Architecture, Volume 6, Issue 3 (September 2026) – 69 articles

The primary goal in designing classical music concert halls is to create acoustic and spatial conditions that foster deep listener immersion, a phenomenon often termed acoustic envelopment or “spaciousness”. International standards recognize this phenomenon with the parameters of Lateral Energy Fraction and Late Lateral Gain. The present research applies a cross-disciplinary methodology to investigate whether a unified index can be formulated to describe holistically the perception of a listener being immersed in and surrounded by the acoustic sound field within a concert hall, hereafter termed Periichisi. The research question is examined through three specific components: the exploration of the acoustic, psychoacoustic, and possible neurological mechanisms underlying this perceptual condition; the identification of architectural and musical factors that contribute to its formation; and the evaluation of selected acoustic parameters, including G, C80, and BR, in supporting the proposed index. The research methodology uses an ex post facto analysis of psychoacoustic data collected at the AuroLab chamber in the School of Architecture, NTU Athens. To promote objectivity and inclusivity, the dataset comprises 130 participants, intentionally including non-expert listeners without formal musical training. Key contributions include the introduction of the term Periíchisi into the Hellenic technical lexicon and the development of the Periíchisi Index for quantifying listener envelopment. Findings suggest future directions, including EEG-based studies of brain activity during Periíchisi and the strategic optimization of G, C80, and BR to enhance immersive acoustic experiences. Full article

Learning Commons (LC) support student activities. This exploratory case study examined the LC on the second floor of Learning Square at Meiji University through video observation on one weekday. Movement trajectories, user activities, and dwell time were recorded under natural use conditions. Visibility zones were generated from spatial interfaces and examined together with seating configuration and observed movement trajectories. A total of 1903 passage events and 109 seating episodes were recorded. The floor supported seated use and movement between classrooms and vertical circulation elements. The Large-Group Table Seats and Table Seats had higher direct visibility from spatial interfaces and were located near areas with repeated overlap of movement trajectories. Conversation was more common in these two areas. The Counter Seats had lower direct visibility from spatial interfaces and a different spatial relationship to the observed movement trajectories, while computer and smartphone use accounted for most seating episodes. Among the complete seating episodes, the Counter Seats area had the highest mean dwell time. It also had the highest observed seat occupancy rate over the full observation period. However, Kaplan–Meier and RMST analyses showed no clear evidence of dwell time differences among the three seating areas. The findings describe one observed weekday and do not establish independent or causal effects of the spatial conditions. Full article

Semi-outdoor spaces on university campuses support circulation, temporary stays, and a range of everyday activities. This study presents an exploratory case study of four semi-outdoor study sites at Tokai University Shonan Campus in Japan, examining differences in activity composition and self-reported intended dwell time in relation to their spatial characteristics. The sites were documented using a common framework covering spatial dimensions and form, overhead and vertical configuration, lateral boundary conditions, access conditions, furniture and seating configuration, and surrounding functional conditions. Four survey rounds were conducted from November 2024 to July 2025 using the same survey procedure at all sites, yielding 189 valid responses. Activity composition differed among the four sites (Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact test, Monte Carlo p = 0.039; Cramér’s V = 0.184), as did the distribution of self-reported intended dwell time (p < 0.001; V = 0.234). Activity type was also associated with intended dwell time (p = 0.005; V = 0.274). Eating was the most common activity overall, while the proportions of studying, resting, conversation, and waiting varied among sites. However, these differences did not show a consistent relationship with any single spatial characteristic, including area, W/D ratio, spatial height, boundary configuration, or seating capacity. The findings suggest that campus semi-outdoor spaces should be interpreted through multiple spatial characteristics and surrounding functional conditions rather than a single spatial parameter. As an exploratory single-campus case study, this study provides a basis for broader comparative research. Full article

Daylight is a key component of evidence-based healthcare design, yet strategies that increase daylight may also introduce glare and interact with privacy measures used in shared hospital rooms. This study evaluated annual daylight performance in representative oncology patient rooms at King Abdullah University Hospital, Jordan, using climate-based simulation in Rhino-Grasshopper with Ladybug Tools/Honeybee and Radiance. Single-bed, two-bed shared, and four-bed shared rooms were compared across facade orientations. Annual illuminance, Daylight Glare Probability (DGP), high-dynamic-range visualizations, and patient-bed conditions were assessed, and the shared rooms were additionally simulated with and without fully deployed low-transmittance privacy curtains. South-facing shared rooms achieved the highest annual mean illuminance, whereas north-facing rooms generally produced lower and more spatially uniform daylight. Higher daylight availability was accompanied by greater glare occurrence at beds close to the facade. Under the modeled curtain scenario, annual mean illuminance at patient-head locations decreased by 77.7–99.7%, with the largest reductions at deeper beds. The findings show that daylight performance is governed by the interaction of room geometry, facade orientation, bed location, and privacy interventions. Annual room- and bed-level evaluation can therefore support oncology patient-room design that balances daylight availability, visual comfort, and visual privacy. Full article

