Architecture Research Research Articles

A Comparative Study of Real and Virtual Environment via Psychological and Physiological Responses

Currently, immersive virtual environments (IVE) are widely used in fields such as architecture and environmental psychology. These simulated environments allow for a detailed evaluation of how different designs impact users’ perception and interaction with the built environment, under controlled conditions and without incurring high costs. The validity of these IVEs is related to their capacity to evoke a participant’s response similar to that of the space they are simulating. This paper presents a validation study of a virtual classroom with two phases: the analysis of the sense of presence in the generated IVE and the comparison of the psychological and neurophysiological response of subjects in the two environments (physical vs. IVE). The psychological response captures cognitive processes via the performance of attention and memory tasks. The physiological response records the subject’s activity monitored via electroencephalogram, electrocardiogram, and electrodermal activity. The results showed that the psychological and physiological responses in both environments (physical vs. IVE) were similar. This may be of interest to architecture researchers and professionals as they validate IVE systems as tools to study the effects of the built environment on users’ cognitive responses.

Theorizing architectural research and practice in the metaverse: the meta-context of virtual community engagement

PurposeThis article explores the implications of virtual social spaces for conceptualizing community engagement in the practice of architecture and design by critically analyzing multidisciplinary approaches to conceptualizing community namely space, place, and context to envision social spaces of virtual community engagement by architects and designers.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual article utilized narrative literature review as the primary method for conducting a transdisciplinary theoretical integration. First, the authors defined the metaverse as all manner of human-technological interaction. Second, the authors discussed theories of place from architecture, social geography, and human ecology and employed neoecological theory to describe the interactional processes inherent in research and practice with virtual communities. Finally, the authors documented specific types of virtual engagement strategies in architectural research and practice.FindingsVirtual environments provide varied opportunities for effective collaborations among architects, designers, and community members. The primary strategies identified by the literature review of virtual community engagement were collaborative, augmented reality, and situated digital experiences. In addition, researchers have found that the most effective community engagement bridges interactions in the physical space and digitally mediated interactions.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors advocate for increased research towards understanding how the expanded availability of more complex technological tools, such as future versions of artificial intelligence (AI) software, may further layer the landscape of community engagement in ways that may be unpredictable and currently less understood. Additional research is also needed to address participants' perspectives in virtual community engagement and explore how the building of communities in the meta-context is felt, lived, and understood by those who act in them.Practical implicationsThe availability of new technological tools and digital platforms challenges diverse professionals to expand their community-engaged practice into the metaverse. Although not every community has broadband Internet or software access, many physical locations whether community centers, libraries, schools, or one’s own home may serve as safe spaces for novel virtual engagement experiences by individuals and groups. Digital engagement can increase opportunities for involvement from persons who are home-bound, lack transportation or child-care to attend in-person community events, or may desire the anonymity afforded by virtual engagement.Social implicationsVirtual environments can provide varied opportunities for effective collaboration among architects, designers, and community members by overcoming physical or nonphysical barriers to in-person engagement. For example, recent case studies of civic and community organizations have successfully integrated physical and virtual community engagement during the global COVID-19 pandemic by overcoming physical or nonphysical barriers to in-person engagement. Community development theorists have referred to such contexts as a “post-place community” in which individuals find solidarity through digital global networks.Originality/valueThis article theorizes virtual community engagement in the metaverse from a transdisciplinary perspective and coins the innovative concept of meta-contexts to describe a global “post-place” community. Integrating theories of place from architecture, social geography, and human ecology guides an original review of effective strategies for meta-contextual digital community engagement by architects and designers.

On File and As Files

In this paper, we piece together threads of communicative processes between residents, architects, and other parties, as found in the lists and letters of the archive of the Byker Redevelopment in Newcastle Upon Tyne (1968-83). Documents that are usually discarded or neglected by architectural researchers - from a stack of various papers documenting residents’ lists of complaints, evaluative papers such as an audit report, and architects’ memos, to a resident’s letter of complaint - enable us to reconstruct, first, how a mainstream practice collected and filed residents’ experiences and understanding of their homes, and second, how, through the circulation of those papers in action as files, residents’ notes were also embedded in the design process.

Artistic Practices as Architectural Research

The potential of implicit architectural knowledge extends beyond the realm of sciences and technology. It is worthwhile to examine its role in art, artistic practices, and artistic knowledge. This article explores several practical examples from art and architecture, spanning the 20th and 21st centuries. These examples shed light on artistic practices that, apart from enhancing designerly qualities and fostering a reflexive approach, may have a significant research impact in architecture. The methods, processes, and topics of these examples are examined, and their potential for critical improvement is highlighted. Particularly, the concept of ‘not-knowing’ is emphasized as a valuable asset for addressing contemporary and future challenges, not limited to architecture.

