Daylighting rule of thumb and typology

Rule of thumb in daylighting has been responsible for generating typologies of building forms and elements. However, not all of these typologies perform well in daylighting. This article briefly reviews the concept of typology in architecture and proposes its application in daylighting study. Based upon the literature and recent researches in daylighting typology, the authors argue for the use of typological approach as means for analyzing and generating rule of thumb in daylighting. Simulations are conducted using Lumen Micro 8 and AGi32 softwares. The findings are suggestive that the typological approach adapted in the simulations can contribute towards development of a new rule of thumb in daylighting

Performance Evaluation of Four-Sided Square Wind Catchers with Different Geometries by Numerical Method

The extensive enhance of using air conditioning to cool and ventilate buildings in hot - arid climate regions have turned into an actual crisis since these systems consume high load of electricity. Recently, green ventilation features such as wind catchers have been utilized as a solution in order to improve indoor air quality and decrease energy consumption. The most common ventilation device in hot and hot-humid areas of Iran was wind catcher or "Badgir". This study is an outline of the results of a research on the wind catcher element in the traditional architecture of Iran. An appraisal of the wind towers' individuality with prominence on their morphology is presented and classification of the wind towers based on their physical characteristic and parameters are thus proposed. This paper also presents a limited wind driven simulation results which shows the impact of different square wind catcher's plan geometry on the indoor ventilation rate. The simulations accomplished using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), reveal the effect of four different square wind catchers on the indoor ventilation rate

Assessing Indoor air quality and sick building syndrome in public University buildings: a cross-sectional study of office worker health and well-being

Exposure to indoor air pollution among office workers can result in various health issues and increase the incidence of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of exposure to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) among office workers and the relationship with the prevalence of SBS at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi. A cross-sectional comparison research involving 144 office workers from various new and old buildings was carried out at UKM, Bangi. Information was gathered and symptoms associated with SBS were determined using a series of questionnaires. During office hours, IAQ parameters were collected using air quality sensor. The old building had substantially higher levels of NO2 (24.26 ppb), CO (0.62 ppb), and PM10 (4.99 μg/m3) than the new building. It was found that, with a p < 0.001, the concentration of O3 in the new building (11.47 ppb) was significantly higher than in the old building (4.93 ppb). The study’s findings also showed that the difference in temperature between the old buildings (26°C) and new buildings (24°C) was statistically significant (p = 0.003). Referring to relative humidity (RH), the result of the old building is lower (56%) compared to the new building (62%). Although old buildings exhibited a higher prevalence of SBS (34.7%), it was found that there was no significant difference compared to new buildings (27.5%). According to the study’s findings, found that exposure to CO (χ2 = 5.242, p = 0.022), PM10 (χ2 = 13.449, p < 0.001), and PM2.5 (χ2 = 19.755, p < 0.001) among office workers with the prevalence of SBS has significant association. In conclusion, this study suggests that exposure to high levels of CO, PM10 and PM2.5 can increase the prevalence of SBS. Good housekeeping and regular maintenance of ventilation can keep good IAQ and reduce health effects among occupants

Identiti seni bina Malaysia: Masalah dan penyelesaiannya

One of the issues stressed by the government of Malaysia after independence was the establishment of national identity in various aspects of life. Architecture was one of them, and amongst the momentous tasks faced on that front was the adaptation of Malay architecture to modern design. Initial efforts proved fruitful and were executed with clear directions. However, at the beginning of 1980s, weaknesses surfaced, giving rise to problems of “balloon” and “cut-and-paste architecture”. One of the reasons for this was the narrow-mindedness amongst architectural professionals and academicians in interpreting the significance of architecture and the role it plays in the development of national identity. This state of affairs can be rectified in two ways. Firstly, in-depth studies of the tectonic elements and intrinsic values in Malay traditional architecture need to be done. Secondly, successful past efforts in establishing national identity at both national and international levels should be studied and understood. This article relates these issues to the “Arts and Crafts” movement that successfully helped to develop architectural identity in Britain in the early 19th centur

Pembelajaran dalam studio rekabentuk seni bina.

Pembelajaran reka bentuk seni bina sebenarnya meliputi lebih daripada aspek-aspek fizikal dan struktur bangunan. Sesebuah seni bina harus mampu mencerminkan kehidupan sesebuah masyarakat di mana ianya berada. Kursus seni bina merupakan satu bidang pengajian yang bersifat multi-faset, sejajar dengan kerencaman sosial dan kebudayaan masyarakat. Pengajian seni bina tidak hanya terhad kepada aspek-aspek reka bentuk, malah merangkumi sistem nilai, falsafah, kelestarian, teknologi dan banyak lagi. Kursus-kursus selain studio reka bentuk membayangkan kerencaman ini dan perlu diselenggarakan secara integratif. Perkara ini penting kerana pengajian seni bina di universiti seharusnya berupaya melahirkan arkitek-arkitek yang inovatif, kreatif, berpengetahuan luas serta peka terhadap masyarakat dan persekitaran serta perubahan-perubahan yang sentiasa berlaku di dalamnya. Matlamat ini perlu menjadi agenda utama dalam pembelajaran studio reka bentuk seni bina

