doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0001
This is the last issue of Open House International, which was prepared by Nicholas Wilkinson, who was the chief editor of the journal for many years.
Huang, Hao-Cheng; Perng, Yeng-Horng
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0002
Commercial space features essential characteristics of attracting clients and creating profits; thus, the exterior and interior designs of conventional commercial space were often made to look grandiose and overdecorated. Over time, according to commercial attributes, operator preferences, and style of the designer, commercial spaces have constantly undergone renovation into varied styles. However, the physical renovation processhas caused multiple and composite types of environmental pollution, such as waste and noise pollution caused by breaking of walls or partitions, anddecorative paint pollution, as well as the use of high-energy-consuming lighting equipment, air-conditioning systems, and decorative materials. Global pollution has caused climate change, endangering living organismsand human life. Furthermore, no effective method exists to control the problem of high greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, this study used energy-saving design concerns of a garden-type commercial space to propose an energy-saving evaluation model. The study combined three methodologies, the Delphi method, analytic hierarchy process, and fuzzy logic theory, to construct a multi-criteria decision support system for designing green commercial spaces, and used the green spatial design of a garden café as an example to illustrate the high objectivity and adaptability of the proposed model in practical application. The study also used an international award-winning case to validate that the proposed model had practical value as a reference to support key design decisions.
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0003
From past to present, Istanbul has witnessed many empires and historical events. This accumulation has made Istanbul one of the most important cities in Turkey. The architecture and historic potential of the city dates back to centuries ago. Palace architecture is the most important cultural inventories of the city. Over time, technological developments and the industrial revolution brought the “western influence” to Turkey. This effect is observed on planning character and on the planting design. The main material of the work is Topkapı Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace. In this context, this paper consist of three stages. Literature studies have been carried out in the first stage. “Western effect” on the palaces has been investigated after the second step consisting of the field study and mapping. As result of the examinations, western influence was studied in three stages as general planning character, structural material and plant material. As a result of the study, results were obtained for each title. Suggestions were made for rehabilitation and palace gardens planning.
True, Emine Malkoc; Kiliçaslan, Çigdem
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0004
The starting point of this study is to examine the open space of the Museum of Islamic Art Park, located in Doha, through the design criteria to find out, qualitively and quantatively, its sufficiency for users. The park area, located by the sea, is one of the most modern open spaces in Qatar's capital and was designed to complement the adjacent Museum of Islamic Art. Beyond a mere park, the design claims to bring together the public with the new urban space.In this context, the study is aimed at determining the use of the space by analysing its physical features, evaluating the sufficiency of the programme elements' quality and quantity, determining the potential of the research area as a public open space by evaluating its visual life quality and attractiveness, guiding park designs with similar features, and providing a reference for other spatial analysis and evaluation research.Firstly, literature on the research subject and area was studied. The evaluation criterias were determined by the findings from the literature and by visiting the area and these were used to create the analysis form to apply to the research area. Next, using the analysis forms in the field, the research area was evaluated under General information, Physical and Sensorial analysis. At the end of the study, the existing literature and fieldwork findings were evaluated with a holistic approach. It was found that the space brings together people from all ages and social groups; as well as providing an attractive social environment, the park hosts several urban spatial components in one place. Finally, recommendations were made for enhancing the visual/spatial quality and attractiveness of the area.
Elinwa, Ugochukwu K.; Moyo, Nothando
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0005
Conflicts are a form of man-made disaster changing the economy of nations, influencing energy concerns, food, shelter and demographic distributions. The breakdown of global systems has become a huge concern that needs working mechanisms to develop resilient cities. The working mechanisms vary from one country to another, thus making the process a complex reality. Resilience is a word that was derived from the Latin word “resalire” which means “to spring back”. In this work, the housing environment was considered as a system constituting of several subsystems (Social, Environmental, Political, Economic subsystems). It argues that for resilience to occur within the post-conflict housing environment there is a need for an inclusive evaluation of users' preferences and expectations. With a focus on the social subsystem, it tried to determine the level of significance of gender, age, income and level of exposure on the perceived social character of a post-conflict housing environment and the satisfaction derived thereof. The study showed the importance of inclusivity as it influences perception and satisfaction. Using regression analysis, the study revealed that Perception and satisfaction within a post-conflict housing environment were influenced by age (73%), gender (74%), income and level of exposure (54%).
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0006
The movie substitutes such as home cinema, video on demand (VOD), and plasma televisions leaded to a declining attendance of patrons to movie theatres, which urged the invention of IMAX theatre to call movie lovers back to cinemas. Many cinemas plan to renovate their regular digital theatre auditoriums into IMAX theatre auditoriums, but there lack of study for built environmental variations between regular and IMAX theatres. Through the combination of a questionnaire survey and a case study on a leading cinema company in Malaysia, the Tanjong Golden Village Cinemas (TGV), this paper aims to identify the structural and architectural differences between regular digital theatre auditorium and IMAX theatre auditorium in the perspectives of acoustic and visual experiences. The most significant factor influencing the satisfaction of visualization in IMAX is “immersive of picture” followed by “sharpness of colour” and “feels as part of the picture”. The most significant indicators for audio experience in IMAX is “direction of object”, which enable an audience to trace the direction and position of an object on the screen without looking at it. The built environmental variations between regular and IMAX theatres in terms of screen, camera and projection methods, seating, architectural layout, wall design, and sound system arrangement were thoroughly compared in the case study.