Uncovering the connection between ceiling height and emotional reactions in art galleries with editable 360-degree VR panoramic scenes.

This study investigates the relationship between ceiling height and emotional responses in art galleries, using editable 360-degree VR panoramic scenes. Prior research has explored the influence of spatial dimensions on general emotions, but the specific impact of ceiling height in art gallery settings, particularly on discrete emotions, remains understudied. The study utilized 360-degree panoramic photo scene modeling to modify ceiling heights within virtual art galleries, assessing emotional responses through self-report measures. Participants were presented with virtual art gallery environments featuring varying ceiling heights. Two studies were conducted: Study 1 involved absolute emotion rating across different ceiling heights, and Study 2 focused on selecting ceiling heights based on assigned emotions. The data revealed that ceiling height significantly impacts specific emotions, notably disgust and joy. Lower ceiling heights generally evoked higher levels of fear and anger, while higher ceiling heights were associated with increased joy. The impact on other emotions like sadness, surprise, and disgust was more nuanced and varied across different ceiling heights. The findings highlight a complex relationship between ceiling height and emotional responses in art galleries. The study demonstrates the efficacy of using editable 360-degree VR panoramic scenes in environmental psychology and architecture research, offering insights into how spatial dimensions influence emotional experiences in architectural settings.

Engaging young people in architectural research: three visual methods for understanding the impact of the built environment on children’s wellbeing

It is increasingly recognised that the spaces and atmospheres that architects create influence wellbeing. Atmospheres that appear welcoming, for example, have been shown to elicit feelings of comfort, safety, and inclusion. Yet understanding user responses to different kinds of architectural spaces remains a challenge, particularly when that user group consists of children and young people. This article reports data from 59 children and young people, aged 7–12, gathered as part of a feasibility study for the redevelopment of a facility that offers a 12-day health and wellbeing programme for disadvantaged youth. The study itself aimed to identify the most salient ways through which this facility’s environment impacted the wellbeing of young people (either positively or negatively) during their stay. This article, however, will focus on the iterative development and overall success of a modified photo-response method relative to more traditional drawing and photo-elicitation (or ‘photovoice’) methods. The findings reaffirm the need to design methods that are optimally engaging for young people and address the unique risks related to data quality, relevancy and reliably that emerge when engaging young people in research; including the role that imagination plays in data collection. These findings will be valuable for researchers and designers hoping to engage more effectively with children and young people within architectural research and briefing processes.

Taxonomies. Architectures, scales and themes for a peri-urban sustainable regeneration

This contribution analyzes issues and spaces of the architecture for the regeneration of peri-urban areas according to the perspective of the programs to combat the effects of climate change activated by the Green Deal and New European Bauhaus. The contribution aims to highlight how the Taxonomy elaborated by the eu needs a multilayer integration coordinated by a systematization of environmental resources with cultural ones and with the project of territories, as well as how research in architecture can interact and act as a catalyst concerning the objectives set by the European Union. Places of experimentation for a possible taxonomy can be peri-urban areas as catalysts of integrated regeneration processes.

Modeling and Analyzing Urban Sensor Network Connectivity Based on Open Data

The optimization of network topology is crucial to achieve efficient data transmission in wireless sensor networks. Recently it has been proven that emerging open data sources can be used for modeling the structures of heterogeneous urban sensor networks. With this, leveraging real location data of various networked and sensing devices became feasible and essential. This approach enables the construction and analysis of more accurate representations based on frequently updated actual network infrastructure topology data, as opposed to using synthetic models or test environments. The presented modeling method serves as the basis for the designed architecture and implemented research environment. This paper introduces a set of algorithms which transform devices’ location data into graph-based wireless network connectivity models. Each algorithm is thoroughly discussed and evaluated. Moreover, static (momentary) and dynamic (time-spanning) network topologies are constructed in four large Polish cities based on publicly available data. Multidimensional simulation-based analysis is conducted to investigate the characteristics of the modeled structures. Directions for further research are suggested as well.

