Local Building Research Articles

Significance of Special Concept on Traditional Architecture of the Hausas in Nigeria

This paper looked at the significance of special concepts on Traditional Architecture of the Hausas in Nigeria. Traditional architecture may be defined as an inherited art and science from the past generation in the area of planning and designing with consideration to the provision of spaces for the individual and public interest and the construction of buildings with available local building materials. The aim of this study was to conduct exploratory research on the significance of special concepts of traditional architecture of the Hausas in Nigeria, and specific objectives were used to identify and examine these concepts and their importance and how they have influenced the use of traditional building materials, technology deployed and their consequence on traditional architecture of the Hausas in Nigeria. The study critically reviewed existing literatures on traditional architecture and explores the key importance relating to the concept of Hausa traditional architecture. In addition, the research identified the factors that contribute to the concept of Hausa traditional architecture. The study concluded with a recommendation to all professionals in the built environment to embrace and adapt traditional architecture in their design provisions and execution to give identifiable character. It will be sad if our traditional building styles and construction techniques disappear from the universe. The gains derived from our local methods and materials are enormous and need to be propagated, while any inadequacies associated with the traditional approach can be improved.

Historical Use of Travertine in the Tuscan Architecture (Italy)

The landscape of an area is not only made up of natural elements but also of man-made elements represented by civil and agricultural artefacts and much more. These elements used to blend aesthetically and harmoniously with the landscape itself thanks to the use of local building materials. Particularly, this contribution examines the use of the travertine in the architecture of the Tuscany region from the Etruscan time to the contemporary age. In Tuscany, travertine is a remarkable example of an identity stone of the territory, so rich in thermal springs that favoured the formation of large deposits of this stone widely used in public and private buildings both in interior design and urban furnishing. The work was carried out through a survey in the Tuscan territory and collection of bibliographic information on the architectural web sites. The survey made it possible to collect a photographic documentation and to assess the state of conservation through the empirical observation of the morphologies of decay when present. Indeed, this stone material in the Mediterranean climate, which characterises Tuscany, shows a good durability against atmospheric agents but may be affected by a chromatic alteration that tends to give the surfaces a greyish appearance. This aesthetic issue is more evident in the Tuscan travertine due to is classic whitish colour.

The role of City Climate Networks in Promoting Citizen Participation in Municipalities: A Critical Multi-Case Analysis

BackgroundAt the COP21, cities were recognised as key actors in combatting climate change. In supporting cities, climate city networks such as transnational climate networks (TCNs) and national climate networks (NCNs) have emerged to enable cities in building capacities and formulating climate policy whilst also encouraging citizen engagement and participation in public decision-making. This paper addresses the question whether and how TCN or NCN membership enables municipalities to implement citizen participation in public decision-making. Six propositions are presented addressing: presumed influence of TCN membership on citizen participation, organization of citizen participation, initiator capacity, goal setting, involvement of stakeholders, participatory methods used, and planning processes. A multi-case study research design is used to verify these propositions, comprising of four medium-sized cities in the Netherlands and three in Belgium.ResultsResults of the analysis of four cities in The Netherlands show that municipalities having membership to climate city networks only to a low extent empower citizen participation via local climate agendas. Citizen participation emerges rather bottom-up via local initiatives or capacity building via EU framework programs—outside TCNs or NCNs—that better suit financial needs and provide more immediate benefits to municipalities. None of the six propositions were confirmed. A more positive image resulted from the Belgian cases that moderately confirmed four out of six propositions (i.e., organizing citizen participation, goal setting, selection of methods, and planning), and featured indirect empowerment via externally funded implementation projects following firm integration of participation in local climate policy through TCN influence.ConclusionsIn terms of citizen participation selected municipalities in the Netherlands having TCN and/or NCN membership only to a small extent differ from those not having membership. This is partly due to poor implementation of TCNs and NCNs—with Covenant of Mayors and ‘Klimaatverbond’ lacking support structure and capacity—having lost importance during the past years. However, there is reason to believe that context makes a difference as revealed by the cases from Belgium, which revealed more positive results.

