Designing better apartments: an investigation into the spatial layout of units for families with children

As increasing numbers of apartments are developed domestically and internationally, longstanding concerns about their livability for families with children become more pressing. This research explores how the quality and choice of apartment designs might be improved to better meet the needs of families with children. It focuses on unit layouts in Sydney, the city, which has the highest number of new apartment developments in Australia and a growing number and proportion of families with children. Unit layout is an important factor that influences residents’ desires and residential satisfaction, but there are few studies available on unit layout and residential desires. Firstly, the research investigated the units being developed in three areas (City of Sydney, City of Parramatta, and Liverpool City) through an analysis of sale information (unit plan, size, and price) before exploring the drivers behind current unit layouts through interviews with architects and developers. Secondly, the desires of families with children regarding unit layout were explored through interviews with parents living in apartments. The desires of parents were categorized as universal, consistent (according to children’s age), and diverse (according to personal tastes and cultural backgrounds). Thirdly, parents’ desires were compared with the unit layouts being delivered to identify synergies and mismatches and determine the aspects that need to be kept or need to be improved. Lastly, the implications of the research findings for designing and delivering units that better meet the desires of families with children are discussed. The research provides knowledge on the characteristics of delivered and desired unit layouts for families with children and contributes to academic research on the potential role the spatial layout of units has for improving residential satisfaction. The findings can assist governments in regulating apartment design and enable professionals in the building industry to better meet the desires of families with children. It also offers methodological innovation by combining different methods to measure spatial layout and compare this with abstract ideas about the desires of residents. While this thesis focused on the Sydney context and families with children, it provides insights into the impact and implications of apartment design for residents more broadly

Influences on Apartment Design: A History of the Spatial Layout of Apartment Buildings in Sydney and Implications for the Future

This paper traces the history of apartment design with an emphasis on spatial layout. It charts the events that have influenced apartment design in Sydney, Australia and provides a framework for understanding how changes in society, the economy, regulations, and architectural paradigms have influenced apartment layouts over time. Through a review of historical and contemporary apartment plan drawings in Sydney, we identify four chronologically distinct eras: layouts reflecting physically separate rooms and a healthier living condition (1900–1935); layouts following function (1935–1961); layouts enhancing interaction between family members (1961–2002); and layouts for independent life and to satisfy minimum regulatory requirements (2002–the present). We then consider these distinct eras in relation to political, economic, and social influences at the time. We propose that prior to 1961, changes in social paradigms and architectural thinking and the development of technologies were the main drivers of apartment layouts. After 1961, changes in the economy, the housing market, and regulations appear to have had more influence. This historical analysis provides insights into factors contributing to current apartment layouts and how different social, economic, and regulatory levers may influence them in future. These insights will be useful to both practitioners and academics in international jurisdictions considering how to encourage improved apartment spatial layouts in future

Influences on Apartment Design: A History of the Spatial Layout of Apartment Buildings in Sydney and Implications for the Future

This paper traces the history of apartment design with an emphasis on spatial layout. It charts the events that have influenced apartment design in Sydney, Australia and provides a framework for understanding how changes in society, the economy, regulations, and architectural paradigms have influenced apartment layouts over time. Through a review of historical and contemporary apartment plan drawings in Sydney, we identify four chronologically distinct eras: layouts reflecting physically separate rooms and a healthier living condition (1900–1935); layouts following function (1935–1961); layouts enhancing interaction between family members (1961–2002); and layouts for independent life and to satisfy minimum regulatory requirements (2002–the present). We then consider these distinct eras in relation to political, economic, and social influences at the time. We propose that prior to 1961, changes in social paradigms and architectural thinking and the development of technologies were the main drivers of apartment layouts. After 1961, changes in the economy, the housing market, and regulations appear to have had more influence. This historical analysis provides insights into factors contributing to current apartment layouts and how different social, economic, and regulatory levers may influence them in future. These insights will be useful to both practitioners and academics in international jurisdictions considering how to encourage improved apartment spatial layouts in future

The Demonstration of S2P (Serial-to-Parallel) Converter with Address Allocation Method Using 28 nm CMOS Technology

To improve the performance of analog, RF, and digital integrated circuits, the cutting-edge advanced CMOS technology has been widely utilized. We successfully designed and implemented a high-speed and low-power serial-to-parallel (S2P) converter for 5G applications based on the 28 nm CMOS technology. It can update data easily and quickly using the proposed address allocation method. To verify the performances, an embedded system (NI-FPGA) for fast clock generation on the evaluation board level was also used. The proposed S2P converter circuit shows extremely low power consumption of 28.1 uW at 0.91 V with a core die area of 60 × 60 μm2 and operates successfully over a wide clock frequency range from 5 M to 40 MHz

5.8 GHz High-Efficiency RF–DC Converter Based on Common-Ground Multiple-Stack Structure

This paper presents a 5.8 GHz RF–DC converter for high conversion efficiency and high output voltage based on a common-ground and multiple–stack structure. An RF isolation network (RFIN) for the multiple-stack RF–DC converter is proposed to combine the DC output voltage of each stack without separating its RF ground from the DC ground. The RFIN is designed using micro-strip transmission lines on a single-layer printed circuit board (PCB) with a common ground for the bottom plate. A 4-stack RF–DC converter based on a class-F voltage doubler for each stack was implemented to verify the proposed RFIN for the multiple-stack and common-ground structure. The performances of the implemented 4-stack RF–DC converter were evaluated in comparison to the single-stack converter that was also implemented. The size of the implemented 4-stack RF–DC converter using bare-chip Schottky diodes is 24 mm × 123 mm on a single-layer PCB. For an input power of 21 dBm for each stack of the RF–DC converter with a load resistance of 4 kΩ, a high efficiency of 73.1% and a high DC output voltage of 34.2 V were obtained

Broadband Virtual-Stub Doherty Power Amplifier Using Asymmetric Structure

The load networks of advanced Doherty power amplifiers (DPAs) have traditionally been designed according to the ABCD parameters. In this paper, design conditions as an impedance transformation condition and an effective electrical length were used to design the output matching networks (OMNs) for the carrier and peaking amplifiers of the virtual-stub DPAs (VS-DPAs). An optimization method for the effective electrical length was proposed that was specifically constructed for the load impedances of the carrier amplifier at the low power level to have broadband characteristics through the load-pull simulation. Using the optimized design conditions for broadband design, compact OMNs for the carrier and peaking amplifiers were designed using quasi-lumped components. Moreover, an asymmetric structure with an increased power capacity of the peaking amplifier for the VS-DPA was proposed to compensate for a relatively low peak fundamental current of the peaking amplifier due to its deep class-C operation as well as the extended output back-off (OBO) range of the VS-DPA. To verify the proposed load network, a broadband asymmetric VS-DPA for the 3.3 - 4.2 GHz band was designed and implemented using GaN HEMTs with power capacities of 6 and 10 W. Using a 5G new radio (5G NR) signal with a signal bandwidth of 100 MHz and a peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of 7.8 dB, power gain of 8.2 - 9.1 dB, DE of 46.0 - 57.0%, ACLR of better than −45 dBc after DPD linearization at an average power of 35.0 dBm were achieved at the broad frequency range of 3.3 - 4.2 GHz

Correction to “5.8 GHz 4-Channel Beamforming Tx IC for Microwave Power Transfer”

In the above article [1], the received power in dc referred from the reference [2], which is the reference [35] in the original article [1], was incorrectly introduced. It was written as 0.2 W (dc) in the introduction of [1], but the correct received power in the specified condition is 2 W (dc)