Exploring the "Bigness" in Modern Architectural Design through Urban Cognition

This paper delves into the concept of "grandness" introduced by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, which, in the 20th century, aligned with societal demands and propelled the development of high-rise architectural theory. However, contemporary architectural research has revealed trends of standardization and compartmentalization in large skyscrapers, which to some extent impact the diversity of urban landscapes. This paper initially discusses these constraints and explores potential future directions for "grandness," with a particular emphasis on the transformative impact of cognitive design. Large skyscrapers often lose uniqueness due to their standardization and may compromise functionality through compartmentalization. For instance, the CCTV Headquarters, while architecturally striking, generated controversy due to its lack of functional practicality. Design centered around cognition emphasizes the uniqueness and iconicity of architectural elements, compensating for the shortcomings of "grandness" by creating distinctive architectural memories. This helps large buildings become more identifiable and culturally meaningful in urban environments, integrating better into urban life. This paper aims to argue for the significance of the "grandness" concept in meeting societal needs while also highlighting some inherent limitations. Through case studies and a focus on cognitive design, a better understanding and response to these limitations can be achieved to better cater to the needs of future urban architecture.

The Collective Realms in the Chinese City: Towards an Alternative Framework for Public Space

A western discourse of public space, originating in ancient Greece and Rome, has been widely used in architectural and urban research in China and is constantly contested in this geographical and cultural context. The contestation often stems from the cultural differences in understanding and operating the collective realms in Chinese and western cities, which is manifested through the distinctive features of their public spaces. This essay frames an alternative perspective on public space in the Chinese context by exploring the cultural, social, and spatial constructions of collective realms in the Chinese city.Starting from the conceptual origin of the ‘public’ in Chinese philosophy, this paper elaborates on three culturally grounded ideas related to collective patterns of space creation and practice – the relational circle, the realm of strangers, and the marketplace – and examines how these ideas are articulated by architectural and urban archetypes and in urban developments in Chinese cities.

3D NAND Based on Conventional Flash Memory Architecture Research and Application Prospects

With the rapid development of computer technology as a whole, the performance requirements of modern computer systems for storage technology are becoming higher and higher. This paper discusses the response to the problems that have arisen with the traditional storage in today's era, that is, the construction principle of the new storage three-dimensional memory (3D NAND) and the future development. Traditional storage in order to enhance the storage space of the plane flash memory, can only be components for shrinking, when shrinking to a certain extent when the flash memory will occur uncontrollable hidden danger, so the invention of 3D NAND. By vertically stacking many layers of memory cells, the storage density per unit area is greatly increased, with high-speed reading and writing, large capacity, low power consumption and other characteristics. Nowadays, 3D NAND is widely used in enterprises, and the industry is hopeful about the long-term prospects of the growing global demand for data generation and storage and the introduction of new technologies. The development of 3D NAND technology provides higher storage density and lower cost for NAND flash memory to meet the growing demand for data storage. This paper provides a systematic summary of existing research on 3D NAND in the hope that it will better enhance the overall technology improvement in the storage industry.

Housing Experimentation and Design Guides: Affordable Housing in Guangzhou since 2006

This paper examines the recent growth of government-led affordable housing in Guangzhou, addressing a paucity of global housing studies that explore experimental and contextual policy approaches in China. It also addresses the lack of Chinese housing studies recognizing the impact of housing design governance, including regulatory controls and design standards, on housing preferences, supply and lifestyles. Since 1995, the supply of affordable housing has surged, now surpassing that of market housing for the first time. This response to failures in the private housing market and a lack of equitable access to housing signifies a significant shift, acknowledging the need to re-establish a state-led and long-term public housing supply after decades of housing marketization. Employing an architectural design research perspective, this paper investigates the interplay between affordable housing supply and the emergence of housing standards, examining resulting housing design outcomes. It poses the question: What changes in housing policy and interventions in housing markets are necessary to increase public rental housing supply, and how do these changes affect housing outcomes? The paper explores these questions through a discussion of the key moments in affordable housing policy and housing estate development in Guangzhou that facilitated the creation of widely accessible public housing and long-term housing assets. This provides new insights into China’s unique approach to translating central government social welfare and housing policy through contextual design experimentation and pilot housing projects, departing from the conventional top-down policy implementation found in most other countries.

Quantifying architectural color Quality: A Machine learning integrated framework driven by quantitative color metrics

The assessment and prediction of architectural color quality play a pivotal role in urban spatial environments, influencing the aesthetic and psychological dimensions of urban space. Despite the criticality, there exists a lacuna in efficient methodologies capable of quantitatively evaluating architectural color quality. This study endeavors to bridge this gap by introducing a novel framework employing a machine learning approach in conjunction with operationalizable color feature templates for predicting architectural color quality. Four machine learning models - XGBoost, ANN, SVM, and LGBM - are utilized to assess the color quality based on selected color feature indices. Moreover, this research employs SHAP values to elucidate the contribution of various color features towards model prediction. The findings reveal that among the tested models, XGBoost outshines in terms of prediction accuracy. Significant color features including building height, lightness and saturation of primary colors, and red values in both primary and secondary colors were found to exert substantial influence on the model's predictive capacity. This pioneering approach provides a scalable and quantifiable means to evaluate and predict architectural color quality, which has the potential to significantly contribute to urban color planning and evaluation, thereby propelling forward the domain of architectural color research.

