Building Typology Research Articles

Revealing the features of international secondary education systems and their influence on the architecture of buildings of educational organizations (on the example of India)

Secondary education is compulsory all over the world. The implementation of this educational level takes place in school buildings of various sizes and types. It seems appropriate to study the features of the educational systems of the largest countries and their impact on the architecture of the school building with the subsequent systematization of similar and distinctive features with the Russian typology of school buildings in order to find the best options for its transformation in response to changes in external influencing factors. The article discusses the features of the development of the education system in India with an emphasis on the middle level. The current regulatory documents are analyzed, the most typical examples of school buildings are given. The issue of the development of digital education in the country is highlighted.

Community‐level post‐hazard functionality methodology for buildings exposed to floods

AbstractThis paper presents a building‐level post‐hazard functionality model for communities exposed to flood hazards including the interdependencies between the population, buildings, and infrastructure. An existing portfolio of building archetypes is used to model the post‐hazard physical flood functionality of different building typologies within the community with the goal of supporting resilience‐informed decision‐making. Specific fragility‐based flood functionality curves were developed for this portfolio to quantify the exceedance probability of a prescribed set of functionality states. While the physical functionality of buildings is significant to the total functionality of a building and community resilience assessment, the functionality of utilities such as power and water along with the accessibility of the household to essential services such as schools and hospitals is crucial to measure their total functionality. Therefore, functionality models for essential infrastructure were developed to assess housing unit‐ and building‐level functionality following flood hazards. This model also accounts for the functionality of the road network following a flood hazard to identify the level of accessibility of households to different services (e.g., schools, hospitals, gas stations, shopping centers, etc.). The main novelty of this paper is the ability to quantify the total functionality of buildings based on a socio‐physical formulation after including the interdependencies between the functionality of the physical systems and the subsequent functionality of the socio‐economic systems, which is key to measuring resilience at the community level. This was evident from the analysis results using a testbed community of Lumberton, NC, showing that the physical functionality is not sufficient to quantify the total post‐hazard functionality of buildings and that the functionality of other subsystems such as utilities and accessibility to essential services are also needed to quantify the total functionality of buildings and the livability of households.

A case study of industrial heritage buildings at the Rjukan and Notodden site in Norway

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) site of Rjukan and Notodden in Norway consists of unique industrial heritage values because of its architecture and engineering from the first decades of the twentieth century. During this period, construction technology experienced speedy developments in Norway, and many different building systems influenced the construction industry. Today, the preserved site with 24 selected industrial buildings offers great insight into the diversity of industrial heritage but bears also substantial conservation challenges. This presents a unique research opportunity, and this case study, which is part of a larger research project, aims to establish an overview of industrial building systems and architecture. The study revealed that industrial and high-rise structures have many commonalities despite very different architectural expressions and functions. Progression from craft-driven to prefabricated mass construction was not an isolated incident but a result of global industrialisation. This affected construction technology and influenced the evolution of both building typologies. Studying and analysing how case buildings resist loads and how that relates to system development helps understand the industrial heritage of this site. Through findings, this research intends to support heritage conservation schemes where practising architects, engineers and contractors can apply them for forthcoming project work.

Building typology classification using convolutional neural networks utilizing multiple ground-level image process for city-scale rapid seismic vulnerability assessment

Several studies have focused on generating seismic vulnerability maps for earthquake-prone areas, particularly in Indonesia. Building typologies are a key factor in determining vulnerability to earthquakes. However, conducting large-scale field surveys to determine the spatial distribution of building typologies in a city is uneconomical. This paper explores the use of a convolutional neural network (CNN) to automatically detect building typologies from diverse regions in Indonesia, utilizing both conventional and automated building image acquisition processes. In this study, datasets from three distinct image acquisition methods are trained with four unique CNN architectures to identify the best-performing model to classify building typologies. The sample size effect on CNN performance is also investigated. The results showed that randomly sampled Google Street View (GSV) images are the most effective dataset for the CNN model, achieving an f1-score of 84.33%. Among the network architectures tested, MobileNet demonstrated superior performance on the majority of evaluated datasets. As the sample size increases by about 350% in the dataset, there is a positive correlation with up to 2.3% f1-score improvement. Using the best-performing CNN model, two building vulnerability models were employed to assess the spatial distribution of building damage in the urban area of Bandung, considering a hypothetical scenario of an M7 earthquake. Incorporating local construction data, one of the generated maps estimated that approximately 55% of buildings in Bandung would experience moderate to severe structural damage. This study showcases the potential of CNN models in automating regional seismic assessments and providing valuable insights for comprehensive seismic mitigation strategies.

