TECHNICAL TEXTILES AND THIN INSULATION MATERIALS. NEW SCENARIOS FOR THE ENERGETIC RETROFITTING

In the building sector, there is a growing interest in the technical textiles, in particular as components for facades and also as potential replacements for the current options that seek energy efficiency through mass. The role of textiles in retrofitting from inside rooms is gaining more importance. The traditional wallpaper is evolving to interactive renovation possibilities by smart textiles, till to the thermal retrofitting. The paper deepens the feasible integration between wall covering textiles and thin super- insulating materials, coupling thermal function with sensorial and aesthetic ones. The goal is to identify which materials are suitable to achieve the new smart component

Enabling hand-crafted visual markers at scale

As locative media and augmented reality spread into the everyday world so it becomes important to create aesthetic visual markers at scale. We explore a designer-centred approach in which skilled designers handcraft seed designs that are automatically recombined to create many markers as subtle variants of a common theme. First, we extend the d-touch topological approach to creating visual markers that has previously been shown to support creative design with two new techniques: area order codes and visual checksums. We then show how the topological structure of such markers provides the basis for recombining designs to generate many variations. We demonstrate our approach through the creation of beautiful, personalized and interactive wallpaper. We reflect on how technologies must enable designers to balance goals of scalability, aesthetics and reliability in creating beautiful interactive decoration. Copyright is held by the owner/author(s).This research has been supported by the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute (EPSRC Grant No. EP/G065802/1 and EP/M02315X/1) and the ‘Living With Interactive Decorative Patterns’ project (EPSRC Grant No. EP/L023717/1)

Designing for change: The poetic potential of responsive architecture

The integration of responsive components in architecture offers the potential to enhance the experience of the building by giving expression to fleeting, changeable aspects of the environment. Responsive buildings enable a physical response to changes in the environment through specific building elements; in rare cases these responsive elements become an integral and poetic element of a culturally significant work of architecture. In this paper I examine two types of responsiveness, one which concerns the changing environment and another the activities and needs of the building׳s inhabitants. I look at two examples of buildings that illustrate a potential poetic role for architectural components responding to these two types of change, and propose that architects will need to acquire experience with designing for specific rates, scales and types of change before responsive elements will more frequently appear as a poetic and integral part of the building

Consumer willingness to adopt pervasive computing applications: A Comparison of the deaf and non-hearing impaired community

Aside from the seven electric motors inside the computer used to type this paper, there are approximately 38 individual devices that use electric motors in the typical home and automobile. What began with Michael Faraday in 1831 (when he demonstrated the principle of an electric current), has now reached maturity. Two words that serve as accurate descriptors of this maturation process they are: small and everywhere. One might say, And your point is? The examination of the life cycle of the electronic motor provides insight into the future of computing

The Interactive Medical Emergency Department (iMED): Architectural Integration of Digital Systems into the Emergency Care Environment

