Railway Architecture, Typological Analysis and Recycling Strategies

The development of building inventory is a fundamental step for the evaluation of the seismic risk at territorial scale. Census data are usually employed for building inventory in large scale application and their use requires suitable rules to assign buildings typologies to vulnerability classes, that is an exposure model specific for the considered vulnerability model. Several exposure models are developed proposing class assignment rules that are calibrated on building typological data available from post-earthquake survey data. However, this approach has the drawback of being based on data from specific geographic areas that have been hit by damaging earthquakes. Indeed, the distribution of building typologies can vary greatly for different areas of a country and the diffusion of one building’s typology rather than another one may depend on the availability of construction material in the area, the evolution of construction techniques and the codes in force at the time of construction. This paper aims to improve the exposure modelling at regional scale, investigating the variability of masonry building typologies distribution. It proposes a methodology to recalibrate the exposure models at regional scale and evaluates the influence of the improved characterization of regional vulnerability on damage and risk assessment. The study shows that the analysis of local building typologies may strongly impact on the evaluation of the seismic risk at territorial scale.

Aim of this paper is focusing on experiences that combine an analysis on territorial, urban and architectural scale with computerized techniques of representation. These experiments (conducted in PRIN 2006 and 2008 national researches) had as focus the use and development of information systems to test their efficiency as an aid to analysis and survey of the Cultural Heritage, specially Urban and Architectural Heritage. Particulary, the aim of this paper is focusing on experiences that combine an analysis on territorial, urban and architectural scale with computerized techniques of representation.

The aim of this chapter is focusing on experiences that combine an analysis on territorial, urban and architectural scale with computerized techniques of representation. These experiments (conducted in PRIN 2006 and 2008 national researches) had as focus the use and development of information systems to test their efficiency as an aid to analysis and survey of the Cultural Heritage, specially Urban and Architectural Heritage. Particularly, the aim of this chapter is focusing on experiences that combine an analysis on territorial, urban and architectural scale with computerized techniques of representation.

Contact with nature and youth well-being: Insights from natural and urban contexts.

<p>Corviale (Roma, 1971-1982), dirigido por Mario Fiorentino, se presenta como un ejemplo significativo de la vivienda colectiva en Italia y de la arquitectura del siglo XX. Un proyecto que apuesta por la definición de un sistema lineal de gran escala en la periferia, concentrando el ambicioso programa de vivienda social en tres únicos volúmenes. Será, sin duda, su gran bloque residencial de alta densidad el que sintetice los objetivos perseguidos, permitiendo además resaltar valores significativos desde dos grados de percepción: desde la escala territorial, y desde la escala arquitectónica y de su materialidad.</p>

This research aims to develop a methodology for geometric analysis of the territory, which, by means of a specially designed digital tool, allows quantitative assessments useful for drawing up sustainability policies. The difficulty of working with this type of procedure is the sectorialisation of technical skills among those who deal with design at the architectural scale and those who work at territorial scale. The undertaken methodology establishes a workflow that can export data from a GIS tool and import it into a three-dimensional modeler. To do this you need an intermediate tool, a parametric software. The explained procedure aims to have maximum freedom of model geometries processing. Therefore, it has been based on Nurbs mathematical models. The application tested with this is the solar radiation analysis in the territory of Ortona, Italy, on the Adriatic coast. Starting from the cartographic data of the Abruzzo Region, the three-dimensional model has been developed and it has built a base for further analysis. This working methodology ensures efficient results with a low amount of human iteration to generate the final model. Some of the procedure’s limitations have been explained in detail, mainly due to the structure of the used components.

The subject of vernacular architecture, as is well known, is a vast concept embracing different fields of investigation. It is a type of art created to suit specific lifestyles of single communities, such as the Islamic community. Bazaars, characteristic markets in Eastern countries, are a significant example in this context. The proposed contribution intends to analyse these architectural and urban environments in Albania and Macedonia, through the discipline of restoration aimed at knowledge, documentation and conservation. The proposed case studies represent a significant example of how the restoration of these areas is of fundamental importance for the urban regeneration of historic cities. The Bazaar in Skopjie has always been regarded as the cultural, spiritual, economic and historical centre of the capital. This site, from an architectural point of view, has managed to create an image of the old city in the new city, preserving its original identity features over the centuries. In Tirana, on the other hand, the new Bazaar is a genuine urban regeneration project that aims to preserve the Albanian cultural tradition. If the Bazaar in Skopjie is in a precarious state of conservation, while maintaining its original character, the recently rebuilt Albanian market is an important example of not only architectural but also urban regeneration. The proposed research has foreseen different operational phases: an initial analysis of the historical transformations of the areas under investigation; an identification on a territorial scale and a subsequent analysis on an architectural scale using the restoration discipline. The aim of the investigation is to identify the level of use and conservation of both Bazaars, in order to elaborate digital documents on a cognitive basis for the identification of guidelines for the conservation and enhancement project of the case studies taken as a model for the proposed research.