Energy-Efficient Strategies for Mitigating Airborne Pathogens in Buildings—Building Stage-Based Sustainable Strategies

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had widespread global effects. The advent of novel variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, along with the spread of diverse airborne viruses across different geographical locations, has caused reflective apprehension on a global scale. This resurgence emphasises the critical importance of carefully constructed structures installed with efficient ventilation systems, including both natural and mechanical ventilation techniques, as well as mixed-mode ventilation approaches in buildings. Building engineering and architectural designs must go beyond traditional considerations of economics and structural durability in order to protect public health and well-being. To attain a high quality of life, it is necessary to prioritise sustainability, energy efficiency, and the provision of safe, high-quality indoor environments. Empirical scientific investigations underscore the pivotal role played by conducive indoor environments in averting the transmission of viral diseases such as COVID-19 and mitigating challenges associated with sick building syndrome, primarily stemming from suboptimal indoor air quality. This work provides a summary and a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, and threat) analysis of strategies designed for engineers, architects, and other experts in the field to implement. These strategies are intended for integration into new constructions and the retrofitting of extant structures. Their overarching objective is the minimisation of viral transmission within indoor spaces, accomplished in an energy-efficient manner consonant with sustainable development objectives. The significance of these strategies lies in their ability to impact changes to national and international building codes and regulations, strengthening infrastructures against probable airborne viral threats. Encompassing both object-centric and subject-centric approaches, these strategies collectively furnish a holistic framework for mitigating the dissemination of pathogens, exemplified by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and similar airborne viruses, across diverse typologies of buildings.

Expanding Building Archetypes to Estimate the Indoor Environment Thermal Storage Capacity in the Danish Building Stock when Performing Demand Response

Short-term demand response leveraging the energy flexibility of the building stock is a key solution to decarbonise and ensure the reliability and sustainability of smart energy grids dominated by intermittent renewable energy sources. Most of the building demand response capacity depends on different forms of energy storage in the built environment. In addition to electric batteries, hot water storage tanks, ground source heat exchanger or dispatchable on-site renewable energy sources, buildings possess a tremendous thermal storage capacity within the thermal inertia of their structure and indoor environment. The latter can easily be harnessed with heating/cooling indoor temperature setpoint modulation strategies. However, there is a clear lack of large-scale estimates of this indoor environment thermal storage capacity in the different building stocks. To tackle this issue, detailed dynamic numerical models of the different building typologies in European countries are generated to assess the potential of demand response strategies at nationwide levels. The current paper presents the preliminary results on the thermal storage capacity in the Danish building stock when performing heating temperature setpoint modulation. These results are based on estimates of the effective thermal inertia of the different building archetypes in Denmark. They show that the Danish building stock contains immense thermal storage capacity, which is comparable to all combined batteries in a large fleet of electric vehicles or all industrial-size storage tanks in district heating plants.

Review of Everyday Modernism: Architecture & Society in Singapore

Following Singapore’s transition to self-governance in 1959 and eventual independence from British rule as a republic in 1965, growing housing needs and subsequent waves of industrialization saw the island-nation’s landscapes and coastlines radically transformed, and its population’s ways of living and working fundamentally reorganized. Everyday Modernism: Architecture and Society in Singapore makes a case for what Chang and Zhuang term the “Singapore vernacular” covering this period up to the nation’s economic prosperity in the 1990s. Putting together an insightful volume that catalogues buildings and structures representative of the time that they were constructed, the authors evoke a vernacular that refers not so much to a single style or building typology, but everyday rather than iconic architecture, at all scales, built for civic, industrial, educational, and entertainment purposes. The authors understand the everyday-ness of this architectural modernism as a concept that is “both specific and general,” which describes buildings of unknown authorship, such as those planned by architects working for government agencies, as opposed to the “heroic modernism” of contemporary projects designed by renowned local practitioners. Another facet of the everyday is the expanded sense of architecture that describes not only building projects but utilitarian structures—overhead bridges, multistorey carparks, hawker centers that house affordably priced food stalls—interwoven in the modern city’s infrastructure.

