Architecture

Has the increase in social life and conviviality commonly imagined by the designers and decision-makers taken place? There are few systematic post-project evaluations of the methods and tools used to answer this question. Therefore, this article wishes to draw lessons from a housing experiment from the end of the 1970s, the Grand’Goule residence in Poitiers, the objective of which was to create a dense social life through design and means of participation. Some devices consisted in the creation of Surfaces d’Activités Partagées (SAPs, shared activities surfaces), which are common spaces where residents can intervene in both the interior design and the function of space itself. In this study, we analyze the Grand’Goule project, which has been displayed as a participative experiment, with the objective of creating a dense social life through original architectural and social devices. We use different sources (interviews of the inhabitants, project owners, and architects, alongside press articles and the architects’ archives) to dissect the practices in order to lead a retrospective analysis of the participative process, its successes and failures. We show that, as a very complex and fragile process, enabling the active participation of people in the design and use of a large-scale architectural project is far from obvious and suffers from several kinds of difficulties. We highlight the gap between initial intentions, final realizations and actual uses in the Grand’Goule project, and how it can inform every participative architectural project. Full article

This paper questions the degree of inclusivity and equity in the treatment of voices at play in the architectural design process and advocates for an approach whereby architecture can be realized as a harmonious and polyphonic composition of multiple voices and values. Based on a dialogic ontology, the paper examines how a designer’s sense of self can contribute to their method of practice and proposes a new methodology (Narrative-based Dialogic Design-NDD) that can allow a decentralization of the sense of self to facilitate the uptake of narrative positions of others. Full article

Exposure to outside views creates opportunities to distract and experience feelings of relaxation. To explore the relationship between the environmental qualities of the views with such psychological states, 89 participants from seven Mexican states evaluated the views they contemplated during the confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Items on fascination, cognitive well-being, and how relaxing and helpful the views were to withstand the confinement were answered. Participants took photographs of the views, which were evaluated according to 41 environmental dimensions, considering the built elements, vegetation, and visibility. Based on these dimensions, a classification of the views into categories was realized with multidimensional scaling. The five categories obtained were (a) immersive views of extensive landscapes with vegetation, (b) non-immersive views of landscapes with vegetation, (c) views of courtyards with vegetation, (d) views of commonplace scenes, and (e) views of mostly built elements. The categories generating the highest and lowest relaxation, fascination, and cognitive well-being were identified. The views of extensive landscapes with vegetation and the views of courtyards were the categories presenting the most favorable psychological effects. Furthermore, a partial correlation network found direct relations between the environmental and psychological dimensions. Fascination relates to the observation of distant elements, mountains, and trees. Meanwhile, relaxation correlates with the presence of plants and anticorrelates with car visibility, the quantity of the windows of the visible buildings, and the variety of built elements. Relaxation was the psychological state with the highest direct relation with the environmental dimensions. Meanwhile, the perceived immersion (the feeling of being outdoors), the quantity of plants, and the attractiveness of the built elements were the environmental aspects most directly related to the psychological dimensions. The multiplicity of environmental and architectural qualities considered allowed specific implications for architecture to be obtained. An integrated configuration of the natural and the built elements, and a limited quantity and variation of the built elements were qualities that generated positive outcomes in the observers of the views. Full article

The Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society, better known as the Faro Convention, emphasizes the relevance of participation in cultural heritage and its clear potential benefits. Despite the growing literature on participation in cultural heritage, little research through systematic reviews has been conducted in this field. This paper explores definitions of participation, its actors, and its challenges with a focus on cultural heritage, and it aims to fill this gap by providing a systematic literature review based on PRISMA 2020 guidelines and Okoli guidelines. The results reflect on the definition of participation, the different actors involved, and the challenges facing participation in cultural heritage, based on the interactions of actors. Results further indicate that participation in cultural heritage specifically is in an early stage of adoption and that considerable effort is needed in assessing the adequate methodologies to face the challenges. Full article

This paper examines how the discourses and practices of design can be applied to both mitigate the damaging impacts of (un-)natural disasters and guide resilient post-disaster recovery. Integrated with systems analysis, design can provide both an innovative window for understanding the complexities of disaster-risk reduction and recovery, as well as a conceptual bridge to new ways of building socio-economic and physical resilience in disaster-affected communities. However, the skills of key systems and design thinkers, such as architects, urban planners, and landscape architects, are seldom employed, despite their demonstrated capacity to work with disaster-prone or -impacted communities to develop integrated spatial responses to guide both disaster-risk reduction and long-term rebuilding after a disaster. Indeed, there has been little focused investigation of the potential contributions of design per se in developing strategies for disaster-risk reduction and recovery. Similarly, there has been little attention in design education to complementing the creative problem-solving skills of the designer with the contextual and systemic understandings of disaster management and disaster-resilient design. This paper addresses these omissions in both disaster management and design education though a review of research on design contributions to disaster issues and provides a case study of the curriculum and pedagogical approaches appropriate to build capacity for enhancing this contribution. Full article

