Architecture Research Articles

FORTE: Few Samples for Recognizing Hand Gestures with a Smartphone-attached Radar

Radar sensing technologies offer several advantages over other gesture input modalities, such as the ability to reliably sense human movements, a reasonable deployment cost, insensitivity to ambient conditions such as light, temperature, and the ability to preserve anonymity. These advantages come at the price of high processing complexity mainly due to the spatio-temporal variations of gesture articulation performed by different people. Deep learning methods, such as CNN-LSTM and 3D CNN-LSTM, have a high potential to recognize radar-based gestures but usually require hundreds or thousands of labeled training samples and high processing power. Asking a lot of people to acquire a lot of gestures is particularly tedious and tiring to the point of being unrealistic. To overcome these challenges, we propose FORTE, a hand gesture recognition with few samples based on an optimized CNN architecture working on pre-processed raw data. Using a k=5-fold cross-validation, we define and compare three alternative CNNs for recognizing hand gestures acquired in a semi-mobile context of use with a portable radar attached to a smartphone. The best CNN reaches an accuracy of 94.96% with a precision of 95.92% and a recall of 96.03% for a dataset composed of solely 5 participants producing 2 samples for 20 classes covering 1 pointing, 2 pantomimic, 3 iconic, and 14 semaphoric gestures. We suggest some implications for designing radar-based gestures and we discuss the limitations of this approach.

Analysis of Building Accessibility Using Inertial and Optical Sensors.

The inclusive use of urban spaces necessitates detailed knowledge of the accessibility of public buildings or places where educational, health or administrative services are provided. Despite the improvements already made in many cities regarding architectural work, further changes to public buildings and other spaces, such as old buildings or areas of historical importance, are still required. To study this problem, we developed a model based on photogrammetric techniques and the use of inertial and optical sensors. The model allowed us to perform a detailed analysis of urban routes in the surroundings of an administrative building, by means of mathematical analysis of pedestrian routes. It was applied to the specific case of people with reduced mobility and included analysis of the building accessibility as well as detection of suitable transit routes, deterioration of the road surfaces and the presence of architectural obstacles on the route.

Stone Endurance: A Comparative Analysis of Natural and Artificial Weathering on Stone Longevity

The long-term endurance of building stones must be assured since their longevity has repercussions for their economic and social value. Frequently, slabs for flooring and cladding are installed with polished finishing in outdoor environments for technical and ornamental purposes in cultural heritage sites and modern civil architecture. Compared to any other finishing, glossy surfaces are rather vulnerable to wear, particularly when they interact with slightly acidic rainwater. Several hydrophobic treatments are applied to prevent this damage by preventing contact between rain and stone; such treatments are efficient but sometimes non-durable. Stakeholders and conservation scientists need better methods to anticipate the future behaviour of this building material and hydrophobic solutions. Complying with this demand, a comparison is made between outdoor natural ageing and artificial weathering, reproduced by UVA radiation, moisture and spray accelerated weathering. Artificial weathering is applied to predict the behaviour of stones over time in the real environment. Data obtained through the measurement of gloss and colour parameters, the detection of micro-textures through SEM, and the calculation of micro-roughness using a digital rugosimeter demonstrate that weakly acidic rainwater is the main cause of superficial decay of stone finishing over just six months of outdoor exposure. This period corresponds to 7–14 days of artificial weathering. Furthermore, the loss of efficiency and durability of the hydrophobic coatings is detected by measuring the static contact angle. This highlights that even if a protective treatment was proficient, it could easily deteriorate in normal weathering conditions if applied on polished, low-porosity stone. Additionally, water vapour permeability indicates variations of regular vapour transmission through the stones due to ageing. The first solution to threats is the prevention of pathologies, including aesthetic ones. A careful choice of the most suitable lithotype finish and an environmental study represent an existing solution to the problem. It must be highlighted that aesthetic requirements should not be prioritised to detriment of the technical requirements of architectural quality, performance, durability, and safety.

