Architectural Design Practice Research Articles

Adaptive System of Contemporary Chinese Architectural Design

Through the analysis of problems in the practice of contemporary Chinese architectural design from global perspective, the author pointed out that the core problem of design practice lay in the contradiction between change in demand under high-speed informationalization and traditional modes of design procedure, as well as the inadaptability of procedure and methods. Based on this, the concept of constructing an adaptive system of architectural design is put forward, hoping the related methodologies can improve the condition of purposelessness and hysteretic nature in architectural practice.

An Ethics of Freedom for Architectural Design Practice

Ethics based on subjectivity and freedom is little recognized as a plausible ground for informing the ethical practice of architectural design. Sartre's existentialism is suited to address the ethical issue of architectural design freedom and subjectivity, and, as such, to contribute to an ethical framework for architectural design practice. Sartre's philosophy is concerned with subjectivity and freedom and focuses on making choices in full awareness and acceptance of personal freedom and responsibility. Drawing on Sartrean concepts, an ethical framework for architectural design practice is proposed. It takes the form of a reflective process aiming at encouraging a clearer awareness of individual design freedom and responsibility that can lead to “authentic” architectural design practice. In this lies the value and significance of the framework for architectural design practice with regard to ethical design dilemmas.

Colour in the city: Principles of nature-climate characteristics

The phenomenon of colour is examined through the evolution of colour and development of culture of colour, principles of nature-climate characteristics which significantly affects the colouristic priorities of people and the colour of the city itself. The terms functional colour and climate of colour are also considered, as some of the most important characteristics of architectural and urban design practice. The role of the urban public space in functioning of the city is defined through the essential characteristics of urban public space, which are cultural identity, nature, climate characteristics physical structure and its function. The complexity of colouristic attributes of the urban public space is conditioned by the basic characteristics: colouristic priorities, harmony of coloured spatial structures and materials in designing the polychrome ambient in the city. The factors that shape the colouristic ambient of the city are: characteristics of nature and climate, interrelations of colour and shape, as well as the experience of the form of the urban public space while preserving its identity. Upon the newly formed principles, the transformed model of the urban public space as a polychrome ambient is built.

Redefinition Of Architectural Representation In The Computational Design Environment: Numeric Representation

The developments in the 20th century in technology and computer-aided communication means, as well as studies in mathematics, geometry and science have brought about significant changes in architecture as a consequence of its close relation with other disciplines (1). Changes in the formation, modification and transformation of data affected the architectural design practices directly or indirectly and altered the conception of space, its perception and visual expression in a radical way. Parallel to these developments, computational design tools and strategies such as parametric design, associative geometry, algorithmic procedures and scripting, which are already practiced in industries such as aerospace, automotive and shipbuilding propose the potential to alter the boundaries of architectural design and representation processes (Kolarevic, 2005). The use of mentioned strategies in architectural design processes influenced and blurred the relationships between the environment and the data, between the virtual and the real and also between the design ideas and their architectural representation. In this paper it is aimed to discuss the architectural representation process in the computational design environment and consider the radical shifts recognized in its re-definition subsequent to the ubiquitous practice of computational design tools and strategies.

C-A5-03: Virtual Data Warehouse (VDW) Architecture and Implementation

Background and Aim: VDW system architecture varies from one institution to another. This provides an opportunity for the development of best practice in system architecture design. The word architecture describes the underlying structure of networks, computer hardware and software. Well-designed systems-level architectures are critical to the success of large-scale projects. The explosion of technological opportunities and customer demands has driven up the size, complexity, cost, and investment risks of projects. Without solid architectures, these projects lack the firm foundation and robust structure on which to build. Solid systems architecture and design is a required phase following data gathering and analysis which should precede any design prior to any implementation. With functional requirements established, the system architect can design a system to perform in an optimized environment, ultimately producing robust data and customer satisfaction. Architecture choices Hardware platform DBMS –Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)Query/analysis tools Maintenance/ service strategy. For bioinformatics research, the most important qualities of system architecture are: extensibility for new functions/features; interoperability for cross-site collaboration; security due to regulatory and ethical requirements; serviceability/maintainability to support independence from enterprise/business computing; and performance for analysis of large datasets. Aim of this study was to determine best practice architecture choices resulting in performance improvements per institutions data volume. Methods: Performance benchmarking analysis was gathered from KPNC and S&W comparing the effect on VDW performance of different design choices and implementations of database software and hardware. Our performance measurement focused on the delivery speed of data return. Measurements were made on various data areas at both peak and off-peak times. Results: KPNC has measured via benchmarking on VDW tables that Oracle DBMS can increase performance compared to SAS datasets. KPNC was able to measure separately the performance improvement from migration to a more powerful hardware platform. Conclusions: A proactive, best practice approach to systems architecture can create benefits for research databases, particularly in performance speed. Improvements in performance can be achieved through software, by adopting a relational database management system such as Oracle, that allows table indexing and partitioning, and through investment in high-performance hardware. The two strategies can be implemented alone or in conjunction for maximum benefits.

