Architectural Representation Research Articles

Variations on Piranesi’s Carceri

As one of architectural printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s most studied print series, Carceri d’invenzione (1750–1761) constitutes a timeless precedent for architectural experimentation. This text-based research essay describes the outcomes of a design-driven experiment that attempted to unpack the hidden potential of Carceri in the domain of architectural representation. The aim was to analyse Piranesi’s oeuvre from a new curatorial perspective, as well as propose a further speculative step in the hermeneutics of Carceri. In our experiments, the Carceri was understood as a temporary aggregate of heterogeneous materials capable of establishing a metaphorical link with architectural objects at different scales.

Tiangong Louge in Eastern Pure Land Illustrations of the Medicine Buddha – A Secondary Publication

After the arrival of Buddhism in China, the foreign concept of heavenly buildings merged with the indigenous Tang-Song architecture into what became known as tiangong louge (heavenly palaces). Through comparison with Song building standards (Yingzao Fashi), this paper analyzes the architectural representations of tiangong louge in Eastern Pure Land illustrations of the Medicine Buddha. What becomes immediately apparent is that Yingzao Fashi describes only a few specific buildings (dianshen, chalou, jiaolou, xiewu, xinglang), whereas the Pure Land illustrations depict a greater diversity and variety of forms (for example, sanmen). A possible reason for this is that the idea of the Eastern Pure Land underwent significant changes before the Yingzao Fashi was compiled. Another reason is that the belief in the Eastern Pure Land was always rooted in reality and the actual conditions of the site. Additionally, Eastern Pure Land illustrations reveal four different types of clustered design: open foreground, one courtyard; open foreground, two courtyards; closed foreground, one courtyard; and closed foreground, two courtyards.

Gender and ethnicity recognition based on visual attention-driven deep architectures

Most of the time, when people observe, interact or speak to each other, they focus the attention on the ocular parts of the face. This daily life experience has a strong impact on the analysis of periocular facial regions. These facial regions may be exploited in order to identify individuals for several applications, including access control and services such as telebanking and electronic transactions. In this paper we suggest studying the efficiency of the periocular regions on gender and race prediction. Most researchers propose a local texture description based on LBP (Local Binary Pattern) and HoG (Histogram of Oriented Gradients) for the purpose of predicting gender. On the other hand, Deep learning techniques were proposed to predict the gender. However, this requires a huge labeled periocular data for gender which is not available. Also, the expressivity of gender and race can be decreased on the final representation of the Deep architectures comparing to the earlier stages. To overcome these points and for the aim of predicting gender and race, considering also the high impact of DCNNs (Deep Convolutional Neural Networks) techniques to solve several aspects in biometrics, we suggest a Deep architecture based on visual attention on the periocular part. The visual saliency extraction is based on primary layers’ activation by analyzing the feature-maps. We study how the visual attention-based features coupled to Deep Neural Networks can be used to discriminate between gender and race, hence extract a significant feature from periocular regions. Different pretrained architectures such as Alexnet and ResNet-50 were considered to extract visual saliency points or interest points. Several experiments were performed on periocular regions and a comparative study was conducted. The present results not only demonstrate the feasibility but also the robustness of the extracted interest points.

Representation of Object Provenance for Research on Natural Science Objects: Samples, parts and derivatives in DINA-compliant collection data management

Collection objects in natural science collections span a diverse set of object types of substantially different origin, physical composition, and relevance for different fields and methodologies of research and application. Object provenance is often characterized by elaborate series of interventions from collecting or observing originals in a natural state to generating derived objects that can be physically persistent or are suitable for a given use. This sequence of events gives rise to intermediate objects or object states that can be of a persistent or ephemeral nature in their own right. Detailed metadata on object provenance is vital to enable informed use of collection objects for research and other application areas. Providing the ability to generate, maintain, update and access such accounts is an important requirement for Collection Management Software (CMS). DINA (Digital Information System for Natural History Data, Glöckler et al. 2020)-compliant collection management software meets this challenge by using process- and state-based representation of object histories and modular application architecture as the main conceptual and architectural principles, respectively (Bölling et al. 2021). In applying these principles, we showcase how object provenance can be represented in the DINA system in cases where multiple objects, possibly of varying types, are derived from a single object, objects consist of parts of different biological individuals, object histories involve different types of objects such as living biological individuals, samples, and preserved specimens. multiple objects, possibly of varying types, are derived from a single object, objects consist of parts of different biological individuals, object histories involve different types of objects such as living biological individuals, samples, and preserved specimens. We highlight how the abstractions and categories used in the DINA model can be used to meet a variety of challenging use cases for representing collection object provenance. For instance, while the connections and relationships between living, preserved, and even destructively processed samples can be documented in DINA, these are ordinarily difficult to accommodate in a single information system.