A Brief History of the Restoration of the Theodosian Walls Before the Twenty-First Century

The main aim of this paper is to briefly present the history of the restoration of the Theodosian Walls in Constantinople and their green surroundings, with a focus on the different factors that have affected this process. The Theodosian Walls, now in Istanbul, were one of the most perfect works of military architecture for hundreds of years, contributing to the survival of the city in the face of repeated attacks, as well as surviving numerous earthquakes. Their design was characterized by a number of military solutions that were innovative at the time. However, due to damage caused by natural disasters, and as a result of war and the expansion of the city, many restoration works have been undertaken during their existence. The biggest changes were made during the expansion of roads in the twentieth century, as well as during restoration works carried out after 1991. These restoration works included the protection and partial reconstruction of the fortification’s original appearance. Today, a question remains regarding how to restore such an important monument in current cultural conditions while taking into consideration the importance of green areas in the city. The main conclusion of this research is that both the walls and bostans, as inseparable parts of tangible heritage, could significantly support cultural tourism following their complex restoration and full inclusion into the educational system in Turkey

The Ideological Background to Architectural Restoration in Turkey (1920s–1960s)

Abstract Based on primary sources such as field notes, reports, and project memorandums, this article addresses architectural restoration work in Turkey from the 1920s to the 1960s. Despite the country’s limited budget and workforce, especially in the early years of the republic, the government crafted an intense preservation program of historic monuments, whereby preservation professionals implemented the scientific protection of architectural heritage mainly through maintenance and repairs. This article argues that the historiography of Turkish art became an agent in restoration, while the concept of the essence of national architecture served as the ideological basis for physical interventions. Seeking to restore the pure forms of Turkish architecture, preservationists searched for the pedigree of built works, and Sinan’s style was treated as the zenith of Turkish architecture. Works by him, along with other examples associated with the “Classical Period of Architecture” were subjected to heavy-handed interventions aimed at achieving stylistic purity.

Contribution of Rudolf Frič to the social architecture of interwar Czechoslovakia

Abstract Social policy in the interwar Czechoslovakia focused on the development of social housing. In Bratislava the establishment of new institutions and the related arrival of the Czech middle class of civil servants induced social change in the city population and its housing conditions. This necessitated the construction of modern residential blocks, which stabilised the internal urban structure and urbanised the outer city. A significant contribution to that field would be attributed to construction entrepreneur Rudolf Frič. Although the Slovak historiography exclusively presents him as a builder of civil engineering structures, his portfolio was more complex. The aim of the paper is to identify and critically evaluate Frič’s both architectural and construction work in the field of social housing in interwar Bratislava. The study focuses on projects of housing cooperatives, private rental blocks and partly on examples of city social housing. Cooperatives with the highest socio-economic relevance were set by the Bank of Czechoslovak Legions, for which Frič designed or constructed several buildings, such as the residential urban structure “Legiodomy”, housing colony in Koliba or the polyfunctional buildings of Legiopojišťovna and LUXOR. Frič's construction portfolio also includes individual projects of rental houses for smaller cooperatives, both in the compact city centre and at the then urbanising outer city peripheries. A specific case was housing for members of the army, like the residential blocks for military veterans in Bratislava. A critical category was social housing for the poorest and unemployed represented by the City rental house with habitable kitchens and the smallest-size flats. Finally, the paper examines private houses, the rental residential block of Irma Hanke and Helena Hudečková and the Trojan & Švarc polyfunctional department. Frič, as a construction entrepreneur, designed rental houses for his own employees, which all reflect the influence of private investors on the social and urban changes of the then modernising Bratislava metropolis.

The important architecture works of the sultan Abdulhameed the second 1867-1909 in Baghdad

The important architecture works of the sultan Abdulhameed the second 1867-1909 in Baghdad

