Architecture Research Research Articles

Architectural research facing the challenges of the 21st century: Criticality, creativity and diversity

As we enter the 21st century, a new era of digital technologies is offering increasing possibilities, but at the same time, posing serious challenges to architectural research. Therefore, the recovery of a critical approach is more necessary than ever. This should encompass not only the critical evaluation of the aforementioned technologies, but also counteract models of thought associated with them, such as the standardization of languages or the hegemony of solutionism. Likewise, it is also necessary to reclaim imagination and brilliance as attributes of a seriously threatened freedom. Working on the challenges of our time must emphasize the ideation, development and definition of mental processes and structures, mechanisms that are still outside the scope of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. Finally, it is still important to reassert that all architectural postulates should be understood in the cultural environment and physical surroundings in which they are produced, admitting their diversity and avoiding a Eurocentric view. Current environmental degradation can be understood as a symptom of a crisis of civilization, marked by a model of living that does not recognize the need to understand ourselves and our built environment in relation to nature.

The Evolution of Cinemas in Prague from the Second Half of the Twentieth Century: A Contemporary Perspective

The article approaches the situation of Prague cinemas in the second half of the 20th century from the end of the Second World War to the Velvet Revolution within the socio-historical background from the point of view of an architect and a cinephile. The entire text is arranged chronologically in four paragraphs reflecting the contemporary political and social situation. It approximates the post-war period full of ideological ideals, when the construction of a dense network of cinemas became a key element of national renewal, not only in large cities but also in the regions. The following decade brought a paradigmatic shift, when local single-screen cinemas gave way to large cultural houses with multifunctional use (film, theatre, gallery, restaurant, sports facilities, etc.). It deals with the socially relaxed sixties, reflecting the synergy of various artistic disciplines, thanks to which Czechoslovakia presented to the world new artistic disciplines based precisely on film projection – “polyekran” (polyscreen) and “laterna magika” (a combination of projection and performance with live actors). The imaginary culmination of the new wave period was the opening of the luxury cinema 64 U Hradeb, which is given more attention in the text below. Furthermore, the text outlines the situation of cinemas in large Prague housing estates and deals with Czech brutalism in the context of foreign architecture and with the only brutalist cinema still operating today – the Dlabačov cinema. The final part of this article gives a brief overview of the total number of cinemas established in this period in the territory of Prague and a comparison with other European metropolises with a similar socio-cultural background. The research has the ambition to understand and approach how to integrate valuable cinema buildings on the territory of Prague into the daily life of contemporary Prague residents through the investigation of the cinema phenomenon, and the development of cinematography and cinema architecture as such, from its inception to the present day. The general logical processing methods are historical and socio-cultural analysis, architectural and urban research including architectural drawings, photographic documentation and a study of the urban development of the appearance of individual cinemas, comparison and deduction.

Enhancing Architectural Space through AI-Driven Ideation: A Case Study of Future Iranian-Traditional City

Artificial intelligence is an evolving technology that has drawn huge economic and social, educational benefits for the future. The revolutionary potential of this technology is boundless, as it can transform how humans live, work, learn, discover, and interact with each other. This research aims to investigate the theoretical foundations of environmental psychology, identify the characteristics of the appropriate architectural space, and then investigate the effect of using artificial intelligence in creating the appropriate architectural space from a formal aspect. The research method is descriptive-analytical and of a qualitative type, which was done by studying library sources and then logically analyzing the data. The research tool is artificial intelligence Midjourny and Dall.e3, which has been introduced for some time in creating artistic images from input words, and prompts. It has been the focus of various artists and architects. It can be said that with architectural conceptual plans, the future will become a reality differently, and they can positively influence the creativity of architects and create futures that most people will not think of today. The use of these images in creating accessible spaces is only one example of the use of artificial intelligence in the architectural design process and it can inspire architectural researchers in various fields.