The refurbishment of public residential districts represents a current and complex problem. The Cappuccinelli Social Housing (SH) district in Trapani, designed in the late 1950s by Michele Valori and built during the 1960s, is emblematic of the architectural quality and technological innovation of the time it was designed, but at the same time represents the physical and social decay that occurred just after its construction. The neighborhood was examined through a combination of inspections and documentary research. The inspections were conducted for the entire district in order to identify the recurrent external degradation of building components and the related causes, both physical and anthropogenic. This paper investigates the physical–mechanical degradation and problems connected to previous renovation work in this district. Furthermore, technological design solutions are discussed for deep renovation and energy efficiency improvement of one of the terraced buildings of the Cappuccinelli SH district. Full article

Countryside development is receiving paramount attention in China, where political and cultural agendas promote rural revitalization as the core campaign to mitigate rural–urban disparities. The driving idea is that the rural can emancipate from its agricultural dependence to embrace more complex and integrated cycles of activities, such as leisure, health, productivity, market, and cultural services. The momentum reached by rural development in China has opened a new dimension for contemporary design culture, where the countryside has materialized as a frontier of architectural research. The paper synthesizes research by design experience carried out between 2017 and 2020 against the backdrop of the development program for a rural settlement of the Fujian Province, China. From the site reading to the experimental transformation proposal, the different phases offer sparks and arguments to put forward new understandings of designing in transitional rural contexts. Full article

This paper presents a study that explores an affordable housing scheme which allows customisation prior to construction for owner-occupiers. Due to ongoing concerns about the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affecting large populations, the demand for affordable housing is increasing. In particular, low-income households continue to struggle with unaffordable rents throughout major Australian cities. Assailed by this growing affordability crisis and deemed environmentally unsustainable, Australian suburbs are in need of revitalisation. The implementation of mass customisation solutions can heighten the sense of identity within a community and also significantly increase occupant satisfaction. However, presently, there is a lack of studies discussing the financial model and design of affordable mass customisation solutions for housing. To address that gap, this paper employs the method of case studies by analysing five relevant cases from the perspectives of affordability and customisation. The results of this study indicate that there is great room for future improvement in what is currently claimed to be defined as affordable housing, in terms of both affordability and customisation. These results will potentially assist and provide guidance to future architects, developers and planners. Full article

The built environment, urban processes, and experience all work together to create the spatial environment of a city. Many urban spaces, especially those that appear to be ‘leftover’, do not reflect a set concept but are constantly questioned and recreated. Recognizing leftover spaces in an urban environment is an important aspect of the urban redevelopment process. Researchers have highlighted the difficulties, circumstances, and relevance of making good use of leftover space. To accomplish environmental and social benefits, these places can be created, changed, and incorporated into the main urban fabric; however, there is a scarcity of knowledge on how to go about constructing such environments. This study explores the visual perception of two groups of people, those with knowledge of the built environment and those with other educational backgrounds regarding leftover spaces in Wellington City. The research, which employs a mixed approach, consists of three studies, beginning with a visual preference study to better understand human perceptions, which might lead to better design solutions. The second study looked at differences in design preferences across the built environment and non-built environment participants. Finally, individuals from the built and non-built environments participants were invited to a focus group discussion for study three. To summarize, the findings demonstrated that adding vegetation is a crucial design feature. The findings refute the hypotheses of non-built environment specialists have different design perceptions for a built environment. Full article

Age-friendly cities and communities are currently attracting much attention as the ageing population becomes a larger proportion of our societies and their needs and aspirations become more diverse, which needs to be reflected in our cities. This calls for older people to play an active role in the design of suitable environments, e.g., by being involved in the design process. With this paper, we present a study where the methodology of co-design was used to engage 100+ older people in a low-income neighborhood in Copenhagen in designing new neighborhood spaces to reflect their needs and wishes. By focusing on the co-design process, and not the design solution, we investigate and present insights across the entire span of the process—from recruitment to implementation—and seek to extract particular elements that contribute to the age friendliness of the process. Recommendations for future co-design processes with older people include focusing on explicit communication and foreseeable steps to create a process that offers multiple and flexible participation options and to upgrade the latter stages of the co-design process through scale 1:1 prototyping and implementation. The findings contribute to both the professional practice of co-designing with older people on a spatial scale, as well as to policy makers and practice stakeholders when initiating initiatives with age-friendly cities and communities. Full article