Mirrors were crucial elements in defining the modern concept of the architectural interior in Europe during the seventeenth century. In the first section of this article we show how mirrors supported the development of Enlightenment theory of the psycho-social subject. This theme eventually reached its apex with Jacques Lacan’s essay ‘The Mirror Stage’ and came to define the prevailing critical approach. The mirror in premodern Islam, however, is less concerned with the psycho-social subject and its interior architecture. In the second section, we consider how mirrors such as those employed in ayeneh-kari tiling are understood to situate cosmically and act poetically. Dissolving, fragmenting, and scattering effects tend to have greater importance than questions of self-image. Having established these contrasting critical positions, we then consider two more current permutations of the mirror: the advent of the mirror-glass façade in the twentieth century, and the use of mirrors in contemporary installation art. In the third and fourth sections, we explore the way mirrors can decentre the individual as a source of meaning and suggest or evoke new macrocosmic identities. Critical emphasis on the psychological subject’s interior architecture falls short of recognising the many ways the physical design and construction of spaces might contribute to a wider range of spatial experiences and practices. In our concluding reflections, we suggest (without foreclosing other meanings or uses of the mirror as threshold) that practical and critical uses of the mirror have implications for spatial politics. Full article

In the hyper-arid climate of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the building envelope is a critical determinant of energy demand and occupant comfort. This paper reports an experiential-learning experiment in which undergraduate architectural-engineering students applied building performance simulation (BPS) as a generative design instrument rather than a post-design audit tool to their own real capstone building, a 6581 m² mixed-use development. Using Sefaira (EnergyPlus/Radiance engines), they iteratively diagnosed, tested, and refined envelope decisions against the prescriptive thresholds of the Saudi Building Code (SBC 601). A baseline analysis revealed a high Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 139 kWh/m²·yr, driven primarily by solar heat gains and an “overlit” floor plate that exceeded Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) thresholds. Students then implemented passive interventions—improved glazing U-value (0.50 W/m²·K), reduced Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC 0.20), and external shading fins. These produced a 6.95% EUI reduction (139→130 kWh/m²·yr) and a 17.24% fall in cooling energy. The energy outcomes are consistent with established findings for hot-arid envelopes and are therefore treated here not as the novelty but as the technical evidence the students generated. Daylighting analysis confirmed improved distribution and reduced glare risk, although ASE remained above the LEED v4 threshold. The contribution is pedagogical: the study documents a replicable framework through which a design studio develops students’ technical competence in performance-driven envelope design, evidenced by their progression from uninformed parameter selection to code-referenced design reasoning and by the difficulties and trade-offs they encountered. Full article

Reference building models can serve as a common baseline for research investigations and evaluations of design choices. Despite lighting being one of the largest single users of electricity in commercial buildings, lighting systems in reference buildings are commonly modeled as maximum building-type or space-type power densities defined in building energy codes. Further, energy use is typically estimated by modulating the lighting power over the course of a day via simple occupancy schedules that may not accurately portray human behavior or the performance of occupancy-based lighting controls. While this approach is suitable for some use cases, it is not adequate for exploring the impact of luminaire selection, space-specific control strategies, and occupant behavior. This paper presents the development of a high-fidelity reference model of a medium office building that includes interior architecture, an occupant distribution model, and a detailed lighting design intended to support more realistic evaluations of lighting control strategies and approaches to modeling occupant behavior. The model includes 13 market-representative LED luminaires, meets occupant lighting needs by complying with applicable recommended practices defined by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), and meets energy code power density and control strategy requirements in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2019. The luminaire-level connected load (26,037 W) of the lighting layout is lower than what would be estimated by simple building-type (34,304 W) and space-type (31,200 W) power density methods. The model includes 12 space types and 107 rooms with workstations for 268 occupants. The interior architecture varies on each of the three floors to introduce room and space-type diversity that further exposes the impact of design choices and occupant behavior. The model has already been used as a baseline for research on circadian lighting design strategies, lighting–HVAC data integration, and whole-building life-cycle assessments—demonstrating its utility as a common reference for a range of lighting research. Full article

