Silvia Rinalduzzi, Matteo Flavio Mancini, Laura Farroni
<p>The paper proposes a methodology for the analysis and representation of Geo-Cultural Landscapes. These are contexts where resources, risks, and culture structurally coexist, defining a territory’s identity through the age-old dialectic between natural dynamics and human activity. The research focuses on the Acque Albule Basin (Lazio), an exemplary model characterised by the co-presence of significant natural resources and considerable geological hazards, such as karst phenomena and subsidence. The aim is to reconstruct the diachronic transformations of this complex territorial model through a systematic and holistic reading of figurative historical sources (pre-geodetic cartography from the 16th-18th centuries), overcoming the limitations of sectoral approaches. The method articulates a critical process of transcribing and vector-redrawing historical cartographic information within a digital environment. Through in-depth philological analysis, data extracted from four significant pre-geodetic maps were translated into a new Map of Represented Land Use (Carta dell’Uso del Territorio Rappresentato - CUTR). The alphanumeric data is visualised in a series of mappings, which synthesise the process of representing the past and the place as it is today; their interrogation can reveal surviving identity traits, potentially aiding in identifying environmental risk scenarios. In this context, the study aims to present the results of a procedural approach designed to construct information into new, valuable mappings. This approach, for the first time, enables a comprehensive utilisation of what was only partially represented across the various figurative historical sources.</p><p>DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.35.2025.3</p>
ObjectiveRapid urbanization exacerbates the disconnection between urban residents and nature, posing significant public health challenges. Urban green spaces (UGS) — a critical natural resource in urban environments — are increasingly acknowledged as an essential tool for mitigating urbanization-related issues and reducing public health risks. Therefore, providing effective green space to urban dwellers is critical for environmental and social interventions in public health. Extensive research has highlighted the salutary benefits of UGS on residents’ health, with exposure emerging as a critical mediator of these health outcomes. However, methodological ambiguities persist regarding the classification of UGS exposure forms and green space categories, potentially obfuscating the understanding of distinct health benefits of different types of green space exposure characteristics, thereby constraining the development of targeted urban health intervention. Green space exposure is a key factor linking the natural environment to human health. Depending on health impact mechanisms, green space exposure can be divided into passive and active exposure. Passive exposure involves the unconscious effects of the environmental attributes of green spaces on people, highlighting the objective role of green spaces as environmental media. Active exposure, however, involves interactions between individuals and green spaces through various activities, emphasizing the active role of individuals in utilizing these spaces. Existing research shows significant variation in defining and quantifying green space exposure. This lack of a consistent conceptual and quantitative framework leads to inconsistent findings on the health benefits of green spaces, undermining the reliability and applicability of research evidence. Urban green spaces include residential green spaces, park green spaces, street green spaces, and other types, each with unique characteristics and functions. While previous research has explored the health effects of different green space types to some extent, comprehensive comparisons of their health benefits based on land use and exposure characteristics are still limited. Consistent indicators are essential for such comparisons, yet their absence in previous research may have contributed to inconsistent conclusions. Identifying the health benefits and differentiation of diverse urban green space exposure characteristics within community life circle can address relative evidence gaps while informing more precise, effective planning strategies for practical applications.MethodsThis research employs a case study of Beijing’s central urban area, utilizing random forest model integrated with Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) to quantify the relative contribution of multi-dimensional UGS exposure characteristics to health benefits. A total of 1,116 residents from 36 neighborhoods are examined using multi-source data, involving green space metrics, health outcomes survey, and demographic and socioeconomic indicators. The green space metrics comprise four types of green spaces (residential green space, park green space, street green space, and other green spaces) across two dimensions (passive exposure and active exposure). Passive exposure encompasses three indicators — area, distance, and NDVI — while active exposure includes three indicators: frequency, duration and intensity. The health outcomes of residents are assessed via the Quality Metric-authorized Chinese version of the SF-12v2 scale. Demographic and socioeconomic indicators, including age, gender, population density, etc., serve as model covariates.ResultsThe research results indicate significant differences in active and passive exposure characteristics to various green spaces within the community life circle of Beijing’s central urban area. This is closely related to the functional attributes and usage of these spaces. The impact of different green space exposure dimensions on residents’ physical and mental health also shows marked differences. Specifically, passive exposure is more effective than active exposure in improving physical health. Conversely, active exposure contributes more to mental health than passive exposure. Among different green space types, park green space is most beneficial for physical health, while residential green space is most beneficial for mental health. This highlights the central