Environmental Complexes with Thermal Zoning for the Conditions of the Far North and the Arctic

The author’s proposals dedicated to the optimization of the design process, considering the specific requirements determined by the natural and climatic conditions of the Far North and the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation are disclosed. The authors rely on two methodological approaches: optimization of urban planning policy, on the one hand, and revision of the typology of residential and public buildings for the conditions of the Arctic and the Far North, on the other. The authors have developed and are actively promoting the basic principles of “green architecture” (the buffer principle, the community principle, the compensation principle, the principle of nature-likeness and the principle of vertical transfer). The main objective of this article is to put forward, develop and develop the concept of “thermal zoning”, which inherits the productive typological ideas of the Soviet period. It is shown how the scientific developments of the authors are tested in experimental and competitive design. In addition, specific proposals have been put forward to improve the urban development policy of the Arctic and create a new body that will optimize the activities of designers for the sustainable development of the architectural environment of Arctic cities and settlements.

History and Prospects of Development of Low-Rise Wooden Buildings in Cities of the North of Russia

Low-rise timber buildings are an important part of Arctic cities. This is due to a number of factors: the traditions of using wood in construction, accessibility and simplicity, mastery of the technology of processing wood as a building material, the ability to quickly construct buildings from ready-made elements, high thermal qualities of wood. The modern emergency low-rise wooden building fund has discredited itself, which has led to an increase in the construction of capital multi- apartment buildings using technologies from cities in central Russia. Currently, economics, ecology, and the development of modern technologies dictate the need to revive low-rise wooden residential buildings at a new qualitative level, including the development of a new typology of residential buildings that meet the diverse modern requirements of the population of Arctic cities.

Рабочий клуб - типология культурно-досуговых зданий СССР начала XX века

The article reveals the concept of “club”, its typology, features of architecture as a cultural, leisure and entertainment structure. The predecessors of workers’ clubs are described by historical chronology. The functions of folk houses are compared with bourgeois clubs in Western countries. Parallels are exposed between historical events in the early of the 20th century with the architecture of that period. The formation of the architecture of workers' clubs is noted and their historical background on the territory of the former USSR built from 20s to the 80s is revealed. The time period for the beginning of mass construction and the ideological inspirers of the architecture of club buildings are determined. In the article analyzes workers' clubs of the early 20th century in Russia designed by K.S. Melnikov. In the course of analyzing the three-dimensional solutions of the architecture of workers' clubs, the experience of their creation is considered, using the example of four characteristic objects built in the period 1920-1930, designed by K.S. Melnikov, in which the role of the author himself, who influenced the formation of structures of a new cultural and spectacular type, is analyzed. When describing buildings, economic and ideological aspects are considered, with regional characteristics. This research analyzes main architectural principles and compositional techniques used in the projects of workers' clubs by K.S. Melnikova. Based on the results of synthesis and analysis, a diagram has been compiled classifying the general features of the described clubs, their compositional properties and means, and organizational structures. As a result, a short retrospective analysis is given, demonstrating the prerequisites of a new typology of cultural and leisure buildings - a workers' club.

Investigating the seismic behavior of multi-story buildings across diverse plan areas and heights using etabs software

The understanding of the behavior of buildings during seismic events is paramount, particularly in regions susceptible to intense earthquakes. Through seismic analysis facilitated by tools like ETABS, engineers can craft structures capable of withstanding seismic forces. ETABS stands out as a versatile solution, accommodating a spectrum of structures ranging from elementary to intricate skyscrapers, whether static or dynamic. Its widespread adoption stems from its ability to cater to diverse building typologies. The engineers leverage ETABS to evaluate the structural integrity of buildings situated in earthquake-prone zones. This entails computing parameters such as sway, displacement patterns, and the magnitude of force the building's foundation must withstand. These analyses are instrumental in guaranteeing the structural resilience of buildings against seismic and wind-induced stresses.

