bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MUSEUM OF ART VERSUS THE CITY AS A WORK OF ART: A Case of the New Acropolis Museum in Athens
Authors: Horacek Martin
Published: November 2017

This study is concerned with the New Acropolis Museum, which was opened in June 2009 in Athens. The New Acropolis Museum, out of all of the world’s new museum structures of the past century, has dramatically intensified the issue of the relationship between parts and the whole, between the building and its integration into the setting, between the museum function and the historical city, which is a protected heritage site, one treated as a museum exhibit. With the New Acropolis Museum as an example, the study would like to highlight the complexity and the ambiguity of the present-day relationship between the heritage protection, the museumisation of art and the design of our environment. The particular attention is focused on the vivid debate about the building and the distinguishing the differences between traditionalist and modernist views of architecture manifested in this debate. These differences are deeper rooted than many people have been willing to admit.
BIOPHILIC DESIGN PATTERNS: Emerging Nature-Based Parameters for Health and Well-Being in the Built Environment
Authors: Ryan Catherine O. , Browning William D , Clancy Joseph O , Andrews Scott L , Kallianpurkar Namita B
Published: November 2017

This paper carries forth the conceptual framework for biophilic design that was first laid out by Cramer and Browning in Biophilic Design (2008), which established three categories meant to help define biophilic buildings – Nature in the Space, Natural Analogues and Nature of the Space – and a preliminary list of “biophilic conditions”. New research and insights from the neurosciences, endocrinology and other fields have since helped evolve the scientific basis for biophilic design. This paper begins to articulate this growing body of research and emerging design parameters in architectural terms, so that we may draw connections between fields of study, highlight potential avenues for future research, evolve our understanding of biophilic design patterns, and capture the positive psychophysiological and cognitive benefits afforded by biophilia in our design interventions.
GUEST EDITORIAL: COMPLEXITY, PATTERNS, AND BIOPHILIA
Authors: Salingaros Nikos A.
Published: November 2017

This is an introduction to the special issue of IJAR.
Prosperity of Thought Versus Retreat of Application: A Comprehensive Approach in Urban Design Teaching
Authors: Elshater Abeer Mohamed
Published: November 2017

This study focuses on a relevant question, practically in urban design studios; when will specialists discuss their educational visions around urban design in teaching plans? Currently, although Egyptian architecture and urban environments follow those of postwar European cities, numerous architectural schools teach the new urban design paradigm while ignoring the declining of cities. To reverse this trend, the author proposes that architectural educational institutions in Egypt need to alter their learning programs. Therefore, this study aims to create a new urban design module depends on outcomes based-learning consistent with the present Egyptian city scene on the basis of intended learning-outcomes.
Evidence for Designing Health Promoting Pocket Parks
Authors: Peschardt Karin Kragsig , Stigsdotter Ulrika Karlsson
Published: November 2017

The use of urban green environments has repeatedly been associated with improved health and well-being for people living in cities. This study focuses on the health promoting potential of pocket parks in the dense city area of Copenhagen. A natural experiment was conducted, which evaluated one pocket park, Dantes Plads, before and after a redesign. Six people were interviewed about their perception of the change. First of all, the results show that Dantes Plads is primarily used for ‘rest and restitution’. Furthermore, the interviewees prefer to have the presence of sun, shade and planting in relation to rest and restitution, while varied ‘terrain’ may create fascination thereby providing the opportunity for restoration. ‘Noise level’ is perceived differently from subject to subject, while ‘benches’ as well as ‘visual angels’ should not be oriented directly towards disturbing surroundings. The findings add to existing knowledge on the design of health promoting pocket parks for ‘rest and restitution’ in dense city areas.
Observing Privacy, Modesty and Hospitality in the Home Domain: Three Case Studies of Muslim Homes in Brisbane, Australia
Authors: Othman Zulkeplee , Buys Laurie , Aird Rosemary
Published: November 2017

A home embodies a sensorial space that is layered with personal memories and traces of history. The success of a home in providing a strong sense of place depends on various factors such as geographical location, climatic conditions, and occupants’ world-views and perceptions. This paper explores Muslims’ perceptions of privacy, modesty and hospitality within their homes through their lived experiences. This case study focuses on three Muslim families living in Australian designed homes within the same suburb of Brisbane, Australia. The study provides prefatory insight into the ways in which these families perform their daily activities and entertain their guests without jeopardizing their privacy needs. The study examines the significance of modesty in the design of Muslim homes as a means by which family members are able to achieve optimum privacy while simultaneously extending hospitality to guests inside and outside their homes. The findings of this study provide opportunities too, for expanding research into culturally adaptable housing systems to help meet the changing needs of Australian multicultural society.
Tourists’ and Residents’ Impressions of A Heritage Tourism Site: The Case of Kampong Taman Sari, Indonesia
Authors: Ernawati Jenny , Moore Gary T.
Published: November 2017