role of parks and residential areas in delivering health benefits. Among all green space exposure metrics, the area of park green space is the most critical for physical health, and the activity intensity in residential green space is the most critical for mental health. These findings provide a basis for implementing precise health-oriented intervention measures. Additionally, individual-level factors, such as neighborhood relationships, age, and sleep quality, are significantly correlated with and influential on health outcomes.ConclusionThis research reveals a distinctive relationship between UGS exposure characteristics and health benefits, demonstrating that passive exposure predominantly enhances physical health regulation, while active exposure drives mental health restoration. Park green spaces and residential green spaces serve as critical spatial carriers for promoting physical and mental health benefits, respectively. The key metrics, such as park green area and residential activity intensity, could offer quantifiable parameters to inform the spatial optimization of “Healthy City” development frameworks. These findings suggest the importance of accurately matching the types and exposure mode of green spaces in improving the health benefits of residents.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
Objective The world is still in a phase of rapid industrialization and urbanization. Excessive carbon emissions has become the primary root cause of various urban or even global environmental problems, further impacting human physiological and psychological health. Cities are the largest sources of carbon emissions and are crucial regions for achieving carbon neutrality goals. Urban blue-green infrastructure (UBGI), comprising natural, semi-natural, or artificial green and blue spaces within cities, is considered as the most important carbon sink space in urban areas and has increasingly attracted widespread attention from researchers. However, there are still many unresolved issues regarding the effectiveness of UBGI in carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction: 1) How is the energy efficiency of carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction measured, and what factors influence it? 2) What are the mechanisms and pathways through which UBGI enhances carbon sink and reduces carbon emission? 3) How can UBGI be regulated to better enhance its effectiveness in carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction? 4) What are the limitations and potential directions for future research? This research aims to address these issues and propose scientifically sound planning strategies for UBGI construction to achieve urban carbon neutrality goals.Methods Through literature synthesis and deduction, this research organizes and analyzes the multi-scale measurement methods for UBGI’s efficiency in carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction, identifies corresponding influencing factors at each scale, and constructs multi-scale planning strategies for UBGI based on the logical framework of “measurement methods–influencing factors – planning strategies”.ResultsThe research proposes UBGI planning strategies across three spatial scales (site, community and urban area), covering three key aspects: Carbon sequestration and sink enhancement, carbon reduction based on temperature reduction (or preservation), and travel-related carbon reduction. Based on current research gaps and planning needs, five major research topics are further identified. This research provides a detailed analysis of the measurement methods and influencing factors of UBGI’s efficiency in carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction from three perspectives: Carbon sequestration and sink enhancement, carbon reduction based on temperature reduction (or preservation), and travel-related carbon reduction. The research finds significant differences in the measurement methods for UBGI’s efficiency in carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction efficiency across different scales. Contradictory results may occur at different scales, and large-scale research often lacks characterization of internal features, leading to unclear mechanisms of influencing factors and obstructing practical planning. Based on the interpretation of UBGI’s mechanisms for carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction at different scales, this research formulates UBGI planning strategies across three spatial scales (site, community, and urban area). These strategies include: 1) At the site scale, for carbon sequestration and sink enhancement – carbon sink at the source, land balance, and ecological design; for emission reduction – symbiosis with buildings and integration into daily life. 2) At the community scale, for carbon sequestration – overall balance of revenue and expenditure, precise positioning, and proper interconnection of the carbon chain; for emission reduction – incorporation of cool islands and co-construction. 3) At the urban area scale, for carbon sequestration – enhancement of ecological space management and establishment of a carbon-safe pattern; for emission reduction – demand-based layout and organic dispersion. Finally, the research proposes five major research topics for the planning of UBGI’s carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction: How to construct unified measurement methods for UBGI’s efficiency in carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction across scales? How to measure UBGI’s efficiency in carbon reduction based on temperature reduction (or preservation) at the site scale? How to integrate the pathways of carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction for a life cycle assessment of UBGI? How to balance UBGI’s carbon sink enhancement and emission reduction with other functions to achieve the optimal layout for comprehensive benefits? How to achieve urban “carbon justice” through UBGI? Conclusion The carbon sink pathway of the strategy framework requires “carbon sink at the source – precise positioning – safe pattern”, and the emission reduction pathway requires “symbiotic integration – co-construction and sharing – organic dispersion”. The key trade-offs between these two pathways at three spatial scales may provide theoretical support and practical guidance for UBGI construction and management. The five major research topics mentioned above may offer valuable assistance for UBGI construction and future research.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