Examining the symbolism of the Ascension (Mi‘rāj): relationships between traditional Malay prose narratives (Ḥikāyāt) and Traditional Malay Mosques in Melaka

The saying that the Islāmic ritual prayer (ṣalāh) epitomises the ascension (mi‘rāj) of the believer has prompted some scholars to interpret the Prophet Muḥammad’s Ascension (Mi‘rāj) in the traditional mosque’s symbolism in the Islāmic world, including those in Melaka. Despite being original in the Traditionalist sense of the word, their allusions to the symbolism remain methodologically deficient and conceptually limited. Given these circumstances, this article examines the symbolism of the Mi‘rāj in the traditional Malay mosques in Melaka through the traditional Malay prose narratives (ḥikāyāt) which manifest the symbolism of the same. It employs a hermeneutic reading of MSS 2968 Risālat Laṭīfat fī Bayān al-Isrā’ wa-al-Mi‘rāj (1767), the earliest known manuscript narrating the story of Prophet Muḥammad’s Mi‘rāj in the Malay world as well as case studies of three significant and contemporaneous Malay mosques in Melaka, namely Masjid Tengkera (1728), Masjid Kampung Hulu (1728), and Masjid Kampung Kling (1748). By capitalising on the combination of textual, document, and comparative analyses, it was found that there is a correlation between the text and the buildings, in which the symbolism of the Mi‘rāj is manifested in several external and internal architectural elements of all three mosques. These findings present the unity of the traditional Malay-Islāmic heritage generally and the productive relationship between literature and architecture particularly through a provisional methodological and conceptual framework which endeavours to establish the basis for future research on the subject

Theories of the architectural symbolism of the traditional mosque: a preliminary classification

The productive scholarship on the architectural symbolism of the traditional mosque expounded by the Traditionalist School at the end of the second millennium, which continued well into the third millennium by scholars exhibiting a strong Traditionalist influence or otherwise, is a testament to the subject’s importance to the development of Islāmic architecture. Despite its prolificity and agency, most studies on the subject remain theoretically arbitrary, if not deficient, rudimentary at best, and disjointed. To fill this theoretical gap, this article, for the first time, identifies, outlines, and synthesises the many disparate theories of the architectural symbolism of the traditional mosque to establish a preliminary classification. It employs a hermeneutic reading of 32 significant theoretical and empirical studies on the architectural symbolism of the traditional mosque sourced from books, journals, conference proceedings, and periodicals available to the authors. By capitalising on the textual and comparative analyses, it is found that as many as 28 distinct theories of the architectural symbolism of the traditional mosque with their attendant symbolic dimensions and parameters were posited in all 32 studies, all of which can be consolidated into three broad theoretical frameworks. These findings present an original systematisation of theories of the architectural symbolism of the traditional mosque, which is instrumental in two ways: it encourages scholars to develop existing theories or establish new ones, and it assists Muslims in recognising and acknowledging the spiritual agency of their built forms while offering foreign readers another expansive and inspiring lens to view them

Prestasi akustik stesen MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) bawah tanah berdasarkan penggunaan bahan binaan

Penggunaan sistem perkhidmatan pengangkutan awam seperti MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) merupakan satu aspek penting dalam mewujudkan sebuah bandar yang terancang. Walaubagaimana pun, kesan daripada bunyi yang terhasil daripada keretapi dan kehadiran orang ramai mampu membuatkan ketenteraman persekitaran stesen terganggu. Objektif kajian ini ialah untuk mengkaji prestasi akustik di dalam stesen perkidmatan pengangkutan awam berdasarkan penggunaan bahan binaan stesen terhadap tahap keselesaan pengguna. Kajian ini akan dijalankan berdasarkan tiga kaedah pengumpulan maklumat. Kaedah kajian pertama melibatkan pengumpulan maklumat melalui sumber-sumber ilmiah seperti artikel, tesis dan juga buku berkenaan tajuk kajian bagi penentuan faktorfaktor pencemaran bunyi dan juga tahap optimum keselesaan pengguna. Kaedah kedua melibatkan pengumpulan maklumat di tapak kajian dengan mengukur kekuatan bunyi yang terhasil di setiap penjuru stesen dengan menggunakan meter desibel untuk merekodkan prestasi akustik sedia ada di dalam stesen. Kaedah ketiga ialah mengkaji ruangan stesen dengan menghasilkan ruangan stesen dalam bentuk 3D dan menjalankan simulasi pantulan bunyi menggunakan aplikasi I-Simpa. Stesen MRT Cochrane, Cheras merupakan lokasi yang dipilih sebagai kajian lapangan kerana ciri-ciri stesen yang terletak di bawah tanah dan tertutup. Berdasarkan daripada maklumat yang diperoleh daripada pengukuran di tapak dan simulasi komputer, kajian ini berhasil menentukan prestasi akustik stesen MRT bawah tanah tersebut dan seterusnya mencadangkan penambahbaikan akustik menerusi pengolahan penggunaan bahan binaan