Green BIM: Successful Sustainable Design With Building Information Modeling by Eddy Krygiel and Bradley Nies

<i>Green BIM: Successful Sustainable Design With Building Information Modeling</i> by Eddy Krygiel and Bradley Nies

La práctica de la arquitectura como racionalización sistémica

The practice of architectural design is of unique complexity, as it involves many variables. The misunderstanding of this complexity has led to the reduction of the general discourse of the profession, to be conceived today as a purely formal problem, causing a detriment of design responses in relation to the multiple requirements implicit in architecture. In order to counteract this reductionism it is necessary to construct theoretical models that are able to make clear what it means to design a building. This is achieved by understanding notions of complex systems applied to architecture. The authors propose, on one hand, to contribute to the construction of educational models and, on the other hand, to define a rational method for addressing case studies.

Services in Digital Design: New Visions for AEC-Field Collaboration

The objective of this paper is to describe contemporary digital building design from a service provider aspect. The constrained framework of this work is digital architectural design practice. When design is seen in the context of the AEC field, a process oriented approach is commonly used in describing collaboration and evolutionary progress of the design work as a project. Design projects are scheduled chains of activities which result in design delivery or actual physical buildings as the end products of the project. Recently developments in building information modelling (BIM) have presented fundamentally new ways for collecting, exploring, and sharing design information. This study develops the novel digital approach: BIM as design services. The key finding of the study is that parts of the design domain can be described as services in the changing digital environment. The scientific contribution of this paper is in describing contemporary digital design practice with an alternative service approach. A framework for such services is also presented. This work will expand the authors' contribution to research on preliminary architectural design using building information models.

Innovation Diffusion Modeling in the Construction Industry

The innovation diffusion modeling approach proposes that the diffusion of an innovation in an industry is mainly driven by internal and external influence factors. But the innovation diffusion models used in previous research studies conducted in the construction management literature are excessively restrictive. This research uses a more flexible model called the nonuniform influence (NUI) model to study the diffusion of a technological innovation, namely, computer aided design (CAD) technology in the Turkish architectural design practice; and an administrative innovation, namely, ISO 9000 certification in the Turkish precast concrete industry. The research findings point out that the NUI model performs significantly better than previously used models and that internal rather than external influence plays a predominant role in the diffusion of both types of innovation. The research findings provide additional insights into the diffusion of CAD technology and ISO 9000 certification which could not be capt...

Semantics-Based Design: Can Ontologies Help in a Preliminary Design Phase?

In today’s architecture, engineering and construction industry, there has been a vast evolution in the usage of information and communication technology (ICT) for the description and management of construction and/or architectural design projects. During the past years this led to the elaboration of the building information modelling (BIM) technique, which makes it possible to describe building information directly linked to the corresponding elements of the building. One of the major advantages in this BIM approach is the possibility to use this building information for calculation, simulation and analysis in related, more dedicated ICT applications (i.e. energy performance simulation, cost calculation, construction planning, etc.). This influence of ICT is mainly concentrated in the final construction-related design phase and prevails less in the first, preliminary design phase. However, a lot of advantages could be emerging when ICT techniques would be used in the first design stage as well. Therefore, this article proposes the development of an approach similar to BIM, namely an architectural information modelling (AIM) approach, which describes more theoretical, historical and designrelated building knowledge instead of the explicit and components-based descriptions inside BIM. This will result in a new, conceptual, integrated framework for architectural information modelling. In this framework, it will be possible to start and elaborate an architectural design project in a preliminary design phase, using conceptual and more abstract terms (e.g. taxonomy, typology, theory, etc.) to build up a central architectural information model. Several possible advantages of this AIM approach for application in architectural design practice and in building documentation for virtual heritage application will be elaborated during further research.