<p>The paper is focused on drawing as Giuseppe Zander’s preferred tool constantly present in his youth training, in his activity as a scholar and teacher, as well as in his diuturnal work as architect.<br />Based on the knowledge of his papers acquired during the activity of reordering Giuseppe Zander archive, an attempt is made to outline a picture of the varied ways used by Zander to observe, analyze and translate reality through the tool of drawing. By reconstructing the biographical events and relating them to the graphic documentation produced during his life, the extensive use of drawing as the main tool for collecting and synthesizing information and sometimes suggestion emerges, which is declined in different ways depending on the purposes for which this was used.<br />From the analysis of the preserved materials, a spontaneous tendency to experiment different graphic techniques and signs is evident from the earliest stages of his formation.<br />An essential accompanying element within Zander’s graphic elaborations are the handwritten notes that begin to appear as early as the youthful period, becoming increasingly important until they acquire complementary value to the drawing in the mature phase, both in his professional activity as an architect and in his study and teaching of the history of architecture.<br />The aptitude for tidy and classification also emerges from the filing system used by himself collecting the materials in thematic albums that were used as iconographic sources for the elaboration of projects and for the preparation of lectures, teaching materials and scientific publications. The drawings reveal the architect’s distinctive character in the meticulousness of production aimed at effectiveness and immediacy of reading, while outlining his personality and the historical and cultural context in which he worked.</p><p>DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.34.2025.30</p>
Senza limite, soglia, bordo, margine, niente è definibile e percepibile e, soprattutto, nessuno scambio si innesca e si rende possibile. Il bordo è ciò che limita e delimita, ma anche ciò che consente il passaggio da una cosa a un’altra. Qualsiasi ideazione, dal cucchiaio alla città”, dal più piccolo manufatto di design al più grande progetto di architettura o piano di urbanistica, lavora necessariamente sui bordi, sul limite, sul rapporto fra pieni e vuoti, potendo concepire contenitori di spazio o generandoconnessioni a tutte le scale. È lavorando sul limite che si ritrova lo spazio.
Understanding the extent to which, and conditions under which, scene detail affects spatial perception accuracy can inform the responsible use of sketch-like rendering styles in applications such as immersive architectural design walkthroughs using 3D concept drawings. This paper reports the results of an experiment that provides important new insight into this question using a custom-built, portable video-see-through (VST) conversion of an optical-see-through head-mounted display (HMD). Participants made egocentric distance judgments by blind walking to the perceived location of a real physical target in a real-world outdoor environment under three different conditions of HMD-mediated scene detail reduction: full detail (raw camera view), partial detail (Sobel-filtered camera view), and no detail (complete background subtraction), and in a control condition of unmediated real world viewing through the same HMD. Despite the significant differences in participants' ratings of visual and experiential realism between the three different video-see-through rendering conditions, we found no significant difference in the distances walked between these conditions. Consistent with prior findings, participants underestimated distances to a significantly greater extent in each of the three VST conditions than in the real world condition. The lack of any clear penalty to task performance accuracy not only from the removal of scene detail, but also from the removal of all contextual cues to the target location, suggests that participants may be relying nearly exclusively on context - independent information such as angular declination when performing the blind-walking task. This observation highlights the limitations in using blind walking to the perceived location of a target on the ground to make inferences about people's understanding of the 3D space of the virtual environment surrounding the target. For applications like immersive architectural design, where we seek to verify the equivalence of the 3D spatial understanding derived from virtual immersion and real world experience, additional measures of spatial understanding should be considered.
Design is the basis of organizations’ innovation and sustainability process and an indispensable re-source for meeting short-term sustainability goals and transforming the long-term economic model. However, it is known that the current configuration of the organizational work ecosystem in the Fash-ion sector has been marked by a panorama of sanitary, social and economic instability. That said, the objective of this paper is to map the organizational ecosystem of work in the Fashion sector from a systemic perspective between the individual, organization, work environment, products, tasks, and tools in a post-COVID-19 scenario and of profound technological changes. Thus, it is essential to re-think corporate culture and organizational ecosystems through new models of collaboration and inno-vation between partners. The relevance of this study for the Design area is in determining strategies for stakeholders in the present, from the projection of future work scenarios in Italian fashion companies, as vectors of development and a balance factor in the relationships between people, objects, and the environment. The research approach was systemic-constructivist, and the methodological design included Grounded Theory and Triangulation.