Ishak, Syaidatul Azzreen; Hussein, Hazreena; Jamaludin, Adi Ainurzaman
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0007
This paper probes into the relationship between Neighbourhood Parks and their efficiency as a potential stress reliever from the outdoor environment. It consists of the introduction to the relationship between stress and outdoor environment, background research on recent issues of Neighbourhood Park and it then continues with the context of perceiving Neighbourhood Park as a stress reliever. This paper looks into the previous studies that employed observations, survey, interviews and instruments as methods in proving Neighbourhood Parks as a potential stress reliever. Relevant findings were highlighted and recommendations for improving the design and planning were suggested to generate more quality living environment in the future.
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0008
During the post-World War II period, Turkey's housing supply models were limited to individual housings. Three main trends in the construction industry helped overcome this limitation to a certain extent. These were cooperative societies, spontaneous squatter housing and the build-sell process. Build-sell process later became the most obvious reflection of urban transformation in the 1950s and 1960s. Within this context, this study examines the housing policy of the period and the build-sell process as well as the Rer-1 Apartment Block designed in line with the build-sell process. The Rer-1 Apartment Block was designed and implemented by architect Nejat Ersin between the years 1962-1964, and was constructed in Aşağı Ayrancı District in Ankara. This specific apartment block was examined as an extraordinary example of the build-sell process - which rejects architectural concerns and prioritises profits - as it still incorporated such concerns despite being designed adhering to logic of the build-sell process. For the purpose of this study, an oral history study was conducted with Nejat Ersin. It was, therefore, possible to evaluate Nejat Ersin's apartment block, presenting a new experience in the build-sell context, within the scope of era's social, cultural, political and economic conjecture. The Rer-1 Apartment Block was scrutinized from the build-sell process aspect within the scope of the architect's professional approach.
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0009
The many speculative writings found in Finnish architect Alvar Aalto's notes show an interesting array of information about the construction of a knowledge society, and the formation of networks, in which sharing and exchanging new knowledge among different bodies of architectural agencies become possible. These notes reveal insightful remarks, his personal accounts on the Internet and the growing Network Society that could be regarded as pioneering scholarly engagements, which still further stimulate new and profoundly articulated reflections in architectural theory. At the same time, these notes also encourage further scholarly studies on the possible relationships between time and space on philosophical grounds. With respect to his writings, one can summarize Aalto's contribution under three major headings: the future is nestled in the past; often what is sought is located in the unthinkable; and of many, Alvar Aalto will never cease to be new, unexpected and innovative in his design thinking methods and procedures.
Moghadam, Talie Tohidi; Feizabadi, Mahmoud
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0010
This study provides insight into using ecological design principles in designing high-rise buildings for increasing the ecological capacity of a region. It is a descriptive-analytical survey, which starts with the literacy of the subject, and continues by analyzing successful ecologically designed case studies around the world and notes that by using ecological design principles in designing high-rise buildings, can increase the ecological capacity of a region in order to meet its occupant needs. It indicates that by the industrialization of cities, due to population growth, the value of the land and lack of it for growing population to be settled in, designing high-rise buildings may be the best solution to solve the problem. Moreover, the importance of designing high-rise buildings based on ecological principles has been highlighted by environmental pollution, natural hazards and endangered ecosystems. The ecological design for high-rise buildings is becoming more and more important considering environmental issues. This approach is routed in remaking the natural relationships in ecosystems. The most important feature of nature which can be used in ecological design is its power of reconstruction and rehabilitation. So we can reach an ecosystem in scale of a high-rise building which imitates nature in all its aspects.
Hassanpour, Badiossadat; Che-Ani, Adi Irfan; Şahin, Nil Paşaoğluları; Tabrizi, Alireza
doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2018-B0011
The main goal of architectural education is to increase the independency level of students in finding design solutions throughout their academic years. Despite numerous educational attempts, the lack of supplementary educational methods or tools is still acknowledged by scholars. The present study aims to help students undergo a smooth transition from being highly dependent to minimally dependent on instructors by developing an auxiliary tool that may be used together with critique sessions in design studios. In this study, the critical stages in the design process adopted by students are identified through interviews with instructors and questionnaires for architecture students at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) in Cyprus and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Basic theories are aligned with the needs and expectations of the chosen case studies to develop a user-friendly model in flash card format. The data analyses show that students and tutors all agree on the two main critical stages of design, namely data analysis and data development (synthesis) which ends with idea simulation. The developed model and the proposed flash cards attempt to connect these critical stages, which are usually skipped by students. Results show that students need to adopt and be equipped with sequences, priorities and creativity techniques in each step of the design process, and the proposed flash cards can help address this concern.