Designing Sensual Spaces: Integration of Spatial Flows Beyond the Visual

Architectural design is an intellectual process which mediates between the hand and the eye to produce visual images for communication of spatial properties. Space and its composition are usually depicted by drafting a geometrically constructed image of material limits. These types of drawings usually do not communicate anything about spatial behavior, performance or experience. They communicate the physical boundaries but not the behavioral content of space, which is air--its movement patterns, temperatures and odors. Spatial continuity is furthermore dissected through orthographic projection, which dismembers a whole into parts. But corners are as essential to spatial experience as is the behavioral qualities of air. With very few exceptions architectural design practices most often still operate within a tradition of pure form and pure space, which are shaped as a balance of aesthetics and function. New computational tools like computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which were developed to simulate spatial behavior of non-visual phenomena, could integrate the knowledge of other sensual experiences and perceptions beyond the visual into the design practice. But various questions arise related to architectural design practices. How close are those abstractions to ‘real’ spatial experiences? And how feasible is the integration of such tools into the design process to date? What alternatives do architects have to integrate the non-visual into architectural representation? This paper will thus address possibilities to restructure the relationship between design practices and environmental forces like heat transfer and air movement, with the goal of developing a better understanding of how to integrate natural air and energy flows into architectural design representation and thus into the design itself. New methods of representation are necessary for a renewed understanding of space that addresses all senses. The design principles which are highlighted are representation, visualization and simulation of space and its boundaries or boundary condition. Using examples from design research and design pedagogy, the paper also contributes to the ongoing debate about sensual culture and challenges a purely visual reception and perception of the world we live in and design for. Reality is also tactile, thermal and olfactory.

Energy conservation and building design: the environmental legislation push and pull factors

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is threefold; to investigate the potential impact of energy conservation policies and legislation on building design; examine energy conservation practices in the building industry; and identify associated barriers to an integrated low energy architectural design process.Design/methodology/approachA survey of UK architectural design practices was conducted to assess the impact of current energy conservation policies and legislation on current building design, and ascertain architects' views on the associated barriers and incentives to implementing and sustaining energy conservation strategies in their projects.FindingsResults reveal that building design is affected by existing legislation but often not by policies. Additionally, there is a lack of incentives for the building industry to adopt and implement low energy design strategies that are outlined in existing policies and guidance. Furthermore, results identify a need for increased awareness of the available energy saving technologies.Research limitations/implicationsArchitects are the first point of contact for driving more energy efficient design and conservation strategies. Therefore, this study was confined to a cross section of their opinions of energy conservation within the UK building industry.Practical implicationsThe study is useful for those interested in the current levels of implementation of low energy design strategies and the recommendations for the future of the energy conservation and building design in the UK.Originality/valueThe study of energy conservation and building design provides insights into current environmental design practices; and identifies problems for the implementation of effective and integrated low energy building design process. The content should be of interest to architects, as it highlights the current level of implementation of energy conservation measures in building design.

Virtualization of Architectural Design Education in the Arab Region: Potential and Cultural Implications

The influence of digital media and information technology on architectural design education and practice is increasingly evident. There has been an astonishing shift in the way architecture is being taught and produced. Networked virtual design environments such as the virtual design studio (VDS) have been introduced in many architectural schools as new ways of teaching and learning design. Applying virtual design education in developing countries such as the Arab states brings with it various opportunities and challenges. As a new phenomenon, little research has been done to study the cultural implications of the new virtual design environments (VDE). This paper examines the new paradigm of teaching and learning design virtually and the possible cultural implications of its implementation in developing countries such as the Arab world.

Daylight Prediction and Assessment: Theory and Design Practice

Historical developments of interior daylight criteria were influenced by the simplifying imagination of the uniform Lambertian sky luminance on a fictitious hemisphere with a unity radius. Thus, the Sky Component of the Daylight Factor was defined and standardised in many countries, and different methods, tables or graphical tools were prepared for practical window design tasks or for assessing interior daylighting. With a growing need to design sustainable building environments and energy efficient architecture utilising local daylight climate, conditions that are more realistic have to be taken into account. Several novel approaches in criteria and assessment methods (respecting annual changes in sunlight and skylight conditions) are reviewed in this paper indicating future energy conservation measures or directives that will considerably influence architectural science and design practice.