The interface between tourism and built heritage is complicated because much built heritage is located in the middle of living communities. Questions arise about how to achieve a balance between the expectations of tourists and the community. To study this question, this paper reports on tourists’ and residents’ impressions of an international heritage tourism site, the Kampong Taman Sari in Indonesia. Using a linear-numeric semantic differential as the measuring instrument and nine consensus photographs of the site as stimuli, the study investigated similarities and differences in impressions between three groups: tourists (international and domestic) and residents. Three principal dimensions were found to underlie impressions of the site: Attractiveness, Organisation, and Novelty. Significant differences were found among all three groups in their impressions of Attractiveness. In terms of impressions of the Organisation of the site, international and domestic tourists have similar impressions but these differ significantly from the impressions of residents. On the other hand, domestic tourists and residents have similar impressions of the Novelty of the site, which is evaluated differently by international tourists.
Anthropological Quests in Architecture: Pursuing the Human Subject
Authors: Askland Hedda Haugen , Awad Ramsey , Chambers Justine , Chapman Michael
Published: November 2017

In this paper, we explore what architectural practice and, more specifically, the architectural research domain, may gain from the theoretical and methodological premise of anthropology and ethnography. The paper explores a historical link between anthropology and architecture as academic disciplines, arguing that the disciplines are aligned through anthropology’s search for understanding the conditions of humanity and architecture’s role in forming these very conditions. We do not intend to explicate the individual disciplines but are interested in the crossover between the two and, more specifically, what insights anthropology and ethnography may offer to the discipline of architecture. We consider the relationship between anthropology and architecture, as both a research domain and a profession, and question how anthropology—as an approach to research more so than a discipline—can contribute to the advancement of architectural practice and research.
The Effect of Physical and Environmental Factors of a “Child Development Center” on a Center’s Selection
Authors: GUR ELMIRA AYSE
Published: November 2017

The role of education is a key factor for an individual’s development. After the 1980s the findings of educational research has shown that preschool age is a very important period in one’s development. The single parent family structure and an increase in the number of working mothers have required children to attend schools in “child development centers” (CDC). Preschool education is becoming important in the new millennium because a child’s personality, emotions, cognitive and social abilities develop during the first five years. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons for selecting CDCs by parents and children by focusing on physical and environmental factors.  The sample was a diverse group of 95 parents and instructors who use CDCs at two different locations in Turkey. The instrument used in the study was a self-designed standardized questionnaire. The results should enlighten later CDC design studies, and give support for architects who design preschool education centers. The study may be used for educational, governmental and advertising purposes to contribute to changing the negative situation of poorly designed centers.
The Agency of Making and Architecture Education: Design-Build Curriculum in a New School of Architecture
Authors: Gaber Tammy
Published: November 2017

Developing a curriculum for Canada’s newest school of architecture in forty years created the opportunity for a commitment to new pedagogy that would address changes and needs in the profession, particularly in the Northern context. The tri-cultural mandate of the school (First Nations, Francophone, Anglophone), and the desire to create a complete design-build curriculum aligned with the community’s commitment for change and the location of the school in former historic buildings downtown. The design-build curriculum means that in each studio year the cohort will design and construct at full scale a project relevant to the context of the school such as the ice fishing huts completed this past year. Optional design/build workshops in the summer in Europe allowed for additional experimentation of construction methods in other specific northern contexts. This paper outlines the larger and specific contexts for the design of the design-build curriculum, the processes of the first year of implementation, the agency of making both for the student and instructors and concludes with a discussion of the trajectory of design-build in the school.
Traditionalism or Traditiona-Lieism: Authentication or Fabrication?
Authors: Al-Lahham Abeer Hussam Eddin
Published: November 2017

Muslim cities with their notable architecture and morphology have always attracted scholars, architects, and planners. Regionalism, Historicism, Neo-Traditionalism, and Revivalism are but a few postmodern approaches that emerged calling for reviving the spirit of the place and searching for an identity associated with history and context. Structuralism, Semiology and Critical Studies offered significant methodologies in this respect. This research argues that traditional Islamic built environment has its own structures stemmed from Shari’a (Islamic legal system), which gave it its authenticity. Similarly, contemporary built environment has its own structures based on capitalism and its mechanisms. Those two modes (Islam and capitalism) are substantially different, and hence their structures. Adopting linguistic methodologies, Revivalism of Islamic heritage, or Traditionalism, is in effect imposing solutions originated in one mode onto another. This led to internal contradictions in the structures of contemporary built environment and thus to a state of in-equilibrium that might be depicted as a crisis. Therefore, the process of “authentication” of contemporary built environment turned out to be a “fabrication” of contemporary Islamic architecture. It is thus “Traditiona-lieism.”
PRIVACY AS A CULTURAL VALUE WITHIN TRADITIONAL IRANIAN HOUSING: Lessons for Modern Iranian High Density Vertical Development Housing
Authors: Fallah Siyamak Nayyeri , Khalili Akram , Mohamad Rasdi Mohamad Tajuddin
Published: November 2017

