Dec 2020, Volume 9 Issue 4
    

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  • Research Article
    Jisun Lee, Hyunsoo Lee, Mardelle McCuskey Shepley

    With increasing demands on medical care services, one of the trends is the mixed patient room arrangement of single/double-bed and multi-bed rooms in a nursing unit on the same floor. This influences nurse-to-patient assignment and often causes an unbalanced workload and longer travel distances for nurses. The objective of this study was to investigate how floor configuration and room density influence nurse travel in the hospital’s medical surgical units in Korea. This study presented a novel approach to measure nurse travel distances in eight existing nursing units. The agent-based simulation was conducted to model nurses’ walking trails, and the distance of one nurse travel to assigned patient rooms was measured for each nurse. With revisions in the spatial arrangement of patient rooms, locating multibed rooms near the nurse station, symmetric room layout centering the nurse station, and planning both single/double-bed and multi-bed rooms on one side of corridors, nurse travel distance decreased more than 15%. This study contributed to the knowledge of agent-based simulation as an evaluation framework for spatial analysis. Apart from application to Korea, these results are particularly of interest in countries where private patient rooms are not commonly economically feasible.

  • Research Article
    Ran Xu, Haishan Xia, Mei Tian

    In transportation architecture, wayfinding quality is a crucial factor for determining transfer efficiency and level of service. When developing architectural design concepts, designers often employ their visual attention to imagine where passengers will look. A saliency model is a software program that can predict human visual attention. This research examined whether a saliency model or designer visual attention is a good predictor of passenger visual attention during wayfinding inside transportation architecture. Using a remote eye-tracking system, the eye-movements of 29 participants watching 100 still images depicting different indoor scenes of transportation architecture were recorded and transformed into saliency maps to illustrate participants’ visual attention. Participants were categorized as either “designers” or “laypeople” based on their architectural design expertise. Similarities were compared among the “designers’” visual attention, saliency model predictions, and “laypeople’s” visual attention. The results showed that while the “designers’” visual attention was the best predictor of that of “laypeople”, followed by saliency models, a single designer’s visual attention was not a good predictor. The divergence in visual attention highlights the limitation of designers in predicting passenger wayfinding behavior and implies that integrating a saliency model in practice can be beneficial for wayfinding design.

  • Research Article
    Ana Torres, Juan Serra, Jorge Llopis, Anna Delcampo

    This study explores the color preferences of elderly residents of nursing homes based on the expected activities for different rooms, activity rooms, and bedrooms and compares the results with the arousal level induced by each color. Two experiments were conducted, one with elderly people living in nursing homes in the Valencian Community, and the other in a laboratory with virtual reality and physiological markers (i.e., heart rate variability). Individuals assessed six colors in two groups of warm and cool. Results demonstrate that preferences for warm and cool colors depend on the room type. For the activity room, warm colors were preferred over the cool colors by both genders, fitting the higher arousal levels induced by warm versus cool colors. For the bedrooms, cool colors were preferred by both genders, fitting the lower arousal levels induced by cool colors in females and the other models that suggest a U-shaped relation between the arousal level and the visible spectra of colors. Therefore, the color preferences for interior spaces in nursing homes depend on the room type and are related to the arousal level for the expected activity in them.

  • Research Article
    Yuyang Wang, Asterios Agkathidis, Andrew Crompton

    Many Beijing Siheyuan, a type of Chinese vernacular housing with significant cultural value, have been lost in recent years. Preserving the few remaining has become a necessity, but many contemporary architects lack an understanding of their design principles. Based on a historical analysis deriving from Fengshui theory, the Gongcheng Zuofa Zeli ancient construction manual, and craftsmen’s experience, this paper describes a parametric algorithm capable of producing Siheyuan variants within a 4D CAD environment which by transforming the original design principles into an algorithm contributes to an understanding of Siheyuan typology and their preservation. This algorithm was implemented in a virtual scripting environment to generate accurate virtual counterparts of historical or extant Siheyuan houses revealing the tacit computational rules underlying traditional Chinese architecture.

