The spatial design of nursing units can significantly enhance nurses' work efficiency. However, existing studies primarily focus on optimizing space for individual department, often overlooking the diverse spatial needs of different departments due to variations in work content. In this study, questionnaires were collected from 456 nurses across five departments of nursing units in 14 general hospitals, and semi-structured interviews and behavioral observations were conducted in the same five departments of nursing units in one hospital to assess spatial design and work efficiency, thus evaluating the impact of specialized design on departmental performance. Additionally, agent-based modeling (ABM) was utilized to simulate nursing efficiency in each department, comparing spatial arrangements before and after optimization by simulating nurses' behaviors. Results indicated obvious differences in spatial needs among departments, suggesting that standardized nursing unit designs fail to meet specific departmental needs, resulting in low satisfaction of nurses. Adjusting the spatial environments of nursing units based on departmental differences can improve efficiency. This study proposes optimization strategies for the spatial environments of nursing units in different departments, aiming to enhance nursing efficiency, job satisfaction, and reduce occupational stress.

Locality embodies the spiritual essence and cultural heritage of regional historical development. Traditional villages, as crucial carriers of this "memory," are essential for preserving regional identity and fostering sustainable development. However, existing research on traditional villages often lacks a unified framework to systematically identify embedded local knowledge, especially tacit elements such as traditional crafts and folk culture. To address this gap, this study proposes an analytical framework for the local knowledge system of traditional villages from an anthropological perspective. Through field investigations and qualitative analyses of eight representative villages in Jiangjin District, Chongqing, the study explores the generation, classification, and formation mechanisms of local knowledge. The findings reveal that: (1) local knowledge in traditional village landscapes consists of two main types—explicit knowledge (e.g., site-selection patterns, spatial morphology, and traditional architecture) and tacit knowledge (e.g., traditional craftsmanship and folk culture); (2) a comprehensive local knowledge atlas was developed, comprising 2 categories, 5 major classes, 15 sub-classes, and 48 small classes; and (3) the formation of local knowledge is driven by factors such as immigrant integration, environmental adaptation, clan culture, and transportation development. This study establishes a systematic foundation for understanding and preserving the unique landscape characteristics and cultural heritage of traditional villages. It offers practical insights for their conservation, sustainable development, and cultural revitalization.

Northern Scotland's advanced dry-stone Iron-Age brochs, also known as broch towers, exhibit a relatively advanced technological culture. However, the uncertainty prevails because there is no consensus on a standard broch scheme, and additional archaeological research is required. A typological analysis of the plans and sections of brochs can uncover potential hidden architectural connections among features such as staircases, entrances, and central areas. Examining the architecture of Scottish brochs illustrates the decision-making process for each element, which a standard broch model influences.

This study found that brochs are not merely replicas of ordinary buildings but rather constructions that adhere to a specific concept, a set design, a method of organizing living spaces, and a blend of practical construction techniques. From the critical conservation viewpoint, this paper argues that conserving brochs should involve both archaeological and architectural values, treating the monuments as typological collections that should differ from conserving a single site. Thus, the conservation practice should aim at the readable integrity of these architectural features in the context of continuous fabric modifications, where typological methods have been used to initiate a discussion on how architects engage in preserving brochs with archaeologists.

Family and domestic violence (FDV) is an issue that impacts on the health and well-being of women and children worldwide. Research shows that trauma-exposed individuals commonly experience heightened sensitivity to sensory triggers within the environmental milieu. Despite interest in trauma-informed design, the impact of visual stress has largely gone unexplored in the design of FDV refuges. This research utilises a novel visual stress analysis tool (ViStA) to examine the presence of potential visual stressors within two purpose-built FDV refuges in Australia. ViStA enables an assessment of visual stress, taking into account the complex interplay of size, spatial frequency, duty cycle, and contrast in the overall visual experience. Through an analysis of refuge images (n = 60), this study mapped the presence potential visual stressors. Through this analysis it was found that 'high contrast linear elements' were the most common potential visual stressors in both refuges. Common features among the spaces with the highest peak residuals were "perforated panelling" and "highly patterned surfaces". Additionally, visual stressors were able to be categorised into eight primary functional categories of architectural features. The exploratory nature of this research underlines its importance as a foundational step towards developing evidence-based design practices for trauma-informed environments.

To achieve fire prevention in heritage buildings, it is crucial to identify, analyse, and assess fire risks prior to fires due to the complexity of fire causes and risk factors influenced by various aspects such as environmental factors, building material characteristics, layout and management/maintenance practices. For building-specific fire risk identification, fire process simulation models constructed based on quantifying various fire risk elements are needed. Some studies have found that indoor microclimate has different degrees of influence on the fire development process, but there is a lack of relevant modelling. Taking the Grand Hall of Baoguo Monastery in Ningbo as an example, 32 fire operating conditions were simulated using the Fire Dynamics Simulator based on the monitoring environment data collected in the hall. The results revealed that the building structural nodes had higher fire risks, the wind direction significantly affected fire spread in the hall, ambient temperature could influence the fire development rate, smoke was more easily detected at the ceiling, and except for the temperature change (P < 0.01), the other indicators did not differ significantly across environmental conditions. Subsequently, a fire detector installation strategy with temperature, CO concentration and smoke detectors as detection indicators was proposed.

