Most of the pretending innovative modern housing projects show a common element that can be perceived when looking at the cross-section, evidencing the use of alternate corridors, which was recognized as a projective technique under Wells Coates expression “Planning in Section”. Contrasting virtues concerning the resulting space were observed at different historical moments. The late 19th Century used it to create privacy. The modern architecture used it to increase efficiency, where flexibility was included. However, during the ’60s, the alternative corridor technique started to be used to attend social issues, popularizing the split-level term, and echoing 19th Century privacy interests. Keywords like Smithson’s “doorstep” and Candilis “semi-duplex” section reveal their approaches. Well-differentiated areas (public/intimate/collective) and socially controlled areas were obtained in domestic interiors with a few steps, creating singular spaces where children can play while being monitored by adults. Semi-duplex geometry showed new adaptability to different profiles: a small kitchenless apartment for a bachelor could be inserted aside from a larger two-level family apartment. This paper shows an overview of this projective technique by contrasting different housing projects. Since similar split-level geometries seem to have been coming back recently, questions about it are necessary.

This study investigates the evidence supporting the impact of the built environment on the health outcomes for patients within the hospital setting. Improving the hospital environment may potentially impact the lives of millions of patients, patients’ family, and staff. Prior research has suggested that the built environment can contribute to positive health outcomes. Reporting the most recent evidence may assist designers in making informed decisions. In this study, a literature review was conducted using the PICO framework within scientific databases and additional hand-searched documents. A total number of 15 articles were included. Effects of each environmental factor on patients’ health outcomes were discussed in detail. Environmental factors that affect patient outcomes are (1) form, (2) unit layout, (3) floor material, (4) room features, (5) medical equipment visibility, (6) nature, (7) lighting, and (8) music. Although several studies have provided a high level of evidence, other studies have lacked a robust research design. Thus, evidence regarding several environmental factors is not conclusive. Additional studies using experimental/quasi-experimental research design have been suggested. In some studies, several environmental factors were introduced simultaneously which obscured the separate effects of each environmental factor.

In 1913, a so-called Moon Bridge was built in the Japanese garden of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, USA as a fruit of the Japonism in the Western world at that time. The master carpenter was Toichiro Kawai, a Japanese immigrant from Yokohama who was originally a ship carpenter.

The bridge is made of wood and shaped in the exaggerated arch form, which classifies the bridge as a “drum bridge” (Taiko-bashi) in Japanese culture. However, the unique structural form of this bridge, the “woven arch,” is rare in building history.

This paper aims to explore why and how such a bridge appeared in such a place and time. For this purpose, we go from the historical background to its construction history, from the concept of the designer to the detailed design methods. Data come partly from the author’s first-hand investigation and the limited local archive. The most interesting discoveries were made during the detailed on-site investigation, including the fact that the bridge is designed to express the metaphor of “perfection” (full moon) through its geometrical features, and the design is based according to traditional Japanese methods.

Brazilian city beaches are public spaces favoring citizens well-being. Urban studies relate built form and infrastructure with urban vitality and coastal studies underline uses as important for beach management, yet few researches relate form and infrastructure with beach uses. Understanding daily life as essential for public spaces and that spatial form relates with uses, this paper assesses time-based relationships between built and natural physical attributes and social life on the beaches of João Pessoa, a coastal city in North-east Brazil. Physical attributes are investigated at city scale - beach type, street network centrality and topography - and seafront scale - land uses, public/private interfaces, public infrastructure, beach sections and water quality. Beach social life was surveyed online, enquiring peoples’ beach choice, visiting time and place, activities and evaluation. Infrastructure and street network follow topography and help configure shore and promenade for different landscapes. More central beaches have diverse land uses, well-equipped promenades and lighting and were popular night and day, while less central beaches had less infrastructure and were visited only by day. Findings highlight how physical attributes facilitate uses and, together with peoples’ evaluation, can inform urban beach design and planning.