This study examines how Saudi Vision 2030 is reshaping architectural design and practice in Riyadh amid the challenge of balancing rapid urban development with local architectural identity. The study is framed by the concept of transformative resilience, defined here as the capacity of an urban system not merely to absorb disturbance but to deliberately reconfigure its structure, function and identity while sustaining cultural continuity. The research investigates Vision 2030’s impact across four analytical dimensions; design, implementation, functional performance, and socio-cultural context; and explores whether evaluative perceptions differ according to sociodemographic characteristics, including gender, age, nationality, educational level, professional background, and length of residency. A descriptive analytical methodology was adopted, employing a structured questionnaire. Instrument reliability was established with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.70. Data were collected from a stratified random sample of 384 residents and professionals in Riyadh (response rate 93.7%). Because the instrument records perceived rather than objectively measured performance, the two evidence streams are reported separately: the survey data establish social legitimacy and acceptance, while the case studies supply the physical, technical and documentary evidence base. To contextualise the survey findings, three projects were purposively selected and examined as representative case studies, supported by field photographic documentation. Quantitative results demonstrate a strong consensus regarding the positive influence of Vision 2030 on architectural development, with mean scores ranging from 4.07 (design) to 4.13 (functional and socio-cultural dimensions). The highest-rated item (mean = 4.23) related to strengthening sense of place. Inferential analysis, now reported with effect sizes, revealed statistically significant differences across all sociodemographic variables, with age being the most influential factor, although all effects were small in magnitude. Qualitative findings identify preserving architectural identity and heritage as the main challenge, while diversifying contemporary design approaches is the most frequently proposed future direction. The study concludes that achieving Vision 2030’s architectural objectives requires regulatory frameworks that embed local identity, supported by community capacity building and sustained institutional commitment to culturally responsive and environmentally sustainable design. The principal contribution is an operationalised assessment framework that translates transformative resilience from a descriptive narrative into a set of architectural indicators applicable to other vision-led urban transformations. Full article

Public buildings play a critical role in national decarbonization strategies and green energy transitions due to their high energy consumption densities, large occupant capacities, and potential to drive public awareness. Optimizing energy efficiency in these structures not only alleviates the financial burden on public budgets but also serves as a benchmark for sustainable urban development. To investigate the energy-saving potentials, thermal comfort dynamics, and financial feasibilities within this sector, this study selects two university buildings from two different countries with distinct climatic, structural, and operational profiles as comparative case studies: university buildings in Türkiye (TR) and Italy (IT), respectively. A total of seven tailored retrofitting scenarios were developed based on country-specific legislative frameworks and subsidy mechanisms: the Minimum Environmental Criteria (CAM) and Conto Termico 3.0 for Italy, and the Public Buildings Energy Efficiency Project (KABEV), Energy Performance Contracting (EPC), and Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NSEB) mandates for Türkiye. The scenarios evaluate deep building envelope insulation, high-efficiency window replacements, lighting automation (LED with daylighting controls), mechanical ventilation with heat recovery units (HRV), air-to-water heat pump integrations, and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) installations using calibrated DesignBuilder simulation models. The quantitative results demonstrate that country-specific green building incentives drastically enhance both the energy performance and financial viability of deep retrofits. For the Turkish case study, the comprehensive near-zero energy building (nZEB) retrofitting package (TR-4) successfully reduced annual primary energy consumption by 75% (from 284 to 71 kWh/m²·year) and cut annual thermal comfort discomfort hours by 72% (from 3147 to 880 h), yielding a Subsidized Net Present Value (NPV) of +310,600 €. Similarly, for the Italian case study, the holistic retrofit combined with rooftop photovoltaic integration (IT-4) achieved an 80% energy reduction (dropping from 128 to 25.6 kWh/m²·year), minimized annual discomfort hours to 45 h, and generated a Subsidized NPV of +425,500 €. Furthermore, national incentive mechanisms shortened simple payback periods by more than half, establishing that targeted public policy is vital to accelerate public sector building decarbonization while ensuring long-term fiscal profitability. Full article

Architecture is arguably the human activity most directly invested in giving form to material objects and spaces. Across cultures and historical periods, architectural practice has been inseparable from the deliberate shaping of matter into useful and meaningful configurations. Over the past two decades, however, form has appeared to lose its centrality within architectural discourse. Social, environmental, and technological agendas increasingly displace formal inquiry, reframing form as secondary, insufficient, or ethically suspect—a condition further intensified by the proliferation of AI-generated images. This article reviews the development of form in Western architectural culture by retracing three enduring lineages of formal logic—normative, generative, and aesthetic—rooted respectively in Platonic idealism, Aristotelian materialism, and Kantian aesthetics. While this genealogical framework offers conceptual clarity, it also reveals persistent tensions concerning the origin, agency, and value of form. Recent hybrid practices challenge the sufficiency of any single lineage, pointing instead toward a relational understanding of form as a mediating protocol between social values, material realities, and perceptual experience. The article advances a field-based model in which architecture operates within a dynamic space defined by these three poles, proposing form as an active and indispensable instrument of architectural thought and practice. Full article

Transforming concepts into architectural designs is challenging, as it requires clear ideas and the ability to visualise them. AI-powered text-to-image tools help designers quickly convert concepts into visual representations, enabling faster exploration of design alternatives. This study introduces a proposed ten-step numerical procedure for assessing the richness of textual prompts submitted to text-to-image generative AI tools within an architectural design studio. Twenty-three architecture students were enrolled in the design studio; twenty-two submitted analyzable text prompts as part of a design assignment requiring AI-assisted conceptual visualisation. Each prompt was scored across seven weighted dimensions (subject specificity, style and medium, composition and framing, lighting and atmosphere, colour and palette, quality modifiers, and negative clauses) to produce a composite Prompt Richness Index (R, scale 0–100). Corresponding AI-generated images were independently scored using a parallel Output Richness Index (O, scale 0–100). Pearson’s r between per-student average R and O yielded r = 0.940 (p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval [0.86, 0.98]), confirming a nearly perfect positive linear relationship. Rich-tier prompts were produced by two students and yielded the most architecturally coherent and visually distinctive outputs. Two students produced Sparse-tier prompts (average R < 30) and consistently received undifferentiated, generically rendered outputs. Two further students scored just above the Sparse threshold but showed similarly limited output differentiation. Class-wide deficits were identified in lighting/atmosphere description and negative clause usage. Eight pedagogical recommendations are derived from the findings to guide prompt learning instruction in AI-integrated design studios. Full article