Masonry bell towers often represent a distinctive element of the Italian landscape. Their different typological, constructive, and structural peculiarities, along with the great exposure given by their relevant artistic value, make them both structurally and seismically vulnerable. Since the conservation of masonry bell towers requires a multidisciplinary approach, the PREVENT project (Integrated PRocedure for assEssing and improVing the resiliENce of existing masonry bell Towers on a territorial scale) aims at defining a two-level procedure for assessment and enhancement, at both a territorial and architectural scale. In this paper, the preliminary results that emerged from the first census carried out on a surveyed population of 56 masonry bell towers in the city of Naples (Italy), are presented. A classification has been made from a geometric-typological point of view, in order to frame their structural peculiarities. Also, preliminary assessments of the dynamic behaviour of a sub-sample of 40 masonry tower bell towers (i.e. excluding the bell-gables and double tower types) have been carried out. Further analyses will allow the elaboration of “resilience” indexes, as synthetic indicators of the architectural, historic, and cultural value, as well as of the structural safety, of the considered bell towers.

The Alto Mayo Protected Forest (“Bosque de Protección Alto Mayo”, or BPAM for its Spanish acronym) is one of the largest natural protected areas (NPA) in Peru. The BPAM has several tourist attractions owing to its great biodiversity of ecosystems and species. However, the BPAM does not have an optimal offer of tourism services because of the lack of infrastructure articulated to the multiscalarity of its territory. The objective of this research is to propose integral strategies for permitted tourism uses of the BPAM, considering its plans and planning instruments oriented to the conservation of the ecosystem through sustainable projects. To diagnose the site and collect data, participatory workshops were held with local inhabitants and authorities involved in the administration of the BPAM. As a result, the BPAM was structured into five tourist zones to propose intervention strategies at three scales: territory, community, and architecture. At the territorial scale, a network of infrastructure and tourist circuits has been proposed. At the community scale, the suitability of each tourist zone was evaluated to propose activities classified as ecotourism, adventure, or rural. At the architectural scale, sustainable tourism equipment was configured through schematic strategies that considered the architectural object, connectors, and site. Finally, this study is synthesized as an example of an intervention instrument to promote sustainable tourism in NPAs with similar characteristics in the Peruvian Amazon.

Although design is part of everyday experience, increased proficiency in managing and reflecting while designing signify greater proficiency as a designer. This capacity for regulation in design is crucial for learning, including from failure experiences, while designing. Failure and iteration are integral parts of design, with potential cognitive and psychological ramifications. On the one hand, failure can be framed as a learning experience that interrupts thinking and evokes reflection. On the other hand, it can be detrimental for confidence and motivation or derail the design process. Based on similarities between design and self-regulation, I articulate a framework whereby responses to failure might be regulated by beginning designers. Then, this case study applies the framework to describe the experiences and perspectives of beginning designers as they work and fail, illuminating issues of failure in design and the extent of their self-regulation.The in situ design processes of four teams was examined to describe self-regulation strategies among student designers. Analysis was conducted with two methods: linkography and typological thematic analysis. Linkography, based on think-aloud data, provided a visual representation of the design process and tools to identify reflection, planning, and critical moments in the design process. Typological analysis, based on think-aloud data, follow-up interviews, and design journals, was used to investigate specific strategies of self-regulation. The complementary methods contribute to understanding beginning designers’ self-regulation from multiple perspectives.Results portray varied trajectories in design, ranging from repeated failure and determination to fleeting success and satisfaction. Class structures emerge in designers’ patterns of planning and reflection. These highlight the contextualized and evolutionary nature of design and self-regulation. Furthermore, linkographic evidence showed a beginning sense-making process, followed by oscillating phases of forward and backward thinking, to various degrees. Moments of testing, both successes and failure, were critically connected in the design process.Thematic analysis identified 10 themes, aligning with the self-regulatory phases of forethought, performance, and reflection. The themes highlight how regulation in forethought is used to shape performance based on past iterations; meanwhile, the identification and attribution of failures relays information on how, and whether to iterate. Collectively, thematic findings reinforce the cyclical nature of design and self-regulation.Design and self-regulation are compatible ways of thinking; for designers, the juxtaposition of these concepts may be useful to inform patterns of navigating the problem-solving process. For educators, the imposition of classroom structures in design and self-regulatory thinking draws attention to instructional design and assessment for supporting student thinking. And for researchers of design or self-regulation, these methods can give confidence for further exploration.