This study presents findings of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) investigations conductedin elementary schools' classrooms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Average TVOC, CO₂, O₃, CO, and particle concentrations measured in the classrooms were 815 μg/m³, 1605 ppm, 0.05 ppm, 1.16 ppm, and 1730 μg/m³, respectively. Whereas, local authority knownas Dubai Municipality recommended 300 μg/m³, 800 ppm, 0.06 ppm, 9 ppm, and 150-300 μg/m³ for TVOC, CO², O³, CO, and particle, respectively. Dubai Municipality recommended temperature and relative humidity (RH) levels of 22.5 1°C to 25.5 1°C and 30%–60%, respectively. Average temperature and RH levels measured in the classrooms were 24.5 1°C and 40.4%, respectively. Average sound level in the classrooms was 24 dB greater than recommended sound level limit of 35 dB. Six (6) classrooms had average lux levels in the range of 400–800 lux. Two (2) classrooms had average lux levels in the range of 100–200 lux. The remaining classrooms had lux levels around the recommended 300 lux. High occupancy density was observed in majority of the studied classrooms. Observations during walkthrough investigations could be used to explain measured IEQ data. Poor IEQ conditions in the studied classrooms highlight the need for further research investigation to understand how poor classrooms' IEQ condition could influence students' health, comfort, attendance rate, and academic performance.

The paper deciphers the Chinese literature to English speaking scholars and bridges the gap between China and the western countries on the topics of therapeutic landscapes and healing gardens. Three parts of contents are included in the paper. Firstly, four schools of theories explaining how and why nature can heal, are introduced based on the studies in western countries with the examination of terminology used. In the second part, 71 publications in Chinese are systematically reviewed, with 19 significant studies analyzed in details, including focus areas, the research method, and major findings. In the final part, Chinese studies are evaluated in relation to the theories in western countries.

This article examines Block A, the first block-style building in Heybeliada Sanatorium in Istanbul. The purpose of this research is to understand its architectural and spatial development and discuss how in fact it was a “prototype” of Turkish sanatoria. Approached with a three-step methodology (documentation/evaluation/results) this research conducts architectural and spatial analysis on Block A. Primary sources like architectural documentation and restitution drawings, the writings of the institution’s head doctor Tevfik Ismail Gökçe, periodicals on tuberculosis (TB), as well as pertinent literature are utilized. The findings demonstrate that Block A’s development (1924—1945) was the result of knowledge transfer that introduced the universal sanatorium design principles, spatial experiments, adaptation to sociocultural norms, and trial-and-error processes. Not only it had a major impact on shaping of the second block-type building in the complex, the “model” Block B, but it also became exemplary of the subsequent Turkish sanatoria. The originality of this article is its exploration of the changing and evolving Block A in its resonation with the cultural tensions of Turkey’s modernization process. This was established via the assessment of budgetary issues, medical developments and climatic experiments, the social issue of scarcity of TB beds in the country, spatial practices to separate the sexes as reflections of local traditions and culture in the shaping of spaces.

This article investigates the one-century construction history of Silla’s state monastery Hwangryongsa, understanding its architectural transformation in relation to the changing ritual-spatial concept within the context of the medieval Sino-Korean cultural exchanges. The initial construction between 553 and 569, supervised by the Koguryǒ émigré monk Hyeryang, followed the sixth-century Northern Chinese model to build Hwangryongsa as a dormitory-enclosed compound, in which the One-Hundred-Seat Assembly was enacted in the image hall as the earlier Chinese Buddhist tradition would do. This plan was soon altered under the increasing popularity of the newly developed Southern Chinese paradigm. An extensive reconstruction started in 574 for the purpose of imitating the Chen imperial performance of the One-Hundred-Seat Assembly at Taijidian compound of Jiankang palace, while the archaic, oddly-empty organization of the central image hall reveals a hidden connection between Hwangryongsa and Tongtaisi, the state monastery of the Liang and also the first Chinese monastery modeled after the Taijidian compound. Hwangryongsa was eventually transformed into a corridor-enclosed ceremonial courtyard fronted by three image halls and one nine-story pagoda by 645, and the transformation profoundly mirrored China’s medieval architectural reform of Buddhist ritual space between the sixth and seventh centuries.