Review: Louis Kahn: The Importance of Drawing and Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn

Review: <i>Louis Kahn: The Importance of Drawing</i> and <i>Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn</i>

Protocols for the Graphic and Constructive Diffusion of Digital Twins of the Architectural Heritage That Guarantee Universal Accessibility through AR and VR

The objective of this article is to generate and validate a workflow that allows us to use virtual twins obtained from unique buildings of our architectural heritage. These twins will guarantee the preservation and dissemination of cultural assets and will promote universal accessibility through new technologies, such as databases, metaverses, virtual reality, augmented reality or gamification. This universal accessibility is based on new metaverses to offer experiences that allow us to overcome physical barriers and reach any user regardless of their economic or physical condition or their location. To obtain this workflow, we worked with digital twins obtained by photogrammetry. Different databases and metaverses were studied, understanding them as new systems for the representation and dissemination of architecture. These metaverses were critically assessed and screened, looking for the most suitable one to be integrated into an effective workflow that satisfies a series of imposed premises, such as being suitable for use in virtual reality and augmented reality environments. The ultimate goal is the aforementioned universal accessibility.

Functional Modeling-Based Digital Twin Architecture Representation: An Instructional Example of a COVID-19 Breathalyzer Kiosk

Abstract This article presents and illustrates a functional modeling-based representation of digital twinning (DT) architectures. We provide a detailed review of the existing architectures and frameworks intended for use on product digital twins. We identified gaps in the prior work on architectures and frameworks for DT of products, product families, and systems. We identified a need for robust representation schemes that enable product-specific synthesis and analysis of DTs, which the existing DT architecture representations do not offer. We integrated the efforts of the researchers on DT architectures in our functional modeling-based architecture representation approach. We included selected attributes of each reviewed framework and addressed the identified gaps through our functional modeling-based DT architecture representation. The proposed architecture representation approach opens up new avenues of research and can potentially help improve the design process for product DT. This paper illustrates our approach through an instructional example of a COVID-19 testing breathalyzer kiosk designed as a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reference architectures modelling and compliance checking

Reference architectures (RAs) are successfully used to represent families of concrete software architectures in several domains such as automotive, banking, and the Internet of Things. RAs inspire architects when designing concrete architectures, and they help to guarantee compliance with architectural decisions, regulatory requirements, as well as architectural qualities. Despite their importance, reference architectures still suffer from a number of open technical issues, including (i) the lack of a common interpretation, a precise notation for their representation and documentation, and (ii) the lack of conformance mechanisms for checking the compliance of concrete architectures to their related reference architecture, architectural decisions, regulatory requirements, etc. This paper addresses these two issues by introducing a model-driven approach that leverages (i) a domain-independent metamodel for the representation of reference architectures and (ii) the combination of model transformation and weaving techniques for the automatic conformance checking of concrete architectures. We evaluate the applicability, effectiveness, and generalizability of our approach using illustrative examples from the web browsers and automotive domains, including an assessment from an independent practitioner.

Visual Ekphrasis and the Articulation of the Past

This essay focuses on examples of graphic representations of architecture as they appear in architectural treatises and published studies of particular buildings or sites. I argue that these images are a form of writing, as they have syntactical and linguistic qualities. In this way, images are a kind of visual ekphrasis of the architecture they describe. These visual ekphrases of architecture make the past a place that is distinct from that which text-based antiquarian studies articulate, opening up questions of how we perceive space and time and the ways in which they can be visually described. I concentrate on a moment in the mid-eighteenth century when the past also extended geographically, as travel in Greece became possible and revealed a new past with different scholarly legacies from the more familiar ancient Roman examples. The resulting Graeco-Roman controversy that dominated architectural discourse shows us how visual descriptions were used as evidence in different aesthetic debates and how they pulled architecture into the present, enabling it to be used part of architectural practice. My discussion focuses on two publications which both appeared in 1762: James Stuart and Nicholas Revett’s The Antiquities of Athens: Measured and Delineated, and Giambattista Piranesi’s Ichnographiam Campi Martii antiquae urbis (Ichnographia of the Campus Martius of the ancient city). This line of enquiry allows us new understandings of how images operated as an inspiration to architects’ imagination, and of the ways in which they influence how histories can be formulated.

Seeking Cities of the Future

The present paper proposes a reading through the techno-city visions as an attempt to jump into the timeline. The paper examines the experimental architectural works dreaming of the cities of the future in the context of being visionary. The paper interprets the techno-city design example sets within two headings: “Future city dreams” and “Future city dystopias”. The positive atmosphere of technological developments, covering the years the 1960s-1980s, creates future city dreams. Future city dystopias are visible in science fiction and architectural representations, especially after the 1990s, supported by computer technologies and increasing uncertainty. The techno-city visions discussed in the series, it is aimed to make visible the potential and expansions of the act of imagining and designing the future. Finally, it is aimed to put forward a discussion on the question of what the present "visions of city of the future" are. This text aims to understand the channels through which visionary techno-city projects are fed, their meanings, and the expansions they create.

SurEau-Ecos v2.0: a trait-based plant hydraulics model for simulations of plant water status and drought-induced mortality at the ecosystem level

Abstract. A widespread increase in tree mortality has been observed around the globe, and this trend is likely to continue because of ongoing climate-induced increases in drought frequency and intensity. This raises the need to identify regions and ecosystems that are likely to experience the most frequent and significant damage. We present SurEau-Ecos, a trait-based, plant hydraulic model designed to predict tree desiccation and mortality at scales from stand to region. SurEau-Ecos draws on the general principles of the SurEau model but introduces a simplified representation of plant architecture and alternative numerical schemes. Both additions were made to facilitate model parameterization and large-scale applications. In SurEau-Ecos, the water fluxes from the soil to the atmosphere are represented through two plant organs (a leaf and a stem, which includes the volume of the trunk, roots and branches) as the product of an interface conductance and the difference between water potentials. Each organ is described by its symplasmic and apoplasmic compartments. The dynamics of a plant's water status beyond the point of stomatal closure are explicitly represented via residual transpiration flow, plant cavitation and solicitation of plants' water reservoirs. In addition to the “explicit” numerical scheme of SurEau, we implemented a “semi-implicit” and “implicit” scheme. Both schemes led to a substantial gain in computing time compared to the explicit scheme (&gt;10 000 times), and the implicit scheme was the most accurate. We also observed similar plant water dynamics between SurEau-Ecos and SurEau but slight disparities in infra-daily variations of plant water potentials, which we attributed to the differences in the representation of plant architecture between models. A global model's sensitivity analysis revealed that factors controlling plant desiccation rates differ depending on whether leaf water potential is below or above the point of stomatal closure. Total available water for the plant, leaf area index and the leaf water potential at 50 % stomatal closure mostly drove the time needed to reach stomatal closure. Once stomata are closed, resistance to cavitation, residual cuticular transpiration and plant water stocks mostly determined the time to hydraulic failure. Finally, we illustrated the potential of SurEau-Ecos to simulate regional drought-induced mortality over France. SurEau-Ecos is a promising tool to perform regional-scale predictions of drought-induced hydraulic failure, determine the most vulnerable areas and ecosystems to drying conditions, and assess the dynamics of forest flammability.

On the role of the microstructure in the deformation of porous solids

This study explores the role that the microstructure plays in determining the macroscopic static response of porous elastic continua and exposes the occurrence of position-dependent nonlocal effects that are strictly correlated to the configuration of the microstructure. Then, a nonlocal continuum theory based on variable-order fractional calculus is developed in order to accurately capture the complex spatially distributed nonlocal response. The remarkable potential of the fractional approach is illustrated by simulating the nonlinear thermoelastic response of porous beams. The performance, evaluated both in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency, is directly contrasted with high-fidelity finite element models that fully resolve the pores’ geometry. Results indicate that the reduced-order representation of the porous microstructure, captured by the synthetic variable-order parameter, offers a robust and accurate representation of the multiscale material architecture that largely outperforms classical approaches based on the concept of average porosity.

The School of the New Athens: Boullée, Raphael and Anachronism in the Bibliothèque du Roi

Étienne-Louis Boullée, describing his project for the Bibliothèque du Roi in Paris, claimed Raphael’s School of Athens as his chief source of inspiration. This statement is confirmed by the architect’s drawing of the suggested gallery, in which groups of ancient figures converse, disposed similarly to the philosophers in the Renaissance fresco. Placing ancient costumes in a modern project may at first appear to constitute a simple anachronism, stemming – in this case – from the direct imitation of a model. This article will however contend that far more complex and significant temporalities can be inferred from setting Boullée’s image both within the field of architectural representations (including stage sets and ruin painting) that were so highly appreciated in this age, and within conceptions of time characterising perceptions of the development of the French nation, of its philosophy, its architecture and its use of costume. The tension between linear and cyclical conceptions of time, in particular, leads to renewed interpretations of the library project, especially when one points out that France was then believed to have recreated ancient architecture, and that this “School of Athens” was to be erected in a city frequently named “The New Athens” due to the quality of its intellectual life. The picture will be set within these complex and conflicting visions of history, which suggest that multiple simultaneous readings of Boullée’s drawing and architectural project lay open to his eighteenth-century public.

Additions to historic buildings: between parasite and prosthetic architecture

ABSTRACT Addition to historic buildings is an act of planning which integrates the preservation of architectural testimonies while at the same time enabling local development. Building additions are planned and designed under restrictions and regulations and are developed and supervised mainly by global organizations. Additions may be considered a compromise between expanding historic buildings and accentuating the historic buildings’ important values. The discussion on the ontological perspective of conservation aspects is directly related to additions. According to conservation discourse, designs of additions are derived after scrutinizing and evaluating the historic building. Therefore, the addition should be visualized differently from both past and present architectural representations. A method to appraise historic buildings’ additions is needed to evaluate and justify them. The historic building and its addition are combined as separate entities, and therefore a new term has been proposed to describe this symbiosis: A Combined But-Not Unified Entity (CBNUE). In this article, I propose adding another layer of examination of the CBNUE reciprocity through parasitic and prosthetic architecture theories. This examination challenges the design of additions and offers an alternative view of additions that can be considered appropriate according to international guidelines. Thus, the addition can be considered appropriate within the context of an image of a parasite or a prosthesis.

Diachronic and Synchronic Analysis for Knowledge Creation: Architectural Representation Geared to XR Building Archaeology (Claudius-Anio Novus Aqueduct in Tor Fiscale, the Appia Antica Archaeological Park)

This study summarises research progress to identify appropriate quality methodologies for representing, interpreting, and modelling complex contexts such as the Claudian Aqueduct in the Appian Way Archaeological Park. The goal is to intrinsically integrate (embed) geometric survey (Laser scanning and photogrammetric) with the materials and construction techniques (Stratigraphic Units—SU), semantic models in order to support the design with a better understanding of the artefact considered, and also to give indications that can be implemented in the future in a continuous cognitive process. Volume stratigraphic units in the form of architectural drawings, heritage building information modelling (HBIM) and extended reality (XR) environments have been oriented to comparative analyses based on the research case study’s complex morphology. Analysis of geometries’ intersection, construction techniques and materials open up new cognitive scenarios, self-feeding a progressive knowledge and making different studies correlatable, avoiding diaspora or incommunicability. Finally, an extended reality (XR) platform aims to enhance tangible and intangible values through new human-computer interaction and information sharing levels.

The influence of virtual human representations on first-year architecture students’ perceptions of digitally designed spaces: a pilot study

ABSTRACT The use of human figures throughout the design process enables designers to experience, communicate, and evaluate design concepts. Earlier studies of architectural representation sought to identify the relationship between the tools and techniques of representation and how individuals perceive architectural scenes. Nonetheless, the effect of virtual human representation (VHR) on students’ perceptions of architectural space remains underexplored. Therefore, an experimental study was conducted with first-year architecture students, in which they experienced three architectural scenes (non-presence of VHR, presence of idle VHR, and presence of animated VHR). Statistical analyses of the students’ self-assessments examined how the inclusion of VHRs in digitally visualized architectural spaces influenced the perceptions of these spaces. The study revealed that incorporating VHR into representations of architectural spaces positively affected the students’ sense of physical dimensions and of the spatial qualities.

A Semantic Representation of Online Teaching Business Process Architecture

A Business process architecture (BPA) is one of the significant assets in educational systems as it helps to understand and optimize educational processes by focusing on the key processes rather than the organizational specific details. The semantic, Riva-based business process architecture (srBPA) ontology is an abstract ontology that semantically conceptualizes the business process architecture’s components and the relationships between them. This ontology can be instantiated for a specific domain to provide a general semantic-based BPA for organizations working in that domain. This paper instantiates the srBPA ontology for online teaching to provide a general semantic architecture for online teaching process that can be used as a reference by educational systems. This ontology was evaluated for completeness by referring to the national quality standards for online teaching and online courses. The evaluation has revealed that all quality standards were covered in the instantiated ontology through the classes, individuals, attributes and semantic rules that were defined.

Review: Bangkok Utopia: Modern Architecture and Buddhist Felicities, 1910–1973

Review: <i>Bangkok Utopia: Modern Architecture and Buddhist Felicities, 1910–1973</i>

Modern and Contemporary Architecture Between Western and Arab Countries: A Review of Derivative Synonyms

The most common approaches to contemporary architecture are described as 'modern', yet the terms 'modern' and 'contemporary' possess different contextual weights, resulting in a difference in terminological synonymy. This research examines the phenomenon that emerged in the late twentieth century, processes its conflicts, and describes several interrelated implications for understanding modernity and contemporariness. This research discusses the confusion between contemporary and modernist architectural representation by analyzing Western and Arab visions. Furthermore, it explores the study with inductive logic that takes an analytical turn to analyze, compare, and explore the real causes of the problem. The research also aims to analyze the impact of modernism, the semantic evolution of 'modernity', and our arrival to the contemporary, considering neoliberalism and globalism. The research concluded that separating the idiomatic language from the architectural language is necessary. Furthermore, it found that contemporary ended as an architectural style and continued as a cultural movement.

Greening Black Metal: The EcoGothic Aesthethics of Botanist’s Lyrics

Environmentalist Black Metal has been a liminal subject of academic ecocriticism during the last decade, but it has rarely been addressed from the perspective of ecoGothic studies. Environmental discourses in Black Metal have taken diverse ideological forms based on the time and place in which they were generated. In the United States, many bands have focused on exploring what Hunter Hunt-Hendrix calls “aesthethics,” an affirmative and nihilist sense of transcendentalism carried out through a certain sense of aesthetics, ascetics (spirituality), and ethics. US bands like Botanist have usually been analyzed through the lens of Deep Ecology, that is, as projects depicting a sacralized Nature and a sense of nihilist self-hating humanism. This view, thus, implies an essentialist understandings of Nature/humanity dynamics on their behalf. Botanist’s lyrics are characterized by the creation of a demonological/angelical Nature in sempiternal conflict with humanity and its environment-destroying activities. Observing this narrative through an ecoGothic perspective, however, uncovers a different understanding of the romanticized portrayals of Nature depicted by the band, ultimately highlighting humanity and “humanness” as a vital part of its aesthethical construction. This article, therefore, explores the ways in which ecoGothic aesthetics, Val Plumwood’s notion of material spirituality and, Donna Haraway’s sense of “chthulucenic” ethics connect with each other in Botanist’s grim lyricism. The article highlights the importance of Botanist’s representation of plant architectures, “Mother Nature’s” spirituality, and the environmental ethics involved in the performance of “The Botanist,” the protagonist of the band’s narrative. This brings to light how the band’s depiction of Nature not only drives audiences to reflect on contemporary environmental anxieties, but also to look for onto-ethical alternatives to addressing human/non-human relationships.