The role of value of privacy in shaping Iranian culture is vital. In contrary to modern middle-class Iranian high density vertical development housing, this cultural principle plays a great role in shaping spatial organization of Iranian traditional housing. The aim of this study is to establish a framework to improve spatial organization of modern Iranian high density vertical development (HDVD) housing through lessons learnt from traditional Iranian housing. In this regard, to reach the aim through qualitative approach and case study strategy, this value of the Iranian traditional housing was investigated. The data collection methods to collect data from middle-class traditional and modern high-density vertical development (HDVD) housing, were multiple tactics as direct observation, open-ended expert interview, semi-structured and focus group interviewing, taking photo, and plan layout. As conclude, it was reached that privacy as a principle governing all aspects of life has had deep impacts on spatial organization of traditional Iranian housing. Thus through using the spatial concept of privacy learnt from traditional Iranian housing can formulate recommendations to betterment spatial organization of middle-class modern Iranian HDVD housing.
WHAT TO CONSERVE? Heritage, Memory, and Management of Meanings
Authors: KAMEL-AHMED Ehab
Published: November 2017

This Paper explores and criticizes different theories and perceptions concerning ‘cultural heritage’ to explore the definitions of ‘heritage’ throughout history, and questions how the conflicts in considering and identifying ‘heritage’ might have affected the approaches to its conservation. In such process, the paper investigates the relation between ‘place’ and ‘memory’ and how place has been always the medium through which history was written, resulting in two inseparable faces, tangible and the intangible, forming the two-faced coin of ‘cultural heritage’. This research assists understanding the complex construct of heritage places; stressing the growing awareness of intangible heritage’s importance, which represents a remarkable turn in heritage conservation realm in the twenty-first century, and emphasizing the notion of heritage as a coefficient of society, which is understood through experience, learnt through performance, and represented through ‘activities’ formed in the present maintaining and developing the identity of place and preserving its spirit, rather than a past oriented vision that tends to ‘pickle’ images from the past in a picturesque manner that is only tourism-oriented.
A DEFINITION OF AUTHENTICITY CONCEPT IN CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL LANDSCAPES
Authors: Fadaei Nezhad Somayeh , Eshrati Parastoo , Eshrati Dorna
Published: November 2017

Cultural landscape can be defined as the result of human interaction with nature over time, which has led to the formation of the many and diverse layers of value. Currently, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre has a unique role among other scientific associations. In recent years, the World Heritage Center has put efforts into developing a framework and measures for evaluation and management of cultural landscapes. Moreover, the concept of authenticity; as the transmitter of values and significance of cultural landscape, is considered as the key component in the process of cultural landscape conservation. A lot of scientific resources have pointed out the importance of authenticity in the process of conserving cultural landscapes. However, the role of authenticity within the domain of conservation of cultural landscapes has received little attention. One of the main reasons can be lack of adaptation between conventional definitions of UNESCO and international documents concerning the authenticity for including the flexible and dynamic structure of cultural landscapes around the world. Therefore, this paper seeks to explore and develop a flexible framework in order to redefine the concept of authenticity in relation to cultural landscapes, which has some overlaps with UNESCO definitions despite its differences. For developing this framework, Iranian-Islamic philosophy of Mollasadra is applied and described with some examples of cultural landscapes in Iran.
SEGMENTATION OF HEARTH (PAWON) SPACE IN TENGGERESE HOUSE
Authors: Dewi Pancawati , Arfianti Ami
Published: November 2017

Bonfire became the earliest form in shaping space when people gathered around the fire. It was stated by Vitruvius and developed by many theoretician of architecture. Nowadays, the role of fire to the space (architecture) lessened and even disappeared along with technology development. Contrarily, the phenomenon in Tengger showed different result. The presence of hearth (pawon) in Tenggerese house became stronger. It could be seen from the increasing number of hearth there.This research shows, there was a close connection between society structure along with time factor and the number of hearth along with its use in Tenggerese house. The number of hearth in a house could be increased if the number of family members were increased as well. It is possible that the segmentation of hearth space in Tenggerese house could be affected by the influence of the number of family members to the changes of hearth. This possibility would be explored in the research. Interpretive-Historic research method was used in the research to explore the phenomenon found in the field. By exploring field data and historical data, it was finally shown the influence of the changes number in family members to the segmentation of hearth space in Tenggerese house, particularly those related to the marriage and mortality. Space segmentation, especially segmentation of the hearth space in Tengger successfully demonstrated a close link with the change in the numbers of family members.
CONTEXTUALIZING PALIMPSEST OF COLLECTIVE MEMORY IN AN URBAN HERITAGE SITE: Case Study of Chahar Bagh, Shiraz - Iran
Authors: Mahmoudi Farahani Leila , Setayesh Marzieh , Shokrollahi Leila
Published: November 2017