At present, historical and cultural conservation presents a regional, holistic, and synergistic development trend. Moreover, the previous theories and methods are no longer applicable and need to be explored and updated urgently. This study identifies, locates and comprehensively assesses and analyses the value carriers from the perspective of historical and cultural conservation and inheritance by adhering to the combination of the locality of culture and the systematicness of value, sorting out the regional historical lineage and refining the resource elements and value system through resource element identification, ancient map translation, historical and cultural information visualisation and spatial layering and slicing. This study also focuses on the correlation between regional historical and cultural elements. Moreover, the studies on the changes and development of the historic and cultural spatial system in the Xuhe River Basin, the concentrated and contiguous preservation and utilisation planning of Jiangsu's typical traditional villages and the urban and rural historical and cultural conservation and inheritance system planning in Jiangsu Province are taken as typical examples. This study attempts to construct the technical support under the regional context according to the successive historical and cultural patterns and explore the path and methods of regional historical and cultural conservation and the inheritance system. Moreover, it looks forward to proposing an interpretation and a response to the historical and cultural conservation and inheritance in Jiangsu Province to integrate them into the Chinese heritage conservation system.

The site selection of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in ancient China was determined by a comprehensive evaluation of multiple factors, and numerous studies have demonstrated that religious culture and geography play major roles; however, this information is primarily derived from qualitative research or case studies. In this paper, based on the locations of 1307 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in mountainous regions of China, we quantified 11 cultural and geographical factors and applied clustering and principal component analysis to explore the factors influencing site selection. The results indicate that Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in mountainous regions of China can be classified into 3 clusters based on the determinants of their site selection, which correspond to the 3 primary functional uses of monasteries, and they showed distinct site selection considerations of geographical factors. Cluster 1 demonstrates adaptive alignment with plateau topography, with aspect, slope and altitude as primary factors, cluster 2 prioritizes accessibility for lay worshippers, prioritizing proximity to water sources, transportation networks and settlements, cluster 3 emphasizes spiritual isolation for monastic purification, predominantly influenced by sunlight priority in the morning. Unlike earlier research, this study revealed the influence of religious culture on the site selection of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries are not statistically significant. These results serve as a new reference for the study of Tibetan Buddhist monastery site selection.

Fulfilling socio-cultural needs is crucial for resident's satisfaction, quality of life, and sustainable development. The relationship between socio-cultural dynamics and housing preferences and forms has long been central to architectural and environment-behaviour research. However, a holistic understanding of the socio-cultural and spatial factors associated with housing remains limited. This systematic scoping review synthesised knowledge from 141 peer-reviewed articles across 40 countries to identify these key factors and their interconnections. The review identified nine socio-cultural and six spatial factor groups, each including multiple sub-factors. These factors were then incorporated into a conceptual model that illustrates their interrelationships and collective influence on housing design. The findings confirmed the complex relationship between culture and housing, encompassing a wide range of factors. By applying the Shannon entropy weighting method, regional mapping, and similarity analysis, the review assessed the variability of these factors across various countries to guide designers and policymakers. Notably, "values, norms, standards, and expectations" among sociocultural factors and "spatial arrangements" among spatial factors showed broader applicability across various countries in the culture-housing relationship. The review concluded by highlighting important avenues for future research and advocating for a holistic, balanced approach to understanding the evolving interplay between culture and housing in research and practice.

As global aging accelerates, addressing older adults' winter sunbathing—a culturally and significant practice enhancing well-being—remains underexplored in spatial planning. This study identifies and optimizes neighborhood open spaces (NOS) for winter sunbathing to improve elderly quality of life and social inclusion. We developed a framework integrating sunlight exposure (≥ 3 h), wind conditions (≤ 2 m/s), and walkability assessments. Analyzing 5.64 km² of Jiande, China, we identified 495 climatically suitable NOS. Findings reveal stark spatial disparities: older neighborhoods offer better access, while newer gated developments face shortages, exacerbated by topography-driven east-west climatic divides. Over 75% of elderly residents rely on small, fragmented spaces, with informal areas filling planning gaps. High-rise developments increase wind exposure, limiting outdoor activity and further restricting suitable NOS. The study underscores the potential of informal spaces, such as vacant lots and underutilized areas, in addressing planning deficiencies. It highlights the critical role of spatial planning interventions in promoting aging in place, equitable access, and climate-responsive urban design. The proposed framework offers a transferable approach for integrating climate-sensitive, age-friendly design into global urban planning, fostering healthier and more inclusive cities for aging populations.