In Japan, local cities experience a number of problems related to deterioration of residential environment, quality of public service, and vitalization of commercial land. Specifically, the presence of large vacant lots behind sizable stores, office buildings, hospitals, and factories devitalize urban activity and its landscape. Many local cities are seeking to actualize a sustainable compact city with an integrated population, commerce, traffic and other public services in ways that promote a low carbon and energy-conservingso ciety. Against the backdrop of these issues, this study examines the occurrence of large vacant lots and their utilization by local governments in Japan based on aquestionnaire and field survey. It highlights several cases in which a large vacant lot is used to forward the development of a compact city by a local government.

In ancient Iran, in addition to defensive elements such as castles, fortresses, and fortifications, there were underground cities called dastkand. These cities had a shelter-protection function and provided safe space to protect residents when enemies attacked. In the scope of dastkand architectural studies, form typology, land-use typology, and provision of thermal comfort have been investigated in various studies but there is no study on dastkand defensive architecture, which is the main purpose of the present research. The research method is a mixed method (qualitative-quantitative). The required data are collected through a survey and then, analyzed using factor analysis in R method. The statistical population includes Iranian architectural heritage specialists and the sample size is estimated to be 165 persons. Sampling adequacy is confirmed based on the results of KMO test. The samples are selected using a non-probability sampling method. The obtained results indicate that ten factors have been effective in the architecture of Iran’s ancient organic shelters. In order from largest to smallest coefficient of variance, the factors include collective defense, multi-layered defense, environmental camouflage, path control, self-sufficiency, secret passage, sustainable architecture, residential values, covert surveillance, and cluster development.

A city is a vital organism that lives and grows like other organisms. Therefore, implementing development plans that would provide a sense of unity and integration in relation to the city as a whole is necessary. Traditional Iranian architecture is full of samples evolved during the course of Iranian history that can serve as architectural paragons of the city. In Iran's traditional cities, a sense of unity exists in various urban areas. The traditional city of Isfahan is one of the most valuable samples and was selected as the case study in this research. Accordingly, the most important questions of this research are as follows: (1) What is the role of bazaars in creating a sense of unity in the traditional cities of Iran? (2) How do bazaars play out their role in the integration of these cities? This research focuses on the concept of a “traditional city” to determine the role of bazaars in such cities. The results show that bazaars are crucial in giving a sense of integrity to the concept of a traditional Iranian city. Bazaars provide cohesion among the different parts of cities, such as residential areas, as well as socio-political and trade centers. This condition means that traditional bazaars play two important roles in traditional cities: (1) they interconnect the different parts of the city's physical structure; and (2) the crucial role of bazaars in a city's social and cultural structure brings about unity among the citizens in the city. Bazaars as a unifying element connect the main urban functions and guarantee the city's economic and social life.

In the transition to a more sustainable built environment over the last two decades, the “greening” of architecture as a popular approach has received widespread attention. However, there are still many open questions and contradictions regarding how to design with “nature” and contribute to sustainability. In addition, explorations of built examples are rare, and three-dimensional (3D) green spaces in buildings are often overlooked. Therefore, we introduce “green pockets” (3D green spaces) as a typology distinct from two-dimensional green roofs and walls/facades. We draw on a mixed-method approach to study two cases (Erasmus MC and Hotel Jakarta), comprising 12 semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders, design document analysis, and site observation. We develop a critical reflection (a framework) on the impacts of “green architecture” on sustainability from unpacked benefits and adopt a biophilic design framework to analyse designing with “nature” in architectural practice. These findings demonstrate that green pockets contribute to integrating multiple experiences of “nature” into buildings and developing sustainable architecture. Designing green pockets with visibility, accessibility, and spatial characteristics (e.g., prospect and refuge, organised complexity, peril, and mystery) of “nature” improves building quality. Furthermore, we provide design recommendations to advance green pocket designs and make suggestions for future research.