A landscape or site, which has been inhabited for long, consists of layers of history. This history is sometimes reserved in forms of small physical remnants, monuments, memorials, names or collective memories of destruction and reconstruction. In this sense, a site/landscape can be presumed as what Derrida refers to as a “palimpsest”. A palimpsest whose character is identified in a duality between the existing layers of meaning accumulated through time, and the act of erasing them to make room for the new to appear. In this study, the spatial collective memory of the Chahar Bagh site which is located in the historical centre of Shiraz will be investigated as a contextualized palimpsest, with various projects adjacent one another; each conceptualized and constructed within various historical settings; while the site as a heritage is still an active part of the city’s cultural life. Through analysing the different layers of meaning corresponding to these adjacent projects, a number of principals for reading the complexities of similar historical sites can be driven.
DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC APPROACH FOR MANAGING SUSTAINABLE REVITALISATION IN WORLD HERITAGE SITES: Historical Bazaar and Khans District, Bursa - Turkey
Authors: Vural Arslan Tulin
Published: November 2017

At the 38th World Heritage Committee meeting which was held in Doha, Qatar in 2014, Bursa Historical Bazaar and Khans District, along with the Sultan Complexes (Kulliyes) and Cumalikizik in Turkey, were inscribed as a World Heritage Site. As a requirement of UNESCO, before the application to the World Heritage Committee, Bursa Site Management Unit prepared a management plan, entitled Bursa (Khans District and Sultan Kulliyes) and Cumalikizik Management Plan, for all these sites aiming at integrated sustainable development for them. Although all of these sites have different features in terms of their functions, sizes, demographic features and locations, they are covered by the same management plan. So, there is a need to develop specific strategic approaches unique to each site by taking into account the basic principles of the main management plan. In the content of this study, a strategic plan proposal which is unique to Bursa Historical Bazaar and Khans District is introduced. This proposal was prepared as a research project which is jointly supported by Uludag University in Bursa and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality.
ANALYZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN URBAN IDENTITY AND URBAN TRANSFORMATION IMPLEMENTATIONS IN HISTORICAL PROCESS: The Case of Isparta
Authors: Beyhan Şefika Gülin , Çelebi Gürkan Ülkü
Published: November 2017

Urban identity is formed by the entire values and characteristics of a city. Urban transformation is the strategies and activities for maintaining environmental quality and life balance. The concepts of urban identity and urban transformation, which have been quite popular in Turkey recently, are the grounds of this study. The socio-cultural and economic conditions, which have changed as a result of globalization experienced all over the world, make it compulsory to re-shape cities, so urban identity concept has gradually become more important. The aim of this study is to reveal disidentification in Turkey caused by urban transformation implementations, particularly via the example of Isparta. As Isparta is a typical Anatolian city developed after the proclamation of the Republic, it was considered worthy of analysis. At the end of the study, It was observed that Isparta had developed in terms of planning until 1960s. It was concluded that turning points had occurred in urban transformation between the years 1960-1980 and after 1980, these turning points spoiled urban identity, and therefore, the city has developed and globalized without any identity since then.
RECONSIDERING THE WAQF: Traditional Mechanism of Urban Regeneration in Historic Muslim Cities
Authors: Nour Haysam
Published: November 2017

Through the last century, historic Muslim Cities witnessed significant decay. The level of decay, while a number of those cities were inscribed in the WHL, created an international urge to intervene. With very limited exceptions, modern interventions did not create an obvious impact due to common factors: inefficient management, fragmented responsibilities on administrative levels, weak legislations, and lack of community awareness, participation, and absence of integrated mechanisms. However, those factors are mostly of operational nature. This paper sheds light on a socio-cultural aspect of deterioration through inquiring about a basic issue: “How was the historic Muslim city maintained for centuries?”The key answer refers always to “the Waqf”. Although its nature and role are quite different now, the Waqf institution was the main player in urban regeneration in Muslim cities until early 1900. How did it use to work? Within which value reference? In addition, what was the position of the local community in the process? Those are the key issues discussed in the paper arguing that reconsidering this traditional mechanism might add another layer to the understanding of the complexity of Muslim cities and accordingly, might lead to different approaches in future interventions.
Interaction Between Internal Structure and Adaptive Use of Traditional Buildings: Analyzing the Heritage Museum of Abu-Jaber, Jordan
Authors: Malhis Shatha , Al-Nammari Fatima
Published: November 2017

This paper analysis the three floors gallery plans of the Abu-Jaber Museum that correspond to the two stages in the evolution of the Abu-Jaber House: 1880, as were originally constructed to house the families of three affluent brothers; and 2007, as rehabilitated into a local heritage museum. Using a multi-method approach of ethnographic observations, space syntax analysis, and interviews, we find that the 2009 spatial and morphological conversion constitutes a certain phenomenological departure from the spatial principles embedded in the original plans. We suggest that this is linked to a predominant approach in the process of adaptive use where the essence of the original spatial configuration is overlooked. We discuss the three way interaction between spatial structure and its architectural language, interpretations of conservation priorities and curatorial principles.
Traditional Values and their Adaptation in Social Housing Design: Towards a New Typology and Establishment of ‘Air House’ Standard in Malaysia
Authors: Mohd Sahabuddin Mohd Firrdhaus , Longo Cristina Gonzalez
Published: November 2017