Real-time management of spatial information of design: A space-based floor plan representation of buildings

The current trend towards globalization forces the AEC community to change its practical approach from a non-systematic, labor-intensive to a systematic one. Based on the paradigm shifted from ‘drawing’ to ‘constructing’ in architectural design practice, this paper focuses on developing a new type of CAD system that automatically constructs and manages well-structured floor plans with minimum geometrical input from the designer. The paper also took advantage of the building data models developed from the prior research. The model includes hierarchical building components such as ‘building’, ‘plan’, ‘space’, ‘ring’, ‘wall skeleton’, ‘surface’, ‘column’, etc. The creation algorithm developed assures a semantically rich and structurally correct floor plan at any point in the design process. In particular, the floor plan constructed through the design process contains spatial information as well as other design information about the building components. Thus, the system effectively manages spatial design information in the real-time basis. Since the system implemented on the basis of the algorithm is the very first step toward a complete intelligent CAD system, research and development issues to be considered next are identified at the end of the paper.

Successful IT application architecture design: an empirical study

The technical architecture of an IT application is a critical determinant of its successful development. Complementing the software engineering viewpoint, this paper adopts a broader perspective to the design of IT applications and subsequent project success. It reports on a recent empirical study of factors that influence the design of IT application architectures. It identifies five influencing factors that are significantly associated with variation in the time-budget performance of the subsequent development project. Further, it finds that the projects can be classified according to these five attributes into four types that exhibit clear performance differences. The paper infers recommendations for good practice in IT application architecture design, contributes a detailed instrument for research into the area, compares with findings from software engineering, and raises issues for further study.

The 'Discipline' in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Research

Anitra Nelson's current research focuses on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in work practices and homes. She offers social science insights and support to researchers in the Spatial Information and Architecture Laboratory (RMIT University: http://www.sial.rmit.edu.au/) on projects which investigate factors leading to change and innovation in architectural design practice, especially in collaborative digital design. Anitra is also the project manager and a principle investigator in the Suburban Communities project (http://www.suburbancommunities.net) a large 3-year interdisciplinary project which is exploring the use of ICT in residential neighbourhoods and is funded by the Australasian CRC for Interaction Design (ACID). Anitra takes an action research approach tempered by critical reflection of a more general and theoretical variety. Her work in the Suburban Communities project focuses on the collaborative development of methods collectively referred to as 'future ethnography'. Her recent research background is in community-based sustainability and she is editing a book for the RMIT-NATSEM Centre of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute on policy-making for sustainable cities.

“The Best Surprise Is No Surprise”

This essay explores the critical role of motels as markers of transition between idiosyncratic locales and homogenized chains. Toward that end, the essay expands on a newly proposed concept of omnitopia—an intersection of architectural design and human practice through which distinct places become nodes of a perpetual continuum—by focusing on the construction of “place” in roadside motels. From the analysis of omnitopia found in early-20th-century motels, three practices emerge: dislocation through vernacular architecture, fragmentation through iconic signage, and mutability through roadside simulacra.

Diffusion of Computer Aided Design Technology in Architectural Design Practice

Computer aided design (CAD) technology is one of the most influential information technology (IT) innovations of the last four decades. This paper studies the factors that influence the spread of this important IT innovation in the context of the Turkish architectural design practice. It builds on the innovation diffusion theory which proposes that internal (i.e., copying behaviors of others) and external influence (i.e., complying with clients' requirements, changes in government regulations, demand conditions, and consulting firms' suggestions) factors drive diffusion of an innovation. The paper empirically tests the propositions of innovation diffusion theory by using three mathematical models: The internal influence model, the external influence model, and the mixed influence model. Research findings point out that the mixed influence model has the highest exploratory power. They show that the diffusion of CAD technology in architectural design practice is primarily driven by internal rather than external influence factors. This study is of importance to researchers because this is the first application of the influence models to the study of the diffusion of CAD technology in architectural design practice. It is also of relevance to design practitioners since the findings should provide a useful guide in their decision to adopt or not to adopt CAD technology.

Turning Application Security Inside Out: Security for Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs)

Service-oriented architectures (SOAs) have become mainstream in the past year due to their ability to provide business agility and flexibility through integration, productivity, and software reuse. The Web services framework enables composite applications that leverage service- oriented architecture (SOA) design practices, creating more cost-effective distributed architectures. As enterprises adopt SOA, they open their systems, enabling greater agility and easier integration.