The use of photovoltaic technologies in building envelopes has attracted more and more interest as a promising solution to building sustainability by considering energy efficiency, economic feasibility, and environmental impact issues altogether. This paper will provide an overall comparative analysis on Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems versus traditional building envelope materials based on a multi-dimensional analysis model. It is demonstrated in the analysis of energy performance that BIPV systems contribute greatly to building energy performance by capturing on-site renewable energy and reducing cooling loads through shading and regulated solar heat gain, in contrast to traditional materials, which only provide passive thermal insulation and energy conservation. Life cycle-based economic analysis shows that despite the higher initial costs of BIPV systems, thematic savings in long-run operations and lower requirements of electricity mean BIPV systems have better economic performance during the life of building services as compared to traditional envelopes, which offer lower upfront costs but have greater cumulative energy costs associated with their application. Environmental performance scorecard BIPV systems are shown to lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through the replacement of grid-based electricity, and even though greater energy use is involved in the manufacturing and installation of BIPV systems, the operational carbon savings outweigh these effects in a relatively short time, leading to a net-positive lifecycle environmental impact. The overall multi-criteria comparison established an integrated viewpoint to demonstrate that BIPV systems generally outperform traditional envelope materials in energy, economical, and environmental aspects. The results underline the significance of lifecycle and context-related design approaches to building envelope solution choices in assisting the achievement of energy efficiency, economic stability, and environmental sustainability in the long term. Full article

In the modern era, mass-housing production has generally prioritized efficiency and standardization at the expense of architectural diversity and contextual sensitivity. This study proposes a computational decision-support model for the early design phase of mass housing that responds to site-specific conditions while maintaining the efficiency of industrialized housing production through the integration of parametric modeling and genetic algorithms. Using the Zeytinburnu-Kazlıçeşme district of Istanbul as a case study, a parametric model integrating the multi-objective genetic algorithm engine Wallacei X was developed in Rhino–Grasshopper. The model is structured around fundamental design variables, contextual rules, and planning constraints to generate feasible and diverse massing configurations. Four fitness objectives were evaluated simultaneously: total construction area, building footprint area, open (garden) area, and total terrace area. In a single exploratory run, 200 massing alternatives were generated, from which 32 solutions satisfying the adopted FAR/BCR screening criteria, 26 Pareto-optimal solutions, and five selected alternatives at the intersection of both sets were identified. These solutions were evaluated through a decision-support workflow based on objective performance, Pareto optimization, and the adopted local density-screening criteria. The findings indicate that genetic algorithm-based generative design can support architectural diversity, contextual sensitivity, and informed decision-making in residential housing design. Full article

Architectural recycling has evolved from historical pragmatism into a vital tool for sustainability, currently driven by the climate crisis and EU policies such as The European Green Deal (EGD) and the New European Bauhaus (NEB). This paper maps the historical trajectory of architectural reuse. Its primary objective is to analyze contemporary approaches to adaptive reuse by comparing permanent, structurally intensive conversions with temporary, fully reversible interventions. The work places these two principles in counter-position and analyzes their mutual relationship. Based on a comparative analysis of European and Slovak case studies, projects are categorized by the degree of structural intervention and the duration of the new function. While conversion is an integral part of the circular economy in Western Europe, it is gradually emerging as an alternative to demolition in Slovakia. The research emphasizes the growing strategic importance of interim use. Temporary conversions, often requiring zero structural input, redefine existing spaces through scenography, mobile elements, lighting, or solely by introducing a new function. Results confirm that ephemeral interventions are effective tools for activating collective memory and testing a site’s potential prior to definitive restoration. Temporary adaptive reuse thus emerges as a viable, sustainable alternative to traditional conversion. It protects monuments from degradation, supports social innovation, and demonstrates that even a minimal, one-hundred-percent-reversible gesture can deliver maximum spatial and conceptual impact in the 21st century. Full article