The period in Kosovo from the 1970s to the early 1980s is important yet insufficiently explored. The period is characterized by a liberal approach toward the development of theregion. Such development of Kosovo was evident in all spheres of life, including architecture, which functions as an integral part of a society and its progress. This progress was “supported” with an intention to overpower the existing architectural environment and the overall identity of the region in some way. However, when this progress was realized where innumerous buildings considered important were materialized, an intention to have the earlier and “original” spatial structures to be replaced became evident. In the case of Kosovo, the term “liberal” can be understood negatively and positively. From the architectural viewpoint, designs tend to follow technological advances and “trends” of the time. Consequently, the materialization of such buildings, which are surrounded by symbolisms related to different types of identity and leading toward regional modernism, is an important part to emphasize.

The current study aims to consider important thoughts about architectural identity and its categories in general but specific to the context of Kosovo. The history of the region has a critical story of influences toward its formation. Although several hilosophies were accepted by the mass, others produced the antidote of the actual input. This study considers the importance of finding the best possible interpretation of Kosovo's architectural identity, such that Kosovo can be well known in the future as it was in the past.

Streets are one of the major elements that make-up the urban environment. Urban commercial and mixed-use street types occur as public spaces in every town and city all around the world. With the paucity of such spaces, streets have taken up to solve the problem. Hence, this study assesses the key physical, visual, and aesthetical characteristics and examines the influence of aesthetical attributes over the activity pattern, user behavioral responses, and the color palette observed. Moreover, this research has been carried out in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Four significant commercial streets were identified and featured in the main study. The research method comprehends a structured questionnaire and multiple interviews to amass data, photo elicitation, and video corroboration to identify the key visual characteristics to study and scrutinize the aesthetical responses to various attributes that make good-looking urban commercial and mixed-use street types. The results of the study indicate that the diversity and perceived pleasantness of the environment, which includes elements such as facades, colors, aspect ratios, maintenance, and vegetation, has a very close association with walking preferences. The outcome of the study would also help architects, urban designers and planners, and policy makers to create positive spaces to foster urban commercial street types as place-making and aesthetically pleasing streets.

The importance of open and unbuilt neighborhood spaces in residential developments has been established by numerous scholars. Having a diverse nomenclature in varied contexts, these areas are indispensable yet often neglected and designated as leftovers in contemporary planning practice. With their usefulness in the Indian context of socially active and sometimes even intrusive communities, such spaces are rapidly losing their place in present-day residential environments due to the pressure of providing for the rapidly growing population coupled with mass migratory patterns. These neighborhood spaces that impart physical, psychological, and perceptual comfort to residents have been present in spontaneously developed traditional Indian cities due to their inherent order and integrity. Moreover, some contemporary housing environments by eminent designers have also utilized the virtues of well-designed neighborhood environments. This study is a comparative analysis of three selected projects, which aspire to devise suitable methods for contemporary Indian context and achieve neighborhood comfort and an overall sense of belongingness among residents.

With rapid urbanization in China, an increasing building density has squeezed the urban public space. Community streets are occupied by motor vehicles or other functions, and can no longer sufficiently support children to carry out safe and independent activities. As an important space for children’s daily natural contact and social activities, the lack of the spatial function of streets results in a decline in children’s subjective initiative and social abilities. The United Nations has stressed the importance of community as the basic unit of space for children’s daily activities in building child friendly cities. It is urgent to reshape child-friendly community streets and support children’s healthy growth.

Integrating previous research results on affordance theory and design, children’s growth and environment, and street-game spaces, this study focuses on investigating 23 community streets in four residential communities in Nanjing through questionnaires, interviews, observations, and other methods. Then, from the perspective of cognitive affordance, functional affordance, and social affordance, it analyzes the behavioral possibilities provided by the environment and the needs of the children-user group. Finally, from the perspectives of openness and security, preference and diversity, positive and negative, and reality and potential, it proposes a method to assess the existing environment.

This study aims to extract the significant characteristics of the built environment that effectively support and promote children’s outdoors activities, and explore the design strategy of improving street space sharing through optimizing space elements and structure at the medium and micro levels, so as to respond to multiple goals including livable city development from the perspective of child friendliness. This study also tries to change the logical way of design thinking and provide an eco-psychological perspective on how to build a child-friendly community.