Large migration from rural areas to urban areas like Kuala Lumpur has led to some implications for economic, social and cultural development. This high population has placed enormous demand on the existing housing stocks, especially for low-income groups.  However, some issues arise, one of which is overheated indoor air temperature. This problem contributes to the high-energy usage that forces huge sums of money to be spent on cooling the house by using mechanical equipment. Therefore, this study focuses on thermal comfort in social housing, and incorporates traditional values into its design to achieve a certain measurement of natural ventilation in a house. From the study, the carbon emission and energy consumption for an air-conditioned house is 67%, 66% higher than a naturally ventilated house. Therefore, this research has come up with a new typology design, which has a large exposed wall area and full-length openings on the opposite walls to increase cross ventilation. At the end of this research, the measurement of thermal comfort for a naturally ventilated building called ‘Air House’ has been identified.
High Flights and Hard Landings: The Adventures of Planning for the Regeneration of Thessaloniki's Derelict Western Entrance
Authors: Skayannis Pantoleon , Kyratzakos Angelos
Published: November 2017

The aim of this paper is to highlight the several phases of the post-1985 planning endeavours of Thessaloniki, in the context of which the Lachanokipoi area of the ‘Western Entrance’ of the city is particularly examined. Our underlying research has shown that one can distinguish three periods in the planning of the city which are characterised by three different major planning trends, all related to and reflecting major phases in the country’s development – especially its economic trajectory. The paper attempts to put the issue of the Lachanokipoi area in the context of potential urban renewal in the area; this would be as part of the general spatial plans for the city, considering the Lachanokipoi area as an urban brownfield, for which comprehensive integrated plans have to be made.
Housing Flexibility by Spatial Indeterminacy: The Case of the Casa de las Flores in Madrid
Authors: Soler Montellano Agatangelo
Published: November 2017

The indeterminacy of the domestic space is one of the main trends in flexible housing design. It involves the possibility of using the rooms in a dwelling in multiple ways that are not determined by the architect. The views of non-functionalist housing are more present lately, but still forbidden in the Spanish social housing market, where regulations stipulate a strict functionalist housing plan. However, there is a good example of this strategy in Madrid: the Casa de las Flores, a rationalist building from 1931 with a neutral plan of polyvalent  rooms. This study comprises a series of interviews with the users, photographs, diagrams and new drawings that show how people use their apartments. The aim of this research is to assess the validity of indeterminacy as an architectural response to social changes in Spain, with a view to its introduction in future housing developments.
A Holistic Research Approach to Measuring Urban Identity: Findings from Kyrenia Area Study
Authors: Oktay Derya , Bala Havva Alkan
Published: November 2017

As cities are losing place identity under the influence of industrialization, technological advancements and globalisation, a key task for mainstream politicians, urban planners/designers and residents is to understand what makes a city unique and recognizable. As urban identity is formed not only through identifiable and memorable formal attributes, but through the meaning attached by the users of the city, there is a need for a holistic approach integrating objective measures achieved through pre-analysis of the urban environment, and subjective measures achieved through user surveys. This study, based on such a holistic research framework, aims to measure the urban identity in Girne (Kyrenia), using survey data with a sampling of 250 participants, following a pre-analysis of the town. The results of the analysis indicated that although historic landmarks are so powerful in constructing the urban identity, traditional urban pattern and social life have not been found significant in constructing the images of the city unless they are frequented by local residents. On the other hand, the new housing developments lacking locally appropriate architectural and contextual qualities do not influence the urban image at all. Further, as the findings revealed that the perception of urban identity changes in time, there appears an opportunity to regain and/or enhance identity through various strategies. These include urban design strategies that depend so much on the specific context of a particular area, including all environmental dimensions defined in the paper.
Cultural Traditions and Architectural Form of Italian Transnational Houses in Australia
Authors: Furlan Raffaello
Published: November 2017

The purpose of this article is to investigate the connection between cultural traditions and house form which, according to scholars, is in danger of being lost, and so contribute to the revival of critical interest in such a connection. This paper does not intend to focus on the exploration of the relation between culture as a way of life and the spatial form of the house. Instead, the main objective of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of vernacular architecture in a precise context: this study will be focusing on the architectural form of vernacular houses built in Brisbane in the post WWII period by first generation Italian migrants, namely upon the way the house’s structure, materials and construction technique, decorative feature on the façade, were influenced by migrants’ cultural traditions.
Editorial: Advancing the Debate on Architecture, Planning, and Built Environment Research
Authors: Salama Ashraf M.
Published: November 2017