Moisture is present in every feature of the anthroposphere, and its occurrence in air has a profound impact on life. It has an impact on all aspects of the built environment, inside which modern occupants spend nearly 90% of their time. While moisture’s influence on the individual aspects of functional building performance, indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, and occupant health is well recognized, holistic studies examining the interdependencies among these aspects remain lacking, with the existing literature fragmented across climate studies, building physics, thermal comfort, epidemiology, and medicine. This review adopts a critical synthesis approach to trace moisture’s role across these disciplines, from the outdoor microclimate through the building envelope to the indoor environment and occupant. The synthesis reveals moisture’s dual role as a determinant of IAQ, thermal comfort, and occupant wellness, and as a physical driver of building material durability, structural performance, and operational energy consumption, with these moisture-driven interactions across scales found to be tightly interdependent. Based on this synthesis, a multi-disciplinary framework is proposed, linking the microclimate, building, occupant, and planetary health levels through moisture, identifying key interdisciplinary research gaps and providing a foundation for practical interventions toward occupant and planetary health. Full article

Regenerative design is frequently invoked in architectural discourse without sufficient distinction from green, sustainable, ecological, restorative, and biophilic design. This study clarifies these conceptual boundaries and examines how regenerative principles are expressed across four completed buildings: The Edge, Bosco Verticale, the Bullitt Center, and PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering. A qualitative, document-based comparative multiple-case design was adopted. Evidence was triangulated across peer-reviewed scholarship, official architectural and engineering documentation, certification and technical records, and representative visual material. A four-dimensional analytical framework—comprising environmental performance, material and spatial expression, human well-being and experiential quality, and relationship to nature—was developed from the literature and refined through expert-informed review. The findings indicate that the cases do not represent a single regenerative model. Instead, they combine two overlapping modes: visible ecological integration, expressed through vegetation, natural materials, planted thresholds, and perceptible environmental continuity, and operational ecological integration, expressed through passive performance, adaptive systems, material health, and resource responsibility. Their distribution is mediated by building typology, climate, programme, and design intent. The study contributes a transparent comparative framework for examining regenerative claims while distinguishing documented design strategies from verified environmental performance and occupant outcomes. Its conclusions remain interpretive and require future post-occupancy and longitudinal environmental assessment. Full article

Bioreceptive building envelopes offer a potential pathway for integrating biological colonization into architectural surfaces. This article proposes a geometric design framework for bioreceptive façade components in which the surface itself is shaped to increase the exposed area available to the environment, and asks which admissible regular Euclidean tessellation maximizes that area. Triangular, square, and hexagonal tessellations are compared under a common circumscribed radius R and a common absolute indentation depth $h_j$, counting only the inclined faces generated by the indentation. A closed-form expression is derived for the exposed-surface density ${\sigma }_n=\sqrt{h_j^2+r_n^2}/r_n$, where $r_n$ is the apothem of the regular cell, and the triangular tessellation is shown to maximize it uniquely for every $h_j>0$; when $h_j=0$ the three configurations coincide. Because each inclined face has constant slope magnitude $h_j/r_n$, the area Jacobian is constant, so clipping the indented surface with any measurable footprint $\Omega$ of finite positive area gives $S_n(\Omega )={\sigma }_n|\Omega |$ exactly, with no boundary-error term. For the representative case $h_j/R=45/34$, the hexagonal density is $0.6454$ times the triangular one, equivalent to a $54.93\%$ triangular advantage specific to that ratio. An independently constructed CAD model reproduces the closed-form panel areas at both reference footprints to within ${10}^{-3}\%$ and preserves the same ordering. Exposed area is a geometric descriptor of the available surface–environment interface and a candidate design parameter, not evidence of colonization, water behavior, or durability; no material, fabrication, or biological validation is claimed. Full article

Learning environments are typically designed according to nominal seating capacity, yet their actual visual performance often falls well below this figure—a discrepancy defined here as an illusion of capacity. Conventional two-dimensional sightline analysis, the standard method for assessing visibility, cannot fully capture the three-dimensional effects of human occlusion or the influence of room scale on visual performance. To address this gap, the study evaluates three higher-education classroom typologies—a flat-floor classroom, a terraced classroom, and a constant-slope auditorium—using a Python-based three-dimensional ray-casting framework. Each seating position is assessed against four criteria: horizontal legibility, vertical strain, two-dimensional sectional clearance, and three-dimensional functional visibility. The results reveal marked differences between the two analytical approaches. In the smaller configuration, the three-dimensional analysis uncovered visible areas overlooked by sectional analysis: effective capacity in the flat-floor classroom increased from 12.50% to 29.16%, and total obstruction in the terraced classroom fell from 45.45% to 36.36%. The large auditorium showed the opposite trend—owing to cumulative shoulder overlap and a phenomenon termed perspective closure, its effective capacity dropped to 6.42% (versus 9.28% by sectional analysis), with 73.57% of seats fully obstructed. Full article

