General Architectural Design Research Articles

Sustainable strategies applied on commercial architecture in Australia

Recent innovations in modern architectural technology facilitated the development and widespread utilisation of sustainable commercial buildings for sustainable social development. In this research, commercial architecture in Australia is demonstrated as a basis for determining how sustainable technology could be controlled and what the eco-maintenance and materials of major building elements should be. This research also analyzes and describes the sustainable commercial architecture background in Australia. A widely integrated approach is employed in the critical process of general architectural design because commercial buildings must integrate sociology, architecture, and aesthetics.

Design Constraint Systems - A Generative Approach to Architecture

Generative Architectural Design permits the automatic (or semiautomatic) generation of architectural objects for a wide range of applications, from archaeological research and reconstruction to digital sketching. In this paper the authors introduce design constraint systems (DCS), their approach to the generation of architectural design with the help of a simple example: The development of the necessary formalisms to generate a family of architectural designs, i.e. simple houses and pagodas. After explaining the formal system the authors introduce an approach for the generation of complex form based on the application of transformations and distortions. Architecture is bound by the constraints of physical reality: Gravitation and the properties of the used materials define the limits in which architectural design is possible. With the recent development of new materials and construction methods however, the ways in which form and physics go together get more complicated. As a result, the shapes of architecture gain more liberty, and more and more complex shapes and structures become possible. While these advances allow for new ways of architectural expression, they also make the design process much more challenging. For this reason new tools are necessary for making this complexity manageable for the architect and enable her to play and experiment with the new possibilities of complex shapes and structures. Design constraint systems can be used as tool for experimentation with complex form. Therefore, the authors dedicate the final part of this paper to a concise delineation of an approach for the generation of complex and irregular shapes and structures. While the examples used are simple, they give an idea of the generality of design constraint systems: By using a two-component approach to the generation of designs (the first component describes the abstract structure of the modelled objects while the second component interprets the structure and generates the actual geometric forms) and allowing the user to adjust both components freely, it can be adapted to all kind of different architectural styles, from historical to contemporary architecture.

Emerging sustainability assessment tools in the MENA region: An analytical evaluation

Since the early 1990's, the concept of sustainable development in general and sustainable architectural design in particular has remained the subject of intense debate. Importantly, however, this debate has continued largely in isolation from the embracing theory of sustainable development from which the principles of sustainable architectural design have been drawn. The existing building sustainability assessment tools such as BREAAM, LEED, and Green Building are mainly proposed for use in the US and Europe. Recently, models and checklists have been made to develop sustainability assessment tools for the booming cities the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In Qatar, and in the face of the rapid economic growth, population increase and construction boom, there are issues related to the impact of such development on the socio-environmental components of the city, especially with the upcoming 2022 world cup. The market has identified Qatar, in the Arabian Gulf, as one of the busiest construction areas in...

Tsinghua University student design competition—Schools

Armstrong (China) Investment Co., Ltd., with support from Tsinghua University sponsored a school design competition, and this represents the winning student entry. This competition was intended to encourage students to express their knowledge of architectural acoustics and noise control in the design of a school in which acoustical considerations are of significant importance. Design included considerations of 1) the general architectural building design including both shape and location of the building relative to transportation noise sources, and 2) the specific architectural acoustic design of rooms, including noise control both within and between rooms. The design scenario was for a new primary school designed to replace an older school building at a site near Tsinghua University. The primary school will include grade levels from 1 to 6, with approximately 1000 pupils. This school building will include normal classrooms (number and size based on student population and design standards), cafeteria, auditorium, library, music rooms, gym, dancing room, etc, as are normally found in such a primary school. The school will consist of a single building, which may be a multi-level building.

Tongji University student design competition—Schools

Armstrong (China) Investment Co., Ltd., with support from Tongji University sponsored a school design competition, and this represents the winning student entry. This competition was intended to encourage students to express their knowledge of architectural acoustics and noise control in the design of a school in which acoustical considerations are of significant importance. Design included considerations of 1) the general architectural building design including both shape and location of the building relative to transportation noise sources, and 2) the specific architectural acoustic design of rooms, including noise control both within and between rooms. The design scenario was for a new primary school designed to replace an older school building at a site near Tongji University. The primary school will include grade levels from 1 to 6, with approximately 1000 pupils. This school building will include normal classrooms (number and size based on student population and design standards), cafeteria, auditorium, library, music rooms, gym, dancing room, etc, as are normally found in such a primary school. The school will consist of a single building, which may be a multi-level building.

A General Principle of Neural Arbor Branch Density

The tree-like structures of a neuron that are responsible for distributing (axons) or collecting (dendrites) information over a region of the brain are called arbors. The size of the territory occupied by an arbor and the density of the arbor branches within that territory are important for computation because these factors determine what fraction of a neural map is sampled by a single cell and at what resolution [1]. Arbor territory size and branch density can vary by many orders of magnitude; however, we have identified a universal relationship between these two physical properties revealing a general neural architectural design principle. All of the arbors (axons and dendrites) we have studied (including fish retinal ganglion cells, rodent Purkinje cells, and the cortical arbors of various neural classes from rat, cat, monkey, and human) are found to be systematically less dense when they cover larger territories. This relationship can be described as a power law. Of several simple biological explanations explored, we find that this relationship is most consistent with a design principle that conserves the average number of connections between pairs of arbors of different sizes.

New directions in agent-based generative architectural design

The paper discusses the potential of computer agents in form generation in the early stages of the architectural design process. First it discusses the possibility to simulate human behavior by computer agents and reviews the various directions in which computer agents were employed in architectural design. Then, it discusses the difference between form simulation and generation in architectural design and suggests ways in which computer agents could be employed in architectural design in a generative manner. The suggested ways are examined by several design case studies. The paper concludes with the advantages and limitations of employing agents for form generation in architectural design.