Implementing a provisional overarching intervention for COVID-19 monitoring and control in the Brazil-Colombia-Peru frontier.

he challenge was to provide comprehensive health resources to a remote and underserved population living in the Brazil-Colombia-Peru border, amid the most disruptive global crisis of the century. In August 2021, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Amazonia (FIOCRUZ Amazônia) and partner collaborators implemented an overarching provisional program for SARS-CoV-2 detection and lineages characterization, training of laboratory personnel and healthcare providers, donation of diagnostic supplies and personal protective equipment, and COVID-19 vaccination. The expedition was conducted at the Port of Tabatinga, a busy terminal with an intense flux of people arriving and departing in boats of all sizes, located in the Amazon River basin. Local government, non-profit organizations, private companies, and other stakeholders supported the intervention. The expedition was accomplished in a convergence point, where migrant workers, traders, army personnel, people living in urban areas, and people from small villages living in riversides and indigenous territories are in close and frequent contact, with widespread cross-border movement. Using a boat as a provisional lab and storage facility, the intervention provided clinical and laboratory monitoring for 891 participants; vaccination for 536 individuals; personal protective equipment for 200 healthcare providers; diagnostic supplies for 1,000 COVID-19 rapid tests; training for 42 community health agents on personal protection, rapid test execution, and pulse oximeter management; and hands-on training for four lab technicians on molecular diagnosis. Our experience demonstrates that multilateral initiatives can counterweigh the scarcity of health resources in underserved regions. Moreover, provisional programs can have a long-lasting effect if investments are also provided for local capacity building.

Micro-patterned glass for energy-efficient windows

Development of novel energy-efficient components is a topic of prime importance in building design. In this contribution, we propose a micro-patterned glass window which can be designed to efficiently reduce the energy demands of buildings located within an area of hot and cold seasons. The proposed patterned structure can be applied to any panes of glass in single or multi-pane windows. We first define the total positive power as a characteristic parameter for evaluating the effectiveness of using the designed window in reducing the average thermal power demands of a given building. Then, a full-wave numerical method is employed to analyze the performance of the proposed structure with respect to the defined characteristics. Our model accurately accounts for sunlight incident angle variations corresponding to different times of the days in every season. In addition, the variations of glass refractive index throughout the solar spectrum, non-polarized nature of the sun light, and typical dimension scales used in building windows are taken into account. Our numerical results show more than 80 W and 160 W total positive power for an optimized single-pane micro-patterned window with unit area and a double-pane one, respectively. We also present the design procedure of the proposed structure for a given geographical location of the building.

A prompt design method of railway tunnel hoods for micro-pressure wave mitigation using CFD-based POD reconstruction

The micro-pressure wave (MPW) is a major source of noise pollution around the railway tunnel environment and adversely affects the local building structure and the daily lives of residents. The main approach for alleviating MPWs is to install the tunnel hood at the mouth, and the specification design of the tunnel hood is of great significance to effectively mitigate the MPW. However, the traditional CFD and model-based experimental methods usually utilized for tunnel hood design are time-consuming and inefficient. Therefore, this paper presented a rapid design method that combined the CFD method and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) to design the parameters of the tunnel hood more efficiently. The initial transient database was first obtained from the numerical calculation verified by the model experiment, and then the database was extracted characteristically and reconstructed considerably using the POD method. The feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method were validated by implementing the demonstration case of a typical tunnel hood design. It can be seen from the research results that the determination coefficients (R2) of all test cases for transient results between the CFD method and the proposed method are over 0.99; the optimal parameter of this tunnel hood obtained from the POD reconstruction can achieve an approximately 60 % mitigation rate of the MPWmax, which is further verified by the numerical result with a discrepancy of merely 1.87 %. Compared with the traditional CFD method, the proposed method can reduce nearly 98 % of the total design time with a favourable prediction precision.

Rebels in their own job: How digging into a municipal mystery turned invited youth participation in an urban planning process into uninvited activism

AbstractYouth participation has become an important mechanism in many aspects of society, research and democratic institutions and in urban planning specifically. Yet, the ideal of participation often collides with the realities of planning as practice. In this article, we outline the halting process of transforming an old villa owned by the municipality into a youth house, and how youth trained as co‐researchers transitioned from being invited participants to becoming uninvited activists wanting to hold decision‐makers accountable for the delay. The empirical findings from Oslo, Norway highlight the complex processes of ‘thick’ participation practices to strengthen local democracy building.