Drawing. Design. Illustration, Architectural drawing and design
The Dougong structure is an ancient architectural innovation of the East. Its construction method is complex and challenging to understand from drawings. Scale models were developed to preserve this culturally-unique architectural technique by learning through their assembly process. In this work, augmented reality (AR)-based systems that support the manual assembly of the Dougong models with instant interactions were developed. The first objective was to design new AR-assisted functions that overcome existing limitations of paper-based assembly instructions. The second one was to clarify whether or not and how AR can improve the operational efficiency or quality of the manual assembly process through experiments. The experimental data were analyzed with both qualitative and quantitative measures to evaluate the assembly efficiency, accuracy, and workload of these functions. The results revealed essential requirements for improving the functional design of the systems. They also showed the potential of AR as an effective human interfacing technology for assisting the manual assembly of complex objects.
Maral Babapour Chafi, M. Harder, Christina Bodin Danielsson
Activity-based Flexible Offices (AFOs) are innovations in workspace design that are being increasingly implemented in organisations. While most studies investigate satisfaction and perceived work support in AFOs, employees' workspace preferences are not addressed in the literature. The aims of this study were to (i) identify workspace preferences and non-preferences in AFOs, and (ii) investigate whether employees' workstation choices support their activities and align with their preferences. Two Swedish municipalities participated in the study. Data collection involved 27 semi-structured interviews and annotations on architectural drawings. The results showed that the interviewees preferred workstations that were both desirable and functional, and avoided workstations that were undesirable. This was due to functional, social, emotional and symbolic aspects of the workspaces as well as their physical structure and stimuli. The approach used in this paper can be adopted for improving the design of AFOs, thereby mitigating the stress of finding a suitable workstation.
Arch 002 describes a design research investigation using off-the-shelf high-density polyethylene drainage pipe as a flexible concrete casting formwork through a process oscillating between digital design, physical fabrication, and digital fabrication methodologies. Through this process, the project team generated hypothetical architectures that serve to further develop their material counterparts. Drawing on contemporary casting technologies and historical structural modelling techniques, the experiments suggest a system for the encoding mass and force into three-dimensional forms, creating structures that serve as drawings of their creation process. Exploring notions of the readymade and postprocessing, the research explores iterative processes of making to transform normative construction components into transcendent material experiences.
Today more than ever, our habitats are subject to constant changes and reconfigurations. If the architecture of the twentieth century were devoted to the design of the forms of space, it could be said that architecture of the twenty-first century focuses on designing the forms of time. This is temporal within spatial architecture – that already exists – which through time-based design is re-functionalised, revitalised and re-signified. These scenarios are already underway, as we can verify from the ways we live the spaces using new media. They arise from the simultaneity produced by the coexistence of different realities in the same spaces, but which – on the contrary – also require forms of ubiquity to enter and leave virtual realities and digital worlds. Time-based design creates other hierarchies, compared to the spatial logics that have shaped the buildings we have lived in for millennia, because the possibility of subverting the “consecutive” sequence of spaces means working on the folds of time: a real “habitat”. The materials, therefore, become a new frontier on which time experiments in space. Their increasingly “living” performance is part of the concept of a building, which arises within a temporal and spatial cycle to be reformulated, and which can be computed up to its micro-structure. The theme of time concerns all the scales of the project, from micro materials to the macro dimensions of the city. The latter is redesigned in its new morphologies by means of transport capable of deforming the Cartesian coordinates of space over time, to fold and reshape the planes, and to finally define new proximity and distances.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
The Spremosa project is the name of the juicer created by Wave Murano Glass to demonstrate and give shape to the proposed hypotheses. This product is the result of the union between two materials and two contrasting processing techniques, created with the desire to bring something different to the panorama of objects produced and sold by Murano glassworks, going beyond the aesthetic aspect and beyond the usual “cavalluccio” or “pesciolino” that can be taken home as a souvenir, in memory of a fantastic experience of pure Italian craftsmanship.
E. Delegou, Georgia S. Mourgi, E. Tsilimantou
et al.