With an acceptance rate that does not exceed 25% of the total papers and articles submitted to the journal, IJAR – International Journal of Architectural Research is moving forward to position itself among the leading journals in architecture and urban studies worldwide. As this is the case since the beginning of volume 5, issue 1, March 2011, one must note that the journal has been covered by several data and index bases since its inception including Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, EBSCO-Current Abstracts-Art and Architecture, INTUTE, Directory of Open Access Journals, Pro-Quest, Scopus-Elsevier and many university library databases across the globe. This is coupled with IJAR being an integral part of the archives and a featured collection of ArchNet and the Aga Khan Documentation Centre at MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.In 2014, IJAR was included in Quartile 2 / Q2 list of Journals both in ‘Architecture’ and ‘Urban Studies.’ As of May 2015, IJAR is ranked 23 out of 83 journals in ‘Architecture’ and 59 out of 119 in ‘Urban Studies.’ Rankings are based on the SJR (SCImago Journal Ranking); an Elsevier- SCOPUS indicator that measures the scientific influence of the average article in a journal. SJR is a measure of scientific influence of scholarly journals that accounts for both the number of citations received by a journal and the importance or prestige of the journals where such citations come from. See here for more information (http://www.scimagojr.com/index.php) and (http://www.journalmetrics.com/sjr.php). While the journal is now on top of many of the distinguished journals in Elsevier- SCOPUS database, we will keep aspiring to sustain our position and move forward to Q1 group list and eventually in the top 10 journal list in the field. However, this requires sustained efforts and conscious endeavours that give attention to quality submissions through a rigorous review process. This edition of IJAR: volume 9, issue 2, July 2015 includes debates on a wide spectrum of issues, explorations and investigations in various settings. The issue encompasses sixteen papers addressing cities, settlements, and projects in Europe, South East Asia, and the Middle East. Papers involve international collaborations evidenced by joint contributions and come from scholars in universities, academic institutions, and practices in Belgium; Egypt; Greece; Italy; Jordan; Malaysia; Palestine; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Serbia; Spain; Turkey; and the United Kingdom. In this editorial I briefly outline the key issues presented in these papers, which include topics relevant to social housing, multigenerational dwelling, practice-based research, sustainable design and biomimetic models, learning environments and learning styles, realism and the post modern condition, development and planning, urban identity, contemporary landscapes, and cultural values and traditions.
The Dynamics of Daylighting at a Residential College Building with the Internal Courtyard Arrangement
Authors: Jamaludin Adi Ainurzaman , Hussein Hazreena , Keumala Nila , Mohd Ariffin Ati Rosemary
Published: November 2017

Dayasari residential college building was designed with the internal courtyard that allows for numerous implementations of bioclimatic design strategies, especially on daylighting. The field measurement was conducted at eight unoccupied student rooms, selected as samples to represent ten scenarios and orientations that concerned with the level of radiation and penetration of sunlight. This study reveals the contribution of the internal courtyard in the residential college which allows the daylight penetration at the corridor areas and interior of the rooms through the transom over the entrance door, up to ten hours daily. Different amounts of daylight were measured in specific room scenarios to suggest on the most comfortable indoor living space. The recorded mean value for indoor varied from 37 to 286 lux, while in the corridor area 192 to 3,848 lux. However, the use of the large overhangs over the windows, wall openings in the room and trees with large canopy in the landscape setting should critically justify when the adequacy of daylight was drastically reduced in certain rooms.
A Conceptual Framework of Immersive Shared Environments Emphasizing Social Interaction
Authors: Kim Mi Jeong , Park So Yun , Wang Xiangyu
Published: November 2017

The effectiveness of visual displays has often been linked to the sense of presence embodied by immersive visualization. However, efforts analyzing how presence is associated with multi-users’ quality of communication, including visualization capabilities to assist in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), are still unfolding. This research is an exploratory study on social interaction, which aims to improve the presentation and communication of complex data through immersive simulation techniques. This paper reviews key concepts such as presence and immersion to identify factors that influence communication in the representative literature. It then introduces the Hub for Immersive Visualization and eResearch (HIVE) with a focus on the technological components. Finally it presents a conceptual framework of immersive shared environment, which enables multi-users to understand how to implement social interaction in a system efficiently or to determine whether a visualization system could support communication effectively. Future studies to validate the proposed framework are discussed, particularly in the context of cognitive factors in a shared environment.
Review of the Potential for a Cyber-Physical System Approach to Temporary Structures Monitoring
Authors: Yuan Xiao , Anumba Chimay J , Parfitt Kevin M
Published: November 2017