Biological, physical and morphological factors for the programming of a novel microbial hygromorphic material

The urgency for energy efficient, responsive architectures has propelled smart material development to the forefront of scientific and architectural research. This paper explores biological, physical, and morphological factors influencing the programming of a novel microbial-based smart hybrid material which is responsive to changes in environmental humidity. Hygromorphs respond passively, without energy input, by expanding in high humidity and contracting in low humidity. Bacillus subtilis develops environmentally robust, hygromorphic spores which may be harnessed within a bilayer to generate a deflection response with potential for programmability. The bacterial spore-based hygromorph biocomposites (HBCs) were developed and aggregated to enable them to open and close apertures and demonstrate programmable responses to changes in environmental humidity. This study spans many fields including microbiology, materials science, design, fabrication and architectural technology, working at multiple scales from single cells to ‘bench-top’ prototype.Exploration of biological factors at cellular and ultracellular levels enabled optimisation of growth and sporulation conditions to biologically preprogramme optimum spore hygromorphic response and yield. Material explorations revealed physical factors influencing biomechanics, preprogramming shape and response complexity through fabrication and inert substrate interactions, to produce a palette of HBCs. Morphological aggregation was designed to harness and scale-up the HBC palette into programmable humidity responsive aperture openings. This culminated in pilot performance testing of a humidity-responsive ventilation panel fabricated with aggregated Bacillus HBCs as a bench-top prototype and suggests potential for this novel biotechnology to be further developed.

Landscape significance and value of Ankara's first public green space: Millet Garden

Objective: Some of the parliament buildings have public open and green spaces nearby. For instance, United States’ Capitol Building has Capitol Grounds, Germany’s Reichstag Building has Platz der Republik Park and Spreebogen Park, The Palace of Westminster of United Kingdom has Victoria Tower Gardens. These spaces originated as green public spaces associated with state. The parliament buildings are often landmarks. Their green spaces enhance the spatial quality. Green spaces make parliament buildings more attractive places to visit and work. There is no landscape architecture research on Türkiye’s first parliament building’s green space so called Millet Garden. The objective of this study is to identify historic features and evaluate components. Material and Methods: The research is structured in qualitative research method and consists of four parts. The first part includes theoretical framework. The explanation of research design and the implementation of data collection method is the second part. The third part contains description of the site. The fourth part constitutes analyses the components of historic landscape in details. Results: This study reveals the importance of the Millet Garden by evaluating it in terms of landscape architecture. Conclusion: This study touches upon the importance and benefits of historic landscapes. Finally, the study revealed some directions for further studies.

Non-Destructive Testing and Synergistic Investigation of a Historic Tower

This paper focuses on the reliability of a synergistic procedure, involving dynamic tests complemented by documentary and architectural research, for the structural assessment of heritage towers. The reliability of the presented method is exemplified in a relevant case study, the Zuccaro’s Tower in Mantua. As is known, historic buildings require addressed procedures in order to consider past building transformation and eventual damage/decay, which can affect the masonry properties and, more generally, the structural behavior. The proposed investigation procedure is based on multidisciplinary information (i.e., merging data) from historical and document studies, direct inspections, surveys of geometry and front surfaces, and dynamic tests in operational conditions. The processed information allowed the development and the calibration of a simplified numerical model, useful in driving the seismic/structural assessment of the tower. The results of past investigations, found during the archival research, contributed to the structural evaluation. This paper describes the main research outcomes and the model tuning with a special focus on the key role of the synergy between the applied methods for the assessment of a historic building.

Modernist Monuments of Freedom Square In Kharkiv

Since February 24, 2022, the architectural heritage of Ukraine has been exposed to dangerous destruction. The government center on Freedom (Svoboda) Square in Kharkiv - the largest urban development of early modernist architecture and its pearl, included in the Tentative UNESCO World Heritage List (2017) and provisionally inscribed on the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection (2023) - Derzhprom (The State Industry Building), were hit by a missile attack on March 1, 2022. In the conditions of non-cessation of hostilities and non-priority, the only means of protecting monuments in the city for months were, and in many places still are, sandbags, adhesive tape and plywood. The architectural research community and Government of Ukraine, together with international organizations, must take all possible actions to protect and restore the damaged architectural monuments. The article deals with the modernist monuments of Freedom Square, the chronology of their reconstruction since the Second World War and the damage received over the past almost two years. The paper raises important questions regarding their future fate with the possibility of restoring some objects of the square to their original appearance of the modernist era.