Urban transportation systems critically influence energy consumption and carbon emissions. To evaluate urban accessibility, it is essential to systematically compare the spatiotemporal efficiency of public transport and private vehicles. However, traditional methods are limited by data acquisition and computation costs. This study proposes a novel, cost-effective framework using open-source map data and Python-based routing tools to compare the spatiotemporal efficiency of public transport and private vehicles. Utilizing real-time traffic data, we establish automated processing workflows to analyze spatial heterogeneity in accessibility across central urban areas of Nanjing, with comparisons to Shanghai and Hangzhou. Key findings include: (1) Taking Nanjing as a case study, the research evaluates public transport accessibility in eastern China's riverfront economic zone using key indicators like travel time ratios, advantage areas, and walking transfer time. Spatial differentiation maps were used to clearly delineate underdeveloped public transport areas in Nanjing; (2) Despite differences in urban form and structure, all three cities exhibit similar characteristics: comparable travel time ratios, concentration of public transport advantages within 10 km of the city center, and a notably high share of walking transfer time; (3) The framework provides a scalable tool for analyzing spatial accessibility heterogeneity, supporting evidence-based public transport policy development.

"Urban lingering" implies an extended stay of users in urban public spaces, which has physical, emotional, and social benefits. In recent times, lingering in public spaces has been increasingly taken over by sedentary lifestyles and the growing influence of social media. Hence, this paper attempts to identify the key factors contributing to urban lingering in public spaces to enhance users' experiences during their stay. For this, contributing factors to urban lingering were identified from literature and measured in five selected recreational public spaces in Bhopal City, the capital of Madhya Pradesh in India. Relationships between Lingering Factor (LF) and contributing factors were then established for male and female users. Public Participatory Geographic Information System (PPGIS) and questionnaire surveys were employed for spatial mapping and perception modeling. The findings of primary surveys indicate that the feeling of safety, parking availability, pleasing design, and memorability of the public space together strongly influence LF across all user groups (R² = 0.47, p value < 0.05). Data revealed that for male users, adequately sized spaces and lighting contribute to their lingering behavior (R² = 0.56, p value < 0.05), whereas for female users, accessibility and activities in public spaces are significant contributors to their lingering (R² = 0.48, p value < 0.05). The differences in the contributing factors to urban LF between male and female users confirm that users' needs in public spaces thus present variation in preferences across space and the presented approach could be considered in planning infrastructure policies to enhance overall wellbeing.

The Node-Place model is a classic tool in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) typologies that it illustrates the synergistic equilibrium between traffic supply (Node) and land use (Place). However, practical applications often face limitations that can shift this relationship from the ideal 1:1 equilibrium. During the regulatory detailed planning stage, while we determine the Node-Place equilibrium relationship that effectively confirms the anticipated people activity density, we also ensure it aligns with varied development strategies and enables efficient identification of total proportion and thresholds for both traffic supply and land use. Our analysis identified that the Node-Place equilibrium coefficient for TOD subway station areas in Shenzhen, China's highest construction density zone registered at 1.596. Building on this finding, we further developed a method for differentiating between TOD and DOT samples. Regression analysis indicates that the NP model is not appropriate for analyzing DOT station areas. Accordingly, this study proposes a simplified method to enhance the applicability of the NP model in planning decisions, and this method helps avoid the issues associated with incorporating a third dimension and the interpretive challenges of typologies arising from the application of clustering methods to extended NP models.

The study aims to explore people's nighttime visual attention in urban waterfront public space during leisure activities, and analyze the impact of artificial lighting on visual attention. The study first utilized mobile eye-tracker to collect participants' eye-movement data in typical urban waterfront leisure routes, along with corresponding artificial lighting data. Next, based on the collected data, visual attention statistical datasets composed of two dependent variable indicators, visual attention distribution ratio and average attention fixation duration, were constructed. Then, impact analyses of artificial lighting on these indicators were conducted by controlling age groups and environment elements. Results show: 1) opposite scenery, greenery, recreation and sport facilities are the most visually attractive elements; 2) significant differences in visual attention preferences across three age groups were found on opposite scenery, ground, landscape structures, people, etc.; 3) nighttime visual attention induced by 11 types of environment elements is significantly impacted by artificial lighting. The maximum R² of vertical illuminance on visual attention can reach up to 0.603, while 0.472 for horizontal illuminance and 0.247 for correlated color temperature. Additionally, artificial lighting has the greatest impact on the elderly's visual attention. The results help to provide refined human-centered perception insights for improving nighttime environment quality.