Precarity, the future of architectural research in a time of much uncertainty

Editoral framing of the special issue of ENQ on PRECARITY: PhD conference on architectural research at the limits of technology, project-making, and history/theory held on APRIL 22-23, 2022 and organized and sponsored by the PhD Program in Architecture at UPENN, Weitzman School of Design

Auditing, Revealing and Promoting Industry in the London Borough of Southwark

Renewed enthusiasm surrounds the potential for urban industry and its contribution to the socioeconomic diversity of cities, despite concerns about the loss of industrial uses, land, and buildings in high-value, post-industrial cities. Yet, industry is often hidden and undervalued, and methodologies to change the culture around nurturing industry in cities have not been well explored. As a first step in moving this agenda forward, this article proposes effective ways to reveal industrial uses and to advocate for policy protections of the land they occupy. It examines how London Metropolitan University’s School of Art, Architecture and Design (AAD) Cities action researchers applied their <em>Audit, Reveal and Promote </em>methodology to Southwark, a London borough with a high concentration of urban industry. There are key aspects to revealing industrial economies: collecting accurate data on the ground, showcasing local businesses, building stakeholder networks through mutual trust, and creating a space of possibilities between vertical hierarchical and grassroots power networks to enable stakeholders to participate in urban change. This article presents a methodology for cultural change towards valuing a mix of uses, including industry, to transform land development towards retention and densification of industry.

Architectural historicism: the reflection of Western medieval architecture on contemporary churches. Jordan as a case study

PurposeThis research purpose was to explore the meaning of historicism, architectural historicism, the architectural attributes, design principles, elements and ornamentations of churches in medieval Western architecture, and how they were reflected in contemporary churches' design in Jordan.Design/methodology/approachThis research used the historical descriptive–interpretive qualitative research method. Around 24 Western medieval churches were selected, studied and analyzed to explore the common design attributes of each historical era. The design attributes of each era were segmented under three categories: Design principles (plans' typology, facades, shapes, details, composition and building form), design elements (openings, towers and entrances) and ornamentation (sculptures, paintings and interior decoration). Additionally, three modern Jordanian churches were analyzed using the same method to compare with the historical churches through personal observations, field trips, researchers' memories, site visits, archival records, plans, images, books, slides, details and note-making. Different types of evidence were used, such as determinate, contextual and inferential. In addition, different tactics for analysis were used in analyzing the historical churches: site familiarity, use of existing documents, virtual and visual inspection and comparison with conditions elsewhere. Credibility was achieved when the results were reviewed and compared with the original and similar information.FindingsEarly Christian design principles, elements and ornamentations were reflected in Jordanian churches more than in Byzantine, Renaissance, Romanesque and Gothic. The design principles of Western medieval architecture were reflected in the selected Jordanian churches more than in ornamentation and design elements. Moreover, this research found that the highest reflection of Western medieval architecture on Jordanian churches was in designing the plans, which is a basilica with a central nave and aisles followed by opening styles, façade, shapes, entrances design, composition, painting and the minimum reflection was in sculptures. Additionally, there was no reflection on tower design and interior decoration.Practical implicationsThis research encourages architects to enhance architectural historicism by focusing on historical styles in contemporary designs and using design elements, principles and decorations of historical styles in medieval architecture to enrich the variety and originality of architectural design and create new modern stylistic architecture. Architectural historicism increases historical self-awareness and helps a generation of architects to answer the question: In what style should be built.Originality/valueLearning the design principles, not copying the past, is becoming a trend for most architects. Architectural historicism introduces new temporal elements, gives a new meaning and primary function to architecture to become socio-temporal and contextual contrast and reflects the essential points of references of the past through design methodology to express the present. The advantage of this research is to put an end to architects' role in syncretism and subjectivism. Instead, historicism architects equipped with the necessary knowledge and supported by the published research and inventors of historical architecture, can choose, imitate, adapt, borrow and use the correct historical forms that originated in a given period.

