5 research outputs found
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The Role of Retrofits in Architecture Education
Although there is a wide range of retrofit technologies readily available, methods to identify the most cost-effective retrofit measures for particular projects is still a major technical challenge. The current study looks into the role of retrofits and repair in architecture education and aims at evaluating alternative retrofit solutions for a campus building to improve building performance. The pilot study is located in a hot and humid climate, including an atrium on a campus building, where the results are applicable to similar buildings. This research is novel in terms of testing retrofits in architecture education, using Building Energy Modeling on a campus building.
The methodology used in this research is mainly an experimental research approach, using Autodesk Revit and DOE-2 as its computer simulation engine. Retrofit actions studied include insulation, windows, renewable energy, and efficient lighting. Retrofits could be understood as a method of ethical use of resources and restoration of the cultural architecture of an area. However, there is not much discussion about retrofits in the architecture curriculum, except for hints in urban design lectures. This study made an attempt to provide a research opportunity for graduate students to fill this gap.
The results demonstrated simulation outcomes for adaptive reuse alternatives on a campus building, providing an open discussion on the value of adding retrofit in architecture education
The impact of street properties on cognitive maps
This paper investigates the relationship between street properties and cognitive maps. It is focused on the question of how human cognition of the built environment is affected by street properties. Building on the foundations of Kevin Lynch's studies of environmental perception (Lynch 1960) and recent configuration measurement techniques of the built environment, it addresses an important question that Lynch has left unresolved: Why do people have more complete recollections of some parts of the urban environment, and not others?
This paper proposes an analytical measurement framework based on graph theory to compare the results of cognitive maps with objective spatial properties of the corresponding built environment. In order to test our hypothesis, street geometry is measured and defined based on graph theory in two selected areas with similar geometries in Kenmore, Boston and Kendall Sq., Cambridge, MA. Cognitive maps are then collected based on specifically designed map drawing surveys. Finally, the relationship between graph results and cognitive maps is examined in order to identify the ways that street properties affect human perception
The impact of urban geometry on cognitive maps
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-87).This thesis investigates the relationship between urban geometry and cognitive maps. It is focused on the question of how human cognition of the built environment is affected by urban geometry. Building on the foundations of Kevin Lynch's studies of environmental perception (Lynch, 1960) and recent configurational measurement techniques of the built environment, it addresses an important question that Lynch has left unresolved: Why do people have more complete recollections of some parts of the urban environment, and not others? This thesis proposes an analytical measurement framework based on graph theory to compare the results of cognitive maps with objective spatial properties of the corresponding built environment. In order to test our hypothesis, first I measure and define urban geometry based on graph theory in two selected areas with different geometries in Kenmore, Boston and Kendall Sq., Cambridge, MA I will then collect cognitive maps based on specifically designed map drawing surveys. Finally, I examine the relationship between graph results and cognitive maps in order to identify the ways that urban geometry affects human perception. The findings inform urban designers and scholars of the city of how the configuration of the built environment can affect people's memory of a place, thus shaping one's experience of a city. Keywords: configurational patterns, urban geometry, cognitive maps, graph theory.by Mahsan Mohsenin.S.M