Guest editorial to the theme section on Trends in Enterprise Architecture Research

Guest editorial to the theme section on Trends in Enterprise Architecture Research

Local intelligence: time to learn from AI

AI research in architecture is flourishing, and there are plausible and praiseworthy experiments using generative models. These experiments could result in intelligence that uses architectural knowledge and opens new learning opportunities, although guidance is still required in this area. With the Local Intelligence (LI) framework, we hypothesize a web of distributed networks to connect different forms of knowledge linked with architectural context. We assume that the tacit knowledge of vernacular architecture corresponds to the implicit knowledge of folklore music when the anonymous designer and the user are the same- the local people. With a multimodal AI model, we call ‘music2architecture’ – ‘architecture2music’, we argue that sharing the same locality/localness may lead to the emergence of a typical, previously hidden pattern (of wisdom) that we can learn from.

RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS BUILT BEHIND THE STATE INDUSTRY BUILDING (DERZHPROM) IN THE LATE 1920S AND EARLY 1930S: BLOCKS EAST OF NAUKY AVENUE

The article is devoted to residential buildings built in the late 1920s and early 1930s in the metropolitan Kharkiv, in the area behind the State Industry Building (Derzhprom) east of Nauky Avenue. The design andconstruction of these residential neighbourhoods, which took place between 1926 and the late 1930s and had their peculiarities and diversity, are not sufficiently covered in scientific works and require a dedicated study. The preservation, documentation, and restoration of modernist buildings and complexes in eastern Ukraine, especially in the Kharkiv region, require the creation of a periodisation and systematisation of buildings belonging to this glorious period of architectural development. Residential districts created in the 1920s and 1930s in Soviet Ukraine, particularly in the metropolitan Kharkiv, are objects of cultural and historical value subject to documentation and analysis. The tendency to highlight the most outstanding examples leaves out the contextual buildings, which formed the basis of the development of the residential area behind Derzhprom and created a coherent architectural and temporal background of the urban landscape of the new administrative centre of the metropolitan Kharkiv. Meanwhile, the contextual buildings created an architectural setting for more famous examples, such as the Slovo House. When studying the scientific works of Kharkiv architecture researchers, one can pay attention to the coverage of residential blocks to the west of Nauky Avenue, an area with a radial-ring structure, and the almost complete absence of research on residential blocks in the part of the district to the east of the avenue. This fact is quite unfortunate, as the architectural landscape of the blocks in this part of the residential area is notable in its spatial, functional, and stylistic structure. In addition, these blocks are rich in ‘red’ residential buildings, raised in the second half of the 1920s in various cities of Soviet Ukraine, which became a kind of visiting card of life in the Soviet Union then. Keywords: Kharkiv, Derzhprom, residential buildings, Chervonyi Donets, Slovo, KofOk, Chervonyi brodylnyk.

Research Contents, Methods and Prospects of Emotional Architecture Based on a Systematic Literature Review

In recent years, research on building perception has increasingly become a hot topic. More and more scholars have explored the user perceptions of the built environment and guided the design through the perception results. The technical method of emotional engineering can quantify people’s emotions and facilitate the exploration of users’ perceptions in the built environment. However, most of the existing research is empirical, and there is no article to review the interdisciplinary direction of architecture and emotional engineering. This review uses the PRISMA method to conduct a systematic literature review of 147 studies on building environment assessment using emotional engineering methods, and discusses the relationship between the building environment and humans, especially in terms of emotions, cognition, behavior, and physiology. Through a systematic literature review, the theoretical basis of emotional architecture is put forward. It constructs the interactive mode and theoretical framework of emotional architecture and reveals that the combination of artificial intelligence, big data and machine learning may be the new direction of emotional architecture research in the future.

Re-interpreting the case study approach in architectural research

The case study is a research approach carried out in a natural, holistic, and in-depth setting about a unique, best practice, and bounded phenomenon. Even though it was rooted in social sciences, the case study has characteristics that are almost the same as a process of studying past architectural works (precedent studies) that have long been carried out in architecture. Unfortunately, precedent studies are sometimes only limited to documentation and descriptions of architectural works as physical objects, without critical, in-depth and holistic analysis of the decisions behind the design decisions of a precedent. On the other hand, previous research that discussed the case study approach in architecture tended to understand this approach as just a social research method that was simply applied in architectural research. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the terms of the 'case' itself. This research aims to provide a complete and in-depth understanding of the case study approach, to filter and elaborate this approach for architectural research. This research examines and elaborates on credible and recent literature on case study, both in social and architectural research. Elaboration from the literature review is used to formulate an operational framework based on architectural function-form-meaning. It is hoped that the results of this research will enrich architectural knowledge. The in-depth understanding is ultimately beneficial for improving existing architectural practices and becoming a source of knowledge for the general public.

The application of the Delphi method in architectural research

Research in the field of architecture plays a significant role in the advancement of architectural knowledge and encourages architectural professionals to produce better architectural works. Choosing the right research methodology is essential to producing high-quality research. Research methodologies are employed to determine the best scientific strategy for testing hypotheses provided by a particular theory. Thus, selecting the right methodologies has a big impact on how well a research project turns out. However, because there is such an extensive variety of research methods accessible, researchers frequently have trouble deciding which one is best for their objectives. The objective of this study is to investigate the Delphi method, one of the methods that can be applied to architectural research. Experts on a particular topic are surveyed and their opinions are gathered using the Delphi technique. This research will explore several architectural research journals that have utilized the Delphi method, focusing on the methodology section of each study. Through this exploration, the reasons for employing the Delphi method in each research and its procedural implementation will be examined. The findings of this research can serve as a basis for consideration in selecting and appropriately utilizing the Delphi method in architectural research.

Advancing producer mobility management in Named Data Networking: A comprehensive analytical model

This paper introduces a transformative approach to managing producer mobility in Named Data Networking (NDN). It presents a novel analytical model known as Producer Mobility Management Model (PMMM) that significantly improves handoff latency, signalling cost, and packet delivery efficiency, overcoming limitations of traditional static anchor-based methods. This model serves as an extension of well-established theories drawn from existing literature, thus offering an advanced approach towards managing producer mobility. The model provides the dynamic mobility management solution to adapt to efficiently manage producer movements, ensuring optimal routing and efficient network performance. Comparative evaluations demonstrate marked advancements over existing solutions, establishing the model as a scalable and robust solution for NDN environments that solves high handoff latency, excessive signalling and long packet delivery issues. This work not only addresses current challenges in producer mobility but also sets a new direction for future research and practical applications in NDN architecture.

Visual Exploratory Analysis for Designing Large-Scale Network-on-Chip Architectures: A Domain Expert-Led Design Study.

Visualization design studies bring together visualization researchers and domain experts to address yet unsolved data analysis challenges stemming from the needs of the domain experts. Typically, the visualization researchers lead the design study process and implementation of any visualization solutions. This setup leverages the visualization researchers' knowledge of methodology, design, and programming, but the availability to synchronize with the domain experts can hamper the design process. We consider an alternative setup where the domain experts take the lead in the design study, supported by the visualization experts. In this study, the domain experts are computer architecture experts who simulate and analyze novel computer chip designs. These chips rely on a Network-on-Chip (NOC) to connect components. The experts want to understand how the chip designs perform and what in the design led to their performance. To aid this analysis, we develop Vis4Mesh, a visualization system that provides spatial, temporal, and architectural context to simulated NOC behavior. Integration with an existing computer architecture visualization tool enables architects to perform deep-dives into specific architecture component behavior. We validate Vis4Mesh through a case study and a user study with computer architecture researchers. We reflect on our design and process, discussing advantages, disadvantages, and guidance for engaging in a domain expert-led design studies.

Shadowing Stroke Patients to Explore the Rehabilitation Built Environment: Approach, Insights, and Lessons Learned.

Shadowing is a research method that combines observing events and short on-the-go interviews to investigate people's roles and behaviours in various settings. Even though it is not a widely used method in architectural research, it can be adapted to focus on the interaction of individuals with the built environment. This is especially important in healthcare environments, where people are vulnerable and more dependent on their surroundings. In this article, I reflect on the experience of adapting and using the shadowing method to explore stroke inpatients' interactions with the built environment during their recovery in rehabilitation centres. This research study was the first to employ shadowing in the stroke patient population on such a large scale. One day (12 consecutive hours) was spent with each of the 70 participating stroke inpatients, recording their interactions with the built environment in different forms - on the floor plans, as narrative descriptions, creating sketches of situations and noting down patients' remarks. This method was useful in capturing the built environment's role in patients' daily experiences in rehabilitation centres. Research in healthcare facilities includes various challenges, and close contact with the patient population of older adults with stroke introduces numerous unexpected events and ethical dilemmas in the field. At the same time, this method provides research insights that would otherwise be unobtainable. Researchers are given practical information and recommendations on how to prepare for using shadowing for architectural research and what to expect in the field.

“The Spanish Cathedral”, a Prototype of Mobile Application for the Access to the Religious Cultural Heritage of Gothic Hispanic Cathedrals

After an in-depth examination of the communication strategies, digital offerings, and audio guides currently employed by various Spanish cathedrals constructed during the 12th and 15th centuries, it was detected that there was a need to gradually build and improve an integral and unified tool that serves as a reference for the learning of the artistic elements that characterize the mentioned constructions. This will contribute to both the promotion of the cathedral —understood as an ensemble— and its communication with the public. This article introduces the conceptualization and design of the mobile application “La Catedral Hispana”, a high-fidelity prototype that seeks to promote Spanish cathedrals with Gothic elements in their construction. This prototype encompasses two areas of study for its task: the research of Gothic architecture in cathedrals and the principles of user experience (interaction design, information architecture, and interface development), for the correct development of the sample, using the Figma software for its design and implementation. The objectives lay not only in providing a tool that facilitates access and shares academic information, but also in establishing relationships among the diverse Spanish cathedrals by means of their common features. The Spanish Cathedral is a proposal for promoting the democratization of cultural information, the learning of the value of heritage, and the development of a new solid and accessible communication channel that enables the target audience to both value and recognize one of the most important types of constructions as a part of Spanish identity.

Enhancing Robotics with Cognitive Capabilities

In the pursuit of creating more effective and adaptable robots, the flourishing field of cognitive robotics has arisen to infuse machines with human-like cognitive functions. This paper delves into the significance of cognitive robotics and charts a course for empowering robots with advanced cognitive capabilities. Drawing inspiration from current research in cognitive architectures, the paper underscores the importance of refined perception, language processing, complex decision-making, emotional intelligence, and cognitive synergy. By integrating these cognitive functions into robotic systems, the goal is to equip robots to operate intelligently in dynamic environments, collaborate seamlessly with humans, and adeptly handle diverse tasks. The proposed enhancements mark crucial strides towards the development of more versatile and capable intelligent robots.

Case Study on Architectural Heritage Conservation Taking Lu Zuofu Memorial Hall as an Example

Through the Lu Zuofu Memorial Hall and architectural heritage related literature research, the background of Lu Zuofu Memorial Hall and the architectural layout of the function of a brief introduction, and then analyze the Lu Zuofu Memorial Hall "protection and reuse" repair and protection methods, as well as Lu Zuofu Memorial Museum will be a combination of cultural display, ideological education, cultural experience and tourism and so on. Analyze the "protection and reuse" protection method of the real needs and with the former planning after the assessment of the renovation and protection of the concept of combination.

Calibrating the Parallax View: Understanding the Critical Moments of the Yugoslav Post-Socialist Turn

In this article, we seek to provide a new line of sight referring to specificities of the neoliberal turn in post-socialist societies and corresponding transformations of space. By employing the methodological approach that side-by-side explores two mutually exclusive strategies of analytical and empirical survey, we intend to tackle the question of irreducible antinomies pertinent to architectural research methodologies. Block 23 of the Central Zone of New Belgrade, designed by Branislav Karadžić, Božidar Janković, and Aleksandar Stjepanović (1968), has been widely recognised and aptly studied as one of the highlights of modern urban planning and design, conceived and realised in the period of late socialism in Belgrade (Serbia, former Yugoslavia). Featuring a notion of a “parallax gap,” we presume that the reading of Block 23 through two close yet clearly distinctive perspectives can bring a new scope of knowledge and point to the gap inscribed in the buildings themselves. The first point of view is empirical, centred on the notion of everyday life, and concerns the interpretation and use of space by its inhabitants. The second one is analytical, determined by the work of the architect and architectural theoretician, Branislav Milenković. We start from their point of contact and seek to find a shift in the diverging discursive positions producing a parallax gap. By way of architectural drawing, we explore and theorise new possibilities opened up by the actual buildings: interstitial, intermediary, transitional spaces, and spatial in-betweens. We hope to demonstrate the pursuit of both meticulously planned and dynamically conceived spaces open for the unpredictable was not only a way to respond to specific Yugoslav socio-political realities, but that it fostered the capacity of architecture to accommodate the future population and socio-economic transformations.