Architectural Spatial Ontology Model<br />On a Corpus of Silk Roads Caravanserais for Advanced Classification

In this research the design and implementation of knowledge model for management of architectural heritage information attempts to conceptualize the content as well as specify and represent its technical knowledge. Furthermore, the model should cover specification of architectural assets, such as three-dimensional form and spatial organization. As part of Silk Roads study, the research focused on a special corpus of an important subset of architectural relics of Silk Roads, caravanserais. With the wide variety of types the target domain is the Iranian Safavid (1501-1736 A.D.) and Qajar (1796-1925) on route caravanserais.This multidisciplinary research is conducted with the support of the architectural engineering background of the author. Its subject is an Architectural-Spatial Ontology Model for Caravansaries of Silk Roads on a corpus for advanced classification. The research processes are as follows:1- Study of background knowledge on the corpus of caravanserais of the Silk Roads, state of arts of ontology definition, techniques and application; Then, spatial studies and systematic analysis of space in shape grammar in architecture, taxonomic numerical descriptive rules, systems of qualitative representation of space, etc.2- Design of architectural spatial ontology schema through:2-1-Design of a lexical model through data acquisition, component-recognition and a multilingual technical term-set for components of caravanserais. The terminology is completed basically in Persian language as the country of origin of caravanserais. Later it is extended to English language and in a collaborative study (by UNESCO experts) to other important languages of the Silk Roads. In the ontology one entity is connecting the terms in different languages with related lexical attributes to support the multilingual specifications.2-2- Design of a thesaurus-based model of lexical data by manual mapping from available ontologies and formalization by the Prot&eacute;g&eacute; tool. This ontology knowledge model covers the lexical attributes of a term such as definition, etymology, quotation, pronunciation and synonym. Some lexical references such as Oxford English dictionary and the General Ontology for Linguistic Descriptions have supported the knowledge for design of the taxonomy and attributes of the lexical part of ontology.2-3- Design of a spatial knowledge model by development of two complementary schemas: architectural schema with support of spatial relations and shape rule schema with support of shape grammar knowledge for the specific corpus and formalization of both schema inside the Prot&eacute;g&eacute; tool.The architectural schema is consisting of taxonomy of architectural relationships such as spatial relationships, building construction, environmental and upper level relationships. Each class of the taxonomy has attributes to connect a pair of instances of lexical ontology together with the target relationship. The systems of qualitative representation of space has supported the knowledge for define of spatial relationships; meanwhile, the domain knowledge of architecture and historical buildings has supported design of the schema.Due to the ambiguity of architectural schema considering shape, topology and dimensions, the ontology is supported by define of shape grammar for a specific corpus of caravanserais. Accordingly the shape grammar rules are represented either by drawing or by natural language equivalents and the ontology schema for shape grammar is developed. Finally the architecture of ontology for caravanserais is designed as pairs of entities connecting together by set of lexical, architectural or shape attributes. If the attribute does not have the topology or shape specification, the instances of entities are selected directly from lexical and architectural ontology. In case the attribute has shape or topological restrictions, then the shape grammar ontology schema and lexical schema are providing the entities for a target attribute or relationship.3- Evaluation and application of the system through tool based exploitation of the ontology, technical consistency checking, and advanced systematic classification of 137 cases of a specific corpus of caravanserais.The domain application of ontology is advanced classification of the final corpus. The target of classification is for verification of the conceptual design of caravanserais buildings and accordingly the development of an historical hypothesis of their creation. In this process the complete entity verification schema of ontology is exploited in two levels of precision: general classification of six categories of caravanserais and precise classification of subcategories for each class. The classification is done by the help of knowledge extraction tools and the classification features and schema is represented in the ontology.The ontology has a tool-based application called Image Learning Ontology (under development by engineering team) for advanced semantic annotation and retrieval to image data of caravanserais

Krajobraz kulturowy i typologia wsi Kharanaq w Iranie

This article intends to analyse the historic village-castle of Kharanaq, which has been inhabited for over a thousand years in various historical periods. Different layers of habitation make Kharanaq’s residential context different from other castles or villages of Iran. This village-castle is fortified by high walls and is located at the edge of the Central Desert of Iran. This article focuses on identifying the interaction of the inhabitants with the desert environment of the village-castle through an analysis of its cultural landscape and the typology of its residential houses, as well as the current situation of its architecture and spaces