One of the approaches used by educational institutions to ensure that their programs reflect advances and changes in the architectural profession is the inclusion of elective courses. This study aims to establish a basis for integrating elective courses into architectural curricula by investigating the component of elective courses in 30 highly-ranked undergraduate architectural programs around the world. The need for this study arose as a result of the limited literature and lack of scientific foundation with which to support the process of merging elective courses into architectural curricula. This study has raised many questions in terms of direction, amount, subject, and timing of elective courses in architectural education. This study adopts an analytical deductive methodology supported by quantitative research. It is structured into four sections: topic overview, survey and its procedures, findings of the survey, anddiscussion. The discussion includes a proposal for integrating elective courses into architectural education. This study draws conclusions to its research questions, which broadens its impact on the quality of architectural programs and benefits for those concerned with architectural accreditation.

In the current context of climate change and ecological awareness, designing sustainable environments is definitely understood as a shared responsibility. With the construction sector consuming half of the world's energy, the role of some key stakeholders such as architects becomes even more critical when providing responsible and relevant design for the built environment. Thus, improving the way our environments are being designed challenges some cultural systems that show evident limits, such as the training of future architects and engineers.

In this research, the focus is on architecture students and aims to demonstrate how the use of a new sustainable performance simulation tool, called Easy Approach for Sustainable and Environmental Design (EASED) could contribute to educate them about innovatively sustainable design. This was assessed through the evaluation of student engagement, their use of the tool and its appropriation. Results show that individual work was not convincing, whereas success was met during group work. Limits and improvement possibilities were found in the interface of EASED as well as in the educational set up of the tool.

This paper focuses on the dramatic transformation of the inherited historical urban and architectural characteristics of the city of Al-Najaf in Iraq, seeking new ways of seeing the possibilities of preserving and revitalizing the historical center of the city.

In addition to being one of the most sacred centers for Shia Muslims, Al-Najaf has a rich cultural and architectural heritage. Its architectural characteristics and urban structure not only reflect the history of the city but also stand as evidence of the most important junctures in Islamic history: the martyrdom of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, who is a central Islamic spiritual personality and the second most important figure after the Prophet Muhammad. Since its establishment in 750 AD, the formation of Al-Najaf has never separated from its sociopolitical context and Islamic principles, particularly Shia Muslims’ beliefs.

Today, the city is a destination for more than million Shia Muslim pilgrims each year, and the number is rapidly increasing. However, as the city continues to develop, its architecture and unique urban structure transform dramatically. The cultural and architectural heritage of the city is seriously threatened. Several factors played a crucial role in the formation and the transformation of the city’s specific architectural and urban structures. The most influential factors were mainly related to religion, environment, and politics. This paper introduces the main forces behind the transformation of the deep organizational structures of the architecture and urban fabric in Al-Najaf. The question of whether it is still possible to protect and preserve the remaining parts and revitalize the Old City center is also examined. The goal is to identify the major preservation issues and provide possible insights based on successful preservation experiences that address similar issues in different contexts.

The UNESCO label of World Heritage can attract a high number of tourists to heritage properties for their Outstanding Universal Values (OUV). Although international studies have demonstrated the World Heritage system can contribute to stimulating cultural tourism and boosting the local economy, how this heritage-led development process promotes urban conservation and morphological changes in cities is yet to be explored adequately. This paper aims to explore the urban morphology of a historic Chinese city after its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, taking the Old Town of Lijiang as case. The methods of spatial plan analysis and discourse analysis are used to analyse the data. The research findings have demonstrated that, theoretically, the Conzenian approach of urban morphology can be an effective framework for World Heritage OUV-monitoring. Methodologically, the analysis of spatial plans and multi-stakeholder interviews can reveal local urban morphology from macro to micro levels. Case-specifically in Lijiang, urban physical characteristics and building structures have been well maintained while traditional social fabric and neighbourhood networks have almost vanished. This research has incorporated the urban morphology approach into (world) heritage management in China, as well as worldwide, in order to maintain the balance between urban conservation and economic growth.

Cooling is one of the major concerns in building tropical houses. This problem is exacerbated by the heat gain of the roof, which constitutes 70% of the total heat gain. The passive cooling technique is one of the innovative practices and technologies that provide buildings with comfortable conditions through natural means. Reflective and radiative processes are the methods used to decrease heat gain by facilitating the elimination of excess heat in a building's interior to maintain a comfortable environment. Given that the potential of these techniques vary from region to region, their application in the tropics should be examined.