Understanding the neighborhoods’ in-between spaces on spatial perception, social interaction, and security

This study reflects on the impact that the neighborhoods' in-between spaces have on: spatial perception, social interaction, and security. These sites, characterized by their abandonment and deterioration, can also be seen as crucial spaces of opportunity for cities, in the architectural, urban and landscape research. This paper aims to analyze the socio-spatial relationships in the neighborhoods’ in-between spaces and examine the impact of in-between space configuration on urban habitability. The investigation draws on a survey of perception to residents about the requirements for a suitable social interaction in these spaces. This study was developed in a neighborhood in the city periphery, characterized by their social dynamics and location in a nature conservation area. The findings indicate that the appropriation process, activities, and collective practices are dependent on the spatial legibility, in this case when this increases, gives rise to improve the habitability and the rehabilitation of the in-between space. Furthermore, the lack of design on in-between spaces substantially affects the use of these spaces and the social interaction among residents.

Assembling high-rise: The uneven agencies of air in suburban densification in the Anthropocene

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the surface the critical qualities of air – airflow, ventilation, particulates etc. – in relation to the well-being of people living in high-rise. Engineering and architectural research has burgeoned in response. However, in focusing on models of airflow, ventilation and particulates as discrete variables, engineering and architectural discourse fails to capture the diverse ways that air enters into and shapes the everyday lived experience of high-rise dwelling. Drawing on research in Sydney’s Southwestern suburbs, we reveal high-rise as an assemblage that links apartment dwelling with air, via car-dependent suburbanisation, pollution and climate-change induced temperature extremes in the Anthropocene. In addition to viruses, air teems with carbon, insects, noise and pollutants, while viscerally mediating human encounters with fluctuating temperatures. Multiple relations between people, buildings and air unfold simultaneously, confounding attempts to account for air’s elemental milieu through single variables like greenhouse gas or COVID-19. While embedded in relations of power, high-rise assemblages unleash vernacular adaptation that through low-tech and low-cost technologies work to connect suburban high-rise with evolving ecological systems. Recognising the pharmacological quality of air, as both ‘poison’ and ‘cure’, we contrast models of high-rise as encapsulated environments with resident (and other) experiments that orient high-rise to the elements, and the interlinked challenges of urban living in the Anthropocene.

Koios 2.0: Open-Source Deep Learning Benchmarks for FPGA Architecture and CAD Research

With the prevalence of deep learning (DL) in many applications, researchers are investigating different ways of optimizing FPGA architecture and CAD to achieve better quality-of-results (QoR) on DL-based workloads. In this optimization process, benchmark circuits are an essential component; the QoR achieved on a set of benchmarks is the main driver for architecture and CAD design choices. However, current academic benchmark suites are inadequate, as they do not capture any designs from the DL domain. This work presents the second version of our suite of DL acceleration benchmark circuits for FPGA architecture and CAD research, called Koios. This suite of 40 circuits covers a wide variety of accelerated neural networks, design sizes, implementation styles, abstraction levels, and numerical precisions. These benchmarks include 32 DL designs and 8 synthetic (proxy) benchmarks. The Koios benchmarks are larger, more data parallel, more heterogeneous, more deeply pipelined, and utilize more FPGA architectural features compared to existing open-source benchmarks. This enables researchers to pinpoint architectural inefficiencies for this class of workloads and optimize CAD tools on more representative benchmarks that stress the CAD algorithms in different ways. In this paper, we describe the Koios designs, compare their characteristics to prior FPGA benchmark suites, and present results of running them through the Verilog-to-Routing (VTR) flow using a recent FPGA architecture model. Finally, we present case studies showing how exploration of DL-optimized FPGA architecture and CAD algorithms can be performed using our new benchmark suite.

Pendekatan Biomimikri - Ilham Alam Semula Jadi dalam Reka Bentuk Seni Bina

Biomimicry is a growing field of research in architecture and engineering. It is characterized as a flora, fauna or entire ecosystem that is modeled as the basis of design because of its potential to create a more sustainable or regenerative built environment. However, one obstacle that needs to be noted in the application of biomimicry is in terms of the lack of a clear definition of the various biomimicry approaches that can be used by designers. The objectives of the study include analyzing biomimicry and its integration methods in architectural design as well as identifying various biomimicry approaches in architectural design. Through a literature review, this research paper describes different approaches to biomimicry design. A comparison of biomimicry and ecomimicry has been highlighted to discuss the differences in features that aid in design. These diverse approaches can lead to different outcomes in terms of overall sustainability. Next, the biomimicry approach in architectural design that combines the understanding of ecosystems can necessarily be the main pillar to create a built environment in the integration and regeneration of natural ecosystems. From the research, it becomes increasingly clear that a shift in the approach to the designed built environment must be made Imitating life, including the complex interactions between living organisms that make up ecosystems are examples that are easy to find and learn. This approach provides mutual benefits between humans and nature and should be a future agenda.