Around three quarters of construction workers work on or near temporary structures, whose failures lead to more than 100 deaths, 4500 injuries, and damage costing $90 million each year in the United States. However, few of the temporary structural problems have been well addressed, especially when compared with the increasing improvements in permanent structures. Meanwhile, the review of leading causes of temporary structural failures identifies the need for improved methods, such as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), to prevent potential structural hazards. This paper makes the first effort to examine CPS applicability in temporary structures, and potential benefits brought by CPS to temporary structural monitoring. Key definitions and features of CPS, CPS applications in both other industry sectors and the built environment, and applications of CPS enabling technologies in temporary structures are reviewed. It is concluded that CPS provides opportunity to address safety and structural problems of temporary structures. For a clear understanding of how CPS works in structural monitoring, an application scenario of scaffolding system is presented. Finally, system requirements followed by a system architecture are identified.
Design Creativity: Future Directions for Integrated Visualisation
Authors: Goulding Jack Steven , Pour Rahimian Farzad
Published: November 2017

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sectors are facing unprecedented challenges, not just with increased complexity of projects per se, but design-related integration. This requires stakeholders to radically re-think their existing business models (and thinking that underpins them), but also the technological challenges and skills required to deliver these projects. Whilst opponents will no doubt cite that this is nothing new as the sector as a whole has always had to respond to change; the counter to this is that design ‘creativity’ is now much more dependent on integration from day one. Given this, collaborative processes embedded in Building Information Modelling (BIM) models have been proffered as a panacea solution to embrace this change and deliver streamlined integration. The veracity of design teams’ “project data” is increasingly becoming paramount - not only for the coordination of design, processes, engineering services, fabrication, construction, and maintenance; but more importantly, facilitate ‘true’ project integration and interchange – the actualisation of which will require firm consensus and commitment. This Special Issue envisions some of these issues, challenges and opportunities (from a future landscape perspective), by highlighting a raft of concomitant factors, which include: technological challenges, design visualisation and integration, future digital tools, new and anticipated operating environments, and training requirements needed to deliver these aspirations. A fundamental part of this Special Issue’s ‘call’ was to capture best practice in order to demonstrate how design, visualisation and delivery processes (and technologies) affect the finished product viz: design outcome, design procedures, production methodologies and construction implementation. In this respect, the use of virtual environments are now particularly effective at supporting the design and delivery processes. In summary therefore, this Special Issue presents nine papers from leading scholars, industry and contemporaries. These papers provide an eclectic (but cognate) representation   of AEC design visualisation and integration; which not only uncovers new insight and understanding of these challenges and solutions, but also provides new theoretical and practice signposts for future research.
BIM-Based Quality Control for Safety Issues in the Design and Construction Phases
Authors: Park Seunghwa , Kim Inhan
Published: November 2017

Today’s buildings are getting larger and more complex. As a result, the traditional method of manually checking the design of a building is no longer efficient since such a process is time-consuming and laborious. It is becoming increasingly important to establish and automate processes for checking the quality of buildings. By automatically checking whether buildings satisfy requirements, Building Information Modeling (BIM) allows for rapid decision-making and evaluation. In this context, the work presented here focuses on resolving building safety issues via a proposed BIM-based quality checking process. Through the use case studies, the efficiency and usability of the devised strategy is evaluated. This research can be beneficial in promoting the efficient use of BIM-based communication and collaboration among the project party concerned for improving safety management. In addition, the work presented here has the potential to expand research efforts in BIM-based quality checking processes.
Detección de inhibidores de factor viii y ix en pacientes que reciben factores de coagulación liofilizados como profilaxis o tratamiento
Authors: Mardones Marcela , Pérez Pazmiño Francisco , Pino Bedón Marco
Published: November 2017

Al paciente con hemofilia se le administra como profilaxis o tratamiento el FVIII o FIX liofilizado; en ocasiones, el organismo lo reconoce como extraño y crea anticuerpos que neutralizan su efectividad. Son inhibidores dependientes del tiempo y su aparición se ve influenciado por predisposición genética. El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar la frecuencia de los inhibidores de FVIII y FIX en 104 pacientes, de 1 a 59 años, que recibieron factores liofilizados comerciales. Se valoraron 34,6 % pacientes con hemofilia “A” moderada; 23,08 % severa y 13,4 % leve; 2,88 % hemofilia “B” moderada. Adicionalmente se incluyeron seis pacientes (5,77 %) con Enfermedad de Von Willebrand que recibieron FVIII, en los que es probable que la efectividad del tratamiento con desmopresina no fue la ideal. El 20,19 % recibió factor VIII pero no conocía el nombre de su patología. El 40,8 % de los resultados fue positivo para la prueba Bethesda y cinco pacientes presentaron valores mayores a cinco unidades Bethesda, es decir “altos respondedores”. Se evidenció la necesidad de practicar esta prueba como prueba de rutina, en los pacientes que reciben seguido plasmas con factores liofilizados.
Modelación molecular de la interacción del paracetamol y el 4-aminofenol con las enzimas Ciclooxigenasa 1 y 2
Authors: Sebastián Sebastián , Vela Cristina , Meneses Lorena
Published: November 2017