Patterns in the spatial configuration of Sultani Mosques in the Qajar period: a comparative study using space syntax and layout-based analysis

Abstract The pattern of built heritage provides insights into spatial organisation principles, revealing recurring traits among buildings of a similar type. Such constructions illuminate how building components are aligned and interconnected to embody a unified design ethos. However, well-preserved instances of a sequential series of similar buildings that were built in the same period based on historical evidence are rarely located. Thus, the Sultani Mosques, a prominent collection of mosques built in Iran between 1806 and 1840 under King Fath-Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty's auspices, are particularly noteworthy, attracting scholarly attention from figures such as Ritter, Hillenbrand, and Scarce for their distinctive spatial organisation of architectural elements such as iwans, domes, naves, and courtyards. To comprehensively study the shared spatial organisation concept within these mosques through a comparative study, this research aimed to verify the spatial layout using analytical techniques such as space syntax and layout-based justified graphs. By juxtaposing these graphs and depth values, this research elucidated the spatial integration and privacy delineation within these religious structures. Moreover, an examination of layout-based graphs and immersive three-dimensional assessments reinforced and confirmed the prevailing layout configuration. The research findings reveal a cohesive architectural concept in Sultani mosques, as multifaceted accessibility was emphasised, and spatial layouts were structured to facilitate movement and interactions. Qajar architects likely established a consistent design approach across these mosques, integrating essential elements while accommodating educational spaces. When schools were included, courtyard dynamics were reshaped, which impacted spatial connections and access routes. Variations in building division configurations, vault spans, and spatial relations tailored to local contexts highlight the unique design and spatial value of each mosque. Preserving these spatial relationships in restoration efforts is crucial for maintaining the intrinsic spatial language and historical design significance of these mosques

Utilisation et adaptation de références architecturales en présence de données incomplètes et hétérogènes. Modélisation d’un édifice en terre partiellement effondré.

International audienceThe city of Bam, one of the greatest mud brick architecture, was vastly damaged during the earthquake of 2003. Until 2004, a virtual 3D reconstruction is started for its most remarkable buildings as the school Mirza Naïm. The modelling process of the school is presented here, the 3-D reconstruction using documents from a variety of sources with different chronologies.La citadelle Bam faite d’adobe fut en grande partie détruite par le tremblement de terre du 26 décembre 2003. La reconstitution numérique des bâtiments les plus remarquables dont l’école Mirza Naïm fut décidé dès 2004. La communication développe la démarche et les méthodologies utilisées pour la reconstruction numérique de l’école, reconstitution faite à partir de documents hétérogènes et incomplets ainsi que d’époques diverses

Utilisation et adaptation de références architecturales en présence de données incomplètes et hétérogènes. Modélisation d’un édifice en terre partiellement effondré.

International audienceThe city of Bam, one of the greatest mud brick architecture, was vastly damaged during the earthquake of 2003. Until 2004, a virtual 3D reconstruction is started for its most remarkable buildings as the school Mirza Naïm. The modelling process of the school is presented here, the 3-D reconstruction using documents from a variety of sources with different chronologies.La citadelle Bam faite d’adobe fut en grande partie détruite par le tremblement de terre du 26 décembre 2003. La reconstitution numérique des bâtiments les plus remarquables dont l’école Mirza Naïm fut décidé dès 2004. La communication développe la démarche et les méthodologies utilisées pour la reconstruction numérique de l’école, reconstitution faite à partir de documents hétérogènes et incomplets ainsi que d’époques diverses

Tilted Arch; Implementation of Additive Manufacturing and Bio-Welding of Mycelium-Based Composites

Bio-based materials have found their way to the design and fabrication in the architectural context in recent years. Fungi-based materials, especially mycelium-based composites, are a group of these materials of growing interest among scholars due to their light weight, compostable and regenerative features. However, after about a decade of introducing this material to the architectural community, the proper ways of design and fabrication with this material are still under investigation. In this paper, we tried to integrate the material properties of mycelium-based composites with computational design and digital fabrication methods to offer a promising method of construction. Regarding different characteristics of the material, we found additive manufacturing parallel to bio-welding is an appropriate fabrication method. To show the feasibility of the proposed method, we manufactured a small-scale prototype, a tilted arch, made of extruded biomass bound with bio-welding. The project is described in the paper