METAPHYSICS OF THE OBJECT-IMAGE DICHOTOMY IN ARCHITECTURE

The physical and mental development of the phenomena of the world presupposes the distinction between the ob-ject of knowledge and the concept of it. The discovery of the difference between a thing and the idea of a thing became an unprecedented triumph of sci-ence in ancient Greece, noted Soviet art critic A. F. Losev [1]. The «stratification» of the object of study marked the beginning of a centuries-old confrontation between ideal-ism and materialism. The thesis «the idea of a thing exists by itself» has been overcome by progressive science for a long time, but recently it has risen from the ashes by the efforts of philosophers of the XX century, who declared the priority of thinking as a creative tool for replacing reality with hyperreality, the triumph of imagination over reality – and quite reasonably. The concept of metaphysics («that which is after – or outside–physics») is addressed precisely to the idea of a thing that precedes and closes the process of perception of the object of cognition with a conditional shell of a meta-physical cloud that provides functional and aesthetic persuasiveness in this case of architectural work in the role of a synharmonic superstructure, artistic comprehension superimposed on a physical medium – a conceived or realized object. Vitruvius also considered the content of architecture as a unity of thought and practice [2]. Not to the detriment of the sacred triad «benefit–strength–beauty», the article proposes to consider the dichotomy «architectural object–its semantic image», the dynamics of its historical unfolding.

LEGAL REGIME OF WORKS OF ARCHITECTURE CREATED WITH THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In the article the question of determination of legal regime of the works of architecture created with application of artificial intelligence technologies are researched. It is defined that architectural activity is one of the most important activities, so an architect has increased responsibility for the creation of works of architecture and architectural objects. It is established that works of architecture as objects of copyright are characterized by a complex multi-stage process of their creation. It is said about both drawings and sketches, and about constructed buildings as well. It is emphasized that from the point of view of copyright, architectural activity is a broader concept than the creation of a work of architecture, because it includes both the actual creative process of finding an architectural solution and the technological process of building edification, including work of performers, whose activities are not creative. Moreover, the architect as a subject of copyright has both the right and the obligation to carry out architectural supervision, which is conditioned by his increased responsibility for the result of architectural activity. It is underlined that currently architectural activity is carried out with the help of modern IT technologies, in particular including artificial intelligence technologies, which can significantly replace human activity and create new original objects. However, it was concluded that artificial intelligence cannot be recognized as an object of copyright, especially if it is a work of architecture. Firstly, according to the current legislation of Ukraine and other countries, as well as scientific doctrine, only a human is a subject who can carry out intellectual, creative activity. Secondly, any activity in which artificial intelligence is used must be controlled by a responsible person, especially in such a socially important field as architecture. Copyright for an architectural object should be divided between the developer of artificial intelligence and the architect depending on the degree of use of the corresponding software product in the creation of the work of architecture and the contribution of the architect himself as a user of artificial intelligence.

An Investigation of Architectural Heritage Design Features On the Formation of Architectural Identity through Globalization

Purpose: This research project investigated the formation of the architectural heritage identity in Damascus within the context of globalization by analyzing the architectural principles of Damascus's prevailing architecture in the contemporary era. The research aims to identify the impact of globalization on the formation of heritage identity in terms of design and characteristics.
 Design/methodology/approach: The research project used studio practice method through studio experimentation and contextual approaches to investigates how architectural heritage contributes and creates the obsession, emotion, aspiration and belief of urban society towards shaping lifestyle in a contemporary culture.
 Findings: The research project has been successful in examining how globalization technology and the ability of its modern materials have influenced the representation of heritage elements to create a unique heritage architectural identity adapted to the surrounding space and place.
 Practical implications: The research contributed to raising the awareness of the community to enhance its appreciation of cultural heritage values, and also contribute to highlighting the pursuit of maximum benefit from all aspects of technological development in the architectural work to find new elements for architectural shape that match the new urban societies.
 Originality/value: This paper is original.
 Paper type: a Research Paper.

Performance of architectural teams: The role of team learning, reflexivity, boundary crossing and error communication

This paper examines the role of team learning behaviours in the performance of architecture teams. This is significant to architects because most architects work in project teams. Although there is a growing body of research on the behaviours of design teams, this survey is one of the first studies conducted specifically on the learning behaviours of architects working in teams. We conducted a survey with 105 architecture firms in Victoria, Australia to collect perceptions of team learning behaviour and team performance, then interviewed nine architects to explore their team learning practices. Results from the survey demonstrated that team reflexivity, error communication and boundary crossing behaviours were positively associated with team effectiveness and employee satisfaction.