En este estudio, se presenta la modelación computacional de la interacción del paracetamol y su metabolito activo, el 4-aminofenol, con las enzimas Ciclooxigenasa 1 y Ciclooxigenasa 2. El objetivo fue utilizar métodos computacionales para explicar, a nivel molecular, la baja actividad antinflamatoria del paracetamol mediante su interacción con las enzimas Ciclooxigenasa 1 y 2. Se utilizaron métodos mecánico cuánticos para la optimización de los ligandos y acoplamiento molecular para modelar la interacción de estos ligandos con las enzimas y sus sitios activos. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que las conformaciones con más afinidad para paracetamol y 4-aminofenol no se encuentran en el sitio activo de la Ciclooxigenasa 1. Comparaciones con el ácido araquidónico muestran que las energías de enlace son alrededor de 1 kcal/mol mayores, lo cual indica una inhibición leve. Para el caso de la Ciclooxigenasa 2, los resultados obtenidos son similares, lo cual sugiere que el mecanismo de acción principal del paracetamol o su metabolito primario no se da por inhibición de las Ciclooxigenasas. Este resultado concuerda con las diferencias en la acción farmacológica y efectos secundarios que tiene el paracetamol con respecto a moléculas del mismo grupo como el ibuprofeno.
Nematodos parásitos asociados con tomate de árbol (Solanum betaceum Cav.) en la sierra del Ecuador
Authors: Ubidia Vásquez P , Soria C A
Published: November 2017

Se realizó un estudio nematológico en cuatro plantaciones de tomate de árbol (Solanum betaceum Cav.), situadas en los valles altos del Ecuador. El propósito de este estudio fue el de demostrar la incidencia de nemátodos parásitos de estos cultivos. Un total de 64 muestras de suelo y 34 de raíces fueron procesados y analizados por duplicado en los que se encontraron al menos 12 géneros de nemátodos distribuidos en poblaciones diferentes. Diferencias en conductividad de los suelos fueron significativas, mientras que las del pH no lo fueron. El género más frecuente fue Meloidogyne spp. con un promedio de 363,5 por 100 g de suelo y 290,4 por 10 g de raíces en las 64 muestras de suelo y 34 de raíces colectadas en cuatro diferentes localidades. Pratylenchus spp. fue la segunda población más frecuente con un promedio de 146,3 y 97,4 individuos por 100 g de suelo y 10 g de raíces, respectivamente. La presencia del género Hoplolaimus spp. en 33 de 64 muestras de suelo (52%) constituye un importante hallazgo de este género asociado con los cultivos de tomate en Ecuador. Alrededor de la mitad de la población total de nemátodos encontrados en el suelo y raíces de este cultivo fueron del género saprofítico (un promedio de 530 y 518 individuos, respectivamente).
Embutidos fortificados con proteína vegetal a base de quinua (Chenopodium quinoa Wild.)
Authors: Maldonado Priscila
Published: November 2017

Español:El objetivo de esta investigación es substituir la mayor cantidad de proteína animal, por proteína vegetal a base de quinua, sin disminuir la calidad y aceptabilidad del producto, se optó por este pseudocereal ya que posee características nutricionales muy importantes para la alimentación humana. En la actualidad el país atraviesa por una crisis en la disponibilidad de alimentos y por una dependencia crítica de materia prima importada, por lo cual necesita de alternativas propias, que fomenten el consumo de productos nativos y autóctonos. Al elaborar productos con materia prima disponible en el país logramos disminuir la dependencia externa y promover el trabajo interno y por ende contribuir a garantizar la Soberanía Alimentaria. La Soberanía Alimentaria es el derecho de los pueblos a definir sus propias políticas y estrategias sustentables de producción, distribución y consumo de alimentos que garanticen el derecho a la alimentación para toda la población, con base en la pequeña y medi<ana producción, respetando sus propias culturas y la diversidad de los modos campesinos, pesqueros e indígenas de producción agropecuaria, de comercialización y de gestión de los espacios rurales, en los cuales toda persona desempeña un papel fundamental. La quinua posee un excepcional balance de proteínas, grasa, aceite, almidón y un alto contenido de aminoácidos. Esta investigación se desarrolla en la Universidad Tecnológica Equinoccial, en la cátedra de procesamiento de productos Cárnicos y Pesqueros. Se ha realizado una primera formulación en la cual, se ha sustituido un 30% de carne animal por quinua, obteniéndose excelentes resultados en cuanto a calidad, composición nutricional y disminución de costos. El valor nutricional se calculó teóricamente y arrojo óptimos resultados.
Modelo de contaminación del aire
Authors: Naula Iván
Published: November 2017

El presente documento estudia un modelo matemático de contaminación del aire, este modelo se basa en una ecuación en derivadas parciales de tipo parabólico lineal llamada ecuación de convección difusión. En la primera parte se trata el tema de contaminación del aire, su importancia, causas, consecuencias y por qué es necesario formular modelos matemáticos, luego se realiza un estudio de los principales resultados de la mecánica de medios continuos aplicados a la contaminación del aire, y se propone un modelo matemático.