Recent scholarship on twentieth century West African architecture examines the intersections of decolonisation, nation formation, and development aid. While this shift highlights a transnational body of architects, the role of indigenous actors and building professionals remain under-researched. Using the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) as a case study, this paper analyses how architecture reflects Nigeria’s transition from a colonial entity to an independent state. It employs a transnational and multi-institutional archival research approach. Government, academic and architectural archives in Nigeria, the UK and the USA were examined. Non-institutional sources like newspapers and biographical accounts of students and building professionals were also analysed. The research reveals that the Eastern Nigerian political class envisioned UNN’s architecture as a nationalist and utilitarian alternative to the elitist and expensive colonial University College Ibadan (1948). The university was designed in three stages by the British firm James Cubitt & Partners; Nigerian contractors like Eastern General Contractors; and American architects through technical assistance. The stages illustrate how the architecture of universities and state projects in early independence Nigeria were impacted by decolonisation, nation-building and development aid. Furthermore, the research introduces local figures—Nigerian political elites and contractors—who are often overlooked in commonly used architectural records. Full article

Architectural heritage interventions often preserve visual form while leaving acoustic memory and everyday sound practices outside the design brief. This article positions soundscape as an architectural material for heritage media architecture and tests it through Sanggar Kungfu Kapasan, a historic Chinese-diaspora kampung in Surabaya, Indonesia. The research combined contextual and soundmark mapping, Pepper’s Ghost prototyping, architectural translation of a semi-transparent virtual layer, and comparative evaluation using 2D visualization and immersive VR. After deduplication, 37 participants evaluated the 2D material, 31 evaluated VR, and 24 completed both modes for within-subject analysis. VR significantly improved perceived physical quality (Δ = +0.46, p = 0.0007, d_z = 0.80), communication quality (Δ = +0.42, p = 0.0218, d_z = 0.50), and overall evaluation (Δ = +0.20, p = 0.0285, d_z = 0.48). Sound-specific VR ratings were positive for place-meaning support (M = 5.87) and scene formation (M = 5.65), and the soundscape design index correlated with communication quality (r = 0.47, p = 0.007). The findings show that soundscape strengthens narrative legibility and architectural fit when deliberately coordinated with visual layering, scene sequencing, and cultural context. The study contributes a soundscape-informed, feng shui-readable workflow for pre-installation evaluation of multisensory heritage interventions. Because the respondent pool was predominantly composed of architecture students, the results are interpreted as a preliminary design-user evaluation rather than community validation. Full article

Public parks support health, wellbeing, and social inclusion, yet conventional wayfinding approaches remain largely focused on physical mobility and directional navigation, often overlooking the cognitive and sensory experiences of neurodivergent users. This study develops a theory-informed framework for neuroinclusive wayfinding design through an integrative literature review. Using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-informed protocol, 106 core sources were synthesized from landscape architecture, environmental psychology, public health, and neurodiversity research. A qualitative theory-building approach combining thematic analysis, theoretical mapping, and abductive synthesis identified four themes: Cognitive Navigation and Environmental Legibility, Sensory Processing and Environmental Regulation, Restorative Landscapes and Nature-Based Wellbeing, and Inclusive, Adaptive, and Neurodiverse Design. These themes were subsequently translated into eight environmental challenges and operationalized into eight neuroinclusive wayfinding design criteria organized within four support domains. The resulting framework conceptualizes wayfinding as a cognitive–sensory support system rather than a purely navigational function, linking interdisciplinary evidence to practical landscape architectural design strategies. By integrating fragmented knowledge across multiple disciplines, the study provides a foundation for future validation and the advancement of neuroinclusive public park design. Full article

Spatial clustering does not show that specific built-form characteristics lead to the concentration of terrorist incidents, but it is common for incidents to be clustered in urban areas. This is an exploratory study that examines 7960 incidents of ISIS terrorism recorded in the GTD from 2012 to 19. Geocoded incident coordinates and Haversine great-circle distance were used to implement the Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN). An epsilon radius of 50 km and MinPts = 15 were chosen for the primary model, and 15 parameter combinations were analysed to investigate the robustness of the results. The main cluster found was 18 clusters with 7403 incidents (93.00%), and noise was the other cluster (557 incidents, 7.00%). The bulk of incidents (6118) were in Iraq, while the second largest cluster was in Syria with 675 incidents. The results show high geographical concentration, which is mainly due to the operational geography of ISIS, the intensity of the conflicts, the levels of exposure, and reporting. The analysis does not directly measure architectural morphology, sight lines, surveillance, permeability, crowding, and emergency egress. Based on this, the study suggests an initial multi-scalar urban design assessment framework that includes hotspot analysis as a first step, followed by site-specific assessment using the urban security, CPTED and crowd safety, and evacuation principles. The contribution is methodological and involves showing how the large-scale incident data can help inform, but not supplant, detailed architectural evaluation. Full article