The Influence of Dai-Traditional Ethnic Culture on Local Bamboo Building Architecture--Taking Xishuangbanna as an Example

By analyzing the overall structure and basic uses of Dai bamboo buildings, the paper discusses the relationship between Dai bamboo buildings and Dai People’s Daily life, religious beliefs, family concepts and the relationship with nature, etc., and produces a more in-depth study and exploration of the harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Starting from the structure of the Dai bamboo building, this paper provides basic knowledge of bamboo building from three aspects: building materials, overall structure, and basic functions. Secondly, it discusses in detail from the perspectives of religious belief, family concepts, respect for nature, and social and entertainment. It puts forward that the bamboo tower is the bearer of the specific lifestyle of Dai people in Xishuangbanna and contains their group philosophy. Finally, it is believed that the bamboo tower is the bearer of the Dai people’s culture and the result of its unique cultural comprehensive influence.

Art festivals in Japan: Fueling revitalization, tourism, and self-censorship

ABSTRACT This paper critically considers large-scale contemporary art festivals that have become a significant force of art tourism in Japan. While many of these projects got their start in socially conscious endeavors with a focus on machizukuri, or local community building, the increase of government-sponsored revitalization initiatives and heightened pressure from the tourism industry has shifted the output of these festivals over the years. As such, this paper aims to situate such festivals within their shifting genealogy, observe some of the ways that today’s artists and their artwork may be subject to precarious positions of instrumentalization and censorship, and raise points of critique for audiences to keep in mind around the topic of rural revitalization – i.e. what are some of the challenges that artists, curators, and organizers face today? While reflecting on factors at stake for art and cultural production in a hyper-touristic context, this paper also highlights the work of Shitamichi Motoyuki, an artist disrupting this paradigm in ways reminiscent of earlier forms of machizukuri art practices.

‘It is not rocket science but it can change our lives’: pluriversal design with FabLab Nepal at a spinal injury clinic

ABSTRACT What are the distinctive characteristics of the co-design practices at FabLab Nepal, the first humanitarian FabLab in South Asia? This paper presents select case materials from the project ‘3D Printing for Spinal Cord Injury’ to illustrate how FabLab Nepal operates through collaborative, co-design practices and then reflects on how these observations can enrich a more general understanding of what pluriversal design looks like in practice. Co-design initiatives were developed to suit the local practices and situated knowledge of the project context. What was remarkable was that the participants acknowledged that the co-design approach was not novel, however, they did recognise that its impact was beginning to transform everyday lives, in a gradual transition from survival in a disaster situation to local empowerment and capacity building. In this context, pluriversal design was observed to take the form of knowledge exchange and skills development in the use of printing technology, which gave a voice to the patient’s needs and desires in the design and manufacturing process.

The role of technology in shaping the coexistence of local hospital buildings

Architecture is one of the reflections of the development of societies and an indication of the extent of their development from the technological aspect, as this results in products characterized by uniqueness and positivity, as the role of technology is highlighted in the occurrence of symbiotic interference on existing buildings, especially hospital buildings, because this type of building has a constant need for expansion, so the relationship between the origin and the symbiont differs. Depending on the time of addition and the subsequent technological developments that give possibilities and possibilities for coexistence, in addition to the factor of the surrounding environment, the general fabric, and the original building, the important role in determining patterns for reconfiguration of coexistence. However, the concept of technology has the fundamental role in determining the type of relationship and connection and its degree between two cities, as the research aims to clarify the perception. Knowledge about the impact of technology on existing local hospital buildings in terms of materials, structures and mechanisms used when merging old and new, and applying the theoretical framework that has been reached on two samples of existing local hospitals and showing how to achieve the coexistence formation of this type of building to arrive at the most important conclusions (developments affect Technology on hospital configurations when adding and expanding, especially at the levels (structures - materials - facades - basic composition)).

The Mexican Biobank Project promotes genetic discovery, inclusive science and local capacity building.

Diversifying genotype-phenotype databases is essential to understanding complex trait and disease etiology across different environments and genetic ancestries. The rise of biobanks across the world is helping reveal the genetic and environmental architecture of multiple disease traits but the diversity they capture remains limited. To help close this gap, the Mexican Biobank (MXB) Project was recently generated, and has already revealed fine-scale genetic ancestries and demographic histories across the country, and their impact on trait-relevant genetic variation. This will help guide future genetic epidemiology and public health efforts, and has also improved polygenic prediction for several traits in Mexican populations compared with using data from other genome-wide association studies, such as the UK Biobank. The MXB illustrates the importance of transnational initiatives and funding calls that prioritize local leadership and capacity building to move towards inclusive genomic science.