In this work, a multi-disciplinary approach regarding diagnostic study processes is presented, using as an example the Catholicon of Kaisariani Monastery in Attica, Greece. Kaisariani Monastery is considered one of the most important Byzantine architectural complexes in Greece. The Catholicon of Kaisariani Monastery was built during the middle Byzantine period, and has undergone many reconstructions during the centuries. It is a semi-complex, four-columned, cross-in-square church, with a cloisonné masonry. The suggested diagnostic processes included the creation of multidisciplinary thematic maps in Computer Aided Design (CAD) environment, which incorporated: (a) data of historical and architectural documentation; (b) data of geometric documentation; and (c) data of building materials characterization and decay diagnosis. The historical and general architectural data were acquired by thorough bibliographical/archival research. Geometric documentation data were acquired by three-dimensional (3D) laser scanner for the creation of the Catholicon section drawings, whereas image based photogrammetric techniques were utilized for the creation of a 3D textured model, from which orthoimages and architectural drawings of the Catholicon façades were developed. In parallel, characterization of building materials and identification of decay patterns took place after the onsite application of the nondestructive techniques of digital microscopy, infrared thermography and ground penetrating radar. These vast array kinds of data were elaborated and integrated into the architectural drawings, developing thematic maps that record and represent the current preservation state of the monument, a concerning major construction phases, the most important conservation intervention projects, building materials and decay. Furthermore, data quantification regarding the extent of building materials and decay at each monument’s façade took place. Therefore, correlation and better understanding of the environmental impact on building materials according to façade orientation and historical data, e.g., construction phases, was accomplished. In conclusion, the presented processes are multidisciplinary tasks that require collaboration among architects, surveyor engineers and materials scientists/engineers. They are also prerequisites for the planning and application of compatible and efficient conservation/restoration interventions, for the ultimate goal of the sustainable protection of a monument.
Khaled A. Al-Sallal, A. R. AbouElhamd, Maitha M. Bin Dalmouk
Abstract This paper provides a comprehensive process that investigates daylighting performance with regards to museum lighting (adequate lux levels versus safe light exposure) and visual comfort requirements (no glare or sunlight) in the UAE traditional courtyard buildings that were converted into heritage museums. The study used several methods such as site visits, on-site measurements, surveying of architectural drawings, and statistical analysis of design data to examine existing case studies and extract information that helped identify building morphology configurations and define parameters to represent this building typology. The defined configurations helped develop the 3D geometry of the representative model in which the most dominant courtyard and exhibit room ranges were considered. Then, a comprehensive multi-scenario simulation process based on several climate-based daylight metrics under the UAE sky conditions was carried out to investigate lighting adequacy against potential risks on artifacts and visual comfort using several configurations of the developed model. The scenarios included different orientations with different window-to-wall ratios (WWR) of windows looking upon the courtyard using different configurations of the traditional verandah that helped shade the windows and reduce light exposure risks. The performance variables were analyzed against the recommended values/ranges by several international lighting standards. The study recommended several options to enhance the overall lighting environment and minimize risks on artifacts and visual comfort. This included better spatial arrangements, better designing and sizing of openings, and implementation of effective shading systems.
Abstract This paper describes a design customization system that integrates two aspects of Computer-Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) that are usually developed in separate workflows: the algorithmic generation of designs and the detailed representation of the building. The system's workflow starts with the definition of shape grammar rules by an architect. The rules are then automatically imported into a user interface that allows future owners to interactively custom-design their apartment plans. Finally, the plans are automatically converted into detailed Building Information Models (BIM), which allow the architect to add custom finishes, estimate building costs, and automatically generate construction drawings. We conclude that our workflow could contribute to the real customization of houses and other simple architectural programmes, assuring the quality of the outcomes through shape grammars rules and at the same time reducing the cost of production drawings through automation. The paper ends with some suggestions of improvements in BIM software that would allow its integration with shape grammars and the implementation of our workflow in a simpler way.
ABSTRACT Although use of high-stakes tests is common across developing societies, very little is known about how these tests are designed, what principles and criteria guide test construction, and what factors influence this process. The present study investigates the development of the English Paper-1 test for the Higher Secondary Certificate examination in Bangladesh, drawing on curriculum policy and test documents, and particularly on the perspectives of test writers and moderators. The findings reveal a range of conservative, compliant and context-responsive approaches that ensure the perpetuation of problematic test design practices and processes. The authors argue that these responses encourage ‘ritualistic’ design practices which negate concerns about test reliability and validity, and which obscure the basis by which winners and losers are created through the education system. Importantly, social celebration of this ritual does not seem to question the test architecture itself. The article contributes to our understanding of testing across societies.