Urban public spaces matter for young people, yet how youth visually engage with the spatial elements of Indian cities remains largely unstudied. This exploratory study uses screen-based eye tracking to examine how 43 design-discipline students (aged 18–29) allocate visual attention across urban public space scenes in Jaipur, India. Thirty photographic stimuli sampling five Lynch-derived spatial elements—edge, landmark, path, plaza, and transit node—across six public spaces were each analyzed through four semantic areas of interest (built form, human and vehicular activity, natural elements, and circulation), using fixation count, total fixation duration, time to first fixation, and visit count. Attention was allocated unevenly: built form and human activity dominated the youth gaze, while natural elements consistently drew less focal attention—interpreted as restorative background rather than low importance. Landmarks anchored attention most strongly and transit nodes least. Notably, socially active and visually complex elements did not capture the gaze earliest but held it longest, suggesting that what sustains youth attention is dissociable from what initially attracts it. Inferential tests are treated as exploratory given the repeated-measures design. As the first AOI-based account of youth visual attention in Indian heritage public space, this study offers a transferable protocol and preliminary, exploratory directions for youth-responsive design—including visual anchoring at neglected transit nodes and the use of greenery for ambient comfort rather than focal emphasis. Full article

Thresholds are not simply separations between spaces; they are relational conditions through which interior spatial experience and subjectivity are formed. How thresholds are constituted through interiority, and how they produce different experiential regimes, remain less examined. Drawing on phenomenological and post-phenomenological perspectives, this article repositions the domestic threshold through the animated interiors of Encanto (2021) and Coraline (2009). These films offer two comparable cases in which similar spatial devices produce markedly different experiences. A scene-based comparative coding analysis, conducted with MAXQDA, traces five interior parameters: boundary elements, material articulation, chromatic strategies, kinetic spatial behaviors, and object relations. These parameters give rise to two distinct threshold regimes. In Encanto, a supportive regime cultivates belonging, recognition, and spatial integration; in Coraline, a deceptive and manipulative regime produces disorientation, alienation, and the uncanny. The threshold is therefore understood both as an atmospheric and multisensory experience, as phenomenology emphasizes, and as a mediating spatial arrangement that positions the subject within specific relational networks. By proposing the concept of the threshold regime, the study offers a theoretical and methodological framework for understanding domestic interiority as a dynamic, multilayered, and relational spatial formation. Full article

University campus design frequently emphasizes environmental comfort metrics, like shade provision and solar exposure, to optimize outdoor space usage. Nonetheless, the degree to which these ambient elements affect real user behavior remains ambiguous in relation to the functional attributes of space. This study examines the correlation between environmental factors and student spatial behavior on a university campus. Shadow and solar-hour assessments were performed to pinpoint regions providing optimal climatic comfort. Behavioral observations were utilized to record patterns of student presence and activity in various campus locations. The findings indicated a significant divergence between environmental performance and user conduct. Enclosed courtyards demonstrated the greatest shade levels and little solar exposure, signifying enhanced environmental comfort. Nonetheless, students primarily congregated in locations adjacent to the campus cafeteria, despite increased solar exposure and little shading. Users often congregated beneath dispersed trees instead of moving to the more comfortable enclosed courtyards. The data indicate that functional attractors, especially those related to food services and social contact, have a greater impact on occupancy patterns than environmental comfort by itself. The research contends that effective design of university open spaces must combine environmental efficacy with an awareness of activity generators and social hubs. The findings enhance current discourse on human-centered environmental design by illustrating that spatial function may exert a more significant influence than climatic comfort on outdoor behavior. Full article

In the wake of the Fifth Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a disruptive force in architectural design processes. One of its techniques is text-to-image, which generates visual representations from textual descriptions. This research questions how architects and students organise text-to-image prompts. Unfortunately, AI images have neglected the basic principles of architectural theories. The problem explored here is whether AI-generated images truly reflect architectural theory or replicate styles without deep understanding. This research aims to propose a chart of semantic textual models that employs selective keywords, inspired by the characteristics, ideas, and conceptual statements associated with theories of architecture, to organise text-to-image prompts. The study followed scientific methodology, began with a literature review, and then analysed previous readings that highlighted this gap and proposed solutions. It concluded by determining the components (variables) of the prompt structure. Using three AI platforms, the researcher conducted visual experiments, injecting five theories into the prompts to compare images before and after. The analysis of these images was transparently validated through a rubric-based evaluation distributed to independent evaluators. As a result, the (after) images were improved, expressing the theories’ characteristics and conveying symbolic meanings. The conclusion is that AI architectural images must have a maestro to organise prompts. This maestro is the ‘Theory of Architecture’, which is expected to bridge the gap between AI’s imagination and authentic design principles. Full article

Design studio education requires sustained attention and prolonged occupancy of a shared workspace, making environmental opportunities for brief recovery potentially relevant to students’ well-being. This exploratory study used affordance theory as an interpretive lens to examine the environmental modifications students proposed from their assigned desk positions and the extent to which sketch content was associated with academic year, studio location, and desk-level window view access. The dataset comprised 71 structured sketches, geometric view metrics for 85 workstations that were linked to the 71 sketch participants for inferential analyses, and a nonmatched lighting survey administered to the same cohorts one year later (n = 57). Sketches were coded into 17 modification categories. Water and Collaborative/Social Space were retained descriptively but excluded from inferential interpretation because of quasi-complete separation. Fifteen ordinary logistic regression models were evaluated with Benjamini–Hochberg false-discovery-rate correction, together with a complementary specification omitting studio location. Plants (73.2%), natural shapes/patterns (52.1%), and electric light quality (52.1%) were the most frequent modifications. In the primary models, Technology (q = 0.033) and Plants (q = 0.047) retained FDR-supported omnibus fit; only the academic-year coefficient for Technology retained FDR support (OR = 0.17, 95% CI [0.06, 0.50], q = 0.021). The study identifies environmental preferences and hypotheses for future intervention in restorative learning environments research. Full article