Exploring these approaches in detail allows us to rethink how to effectively adapt these techniques to overcome the build-up of heat in modern tropical houses in Southeast Asia. This study reviews the physical characteristics of these approaches to guide architects and building designers. Results indicate a great reduction in operational cost. However, the significant differences in the performance of colour and material properties should be considered, given that the selected approach strongly affects the required thermal conditions of a building.

In order to achieve holistic urban plans incorporating transport infrastructure, public space and the behavior of people in these spaces, integration of urban design and computer modeling is a promising way to provide both qualitative and quantitative support to decisionmakers. This paper describes a systematic literature review following a four-part framework. Firstly, to understand the relationship of elements of transport, spaces, and humans, we review policy and urban design strategies for promoting positive interactions. Secondly, we present an overview of the integration methods and strategies used in urban design and policy discourses. Afterward, metrics and approaches for evaluating the effectiveness of integrated plan alternatives are reviewed. Finally, this paper gives a review of state-of-the-art tools with a focus on seven computer simulation paradigms. This article explores mechanisms underlying the complex system of transport, spaces, and humans from a multidisciplinary perspective to provide an integrated toolkit for designers, planners, modelers and decision-makers with the current methods and their challenges.

Due to the increasing pressure brought by recent global environmental problems, building designers are embracing regionalism and the knowledge of traditional structures, arguing that these structures are energy efficient and highly sustainable. We observe clear evidence of the increasing interest in vernacular architecture among the research community. This study therefore aims to clarify the contents and issues raised in the studies on vernacular architecture and the knowledge and recommendations that can be derived from them. A database of the research is established by collecting many studies from primary sources. Obtained data is carefully refined and categorized into a table where synthesized information is introduced. The results of this study show an uneven geographic and climatic distribution of the studies; the trend in selecting research objectives and research objects; the choice of research methods with a clear shift towards quantitative research methods, and the generic findings from the database of the research. These results can support diverse inquiries about vernacular architecture across the world and be used as a resource or an orientation to support numerous subsequent studies.

The present research studies the relationship between place attachment and the perception of form’s visual quality in fifteen outstanding contemporary Iranian architectural cultural buildings. This study puts forward the hypothesis that there is a correlation between the quality of building form and the sense of place attachment, in the sense that creating high visual quality through enhancing the quality of building form increases citizens’ initial satisfaction with and subsequent attachment to the building. High visual quality influences people’s experience of the environment and improves the quality of life. Place attachment highlights how people, on a personal level, recreate a sense of place for themselves. The present study adopts the descriptive-analytical method as its theoretical framework and the survey as the empirical methodology. Questionnaires were developed using the Likert scale and distributed among experts and ordinary citizens. Data analysis using SPSS and the adoption of descriptive-analytical statistics, correlation analysis, and regression showed the relationship among the characteristics of indicators. The results show a positive correlation between form and place attachment mediated through visual quality, and they are causal conditions for one another. In addition, only some of the buildings under study evoke the same level of place attachment.

As a highly interdisciplinary field, architecture is being influenced by many subjects of natural and social sciences. Biology despite being apparently distant from architecture is currently a scientific field blending into design practices, which have evolved and shifted towards a new hybrid framework. In this article, we present an emerging design field of what we categorize as biomimetic architecture pioneering by six architectural offices in France. We observe the impact of scientific researches on design processes and practices through six case studies led by these offices, which can be seen through the actors who involved in various types of interdisciplinary collaborations, through the competencies of the architect himself, and through new sources of ideas coming from biological sciences and related fields. We propose to use a classification of theoretical uses in modeling practice to better understand the role that biological knowledge plays in architectural design practices. Finally, the result of this analysis shows that the use of biology taking place in a design space has external purposes, which transform it to produce engineering devices or urban schemes rather than architectural projects. It also shows that biology in architectural design induces other kinds of non-biological knowledge, is not strictly theoretical and could be obsolete or approximate. These findings lead to an epistemological discussion concerning the confusion between biological ‘knowledge’ and architectural design ‘know-how’.