Adapting cellular automata to support the architectural design process

This paper investigates the support of generative architectural design processes using cellular automata systems with a high level of involvement of human designers. Previous applications of cellular automata to architectural design have oftentimes been characterised by their limited generative capacity for top–down developmental control and for pragmatic rule-breaking as they are easily offered by human designers. This paper explores different options for modifying and extending classical cellular automata systems to support architectural form finding. It discusses the potential of cellular automata as generative design tools with respect to the questions: In which part of a design development, during which periods during a design process and in what roles do cellular automata promise desirable results from a practical standpoint? In response to these questions, a theoretical framework for the integration of cellular automata into the design process is presented. An implementation of a dialogue-based cellular automata-supported design process model is outlined and evaluated by remodelling an existing architectural design project.

Book review

This literature review presents the History, Technology, and Applications of Natural Dialog Systems or simply chatbots. It aims to organize critical information that is a necessary background for further research activity in the field of chatbots. More specifically, while giving the historical evolution, from the generative idea to the present day, we point out possible weaknesses of each stage. After we present a complete categorization system, we analyze the two essential implementation technologies, namely, the pattern matching approach and machine learning. Moreover, we compose a general architectural design that gathers critical details, and we highlight crucial issues to take into account before system design. Furthermore, we present chatbots applications and industrial use cases while we point out the risks of using chatbots and suggest ways to mitigate them. Finally, we conclude by stating our view regarding the direction of technology so that chatbots will become really smart.

Acoustical models in the design studio

Acoustical model studies have been incorporated in graduate architectural design studios and elective courses. Recent studies have included modeling outdoor urban spaces in Chicago and Beijing; modeling the Thomas Center (an existing building on the National Register of Historic Places) to determine appropriate acoustical modifications to the building that would also satisfy the requirements of the historic preservation guidelines; and design alternatives to solve some of the acoustical problems in a barrel‐vaulted lecture hall proposed for an actual building. The studio work has been shown to be an effective method to let students explore the interaction between applied acoustical design problems and general architectural design issues.

Concerning the Origin of the Onion Dome and Onion Spires in Central European Architecture

THE O N I O N SHAPED SPIRES of the country and pilgrimage churches in Southern Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and the Dolomite mountain region of Italy are a characteristic part of these landscapes. They are found, to a lesser degree, in Poland and Hungary, and in the parts of Yugoslavia which before 1918 formed part of the Austrian empire. The distinctive design of these spires differs from the more elaborate tower terminations employed by architects on other structures during the i7th and I 8th centuries. No study explores the origin of the design, or the reason for its geographic distribution.1 Passing conjectures about Byzantine or Eastern originsin view of the resemblance to Russian and Greek Orthodox church spires and Islamic structures-are found, but only to note stylistic similarities, which are then not examined. Indeed, precisely this similarity is part of the interest in the subject. If we assume that a foreign stylistic element has been adopted, we would expect to see it made part of the general architectural design portfolio, and not be limited to country churches. Since these churches were constructed to celebrate and uphold the victory of the Catholic church over its Protestant adversaries, architects would not use a form that is the unmistakable hallmark of another deviation from victorious church doctrine, namely the Greek Orthodox. This relationship of architecture and doctrine also speaks against the use, as a model for oniondome structures, of a Western representative of Byzantine architecture, like S. Marco in Venice. Since the onion shape is not found except in the geographical areas mentioned, and there only in limited examples, it is reasonable to seek the origin of the design in a specific place. This approach turned out to be fruitful. Evidence in the form of a dated city view reveals that as early as I56z tower helmets or spires of definite onion shape existed in Prague, employed for both sacred and secular architecture: the small towers placed at the corners of the terminal platform of the main tower of St. Vitus cathedral, the five towers of the no longer extant Rosenberg palace, and a water tower (Fig. i). A later (i6o6) and more skillful rendering of the palace on the south side of Hradschin castle and the water tower of the Old Town confirms the earlier view (Fig. z). The external fabric of Rosenberg castle, completed in 1549,

Kinetics of neutralization of bacteriophage f2 by rabbit gamma-G-antibodies.

The neutralization of bacteriophage f2 by intact gammaG-immunoglobulin or fragments is first order with respect to both bacteriophage and antibody. Minimum values for the rate constants are of the order of 10(7)M(-1) sec(-1). The temperature dependence of the rates corresponds to the activation parameters: DeltaHdouble dagger = 6.7 kcal mole(-1) and DeltaSdouble dagger = -4 cal deg(-1) mole(-1) (gammaG-immunoglobulin); DeltaHdouble dagger = 8.0 kcal mole(-1) and DeltaSdouble dagger = -0.9 cal deg(-1) mole(-1) (5S pepsin fragment); and DeltaHdouble dagger = 13.3 kcal mole(-1) and DeltaSdouble dagger = 12 cal deg(-1) mole(-1) (3.5S fragment). The kinetic observations are consistent with the view that the binding of a single antibody molecule can bring about phage neutralization. There are two ways in which a single antibody molecule can affect neutralization: (1) binding at or near some critical site on the phage may block its function, (2) binding may disturb the general architectural design of the protein shell of the phage. Although the rate of neutralization varied directly with antibody size, consideration of the activation parameters speaks against the dependence of neutralization on simple steric factors. Addition of antibodies directed against rabbit gammaG-immunoglobulin or the 5S pepsin fragment caused approximately a threefold neutralization enhancement. This enhancement may result from the detection of a class of infectious bacteriophage antibody complexes.