Implicarea deconstrucției filosofice în muzica lui John Zorn

We started from the challenge launched by the professor and musicologist Marcel Cobussen in his doctoral thesis “Deconstruction in Music” (2002) and we investigated how the philosophical deconstruction promoted by Jacques Derrida is articulated in the context of avant-garde music promoted intensively in recent decades by artist John Zorn. Given that Derrida challenged us to understand that deconstruction applies to not only written texts and discourses, but also to other non-discursive ways of writing such as works of art, cinematography, architecture or music, we tried to explain first what is specific to Derridean deconstruction and philosophical writing and what we mean, in this context, by architectural writing or musical writing. We then followed a concrete example of involvement of deconstruction in architecture in the project of Bernard Tschumi in order to compare and follow more easily the way in which deconstruction is involved in the musical practice of the artist John Zorn. Thus, our challenge was to verify if we can identify, in the compositional and performative musical practice of the artist John Zorn, the same levers of deconstruction that we identified in the analysis of Derridean philosophy and deconstructive architecture. We have therefore identified several ways in which the artist John Zorn deconstructs music in the context of avant-garde music. For example, by transgressing all the boundaries between musical styles and currents, he created a lot of new and surprising musical fusion experiments: very diverse musical styles were hybridized, jazz music, classical music or traditional klezmer music, merged with the extremes of rock, heavy metal, hardcore, noise, atonal music, film music or improvisational experiments. All these musical fusion experiments challenged the artistic community and our way of perceiving music. John Zorn uses practices specific to Derridean deconstruction: he decontextualizes and recontextualizes musical styles and currents, musical pieces and fragments; he resorts to the practice of grafting, hybridization and fusion, building a heterogeneous, fragmented, discontinuous, mobile musical spatiality; he invented a personalized way of composition based on the practice of combinatorial transformations, of combining blocks of sounds that can be disassembled, multiplied, repeated, reconstructed and reassembled into unique musical compositions (they can be deconstructed and reconstructed in the style of Derridean deconstruction, or they can be deterritorialized and reterritorialized like the rhizomatic system of Deleuze and Guattari); he dissolved the classic distinction and hierarchy between composition / improvisation / interpretation by challenging the artists to become co-composers and discover their improvisational potential in a live process of collective musical creation; he transgressed the boundary between music and everything outside of music, between music and noise, given that noise was integrated as another form of sound. We draw the obvious conclusion: just like the philosopher Jacques Derrida, the musician John Zorn transgresses the boundaries of the musical field, the boundaries between musical styles and currents and looks for what escapes our usual frames of composition or reception of music. John Zorn looks for what is completely different in music, looks for the other beyond all musical styles, in the same way that Derrida looks for the other who escapes to philosophical discourses and languages.

The Olivetti of Zanuso among project, process, and product


 
 
 During the years of post-war reconstruction in Italy, the project represented an instrument of revenge on the ruins inherited from the war and industry seemed to be the answer to the needs of a society that was rebuilding itself. The bond between project and industry thus spreads to all sectors of artistic production and the common thread is the use of words borrowed from the world of industry, thus raising the phenomenon of industrialisation.
 Olivetti’s experience is placed in this scenario, characterised by his interest beyond the factory, aimed at architectural, urban planning, cultural, publishing, and political issues. The Olivetti ideal focuses on aspects ranging from the typewriter to the city. The best architects work for Olivetti, and among them is Marco Zanuso. The factory is the topos of the project, in which theories of building industrialisation are synthesised. Zanuso experiments with the material’s potential to address issues related to the factory; in the reinforced concrete, he discovers the possibility of rationalising the composition process. Thus, the structure finds the perfect balance between technique and expressive language, generating space, light, form, and function. The beam-pillar system, an ideal synthesis of the architecture for Olivetti in Argentina and Brazil, discloses the capacity to conceive space as a single entity, in which the recognisability of the construction system becomes the identifying key of the factory itself.
 
 

The Olivetti of Zanuso among project, process, and product


 
 
 During the years of post-war reconstruction in Italy, the project represented an instrument of revenge on the ruins inherited from the war and industry seemed to be the answer to the needs of a society that was rebuilding itself. The bond between project and industry thus spreads to all sectors of artistic production and the common thread is the use of words borrowed from the world of industry, thus raising the phenomenon of industrialisation.
 Olivetti’s experience is placed in this scenario, characterised by his interest beyond the factory, aimed at architectural, urban planning, cultural, publishing, and political issues. The Olivetti ideal focuses on aspects ranging from the typewriter to the city. The best architects work for Olivetti, and among them is Marco Zanuso. The factory is the topos of the project, in which theories of building industrialisation are synthesised. Zanuso experiments with the material’s potential to address issues related to the factory; in the reinforced concrete, he discovers the possibility of rationalising the composition process. Thus, the structure finds the perfect balance between technique and expressive language, generating space, light, form, and function. The beam-pillar system, an ideal synthesis of the architecture for Olivetti in Argentina and Brazil, discloses the capacity to conceive space as a single entity, in which the recognisability of the construction system becomes the identifying key of the factory itself.
 
 

P-Adic statistical field theory and convolutional deep Boltzmann machines

Abstract Understanding how deep learning architectures work is a central scientific problem. Recently, a correspondence between neural networks (NNs) and Euclidean quantum field theories has been proposed. This work investigates this correspondence in the framework of p-adic statistical field theories (SFTs) and neural networks. In this case, the fields are real-valued functions defined on an infinite regular rooted tree with valence p, a fixed prime number. This infinite tree provides the topology for a continuous deep Boltzmann machine (DBM), which is identified with a statistical field theory on this infinite tree. In the p-adic framework, there is a natural method to discretize SFTs. Each discrete SFT corresponds to a Boltzmann machine with a tree-like topology. This method allows us to recover the standard DBMs and gives new convolutional DBMs. The new networks use O(N) parameters while the classical ones use O(N2) parameters.

Life Cycle Cost Analysis to Maintain Material Construction on Hotel Development Project Batu

Life cycle cost analysis is a crucial design process in controlling the initial costs and future costs of owning a company investment project. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a life cycle analysis study cost to find out what cost categories are contained in the Project hotel development in the Batu City area also, see how much the total cost incurred by a project. The construction of the hotel starts from the design stage to the technical age of the hotel that has been completed set. The purpose of this study is to identify service life components hotel building materials, and make a long-term plan for the life cycle cost of the hotel building in the Batu City area. The results of this study indicate that in the Life Cycle Cost Analysis using the essential cost of building investment for 15 years, where there are items of Initial Cost, Annual Recurring Cost, Non-Recurring Cost, the LCC cost of Architectural Work on the Initial Design is IDR 21,542,108,279.

Patricio Guzmán Campos, fotógrafo: el cuerpo a cuerpo con la arquitectura. Fotografías de la obra de Suárez, Bermejo y Borchers

In the context of a publication of the Spanish magazine Hogar y Arquitectura on architecture in Chile, the photographer Patricio Guzmán Campos was hired to produce the images of the works of Borchers, Bermejo and Suárez. Guzmán’s work is approached as a melee with the buildings, in a task of corporeal intermediation, suggested by one of Borchers’ texts. The general context of the publication is addressed; then, meeting points are established between the seismic aspect of Chile, photography and architecture as precedents to situate the production of architects and, closing the introductory part, associating the brutalist syntax with the visual approaches to the architecture of the sixties. In the central part, 18 photographs of the headquarters of the Chillán Electric Cooperative and the Meneses house are examined, in a reading guided by the photographic experience of the author, the drawings and plans of the works and the written correspondence between the architects. It concludes with a reflection on the narrative construction of the photographs, necessary to establish the photographic intermediation between the texts, the drawings and the plans that inform the works of architecture.

Urban Journeys of the Rhizomatic Line

Using visual hierarchy, representational media often separate diverse urban experiences. Three categories of foreground, middle ground, and background are easily distinguished in photography and painting. Urban sketches separate buildings, figures, and natural features. In architectural working drawing, “poché, entourage, and mosaïque” forms a structural system for representing cut walls, environment, and texture respectively[1]. Recently, photogrammetry or Lidar scanning claim to break these hierarchies by creating “a uniform unbiased document of things in space as they exist.”[2] However, these tools fail to reveal the speculative imaginary experiences hidden behind surfaces.This series of my drawings that I named “rhizomatic line”, is the result of a non-hierarchical process inspired by French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's concept of rhizomes. Described as an array of attractions without beginning or end, a rhizome negotiates between things, “fosters connections between fields, the removal of blockages.”[3] Rather than producing fragmented abstract shapes, the rhizomatic line moves between the objects and intertwines them. Seemingly recording eye movement, rhizomatic, line does not construct complete outlines, but through loosing their completion, it connects them. As it explores the city, it does not differentiate between humans, pedestrian lines, high-rise building edges, urban skylines, stairways, leaves of a small plant hiding behind a window in a private room, entrances to residential units atop towers, or imaginative spaces.When looking at similar images, different people show different eye movements.[4] A designer sees the world in the process of construction, and from multiple perspectives at once. Architects use a specific language to draw rhizomatic lines. Axonometric projection takes advantage of both the visual aspect of perspective in photography, as well as the mathematical precision of orthographic projection in computer cartesian systems. Although I do not claim that my rhizomatic lines are true or close to the vision, I emphasize on " a continuous space in which elements are in constant motion."[5] The dotted texture suggests one understanding of the scene's porosity, among many others. Through the blurring of boundaries between poché, entourage, and mosaïque, only a portion of the image is displayed as a work under construction, inviting the viewer to complete it with their imagination. In this sense, a rhizomatic line is not a cartesian representation of space. This single “active line” ending in itself, is an exploratory journey fusing imaginations, speculations, desires, memories, and dreams about the city; “a walk for a walk's sake.”[6] [1] Michael Young, Reality Modeled After Images: Architecture and Aesthetics After the Digital Image. (New York: Routledge, 2021), 10. [2] Young, Reality Modeled After Images: Architecture and Aesthetics After the Digital Image. 53. [3] Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Translated by Brian Massumi, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1987), 12. [4] Alfred Yarbus. "Eye Movements During Perception of Complex Objects." Eye Movements and Vision”, (Springer: Boston, MA, 1967) [5] Stan Allen. "Construction with Lines: On Projection", Practice: Architecture, Technique+ Representation. (New York: Routledge, 2009), 19. [6] Paul Klee. Pedagogical Sketchbook. Translated by Sybil Moholy-Nagy, (New York: Praeger Publisher,1953), 16.

Restitution process in conservation: Exploring the historical adventure of Derik Former Government Building

Derik Old Government Building, with its architectural structure, is one of the leading examples of civil architecture that reflects the local architecture and construction technique of Derik district of Mardin. The building was registered as the 1st Group in 2006 and is not used today. It has been used in different functions by the local people until today and has taken its current form with the additions made in different periods. In the archive records scanning, no information or document was found that the restoration project was drawn. In this context, it is necessary to reveal the historical evolution of the building in order to ensure the sustainability of the building and to maintain its historical identity. The aim of the restitution research of the historical building is to determine the changes that the building has undergone until today, to find its original state based on scientific data, to find the periods it went through and to lay the groundwork for the restoration work. As a method in the study, comparative studies were made with examples of similar periods, and determinations were made about the structure in line with the existing traces in the building. In addition, oral interviews were conducted with the people living in the region in order to better understand the historical process of the building. In the results of the study, it was determined that there were two periods related to the structure. It is understood that the upper floor was built later, since the traces from the building, the door and window alignments, the construction technique and the wall alignments of the lower and upper floors are not in the same direction. It is not known exactly when the ground floor was built, but according to the inscription on the mosque next to it, it was built before 1846. It is estimated that the first floor was built at the end of the 19th century.

Dragan Damjanović – Aleksander Łupienko (eds): Forging Architectural Tradition – National Narratives, Monument Preservation and Architectural Work in the Nineteenth Century

"Dragan Damjanović – Aleksander Łupienko (eds): Forging Architectural Tradition – National Narratives, Monument Preservation and Architectural Work in the Nineteenth Century" published on 26 Apr 2023 by Akadémiai Kiadó.