Early-stage architectural design is characterized by high decision uncertainty, ill-defined requirements, and limited opportunities to elicit reliable user feedback, despite the disproportionate impact of early decisions on downstream outcomes. While recent AI-enabled design tools increasingly support generative exploration and performance-driven optimization, they largely rely on static models trained on aggregated data, thereby producing “average-user” responses that fail to capture pronounced inter-individual variation in architectural preferences. This conceptual framework paper, developed through critical narrative synthesis of interdisciplinary literature, argues that meta-learning—i.e., learning-to-learn—offers a conceptually appropriate mechanism to address this personalization gap by enabling rapid adaptation to a new user’s preference structure from limited interactions, while leveraging transferable knowledge learned across many users. Drawing on a structured, PRISMA-informed literature identification process complemented by purposive theoretical sampling across user-centered design traditions in architecture, computational preference-elicitation methods, and contemporary meta-learning research, the paper develops a theoretically grounded conceptual framework for adaptive user preference modeling in early-stage design workflows. The framework articulates four interdependent constructs—(1) Preference Representation, (2) Adaptation Engine, (3) Design Space Navigator, and (4) Feedback Loop—describing how iterative preference refinement can co-evolve with design-space exploration without displacing architectural agency. An illustrative application scenario is also presented to demonstrate the operational logic of the framework in a realistic early-stage design context. The paper further formulates a set of testable propositions and evaluation pathways to guide future empirical investigation, alongside a discussion of implications for practice and education and key ethical considerations (bias, privacy, and digital equity). The proposed framework provides conceptual scaffolding for developing AI-augmented, user-responsive design systems that are aligned with the epistemic conditions of early-stage architectural design. Full article

This essay complicates the distinction between of “North” and “South” as spaces of knowledge production—which usually entails the privileging of the South as an emancipatory space—by directing attention to Southern actors’ imbrication with forms of colonialism. It calls for situating both Northern and Southern actors within networks of global knowledge exchanges by critically examining their positionality vis-à-vis colonial relations domestically and internationally. More specifically, it asks how interstitial colonial positions gave rise to new centers of knowledge production and expertise in the postcolonial world. It considers these positions not as static identities but as strategic, adaptative, dynamic, relational, and contingent upon geopolitically determined itineraries of global exchange. Full article

Imperial and colonial history has mostly been founded on the tradition of writing biographies of great men, and more rarely, great women. These lean inherently towards the aggrandizement or hagiography of individuals who, particularly in the early decades of life, may deserve no such attention. Yet for postcolonial and decolonial progression, the unattractive necessity of revising the lives of such influential individuals remains. We cannot now change or eliminate the archive’s overwhelming propensity to amplify (and thereby value and embolden) elite voices and experiences, but we can turn down the volume by placing key episodes firmly within an individual’s relevant or entire life experience, by reading the other less explicit motives for travel or collecting and by focusing on silent absences rather than noisy presences. Sara E. Johnson’s 2023 book ‘Encyclopédie Noire: The making of Moreau de Saint-Méry’s intellectual world’, is presented as a ‘communal biography’ of one such great imperialist, by intentionally, and sometimes creatively, adding in the actors, voices and narratives missing from the sources and archives of European colonial history. In trying to methodologically undermine how imperial biography has traditionally sidestepped complicity or guilt, Johnson attempted to paint a more complete picture of the societies, enslaved or not, in which such elite men operated. Landscape history and architectural history play important roles in such essential revisionism because they can add provocatively spatial dimensions to colonial lives and experiences. As people are profoundly affected by the environment(s) in which they operate, particularly at key tipping points in their lives, spatial and environmental analysis can undermine traditional biography by focusing on where key life decisions were made, leading to a broader cognizance of why they were made. An individual’s spatial position, whether resident or absentee, at home or abroad, with family or without, reveals nuances in mentality that traditional analysis can miss. Taking the life and letters of Pierce Butler, Irishman, US Senator, signatory of the US constitution and the owner of a substantial estate of land and enslaved people in Georgia, as a case study, this article argues for the creative reimagining of biography as a fundamental postcolonial corrective to colonial and imperial history. Butler’s transnational identity, sometimes Irish, sometimes not, collapses any neat mapping of a grand national narrative onto one man’s life. The extraordinary level of detail provided by the correspondence also demands a more conventional or traditional history, one focused on individual identity, motive and relationships, that cannot be effectively discounted because of a landscape or architectural focus. Full article