Urban spatial identity, as the core content of a distinctive urban image and the representation of urban competitiveness and attraction, is critical to cities in the rapid development process. In view of maintaining and strengthening the spatial identity in a historic urban area, which is the key issue of urban construction in China at present, based on the literature review of Chinese urban spatial identity studies, three research paradigms are summarized: landscape, culture, and economy. Although the traditional evaluation method of spatial identity in historic urban areas has focused on the scarcity of characteristic resources, the relation-ship between characteristic resources and human beings has been ignored. Therefore, based on the declaration of the fundamental mechanism of urban spatial identity in historic urban areas, a new evaluation method was proposed considering four aspects, including object, subject, content, and indicators. The results indicated that the framework of evaluation and design, which is based on the assessment of the relationship between characteristic resources and human beings, is an effective strategy to improve the scientific evaluation of urban spatial identity. Our study has substantial implications for urban planners and managers in solving the urban identity crisis issue in historic urban areas.

The significant challenges that urban design faces when moving forward into this new digital era involve the increasingly massive and complex projects that must be analyzed and developed. The need for efficient analysis tools and rational design methods represent ongoing concerns, while practicable and maneuverable applications rather than experimental studies are scarce. This research implemented a framework of digital description and generative grammar of block form from the perspective of block morphological complexity. The implemented framework was tested in an urban design practice. First, this study adapted the hierarchical structure and access structure theory to analyze the spatial form of target blocks. The characteristics of blocks case samples in Nanjing are extracted as text descriptions. Second, the relevant composition patterns and parameters were employed as features for classification and were converted into procedural rules. With the top-down control by rules and bottom-up generation by shape grammar in CityEngine, the texture of the block can be generated as close to the actual block as possible. Furthermore, in a real urban design case located in Nanjing, this work applies the method to construct a three-dimensional scene quickly and accurately. After integrating design factors such as an environment, transportation, and vision and summarizing the intentions of blocks and buildings in corresponding functions and control indexes, the initial generation plan was built by applying the obtained characteristics and procedural rules in specific shape grammar. Finally, designers can adjust the result in detail by employing real-time calculation and interactive operation.

Protecting large-scale heritage settlements from being damaged by fires has become increasingly crucial in developing areas that lack adequate legislation, emergency planning, and particularly efficient techniques. This study provides a systematic emergency assessment methodology for evaluating the accessibility of specific fire-fighting techniques to mitigate fire hazards in historical towns and examines how the integration of municipal and local fire services works. Specifically, this paper examines the accessibility of fire trucks, local fire services and the overall protection capacity. There are quantitative calculations of the obstruction degrees on main streets, the feasible moving distances of fire-fighting vehicles and firefighters at a given time, and the fire protection coverage and intensity in each town. Using these methods, this paper systematically assesses the fire resistance of three historical towns, Chuansha, Gaoqiao and Fengjing, as case studies. In contrast to previous studies focusing on the vulnerability of buildings in large historical settlements, this assessment method combines an examination of street networks and various emergency response techniques and is particularly applicable to developing areas.

This study explores how recent design guidelines have focused on the visual variety of streetscapes making them more attractive. To date, this topic has been one of the most challenging parts of constructing walkable streets. We evaluated the streetscape features of Sejong City, recently constructed as Republic of Korea’s new capital city, and investigated their relationships with design guidelines. Consequently, we identified three principal reasons related to the design guidelines for the visual monotony in the street produced by the most up-to-date design guidelines compared with an ordinary street. First, the design guidelines cannot restrict the construction of large-scale buildings on the street, hindering visual changes caused by the zoning ordinance regulations because zoning regulations took priority when it comes to urban planning and regulatory governance. Second, design standards intending for a consistent street wall of buildings, which were used only in regard to the street enclosure standard, produced less spatial diversity and indistinct building bases, presenting weak vertical articulation. Third, applying the uniform standards for each building created repetitive architecture despite design standards for visual variety, such as recessed top floors, arcades, and retail uses for the ground floors facing a street.

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