Ted Cullinan’s (1931–2019) work for Olivetti is complex and fascinating: his mixed-function buildings in Belfast, Dundee, Carlisle and Derby are unique and astonishing artefacts, also if almost unknown to the broader architecture audience. The purpose of this article is to reassemble the phases of this brief but extremely incisive collaboration between Cullinan, James Stirling and the Italian company. From his first Olivetti project, shared with “Big Jim” Stirling in Haslemere—a refurbishment of an Edwardian pre-existence converted into a residence for students and technicians—to the design for Dundee, Carlisle, Belfast and Derby, the impact of Cullinan’s pre-sustainable ideas is palpable. We find these ideas in the elegance of the relationship between building and landscape, in the social agenda, but also in the representativeness of the iconic roofs and in the materials. His work exhibits an architectural versatility that has allowed the buildings to keep intact their essential characteristics, despite their subsequent destinies. Re-reading Cullinan in relation to Olivetti’s buildings, therefore, is two-fold: on the one hand, to reconsider the English architect among the ‘creators’ of the Olivetti image, and on the other to underline how Cullinan was a fundamental interpreter of the ideas of unity, between architecture and industrial design, in a unique phase of the British technological history of the 1970s. Full article

The identification of significant areas impacting safety performance has always been a key concern for construction management researchers. This paper aims to examine the diversified influence of sensitive sub-categories of demographic variables on construction safety climate (SC). The data relating to fourteen demographic variables and twenty-four formerly validated SC statements were collected from forty-one under-construction high-rise buildings in Pakistan. The variances in respondents’ distribution among various sub-categories of demographic variables, and influence of each sub-category of demographic variables on SC statements were analyzed using cross-tabulation, Spearman’s rho correlation coefficients, independent sample Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. The study comprehends that the employees in the age group of 20 years or below and between 41 and 50 years, engaged for over 48 h per week, having 4 dependent family members, primary education, and/or lesser working experience, attained a comparatively lower SC level. Likewise, frontline workers and foremen are observed to be employed for extended working hours, causing them fatigue. It also discovers that safety alertness level steadily declines once employees get acquainted with their tasks, thus necessitating to arrange periodic refresher safety training sessions. The study recommends concentrating on frontline workers and foremen who are less educated and fall in the age group of 41–50 years by resolving their safety concerns and providing them adequate safety training, promptly replacing their defective equipment, improving worksite conditions, and counselling them about the significance of wearing PPE and adhering to all the safety rules regardless of the difficulty in their enactment. A joint focus on the heightened personal attributes of employees and risky SC statements is expected to enhance safety performance on under-construction building projects. Moreover, the study’s results can be cautiously generalized and applied to other countries having similar work environment. Full article

Healthcare projects, like other complex projects, begin with a project definition phase, where client needs are identified, and design solutions are proposed. All decisions related to this phase have an important impact on workspace conditions. Nevertheless, traditional methods of project definition management have been proven to be inadequate. An ill-defined project might lead to an increase in hospital-acquired infections or patient mortality. Participatory approaches such as Lean-led Design—in which clients including users play an important role from the beginning—are proposed to address this problem. This paper aims to identify and analyze the advantages and difficulties of Lean-led Design during the project definition process. A single case study was used to explore these issues. The case study chosen was a mega Canadian hospital project that implemented a Lean-led Design approach. Data were collected using archive research and semistructured interviews. This paper will help AEC industry stakeholders to understand the advantages and challenges involved in implementing a Lean-led Design approach. The findings of this study could help architects as well as managers to concentrate their efforts on significantly relevant issues. Full article

Sustainability is of fundamental importance for the construction industry: in recent decades researchers focused on supplementing building components with multiple natural fibres, evaluating their mechanical performance and application fields. In this field, the common plasters are usually equipped with glass fibre mesh to avoid crack patterns due to shrinkage. Natural fibres, thanks to their high tensile resistance, can represent a green solution to solve this problem. In particular, this work investigates the properties and the mechanical characteristics of a biocompound obtained with hemp fibres. The first phase aims at identifying the ideal mixture between hemp fibres and mortar to improve workability and avoid altering the water/lime ratio. The performed physical tests provide useful information for the evaluation of the consistency and the workability of the compound. Based on these preliminary results, 10 combinations of 3 parameters, namely fibre diameter, percentage of hemp fibre in the mortar and length of the hemp braid fragments, are tested. Among the mechanical properties, bending, compressive and tensile behaviours are evaluated. For each test, the performances of fibre-reinforced samples are compared to reference specimens. From compressive tests it is noted that the best performances were obtained from fibres with diameter of 1 mm and length of 2 cm. On the other hand, from flexural tests, it is seen that braids with a length of 2 cm provide an average bending stress about 13% less than that of the control specimen. Contrarily, braids with a length of 3 cm give a mean increase of bending stress of about 8% compared to the control specimen. Full article