Bathing in the shadow of Aphrodite: the construction of Roman-style baths in Cyprus

This paper explores the materials and techniques used in the construction of Roman-style baths in Cyprus, with a particular focus on their masonry, vaults, and heating systems. Examination of these architectural elements shows that these bathing facilities were not simply imported from Rome and passively received by the inhabitants of Cyprus. Instead, local building industries overcame the structural and technical challenges presented by Roman-style baths through the adaptation of local building traditions and innovative use of imported technology.

The suitability of the MOSTADAM system with the global systems of sustainability in the desert city, Case study ( North Narjes project in KSA)

Sustainable building practices are becoming increasingly important today, especially in desert areas with more severe environmental challenges. Numerous sustainable building assessment systems are available globally and locally, but their effectiveness and applicability in desert areas are poorly understood[1]. The world’s desert regions are facing unique environmental challenges, and sustainable building practices are becoming more important than ever. By comparing various assessment systems, we hope to identify the most effective and applicable methods for sustainable building in these areas. This research aims to compare global and local sustainable building assessment systems in desert areas to identify the most effective and suitable systems.Applying this to a sustainable program, which is one of the programs offered by the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)[1], where the research will mean studying its suitability within desert Areas.

Alternative clean energy for sustainable growth and development of the Nigerian telecommunications sector

Telecommunications plays a crucial role in facilitating the transmission of voice, data, and multimedia over extended distances. This paper explores the significance of telecommunications, particularly in Nigeria, the largest ICT market in Africa, where telecom and internet usage hold substantial importance. However, the sector's heavy reliance on fossil fuels has resulted in environmental challenges. This research underscores the imperative to transition to clean energy sources, aligning with the commitment of the Nigerian Communications Commission. The paper presents a case study of a solar hybrid system designed to enhance Base Transceiver Station (BTS) coverage, emphasizing notable challenges such as elevated costs and the industry's familiarity with fossil fuels. The optimal power configuration for a BTS, as identified in the study, features a 16kW PV (photovoltaic) array, 14kW Diesel Generator (DG), 32kWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), and Utility, achieving the lowest Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) at $0.255/kWh. The production summary for the Solar PV array is 24,767 kWh/year (76%), the Diesel Generator is 1,250 kWh/year (4%), and the Utility is 6,503 kWh/year (20%). Consequently, the total estimated production is 32,520 kWh/year, constituting 100% of the energy requirement for the BTS. The study proposes solutions to challenges, including local clean energy component production, capacity building, and regulatory alignment. In conclusion, the adoption of clean energy is deemed essential for sustainability, with recommendations for policy adoption and efficient equipment utilisation.

Converging Smartwatch and Urban Datasets for Sustainable City Planning: A Case Study in Seoul, South Korea

The widespread availability of open datasets in cities is transforming the way urban energy systems are planned, simulated, and visualized. In this paper, a cross-scale approach is pursued to better understand the reciprocal effects between building energy performance, the urban climate, and urban dwellers’ indoor and outdoor thermal comfort. On the one hand, monthly building electricity and gas demand data at the parcel level was collected, along with hourly weather station data at the urban scale. On the other hand, a longitudinal experiment was carried out in which 22 participants wore smartwatches for 4–6 weeks and filled out hourly micro surveys on their activities, location, and thermal comfort. In addition to survey responses, the smartwatches collected participants’ physiological data and location throughout the period of the study. The project was conducted in Seoul, South Korea, the highest-ranked Asian country in open data readiness, implementation, and impact. This paper reports on the data collection effort and provides some preliminary analysis of the results. The work carried out is expected to help develop methodologies for the convergence of district-scale and occupant-scale data in urban areas. A number of expected applications are proposed, including urban-scale studies on the impact of urban form on the local climate and building energy performance, district-to-building-scale building energy simulations accounting for occupant thermal comfort-related behaviors, and district-scale analyses of occupants’ outdoor thermal comfort and its relationship with location and wayfinding in urban areas.