  • Research Article
    Luis Alfonso de la Fuente Suaárez

    The objective of this exploratory study is to discover the relations between visual attention to an architectural work and the subjective experiences produced during its observation. A subjective experience with a building is the specific manner in which an architectural element or the building as a whole are presented to a person. The qualities of the element as how they are perceived and the inner world of the observer are both considered in this subjective experience. The aims of this study are to describe the experience that a building generates in people, pinpoint what has attracted the participant’s attention during each view of the building in an itinerary; and understand which aspects of this selected case study have made it an object of attention. An eye-tracking study was carried out using a portable eye tracker. This tool allowed the participants to walk freely around the exterior of a historic train station in the city of Monterrey, Mexico. Two groups of participants, with routes starting from opposite sides of the building, contemplated it while using the eye tracker. Eye tracking allowed for the identification of the architectural elements that were objects of attention, the lengths of observation, and the points of view from which the elements were observed. Other data collection techniques, such as the think-aloud protocol and a special type of survey, were used to deeply understand the experiences that accompanied the visual exploration of the historic building. Results suggest that the participants observed the different architectural elements for a time that was neither influenced by the route used to explore the building nor the point where that route was initiated. The architectural elements identified as examples of high-quality architecture and perceived as aesthetically pleasing by the participants during the itinerary were observed for longer times.

  • Research Article
    Naubada Ali, Zhou Qi

    This study aims to investigate the defensible character of the Lahore railway station built in response to “the war of independence in 1857,” which greatly impacted the location and design of the building. This study demonstrates the integral role played by the railway station in the development of the new colonial city, which the British wants to be defensive in every aspect. Railways were introduced in Pakistan (India) soon after their inauguration in Britain. Beginning from the mode of transportation, the multifaced contribution of railways toward the urban growth, new architectural style, mode of construction, and technology cannot be recanted. The research is based on the documentation and analysis of the history of Lahore railway station design. First, this study uses primary and secondary data to offer a history of the Lahore railway station from its inception to final execution. Second, it explores the criteria adopted by the British for its site selection to make the station a defensible post. The research finding includes the visual features that enhanced the architectural character of the building. Qualitative methods are used including several other approaches, namely, literature review, archival data collection, analysis of photographs, and study of architectural drawings and old maps, to achieve the objectives.

  • Research Article
    Sabeeh Farhan, Venus Akef, Zuhair Nasar

    This paper focuses on the dramatic transformation of the inherited historical urban and architectural characteristics of the city of Al-Najaf in Iraq, seeking new ways of seeing the possibilities of preserving and revitalizing the historical center of the city.

    In addition to being one of the most sacred centers for Shia Muslims, Al-Najaf has a rich cultural and architectural heritage. Its architectural characteristics and urban structure not only reflect the history of the city but also stand as evidence of the most important junctures in Islamic history: the martyrdom of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, who is a central Islamic spiritual personality and the second most important figure after the Prophet Muhammad. Since its establishment in 750 AD, the formation of Al-Najaf has never separated from its sociopolitical context and Islamic principles, particularly Shia Muslims’ beliefs.

    Today, the city is a destination for more than million Shia Muslim pilgrims each year, and the number is rapidly increasing. However, as the city continues to develop, its architecture and unique urban structure transform dramatically. The cultural and architectural heritage of the city is seriously threatened. Several factors played a crucial role in the formation and the transformation of the city’s specific architectural and urban structures. The most influential factors were mainly related to religion, environment, and politics. This paper introduces the main forces behind the transformation of the deep organizational structures of the architecture and urban fabric in Al-Najaf. The question of whether it is still possible to protect and preserve the remaining parts and revitalize the Old City center is also examined. The goal is to identify the major preservation issues and provide possible insights based on successful preservation experiences that address similar issues in different contexts.