In healthcare, the architectural response to the development of information technologies has largely been relegated to a reactive role, essentially waiting for systems to develop and simply accommodating them with appropriately sized spaces. Designing IT systems independently from, rather than integrally with, their environment impedes them from reaching their full potential as vital components in the delivery of care by creating a lack of flexibility, decelerating performance, and degrading the healing environment. The flexibility of the environment is compromised by fixed position, single user data systems which prevent it from actively adapting to changing conditions, especially during volumetric surges associated with mass casualty events. Additionally, the delivery of care is hindered by traditional data entry points which minimize the caregiver\u27s ability to utilize information effectively by increasing distances to, and wait times for, available platforms. Furthermore, the overall quality of the healing environment is degraded by the increasing amount of technological clutter which can be difficult to sanitize, intimidating to patients, and unsafe by frustrating care. Dissolving the disconnect between architectural environments and information technology can be achieved by devising architectural elements and treatment protocols which would fuse both entities together, creating a more holistic, digitally integrated setting in which to deliver care. Utilizing advances such as integrated wall interfaces and environmental sensor systems would improve the delivery of care by empowering users and architectural settings with the ability to effectively adapt to changing conditions, increase accessibility to information, and streamline care for improved patient outcomes. Replacing fixed position, single user data entry systems with environmentally integrated surface interfaces would improve flexibility and performance by creating a multitude of localized points to access data, as well as streamline and simplify the environment by eliminating technological clutter. The process in which to derive an architectural response to the thesis statement was initiated by performing a series of interviews with nationally prominent professionals in the fields of healthcare architecture and information technology, attending international design conferences, interning in health facilities, assembling a cross-disciplinary thesis committee, and conducting a thorough literature review. The thesis research phase began by studying the historical progression and significance of information technology in healthcare environments in order to discern the architectural role in the implementation of these systems. The research focus was then shifted to all areas of architecture, identifying applicable precedent studies in which the environmental integration of information technology had enhanced the quality of the setting, highlighting characteristics that would improve flexibility, performance, and outcomes in the field of healthcare. From this exploration, a series of typological selection criteria were developed in order to determine which area within the healthcare spectrum would best demonstrate the potentials of this union. The emergency care environment was selected as an appropriate vessel to implement the thesis, due to its need for flexibility in order to accommodate ever changing demographic needs, significant volumetric shifts, fast paced care delivery which is dependent on the rapid utilization of information, and high patient turnover rate requiring an efficient throughput processes. Specific problems relevant to contemporary emergency departments were then identified, including overcrowding, staffing issues, and inability to accommodate for volumetric surges, all of which stem from inadequate throughput methodologies. The thesis then explored how the fusion of digital modalities with architectural elements in the emergency care environment would remediate these problems by improving the throughput of the facility. To ensure the final design holistically satisfies the goal of improving the quality and effectiveness of emergency care through the environmental integration of information technology, a series of design principles were developed to serve as its basis. In order to optimize data flow, access to input areas must be maximized by conceiving the building as an interface, where spatial boundaries become digital connections. If integrated data systems are to be accessible from a universal architectural interface and respond in a safe and controlled manner, digital scanning technologies such as biometrics and RFID tagging must be fused with physical threshold conditions in order to enable the digital system\u27s recognition of its inhabitants. In an additional effort to maintain safety, maximize workability, and ensure a level of sterility in sensitive environments, the facility needs to be designed into layers of penetration, regulating access to only those users who meet proper security clearances. Furthermore, the facility needs to act like a sponge, easily expanding and contracting the layers of penetration in an effort to accommodate unpredictable volumetric increases during mass casualty events. In addition to increasing its capacity, the facility should also be prepared to appropriate adjacent, existing infrastructure for overflow shelter and staging operations during such events. The programmatic typology of a freestanding medical emergency department, in which there is no connection to an existing facility, was selected with the intention of deriving a pure condition which eliminated extraneous influences from diluting the focus of this thesis on the relationship between information technology and architecture. Although rare in the US, freestanding emergency care facilities are a viable option for expanding healthcare provider\u27s coverage, capturing areas with growing populations, and improving the regional capability to respond effectively during mass casualty events. The base program was derived from the Swedish Medical Issaquah Campus Freestanding Emergency Department in Seattle, Washington, and then modified to function as a Point of Distribution (POD) site during mass casualty events. A series of potential mass casualty event scenarios were then developed in order to effectively prepare conceptual simulations to test possible responses from the facility\u27s program. The thesis proposal consists of a freestanding, 40,000+ square foot Interactive Medical Emergency Department (iMED) located in Charleston, SC. The proposal is guided by an established set of design principles, aiming to improve the delivery of emergency care during daily operations and mass casualty surge events through the architectural integration of information technology. In order to provide a range of possible disaster response situations, the building was located in the densely populated peninsula area of Charleston, South Carolina, within a region which is susceptible to an assortment of mass casualty events (including hurricanes, earthquakes, and terrorist attacks). The final site within the urban context adheres to a set of established criteria, including placement on open, stable, elevated land adjacent to the major access arterials of I-26, Hwy 17, and Meeting Street. Additionally, the site was located within a rapidly expanding, non-historical sector of the city which is not part of an existing healthcare complex. By meeting regional and urban conditions defined in the criteria, the site\u27s location strengthens the facility\u27s ability to deliver care during both daily and surge conditions substantially

Witness

Witness is an artists’ wallpaper created for the Walls Are Talking – Wallpaper, Art and Culture survey exhibition of artists’ wallpapers held at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester (co-organized by the V&A Museum, London), 2010, and included in the accompanying book (University of Chicago Press, 2010) of the same name. Witness is one of the latest works to emerge from the ongoing collaboration (since 2000) between Craig Wood and Chris Taylor. The formation of the initial research question and the realization of the design are shared equally by Taylor and Wood. The work continues their interest in blurring the boundaries between conceptual art, craft, and public art. They adopt historical formats that have often become ubiquitous, e.g. wallpaper, folk art, commemorative mugs, in order to reclaim them for more contemporary meaning. Witness responds to recent worldwide problems whose severity suggests that future generations may wish to look back and hold us responsible, e.g. the financial crash, imminent ecological catastrophe. The eyes in the design belong to Wood’s teenage daughter, and are drawn from life by Wood. With the eyes reproduced in an endlessly repeating pattern across a wall, the normally one-to-one moment of eye-contact is translated into an expanse of judgment, and the space of decoration is turned into an ethical statement. A Flexotype press was used to allow qualities of the original line drawing to be transferred onto the wallpaper, suggesting detail that turns the onlookers into individuals and makes their judgment more pointed. Witness also featured in the exhibition and catalogue We Have The Mirrors, We Have The Plans, Mostyn, 2010. The passage undertaken by Witness from the private and domestic to the cultural and the political is recorded by Mackinnon in her review in the Mostyn catalogue (p. 118). The wallpaper is available commercially