Widely used and disseminated, Arnstein’s ladder is considered a reference for citizen participation. It, nevertheless, involves a recurrent bias and a certain confusion when confronted with projects in the Belgian and French working-class districts of cross-border Hainaut. Characterised by fundamentally opposed management systems (one bureaucratic and hierarchical, the other democratic or even delegative), these worksites challenge Arnstein’s concepts and allow us to understand that information is not a level in the participation ladder, but the condition for the functioning of the whole system. Likewise, they also teach us that manipulation and delegation are not opposite extremes but can percolate in any level of participation. Finally, they reveal that the interlocking of powers and the interplay of stakeholders can easily turn the established participation mechanism from exemplary to revolting and vice versa. Full article

This exploratory paper aims to discuss how community is fostered in semi-public restrooms on a college campus. While previous research has been undertaken in similar semi-private environments, this paper differs by simultaneously offering the researchers’ reflective insights in tandem with participants’ input on the research question. We begin by unpacking the challenges around Participatory Design (PD) activities that are undertaken in sensitive and private interior environments. Gathering perceptions of these sensitive spaces required methods that allowed for both anonymity and a communal approach through the use of provocative and evocative probes such as comment boxes and graffiti wall posters. This paper not only catalogues the findings of this research but also documents the difficulties in utilizing a participant-led approach, gaining access to sites and participants, and countering our own biases throughout the study’s construction. Through researcher accounts and participatory data analysis, the researchers offer a focused reflection on a possible new frontier for advancing PD methods in sensitive environments through playful probes. The contribution of this paper offers six lessons on the efficacy of using probes in semi-private environments, with playfulness as a primary driver of engaging participants. Full article

Recent research work carried out in France tends to show that calling on collectives of artists or architects to develop participatory approaches with inhabitants has become a common practice for public or private project owners. However, these interventions are still often limited to communication operations or come up against the inertia of political and professional cultures, which limits their scope. After briefly stating the circumstances that lead urban project owners in France to pay increasing attention to the skills of architectural “collectives”, this article focuses on the presentation of two experiments conducted by two of them. Articulating pedagogical and urban citizenship issues, these experiments were confronted with procedural and normative frameworks, some of which came from the world of urban production, others from the school institution. The aim of this article is to show that the coproduction of spaces that have a strong meaning for their users, but which are unthought of within strategic urban projects, can have a greater impact on the way in which the operational actors envisage their project. After summarizing the main highlights of these two experiments, this contribution discusses the lessons that can be drawn from them in terms of their implementation conditions and the extensions they may have had. From a methodological point of view, the interest of these two experiments lies in the fact that the two associations that were involved in them understood them as experiments from the outset. They thus implemented reflexive mechanisms involving researchers, of which this article is one of the concrete results. Full article

This article explores the rise of a new generation of practices combining architecture, design, and art, trying to answer the transition issues faced by society. It develops original operating procedures, including public participation. In doing so, those so-called “specialised” professions expand their sphere of operation and incorporate more immaterial dimensions and resources. The main objective of the article is an attempt to clarify how participation is embodied in specific intervention methods, within those experimental practices. The article will take as a case study a participatory project taking place in a retirement home and aimed at building a mobile third place that brought together various professionals coming from those experimental practices. The study of the participatory project will outline three devices and methods supporting the participation work, as follows: the use of permanence, the use of the prototype and self-construction, and the conception of ephemeral production. The article suggests that based on their analysis, we can understand what architects and designers “manufacture” through the agency of participation. Or more accurately, what participation “manufactures” in those experimental practices. The main result of the article is that the participatory project is more concerned with the motives and aspirations of the design activity, its methods and processes, its context and socialisation than it is with what would be classically considered as the outcome or result (the work, the realisation, the production, the built). Full article

Virtual reality has been shown to facilitate perception and navigation inside 3D models, while stimulating creativity and enhancing architect/client interaction. In this scenario, in order to better explore paths along the design space that are suggested from this interaction, it is important to support quick updates to the model while still immersed in it. Algorithmic design, an approach to architectural design that uses parametric algorithms to represent a design space, rather than a single design instance, provides such support. We present a novel architectural design process based on the integration of live coding with virtual reality, promoting an immersive approach to algorithmic design. The proposed workflow entails the use of an algorithmic design tool embedded in a virtual environment, where the architect not only creates the design but also interacts with said design, changing it by live coding its algorithmic representation from within virtual reality. In this paper, we explain the challenges faced and solutions devised for the implementation of the proposed workflow. Moreover, we discuss the applicability of algorithmic design in virtual reality to different stages of the architectural design process and the future developments that may arise from this proposal. Full article