  • Research Article
    Ahlam Ammar Sharif

    Urban researchers have maintained a constant interest in the complexity and continuity of urban space usage. Some have applied actorenetwork theory (ANT) to investigate the heterogeneity of spaces and present them through the networks of their users’ activities. However, these accounts are predominantly limited in examining the extent to which these spaces may be heterogeneous when exploring such networks. This paper draws on recent ANT scholarship, which employs an ethnographic research conducted in a main park in a housing project at Dahiyat Al Hussein in Amman, Jordan. The findings describe the complex and unpredictable negotiations that occur within spaces by documenting the varieties and interrelations among user activity networks within this common and shared urban space. This research reveals the extent to which spaces, parks in this case, may be heterogeneous by unpacking their usage. The conclusions and insights assert the necessity of paying attention to design detail and creating designs that are responsive to evolving user activities.

  • Research Article
    Xin Ge, Dongqing Han

    The duality in China’s traffic planning has given rise to the basic unit of urban form and function called the superblock, which is defined and bound by an arterial street network. The street network of China’s superblock underpins the coexistence and interaction of global and local movement, the public and daily space, and affects place diversity and local characteristics. However, its configuration remains to be articulated because of the lack of a systematic representation method, and the associations between configuration and performance, cognition and design cannot be determined. This study proposes an improved representation method for the street network of China’s superblocks based on Marshall’s route structure analysis to explore the configurational characteristics and sustainability of the network. To fit local conditions, this study improves Marshall’s route structure analysis from four perspectives, namely, the judgement of relative hierarchy, the node construction principle, and the deletion and addition of the original indicators. The improved method is then applied to calculate and compare the depth, connectivity, and complexity of the street networks of 10 sample superblocks in Nanjing, which are classified into six types by construction backgrounds, each having two scenarios differing by the level of publicity. Results indicate that the types formed in accordance with the “The Capital Plan” of the Republic of China, which presents a combination of fine orthogonal grids and radiations, and by the renewal of the traditional street-andlane network, which has the “characteristic structure” defined by Marshall, perform best in terms of configurational sustainability. The analysis also reveals that the addition of semipublic streets formed mainly from the bottom up narrows the sustainability gap among the samples. This study provides a tool for elaborate urban study and design and provides insights into the cognitive and practical aspects of China’s urban planning and design.

  • Research Article
    Emad Mushtaha, Imad Alsyouf, Luai Al Labadi, Rawan Hamad, Noor Khatib, Maitha Al Mutawa

    Urban planners must ensure that urban public spaces are enjoyable to use to create a lively city that expresses their culture and traditions and welcomes social diversity. This study aims to develop a theoretical index for assessing the livability levels in tourist districts. Therefore, a survey-based study accompanied by a literature review is used to derive criteria for livability. In addition to using the analytic hierarchy process to develop an importancebased hierarchy of criteria, mathematical analysis is applied to derive the livability index. Furthermore, one of Sharjah’s well-known public spaces, Al Qasba Tourist District, is assessed as a case study. This study discussed the main concepts and factors of livability in urban public spaces to examine the livable extent of Qasba and the significance of criteria. Results show that the current livability level in Al Qasba is less than 50%, confirming its urgent need for further urban improvement. This study explores the livability assessment criteria and their influencing parameters. Using the suggested conceptual livability index enables decision makers to assess the livability level, analyze the influencing factors, and suggest solutions to improve the overall livability levels of open public spaces.

  • Research Article
    Suna Büyükkılıç Koşun, Mine Hamamcıoğlu Turan

    This study presents a framework for assessing the cultural asset values of historic sites around mosques. Case studies are selected from provinces of Manisa, Turkey, namely, Çarşı in Salihli with its new urban development and Pazaryeri in Gördes that is abandoned and currently considered as an archaeological site. Literature review, archive research, historical research, comparative study, and site survey are carried out to evaluate the urban development of site neighborhoods with a retrospective perspective. An approach presenting the effects of urban transformations on the cultural asset values of the historic neighborhood centers is proposed. The cases reveal that the urban aesthetic is nearly all lost today, but the holiness of each site preserves its authenticity while the historic land use is sustained. Their preservation problems are lack of maintenance and abandonment due to disasters, illegal interventions, inappropriate development plans, and unsuitable restoration approaches. The principles proposed for managing these historic environments consider their cultural asset values in relation to urban history, development of coherent strategies for their presentation, and participation of all actors to their preservation and development.