The energy renovation pathway to ZEB in Italy: Analysis of typical buildings and methodological aspects

The evolution towards high-energy efficient buildings is one of the most important challenges today and is in line with the objectives set by the new European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) which provides for the decarbonization of entire building stock by 2050. The study starts from the analysis of the current regulatory framework in Europe and Italy, highlighting the lack of homogeneity in the methods of transposition of European directives by the Member States already at the “nearly zero energy buildings” level (nZEB). Starting from these considerations, the critical analysis of the European and Italian context highlights the need to overcome the standards currently in force and investigate new perspectives for the design of high-efficient buildings in the direction of “zero energy and zero emissions”. For this reason, two residential and office buildings typologies are examined to confirm whether the net Zero Energy Building (ZEB) objective can be achieved through the legislation in force in Italy, starting from nZEB level. The study analyses the energy balance through dynamic simulations and evaluates energy needs of buildings and renewable energy production in order to verify the compliance to ZEB target, on yearly and monthly basis.

A critique on thermal performance and energy usage in  government office buildings in Trincomalee and the need for  sustainable retrofitting - a typological analysis

Buildings use a large amount of energy during their lifetime and are identified as the main contributors to the increasing energy demand. A proper understanding of the Thermal Performance (TP) parameters can result in a climate-responsive design and reduce indoor overheating. In the construction field, sustainable retrofitting is identified as another important field of research, where new technologies can be introduced to the existing built environment and enhance their efficiency. This paper mainly focuses on how different building typologies of the existing public office buildings are contributing to inefficient TP and energy usage, and how sustainable retrofitting can help to improve their energy performances. 27 existing public office buildings in urban and suburban areas in Trincomalee, were selected for the typology analysis, and with special attention to plan form, one case study under spread-out plan form was selected. The TP of the building was investigated through an on-site Thermal Performance Investigation and Computational Simulation (CS) process. It is proposed that the energy required for cooling a building can be reduced if efficient sustainable retrofitting design strategies can be used to improve the TP. The outcome is beneficial in the formulation of design guidelines for new and existing buildings.

Introduction: Architects as Global Entrepreneurs in the Long 20th Century

Throughout the 20th century, architects have become global entrepreneurs in expanding their portfolios and businesses. The far-reaching consequences of this historical development are at the core of this Special Collection. Our basic assumption is that since a substantial part of the modern built environment has been produced at the hands of private business, it is only logical to investigate it as such. During the period under research in this collection, architects and the commercial firms they were associated with played instrumental roles in the design, financing, construction and development of a wide range of building typologies, from sprawling suburbia to inner-city redevelopment schemes and social infrastructures.

An Environmental Quality Assessment of Office Buildings: The Impact of a Glass Façade on Users in Different Climate Contexts in Croatia

Glass façades are being increasingly applied in the typology of office buildings. The environmental quality parameters of indoor spaces have an exceptional influence on the wellbeing and productivity of users. In the past, climate defined the architecture of a particular area. Façades of contemporary office buildings have similar characteristics regardless of their location. This study comprises four office buildings with different types of glass façades located in areas of continental and coastal climate in Croatia. Also, the research relates to a graduate study course, during which the students designed a survey to gain insight into the satisfaction of users of the analyzed buildings. The aim of this research is to explore the impact of the design of glass façades in a certain climate context on users. This paper will address the following research questions: (1) Is a fully glazed office building pleasant to work in? (2) Is a fully glazed façade an appropriate solution for office buildings in hot and sunny climates? The research results show that to achieve a comfortable indoor environment for buildings’ users, it is necessary to design the façade according to the orientation, especially in terms of glazing characteristics, a sun protection system, and window control.

Heat loss characteristics of typology-based apartment building external walls for a digital twin-based renovation strategy tool

Information about existing building structures is necessary for creating a renovation strategy. Older buildings are often built using typical building envelope structures. However, this information is presented in the building register at a general level, specifying the material type but not its characteristics. For a cross-regional reconstruction strategy, it is necessary to link the scarce information in the building register with the heat loss characteristics of the building envelope structures. In the current study, we classified external wall solutions according to building typologies and linked this with building register information. The typology database includes log, timber frame, brick, concrete, and aerated lightweight concrete external wall structures. Comparing the typology-based values and the actual situation showed that the wall structures’ expected and actual heat loss characteristics agreed. However, there were also significant deviations, primarily because the data from the building register did not allow for precise classification. Nevertheless, data showed that building typology-based heat loss properties are necessary for developing a district-based renovation strategy.