Pedestrian streets are vital for urban livability, tourism, and cultural identity. This research examines how human-perspective spatial form influences aesthetic perception, using a tourist street in central Luoyang as a case site. Based on perceptual evaluations from participants in Luoyang and Xi'an, the research isolates key structural elements and reveals the underlying relationship between spatial form and tourist aesthetic preferences. Deep learning models were used to extract spatial indicators from real-world streetscapes, aligning them with abstracted representations. Modelling the extracted indicators with a Generalized Additive Model (GAM), the study enables large-scale analysis and captures both individual spatial characteristics and their interactive effects on aesthetic perception. This approach not only models complex nonlinear relationships but also provides a solid foundation for aesthetic prediction and assessment. The findings identify the proportion of sky (PS), ground area (PG), and spatial depth (D) as key factors influencing aesthetic judgments, while the proportion of vertical elements (PV) and the ground-to-vertical ratio (G/V) show high multicollinearity. Additionally, street-level average aesthetics tend to be rated higher than point-wise average aesthetics. These insights allow for the layout and adjustment of spatial form by balancing the aesthetic preferences of local and non-local visitors, ultimately enhancing pedestrian street aesthetics.

This research explores how the park's design features and temporal conditions, such as weather and season, affect user activity in parks near neighborhood communities. The hypothesis is that user behavior patterns are influenced by complex interactions between spatial and non-spatial characteristics, including the park's physical layout, park features, demographic composition, weather conditions, and temporal variations. This study has two main goals: to analyze the spatial distribution of activities and temporal variations of activities occurring in walking paths, open areas, playground amenities, and benches across four parks located in the neighborhood communities of Kitakyushu using real-world datasets collected over summer and autumn in 2024. Activity patterns have been evaluated by user spatial patterns with similar activity and location and relabel activity zone and park feature performances. Results reveal that certain locations emerge as activity nodes or "hotspots" for particular activities, depending on the season and time of day, emphasizing the dynamic interaction between park design and user engagement. This study provides insights supporting the adaptability and responsive approach to park design and planning, considering both spatial temporal dynamics in understanding and optimizing park usage patterns.

This paper introduces a concept that adapts natural tree growth mechanisms through an adaptive, hierarchical subdivision of the in-plane design domain, utilizing principal stress lines (PSLs) extracted from feature regions (FRPSLs). The approach integrates architectural interactive design with structural logic, enabling the creation of free-form tree-like structures. A naturally curved tree-like structure is obtained through the superimposition of these patterns and iterative form evolution, with the final shape representing the outward expression of internal forces. Unlike traditional form-finding methods that rely solely on external vertical loading or single load conditions, this method considers vertical plus bidirectional horizontal forces by applying them to generate PSLs patterns. A naturally curved tree-like structure is obtained through the superimposition of these patterns and iterative form evolution, with the final shape representing the outward expression of internal forces. Numerical examples and design cases demonstrate that the proposed method effectively balances aesthetic needs with structural performance, offering a new approach for generating free-form tree-like structures. The results highlight its potential to provide more architectural alternatives with asymmetric, curvilinear forms without compromising structural integrity.

Carbon-neutral building is an important step to reach the target of carbon peak and carbon neutrality in the society. Therefore, many scholars have conducted studies on different aspects of carbon-neutral buildings recently and there is a need to perform a comprehensive review on the research and development in carbon-neutral buildings. This article firstly introduces the evolution and definition of carbon neutrality, its relationship with buildings, and the definition of carbon-neutral buildings. Secondly, it presents studies on different types of carbon-neutral buildings and different methods on the calculation of carbon emissions. Finally, the practical application examples of carbon neutral buildings, related evaluation standards and government policies are analyzed and suggestions and recommendations for future research and development are provided.

This study investigates the 19th-century Russian restoration of the Church of St. Nicholas in Demre, Turkey, within the framework of evolving international conservation practices and Ottoman heritage policies. Through archival analysis, travelers' accounts, and comparative architectural evaluation, the research reveals how geopolitical rivalries and ideological agendas shaped the church's transformation. While European nations like Italy, France, and England institutionalized conservation ethics in the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire's delayed adoption of systematic policies until the 1869 Antiquities Regulation allowed foreign interventions to proceed unchecked.

Russian efforts, initiated in 1850s preserved the church structurally but imposed radical alterations which compromised historical authenticity. The Ottomans countered through militarized control of strategic sites like Andriake Port, while the Ecumenical Patriarchate resisted Russian hegemony to safeguard religious identity. Archival documents underscore the church's role as a contested space, reflecting Trigger's paradigm of archaeology as a tool of nationalism and imperialism. This case study illuminates the duality of conservation as both a technical and political practice, where preservation and power intersect. By exposing the tensions between authenticity, ideology, and legacy, the study contributes to broader discourses on heritage management, urging a re-evaluation of conservation as a dynamic socio-political process rather than a mere technical endeavor.