  • Research Article
    Juan A. García-Esparza, Pablo Altaba Tena

    Historic environments represent the evolution of materials and techniques that have been used for the construction these environments over the centuries. Entering into the study of this field entails working not only on the crafts that have constructed these environments but also on the people who made, used, and reinterpreted them by learning about the craftsmen and the idiosyncrasies of the place. The study has adopted several methodologies as reference to examine the material and cultural reality of the rural region of Valencia, Spain. Through the adaptation of international methodologies, researchers have carried out a digital database that compiles and maps out the results of the Local Character Assessment of ten Histotiric Urban Cores by incorporating the historical, architectural, and social values to reinforce the Territorial Heritage Action Plan. One of the critical innovations adopted by this form of assessment is the compulsory integration of tangible and intangible heritage through the active involvement of users and makers. Another innovation is to understand the values behind the dynamism and transformation of historic sites. Hence, this study advances theory and practice on the transmission of knowledge among artisans, researchers, and the population and how contemporary practices help acquire new meanings that overlap the past ones.

  • Research Article
    Xiao Wang, Yacheng Song, Peng Tang

    The significant challenges that urban design faces when moving forward into this new digital era involve the increasingly massive and complex projects that must be analyzed and developed. The need for efficient analysis tools and rational design methods represent ongoing concerns, while practicable and maneuverable applications rather than experimental studies are scarce. This research implemented a framework of digital description and generative grammar of block form from the perspective of block morphological complexity. The implemented framework was tested in an urban design practice. First, this study adapted the hierarchical structure and access structure theory to analyze the spatial form of target blocks. The characteristics of blocks case samples in Nanjing are extracted as text descriptions. Second, the relevant composition patterns and parameters were employed as features for classification and were converted into procedural rules. With the top-down control by rules and bottom-up generation by shape grammar in CityEngine, the texture of the block can be generated as close to the actual block as possible. Furthermore, in a real urban design case located in Nanjing, this work applies the method to construct a three-dimensional scene quickly and accurately. After integrating design factors such as an environment, transportation, and vision and summarizing the intentions of blocks and buildings in corresponding functions and control indexes, the initial generation plan was built by applying the obtained characteristics and procedural rules in specific shape grammar. Finally, designers can adjust the result in detail by employing real-time calculation and interactive operation.

  • Research Article
    C.A. Varela-Boydo, S.L. Moya, R. Watkins

    Finding ways to cool buildings by natural, passive techniques is crucial in the context of global warming. For centuries, wind towers (traditional windcatchers) have been used in the Middle East for cooling purposes. In this study, the use of funnels at the openings of wind towers for wind ingress and egress is proposed primarily to increase the mass flow captured by the wind tower. The use of funnels in the wind ingress openings increases the inlet area, improving the capture of wind. In parallel, the use of funnels in the egress openings modifies the wake of the tower, which aims to ease the exit of the flow from inside the building. Several design configurations are presented, where the length and width of the funnels are changed and tested separately by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Results of over 120 CFD simulations are presented and compared. The volumetric flow entering the wind towers increases by 10.7% in several cases. These results indicate that adding funnels to wind towers could positively influence their performance. Changing the dimensions of the funnels affects their efficacy and can increase or decrease the airflow entering the tower.

  • Research Article
    Asli Agirbas

    This study aims to test two hypotheses: teaching building information modeling (BIM) in relation to construction science provides students with a remarkable understanding of the nature of construction science (Hypothesis 1), and if the student has positive attitude toward the use of the BIM program, then efficiency by which construction science is taught by its means is improved (Hypothesis 2). Results and process of a case study with a novel teaching methodology were discussed in terms of the benefits of the students. A questionnaire study was conducted on the student group with which the case study was performed to test each student’s attitude. Results were evaluated statistically. When BIM is integrated with the teaching of basic construction courses within architecture degree programs, the students understood the building system principles simply and effectively. As a result of the statistical analysis, the students find the applied method effective. Moreover, their attitude toward BIM affects the process.