Is radical innovation in architecture crucial to sustainability? Lessons from three Scottish contemporary buildings

Radical innovation is largely recognised as a medium for advancement, a source of growth for economies, and a trigger for progress in different economic sectors. Often, this type of innovation is identified with technological advancements, disruptive phenomena and the creation of new systems and dynamics. Yet, within the context of a changing world, in which principles of economic, environmental and social sustainability are largely adopted as common objectives, a reflection on the type of progress and the need for radical innovation is necessary with the aim of informing on their impacts and effectiveness. This work presents an analysis of a number of contemporary Scottish architectural designs, developed under the aegis of sustainability principles, and explores the types of sustainable innovations introduced and the results achieved by analyzing the type of design change that triggered specific sustainable results, demonstrating alternative innovation strategies, other than the radical one. This analysis provides a basis for discussion on the need for radical innovation in the context of sustainable architecture and explores the role of other types of innovation against the results achieved. This discussion could contribute to a better understanding of the current state of practice in architectural design, as well as in policy making in regard to the design and management of the future built environment

Elastic energy of strained islands: Contribution of the substrate as a function of the island aspect ratio and inter-island distance

The finite element method is applied to strain-induced islands. The distribution of the elastic energy in the island and the substrate is determined as a function of the island aspect ratio and inter-island distance. When the height-over-base ratio increases, the total elastic energy density decreases and the relative contribution of the substrate increases. When the inter-island distance decreases, the elastic energy density increases and the relative contribution of the substrate decreases. The influence of the aspect ratio on the relaxation rate is amplified for short inter-island distances