Cracking the code: mapping residential building energy performance in rural Central Asia through building typologies

Buildings in rural Central Asia have unique characteristics as they were built during the Soviet era (during 1950–1960) without any energy efficiency measures. The special and aged building stock pose a crucial challenge on energy security and energy supply. However, accurate scientific data on their energy usage is lacking, highlighting a research gap about robust and validated methodology to determine the energy use of rural Central Asian buildings. In response to this need, this research paper proposes a set of generalised residential building typologies for rural Central Asia, with a focus on Kyrgyzstan. The study combines quantitative and qualitative methods, including household surveys, energy demand modelling, EnergyPlus simulations, and result validation. It derives energy-based building typologies from construction year and building envelope characteristics. Through numerous validated simulations, it was identified that the heat demand for rural Kyrgyz houses is 3–5 times here compared to European houses (250–400 kWh/m2). The study revealed the estimated heat demand for homes in rural Kyrgyzstan, indicating a significant potential for improving building energy efficiency in the region. These results can inform specific approaches, such as building renovation plans, energy certification, and renovation strategies. Furthermore, the validated methodology introduced offers opportunities for researchers in the field of building energy efficiency and can be applied to similar regions in Central Asia with comparable building stocks and climates.

Disaster Vulnerability Assessment of Low-Cost Houses in Java Island

Among all of the Indonesian islands, Java poses the highest risk for all types of disasters, making it a significant threat to low-cost houses due to its high population vulnerability. The objective is to enhance comprehension of it by conducting a building typology analysis concerning various natural hazards/ risks. The methodology consists of 10 sample houses field observation, AutoCAD drawing, literature analysis, and built environment expert interviews. The results developed four categories of houses emphasising brick or timber walls with a combination of clay tile or zinc roofs. Related to disaster vulnerability, an improper building structure is the main problem. Smooth roof material is significant in a volcano eruption, a complete interconnection of structure is a must for the tornado, light materials are preferable in an earthquake zone, natural material is not recommended for high risk of forest fire, and elevating floor is mandatory in flooding. Focus on designing the four categories’ houses and quality control of the construction process are two strategies recommended. Also, a minimum of two types of disasters in the area should be considered in the design. Resilient low-cost houses will have an impact on reducing casualties, environmental damage, and economic losses. Covering more samples and areas in Java in future studies will provide a comprehensive understanding of low-cost houses.

Convolutional Neural Networks and Regression Algorithms Supporting Buildings Facility Management

Facility Management is a multi-disciplinary task in which coordination is key to attaining success during the building life cycle and for which technology assumes an increasing role. This sector is demanding more available and accurate tools to optimize the management process, decrease the probability of failure, and reduce the time spent on anomaly analysis. So, the present paper presents work developed to improve access to building anomaly recognition and to predict the building degradation state in an automatized way. The methodology applied to achieve this goal started with a survey and digital data acquisition from a case study, followed by the automatized detection of building anomalies using supervised classification in Deep Learning; then, the early diagnosis of threatening conditions for building degradation took place using degradation curves based on data records and regression algorithms. The results drive this study a step forward toward obtaining advanced tools for Facility Management based in Artificial Intelligence, able to provide the most appropriate moment at which to intervene according to the cost-benefit. The present work provided better results on the harmonic mean of precision and recall when compared with previous studies of image classification for the construction sector. Moreover, the mathematical functions for the prediction of future degradation based on the data field for each construction system were presented and can be applied to the typologies of other buildings. In the end, future developments and limitations are highlighted.

Traces of the Heritage of Rantauprapat Kingdom (Oral History Review)

The Kingdom of Rantauprapat was a small kingdom that initially emerged in the upper reaches of the Bilah River. This research focuses on reconstructing the history of the Rantauprapat Kingdom through the utilization of historical relics found and historical research methods, as well as oral history methods. In particular literature, the starting point of the Rantauprapat kingdom is referred to as Poeldung. It is estimated that this kingdom existed from the late 18th century to the early 19th century, and it is known that the founder, named Patuan Bolatan, originated from Toba and was laid to rest behind the Sioldengan Village Castle housing. The existence of this kingdom became more evident during the reign of Patuan Bolatan's son, King Muda, around the mid-19th century. This was marked by the construction of the Palace in Sibuaya, formerly known as "Lobu in Bendahara Street," which has left a legacy as an ancient tomb complex. The existence of this kingdom subsequently extended from the king's residence on Padi Street to the relics of shop houses with ancient building typology on Pasar Lama Street and Veteran, as well as a tomb belonging to the last king of Rantauprapat, located in the Paindoan TPU complex