysis to transform the outcomes into the algorithmic and tangible environment feasible for predictive applications. The results suggest that regarding the thermal loads, costs, and indoor thermal comfort index (PMV), there are high correlations between the outdoor weather variation and dead-band ranges, while in extreme climates such as Singapore, courtyard spaces might not be efficient enough as expected. Finally, the highly accurate deep learning model is also developed, delivering superior predictive capabilities for the thermal comfort and utility costs of the courtyard designs.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Yacheng Song, Ye Zhang, Dongqing Han
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 795-805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2021.12.007

    Dramatic changes in the economic systems and land rights in the recent history of China yielded unique but complex urban forms for many cities. The complexity of urban form is mostly manifested as ambiguous relations between elements of the physical form and between the physical form and human behavior. Currently, these ambiguities become obstacles that increasingly hinder urban regeneration. However, despite the fast-growing research on the morphology of Chinese cities, our understanding of the complexity of their built form is still in its infancy. Taking the city of Nanjing as the case study, this study attempts to decipher the complexity of its built form by investigating its plot patterns. Six samples, dating back to different development periods, are selected and analyzed in terms of both a physical entity and a unit of property. The results show that the complexity of plots is largely attributable to the inconsistency between their spatial boundaries as physical entities and as units of property. Accordingly, the plots of all six samples are re-recognized and two generic types of plot sub-series, co-inflection and embeddedness, are developed as a prism to decipher the built form complexity. The findings contribute to the theory on the compositional hierarchy of urban forms and may shed light on the urban regeneration of Chinese cities as well.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Uwe Altrock
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 783-794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2021.12.006

    This paper asks how the livability of socially disadvantaged urban neighborhoods can be improved with the help of publicly funded area-based urban regeneration. It builds on the history of area-based regeneration policies in Germany aiming at upgrading and resolving urban problems at the neighborhood level. Its main argument is as follows. First, the fate of conventional physical upgrading policies focusing on the livability of deprived urban areas depends on the development environment. While successful upgrading sometimes makes inner-city neighborhoods so attractive that they run into a trend towards gentrification and displacement of the urban poor, the stabilization of less privileged areas cannot always be guaranteed. Second, alternative approaches are needed, linking limited physical upgrading with socially oriented policies, building on strategies like neighborhood management and empowerment. Third, they can make a substantial contribution to stabilizing deprived neighborhoods, thereby improving the general living conditions and the opportunities of the urban poor. However, they require at least some permanent intervention. Thus, they transcend the logic of area-based regeneration normally limited to restoring faith into the private real estate market and thereby directing inward investment into them that improves the quality of the physical environment. Fourth, they are hardly able to overcome significant negative stigmatization in cities that are severely hit by economic downturn and population decline. This is especially true when they act as arrival areas for consecutive waves of migrants, making it necessary to redefine the role of those areas in cities and accepting their high concentration of urban problems as a starting point for different area-based policies dealing with them. The key empirical background of the paper is the German system of urban development grants and an evaluation of the so-called program of „socially integrative city”.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Xinjian Li, Runqi Qin
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(6): 1134-1150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.08.001

    In view of the fire problems left in dense historical settlements in China, such as fire hazards that are prone to fires, difficulties in fighting fires, and the incomplete applicability of current fire codes due to the high historical value of buildings, this paper proposes a scientific and systematic performance-based fire protection method that gives priority to value preservation. This method is applied to dense historical settlements, and the effectiveness of this method is verified by evaluating the results of fire protection planning and renovation through multiple rounds of computer numerical simulation. The results show that in a connected cluster of buildings, one of the fire retrofitting requirements in the horizontal or vertical direction needs to be met between two adjacent buildings to ensure that the fire does not spread, and the retrofitting direction has to be selected based on the value and risk assessment results. When dense historical clusters are renovated for fire prevention planning, the optimal renovation path to meet fire safety can be effectively selected based on the method proposed in this paper.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Laura Lizondo-Sevilla, Débora Domingo-Calabuig
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2023, 12(1): 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.06.001

    The architectural modernity that prevailed in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century cannot be understood without an appreciation of the work of Lilly Reich, a brilliant designer of interiors, furniture, and ephemeral architecture who exerted significant influence from her active position as a member of the Deutscher Werkbund. Despite the critical recognition she acquired in the media of the time during her solo career, her association with the architect Mies van der Rohe, far from positioning her in the field of contributions, relegated her to the role of a mere collaborator. For this reason, this article aims to shed light on the extensive legacy of Lilly Reich, a woman whose figure is being acknowledged as a result of recent research but who was nevertheless omitted from the leading books on the history of architecture. The methodology employed in the research analyses comparatively „what she did” and „what was said about her”, highlighting the convergences and divergences between „work” and „criticism”. The study and its results yield interesting conclusions regarding both the recognition that Lilly Reich received during her lifetime and the criticism she received after her death and up to the present day.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Anita Ollár, Kaj Granath, Paula Femenías, Ulrike Rahe
    Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022, 11(5): 891-916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2022.03.009

    This paper aims to contribute to the development of spatial criteria for adaptive capacity, which is identified as one important factor for the transition towards more circular housing design. The paper focuses on the kitchen, as an important function of the home which is connected to large resource flows and is exposed to frequent renovations and replacements. This paper identifies spatial characteristics of the kitchen and evaluates their potential to accommodate circular solutions focusing on adaptive capacity. As a first step, previous literature on the spatial characteristics of kitchens and indicators that support adaptability is reviewed. These are then used to develop an analytical framework to assess the adaptive capacity and circularity potential of 3624 kitchens in contemporary Swedish apartments. A qualitative approach in combination with quantitative methods is employed to analyse the selected sample. The main contributions of this paper include its spatial analytical framework, its descriptive presentation of contemporary kitchen and apartment designs, and its adaptive capacity assessment of the studied kitchens. The results point out that although the overcapacity of the floor area of kitchens and apartments can have significance for adaptability, it is not the only determinative spatial characteristics. The windows’ location and distribution, the number of door openings and traffic zones, the shafts’ location and accessibility from multiple rooms, the room typology and the kitchen typology can improve the adaptive capacity and circularity potential of kitchens and dwellings. The findings show that in contemporary floorplans advantageous design solutions connected to the identified spatial characteristics are not applied in a systematic way. Further research is necessary to define the exact measures of the individual spatial characteristics and their combined application in multiresidential floorplan design.