Immutable elements: ancient issues new visions

The theme of this abstract refers to the immutable elements of architecture. The investigation inquires the possibility of architectonic interpretation of immutable elements of design becoming a subject of synthesis and creation of new visions over the times. Despite all the contextual and cultural changes which may differentiate distinct buildings the architectural practice can basically be described as lying at the cultural and contextual root rather than providing a direct response to procedures and standards. The overall practice of architecture embraces a synthesis of a wide range of elements interpreted in different perspectives over different periods of history. The practice shapes specific responses transforming and adapting places, spaces, techniques and materials to different contexts. Throughout the paper, we intend to explore the responses to architectonic topics of architectural buildings. Specific responses to technical, material, context and cultural issues are subject of investigation. More specifically we will focus on the development and the final proposal of architectural designs. Analyzing and assessing the themes approached, the perspective establishes a triangulate between the implicit theory and practice. The appraisal of proposals will be assessed and reviewed assuming that thinking and doing establish a dialectical relation. Doing is intrinsically related with thinking either in testing, moves or probes of experimental action. Thus, reflection feeds doing and its results searching a dialectical process where thinking and doing reciprocally overlap boundaries. This paper points to reveal and expose the relation within the inner core of the architectural design. Evolution sketches, models and technical drawings are some materials to work with, on the construction of the essential concepts of the projects. This paper aims to explore the overlap of proposed interventions, in order to identify the dominant themes and reach a higher level of selfreflective practice. Once identified the character of the design, it is possible to clarify the architectonic immutable elements and establish the link to new visions of ancient issues. Once the development of an architectural design is involved in a nonlinear process, full of advances and retreats, characterized by ongoing interplay of factors involved in the development of project synthesis, the boundaries of each scheme will be defined by the specificity of context and form. The methodological hypothesis proposes the direct access to the author of the projects. This process enables to trace the evolution of the design scheme and the final proposal. This way we expect that it will be possible to enlarge the range of level of self-reflective practice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Endogenous Cycles in Optimal Monetary Policy with a Nonlinear Phillips Curve

There is by now a large consensus in modern monetary policy. This consensus has been built upon a dynamic general equilibrium model of optimal monetary policy with sticky prices a la Calvo and forward looking behavior. In this paper we extend this standard model by introducing nonlinearity into the Phillips curve. As the linear Phillips curve may be questioned on theoretical grounds and seems not to be favoured by empirical evidence, a similar procedure has already been undertaken in a series papers over the last few years, e.g., Schaling (1999), Semmler and Zhang (2004), Nobay and Peel (2000), Tambakis (1999), and Dolado et al. (2004). However, these papers were mainly concerned with the analysis of the problem of inflation bias, by deriving an interest rate rule which is nonlinear, leaving the issues of stability and the possible existence of endogenous cycles in such a framework mostly overlooked. Under the specific form of nonlinearity proposed in our paper (which allows for both convexity and concavity and secures closed form solutions), we show that the introduction of a nonlinear Phillips curve into a fully deterministic structure of the standard model produces significant changes to the major conclusions regarding stability and the efficiency of monetary policy in the standard model. We should emphasize the following main results: (i) instead of a unique fixed point we end up with multiple equilibria; (ii) instead of saddle--path stability, for different sets of parameter values we may have saddle stability, totally unstable and chaotic fixed points (endogenous cycles); (iii) for certain degrees of convexity and/or concavity of the Phillips curve, where endogenous fluctuations arise, one is able to encounter various results that seem interesting. Firstly, when the Central Bank pays attention essentially to inflation targeting, the inflation rate may have a lower mean and is certainly less volatile; secondly, for changes in the degree of price stickiness the results are not are clear cut as in the previous case, however, we can also observe that when such stickiness is high the inflation rate tends to display a somewhat larger mean and also higher volatility; and thirdly, it shows that the target values for inflation and the output gap (π^,x^), both crucially affect the dynamics of the economy in terms of average values and volatility of the endogenous variables --- e.g., the higher the target value of the output gap chosen by the Central Bank, the higher is the inflation rate and its volatility --- while in the linear case only the π^ does so (obviously, only affecting in this case the level of the endogenous variables). Moreover, the existence of endogenous cycles due to chaotic motion may raise serious questions about whether the old dictum of monetary policy (that the Central Bank should conduct policy with discretion instead of commitment) is not still very much in the business of monetary policy.Optimal monetary policy, Interest Rate Rules, Nonlinear Phillips Curve, Endogenous Fluctuations and Stabilization

Atelier da Rua: a participated street design strategy

Streets are key elements on the city urban structure. Despite the importance of this structural and living urban element, the contemporary Portuguese situation is characterized by the lack of investment in the realization, use and maintenance of many streets. Moreover it is noted local authorities’ difficulties to communicate with citizen everyday life problems within the street, and to approach diffuse civic structures. These are some of the problems encountered in small and local scale architectural projects. Participated project processes tackle these issues through the understanding of the existing problems and promoting new processes to face them. This paper is done in the research scope of Atelier da Rua (Street Atelier) focused to meet contemporary needs of intervention in the street public space. The methodological hypothesis applies Atelier da Rua strategy to improve community living. This paper aims to explore the combination of Atelier da Rua (Pita, 2014 b) methodology and the values of a “partnership” relation (Arnstein, 1969).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio