Dimensions of Design (Asynchronous Session)
Human Behaviour Induced by Spatial Order View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Vaidehi Raipat
Space truly becomes a place not merely because of the built and the unbuilt that design it, but also because of the way its users use it, behave around it, interact with it, and interact with each other in it. This paper explores space that surrounds every individual, in which an individual exists, interacts and performs, is known as “Human Space”. Organization of the built environment around the users within their human space is known as “Spatial Order” which is the key to formulation of non-verbal communication. Non verbal communication refers to the body language an individual adopts in order to convey a message to the fellow users of the space. This non-verbal language subsequently becomes the basis of verbal communication that lays the foundation of human behavior within a particular spatial order.
Exploring the Concepts of Sense of Place, Academic Tourism, the Economics of Esthetics View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session John Raulerson
Concepts of sense of place, tangible, emotional, sense of belonging and nostalgic are explored. Although sense of place can be defined in many ways, the most literal interpretation would be a physical aspect of our environment to be instantly perceived. This would represent the tangible aspect of the concept, but one must also consider the emotional aspect of the term, referred to by some as topophilia or love of place. When one associates positive experiences with a place, particularly during a defining period of their life, the place itself becomes significant or even sacred. When good design combines the tangible perception of place, the emotional impact of positive experiences, and the nostalgia that grows over time, the design will, potentially, reach across generations. If successfully designed the tangible will help to create a sense of belonging. Meanwhile the emotional impact of the place creates a desire to stay connected.
Killer Smoke in the Kitchen: Architectural Design Solution to Improve Indoor Natural Ventilation View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Uwe Reischl
Millions of poor rural families in Kenya, Africa, depend on biomass for domestic cooking including wood, dried dung, and crop residue that produce high levels of smoke. Exposure to this smoke can lead to serious health hazards including pneumonia, emphysema, and lung cancer leading to premature deaths. The persons most affected by this indoor air pollution are women and their children who spend time in these kitchens. Attempts to reduce this air pollution have focused on the development and use of new and more efficient stoves that produce more heat and less smoke. However, such stoves are not always available and often cost more than rural families can afford. To explore alternatives to the use of new stoves, an indoor air-flow simulation was conducted. Based on the outcome of this study, an architectural design solution was developed that allows smoke to exit the kitchen quickly regardless of the stove type or the fuel used. The architectural design is simple and inexpensive. The design was implemented in Kenya and field observations showed that smoke build-up inside the kitchen was reduced by more than 75%. Application of this new design now has the potential of improving the health and safety of people in rural Kenya.
A Cost-Benefit Analysis for Integrating Photovoltaic Panels with Building Facades : Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Facade View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Reza Foroughi
Achieving net/near-zero energy buildings (NZEB) is one of the main goals in the building design and construction industry and is supported by many legislators. Many researchers highly recommend integrated solutions since it applies both environmental and technical solutions. Nowadays, especially with computer technology, it is possible to integrate Photo Voltaic (PV) panel solutions into building façade for designing an innovative and adaptable facade. Installing PV panels on the wall surface increases onsite renewable energy generations and decreases building energy loads by increasing the surface reflectance. Although the PV panels' efficiency will be reduced since they are installed vertically, it is still a great strategy for improving building energy efficiency and achieving NZEB. The goal of this study is to identify the Potential for integrating PV panels with building facades. To achieve this, a cost-benefit analysis and energy simulation is performed to calculate the generated renewable energy, energy loads, cost of PV panel assembly, and consequently its payback period. A commercial building model is designed in the DesignBuilder software and is located in Raleigh, NC (U.S. Climate Zone 4). These simulation results are used to evaluate the impact of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) facade on building energy consumption and generation. The cost-benefit analysis process considers the energy simulation results to find the payback period of using PV panels on building facades.
The Dubai Frame: A Threshold Space
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Harris Mark Breslow
I examine the nature of threshold spaces, individual buildings or architectonic environments that bridge two or more distinctly different spaces. I do so by using the Dubai Frame as a case study, making the following arguments: Threshold spaces are examples of heterotopic spaces of juxtaposition exist as transitional environments that have the ability to "juxtapose in a single real place several emplacements that are incompatible in themselves" (Foucault, 1998, p.191). I argue that the Dubai Frame functions as a threshold space between old Dubai, and new Dubai in the following ways: First, as a threshold between the regional and the global. Old Dubai functioned as a regional entrepôt that drove the city’s economy well into the 1990s, before Dubai refashioned itself as a global city, in the global political economy of flow. Here the Dubai Frame functions as a threshold between the global and the local, embodying the localized tension that results as a function of globalizing processes. Second, as a threshold between the formal and the informal. I have previously discussed Dubai’s project to contain urban informality through smart city technologies. This project also includes the design of spaces that prevent informal behaviour. The Dubai Frame thus marks the transition from informally organized and dense enclosures, to a highly formal and visually clear environment. Third, as a threshold between the knowable and unknowable. Here the Dubai frame functions as a threshold between around opaque and ill-disciplined enclosures, and a formal architectonic environment that enables high levels of disciplinary surveillance.