An effective dual encoder network with a feature attention large kernel for building extraction

Transformer models boost building extraction accuracy by capturing global features from images. However, convolutional networks’ potential in local feature extraction remains underutilized in CNN + Transformer models, limiting performance. To harness convolutional networks for local feature extraction, we propose a feature attention large kernel (ALK) module and a dual encoder network for high-resolution image-building extraction. The model integrates an attention-based large kernel encoder, a ResNet50-Transformer encoder, a Channel Transformer (Ctrans) module and a decoder. Efficiently capturing local and global building features from both convolutional and positional perspectives, the dual encoder enhances performance. Moreover, replacing skip connections with the CTrans module mitigates semantic inconsistency during feature fusion, ensuring better multidimensional feature integration. Experimental results demonstrate superior extraction of local and global features compared to other models, showcasing the potential of enhancing local feature extraction in advancing CNN + Transformer models.

Presentation of the Institutional Role Model in Developing Local Entrepreneurship Based on Outsourcing of Large Regional Companies Active in the Oil and Gas IndustryPresentation of the Institutional Role Model in Developing Local Entrepreneurship Based on Outsourcing of Large Regional Companies Active in the Oil and Gas Industry

Objective: The aim of this study is to present a model of the institutional role in developing local entrepreneurship based on outsourcing large regional companies active in the oil and gas industry. Methodology: In the qualitative section of this research, theoretical sampling was used, and the opinions of 20 experts from Gachsaran Oil and Gas Company as well as academic experts were utilized. Additionally, in the quantitative section of the research, and based on the power analysis method, the opinions of 452 related experts were collected. The tools and methods for data analysis in the qualitative and quantitative sections were, respectively, interviews - grounded theory and questionnaires - structural equation modeling (PLS). Findings: The findings indicate that the paradigm model of the research includes internal causal factors and external factors; contextual conditions, including the government and national institutions, institutional entrepreneurship; intervening conditions, such as legal uncertainty, poor and unhealthy competitive performance, transparency in all outsourcing pillars; strategies, including reforms aligned with existing conditions and potential, local institutional capacity building, creating an environment for promoting productive local entrepreneurship, and creating local participation platforms for entrepreneurial development. Moreover, the consequences of the institutional role in developing local entrepreneurship through outsourcing large regional companies include the successful promotion of development-oriented policies, support for local activities, productive and sustainable employment, and sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the region. Conclusion: This research assists companies and institutions related to the oil and gas industries in gaining a deeper understanding of the institutional role in developing local entrepreneurship and in designing and implementing optimal strategies and approaches to enhance local entrepreneurship.

Strategies for maintaining indoor temperature in rural residences in highland pastoral areas

Previous studies on improving indoor thermal environments focus on plain areas. However, the scattered rural residences in highland pastoral areas have special climatic conditions and living habits. This article presents an approach to utilize the abundant renewable energy in the local area to create an indoor thermal environment that residents need. A rural village in Qinghai province of China was taken as the target; we used field investigation and questionnaire survey to explore typical layout. Combined with local building codes, two envelope and two heating systems were proposed to achieve indoor thermal comfort. We also introduce building simulation models and field tests to discover four combinations’ energy-saving effects in maintaining indoor thermal comfort. The average energy-saving rate in the heating season of the four schemes is 89.31%, and the mean temperature is 16.64 °C. The results suggest the heating system has a more significant influence on energy consumption than the enclosure structure, which needs attention under the same budget situation. The solar air heating system has better indoor temperature maintenance effects than the carbon fiber floor heating system. Regarding construction, the prefabricated integrated enclosure structures improve thermal insulation performance significantly.

Increasing the energy efficiency of wooden house construction

Individual housing construction in the Krasnoyarsk Territory is actively developing. Rising housing prices in multi-storey buildings, increasing building density, and socio-demographic factors are increasing the popularity of individual construction. Technologies for such construction imply the widespread use of available local building materials, in particular wood. During the study, the designs of private houses in the settlement - the regional center of the Krasnoyarsk Territory - were analyzed. It was found that 90% of the sample examined were houses built from timber. Using simulation modeling methods, the actual thermal resistance of the enclosing structure made of timber with a cross-section of 0.15×0.15 m was determined. The calculated value was compared with the standard resistance indicator of the enclosing structure, taking into account energy saving standards. The Elcut solid modeling system was used in the work. The required heat flow power to maintain stationary heat transfer conditions was determined. It has been established that the design enclosing structure does not provide the required thermal resistance taking into account energy saving standards. It is necessary to consider a multilayer enclosing structure and increase the design resistance by insulating the outer surface of the wall with heat-insulating materials.