The perception of the rural has shifted and has been incarnated with various narratives and policies of urbanization since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Although the most intense periods of rapid urbanization have been mainly driven by the incessant development of cities and megacities, the countryside has played a central role in the country’s urbanization process through in situ transformations of towns and villages as integral parts of urban economics, the industrialization of the countryside, and the steady conurbation of rural towns and urban centers1. Reaching 58.52%2 of urban population in 2017 and with the goal of continuing to urbanize its population to 75% by 2025, the growth of rural villages and townships emerged as the predominant context for urbanization under the 2005 New Socialist Countryside policies. The rural context, and in particular, the ambiguous zones of rural-urban, have shifted to the focal point of urbanization. More recently in 2014, China’s National New Townization Plan directs the focus to develop small cities, towns, and villages. The process of townization engages a wide range of territorial landscapes that are neither distinctly urban nor distinctly rural. With much at stake in the transformation of the rural- urban context, there lacks a clear spatial characterization and definition which defines the multivalent landscape. First by outlining the changing narratives and policy phases of rural development, the paper aims to identify limitations in the current administrative and binary classification of the urban cities and rural villages. By further analyzing five case study cities, the paper attempts to reveal emerged and collaged architectural and growth patterns of the rural-urban context, to provide methods of mapping the transformation of their spatial structure at the territorial scale, and lastly, to argue for the importance of the rural-urban as a valuable condition for designing better urbanization models.

In recent decades, architectural design has increasingly shifted its focus from insulated, sealed, and highly technological building envelopes to more responsive façade strategies tailored to local climatic and socio-cultural conditions. This evolution reflects the growing recognition of the façade, not merely as a surface or skin, but as a vital spatial and functional element which responds to rising demands for spatial appropriation, individuality, climate adaptability, and a dynamic relationship between urban and architectural scales. Given its inherent complexity, this approach to façade design requires extensive theoretical and historical exploration, complemented by critical and typological analysis, to address the contradictions inherent in contemporary architecture. This article explores the theoretical and applied dimensions of the space-containing façade, analyzing its precedents, interpretations, and applications within collective housing design. By tracing pivotal developments in twentieth-century architecture, it highlights the transitional role of the façade as a spatial, climatic, and social interface. This combined perspective is framed within broader theoretical discussions, including the tension between tradition and modernity, the interplay between architecture and context, the emergence of bioclimatic design, and shifting notions of privacy. Within this framework, this study seeks to illuminate how housing façades can foster urban engagement and collective living while balancing formal considerations with performance demands to shape more adaptable and sustainable future environments.

Abstract. Medieval town centres and landscapes along the Way of St. James are being affected by renewable energy sources at the architectural, urban and territorial scales. The impact is not only visual, but thermal, accoustic and electromagnetic. Visual impact of solar photovoltaic power plants – which are placed over traditional crops close to the urban borders –, and also wind farms located at the hilltops, are sometimes remarkable. Solar photovoltaic modules are integrated into ancient roofs, and small scale wind turbines are taking up the ancient urban spaces. Among other effects on animal life and vegetation, the rise in temperature, radioelectric interferences, as well as changes in the traditional land uses are noticeable, and a deep analysis is needed. Our main target is to define an integrated methodology which considers all these effects. As a part of our project premises, we work with Open Source programs. We obtained a digital terrain model – 25 m spatial resolution –, and from Corine Land Cover images we got different raster files according to our research targets. Databases where implemented from both remote sensing and measures obtained directly in the field work. We applied GIS based multicriteria decision analysis and weighted linear combination, and then we adapted GRASS tools for a better usability. Our case studies are particularly interesting due to their situation along the Spanish Way of St. James, which is an itinerary named one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

Editorial

Abstract. This paper presents the development and validation of a multiscale digital workflow to document and support the conservation of the Kasbah of Mehdya, a coastal fortified complex located at the mouth of the Sebou River (northern Morocco). Data acquisition integrates UAV survey (photogrammetry and aerial LiDAR) to capture site morphology and topography, SLAM-based mobile mapping for rapid point-cloud acquisition in GPS-denied or partially constrained areas, and high-resolution terrestrial imagery, including spherical panoramas, to enhance material and decay interpretation. The datasets are processed, filtered, and aligned to generate georeferenced orthophotos and dense point clouds that feed a scan-to-HBIM pipeline. HBIM models are structured as semantic repositories of construction phases (12th–17th centuries), traditional materials, and mapped decay patterns, and are exported through interoperable standards (e.g., IFC) to enable integration within a GIS geodatabase. The resulting HBIM–GIS environment supports multiscale spatial queries, correlation analyses between observed pathologies and key coastal environmental drivers (e.g., sea-salt aerosol exposure and vegetation colonisation), and the progressive validation and refinement of pre-existing territorial datasets through “as-built” survey data. Beyond format-level interoperability, the approach treats geo-referencing consistency and data reliability as prerequisites for a transferable heritage digital twin bridging architectural and territorial scales. Finally, it lays the groundwork for participatory dissemination through a WebGIS interface and immersive visualisation tools to support evidence-based, time-sensitive conservation strategies.