Green architecture - requirement or destiny of contemporary sustainable cities?

Wykorzystanie metod rozwoju zrównoważonego jako jedynej możliwej formy kształtowania architektury efektywnej ekologicznie wydaje się stwarzać złudne wrażenie braku innych możliwości rozwoju współczesnej eko-architektury w konfrontacji z wyzwaniami, przed jakimi staje społeczeństwo zamieszkujące przestrzenie zurbanizowane. Jednak niniejszy artykuł ma na celu przedstawić ideę zielonej architektury jako jednej z dróg rozwoju współczesnych zrównoważonych miast, będącej formą przekształcenia struktur miejskich w inny niż dotychczas sposób. Traktuje ona zagadnienie bardziej holistycznie, poszerzając je o kolejne aspekty, bez nacisku jedynie na elementy efektywności energetycznej, gospodarowania zasobami wody i wykorzystania zdobyczy współczesnej techniki w służbie oszczędności. Zielona architektura może stać się najbardziej twórczym elementem współczesnych miast. Pozostaje jednak pytanie, czy zmieniające się dynamicznie środowisko miejskie posiada przed sobą jakąś alternatywę, czy jednak zielona architektura pozostanie jedynie jedną z wielu możliwych form kształtowania przestrzeni współczesnych miast. Istotne będzie, czy stanie się ona jednym z ogólnoświatowych trendów projektowych, czy jednak zasady jej tworzenia zostaną w pewnym momencie w sposób całościowy narzucone bezpośrednio lub pośrednio, poprzez sformalizowanie wymogów dotyczących parametrów tworzonej przestrzeni. Wykorzystanie zdolności adaptacyjnych miasta do implementacji nowych funkcji, gałęzi usług, rekreacji i ich aktywizowanie, pobudzanie samowystarczalności poprzez systemowe wprowadzenie nowej formy architektury może w tym przypadku stanowić odpowiedzi na pogarszające się warunki środowiska niezurbanizowanego oraz metodę na rozwiązanie problemu dezintegracji struktur miejskich. Jednocześnie również daje to możliwość poszerzenia grona odbiorców architektury nie tylko do ludzi, lecz świadomie – tworzenie przestrzeni również dla rozwoju miejskiej biocenozy.The use of sustainable development methods as the only possible form of creating ecologically efficient architecture seems to create a false impression that there are no other opportunities for developing contemporary eco-architecture in confrontation with the challenges faced by urban populations. This paper aims to discuss the idea of green architecture as one of the ways of developing modern sustainable cities, a form of transforming urban structures in a different way than before. It takes up the issue more holistically, extending it to more aspects, without only stressing the importance of energy efficiency, water management and the use of modern technology in the service of saving natural resources. Green architecture can become the most creative element of contemporary cities. However, the question remains whether the dynamically changing urban environment has an alternative, or whether green architecture is to remain only one of many possible ways of forming contemporary urban spaces. It will be important whether it becomes one of global design trends or whether its main principles will at some point be imposed, directly or indirectly, by formalized requirements for creating urban space. Leveraging the adaptability potential of the city to implement new functions, service areas and recreation models, and activating them, stimulating self-sufficiency through systemic introduction of a new form of architecture, can in this case constitute a response to the deteriorating quality of non-urbanised environments and the answer to the problem of urban disintegration. It can also give an opportunity to broaden the circle of architectural customers beyond just people, and purposefully create space with the developing urban biocenosis in mind

To what extent does motor imagery resemble motor preparation?

Contains fulltext : 180952.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)1 p

The influence of motor imagery on the learning of a sequential motor skill

Motor imagery has been argued to affect the acquisition of motor skills and to improve performance in sports disciplines and rehabilitation. The present study examined whether motor imagery induces the learning of a sequential motor skill by employing a modified discrete sequence production (DSP) task: the Go/NoGo DSP task. In our task, sequences of five stimuli signaling a specific response sequence were presented. After an informative cue, the cued response sequence had either to be executed, to be imagined or to be withheld. To establish an effect of motor learning, the experiment was divided into a practice phase, and a final test phase. In the latter phase we compared mean response times and accuracy during the execution of new sequences, old imagined sequences and old executed sequences. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was measured to compare activity between motor imagery, motor execution, and motor inhibition in the practice phase. Event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related lateralizations (ERLs) in the practice phase showed strong similarities on trials requiring motor imagery and motor execution, while a major difference was found on trials for which the response sequence should be withheld. Behavioral results in the test phase revealed that the accuracy for imagined sequences in the practice phase was improved relative to new sequences, which confirms the idea that motor imagery induces motor skill learning

Frontal brain areas are more involved during motor imagery than during motor execution/preparation of a response sequence

Contains fulltext : 231382.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)Results of several neuroimaging studies support the functional equivalence model, which states that motor imagery (MI) and motor execution (ME) involve the same processes, except for the final execution component. In contrast, the motor-cognitive model implies that MI additionally involves frontal executive control processes. However, according to some authors MI may actually be more comparable to motor preparation (MP). In the current electroencephalographic study, a version of the discrete sequence production paradigm was employed in which human participants initially had to prepare a sequence of five finger movements that subsequently had to be executed, imagined, or withheld. MI, ME, and MP were compared by computing event-related (de)-synchronization in the theta, alpha/mu, and beta bands. Results revealed a major increase in frontal theta power during MI as compared to ME and MP. At the end of the examined intervals, a posterior reduction in alpha power was present during ME and MP, but not during MI. Finally, above sensorimotor areas a decrease in beta power was observed that was most pronounced in the case of ME. The increase of frontal theta activity during MI may reflect increased effort, while the absence of a reduction in posterior alpha power suggests no major involvement of visuospatial attention and/or visual imagery. The present findings favor the motor-cognitive model, as it predicts extra involvement of frontal executive processes during MI.16 p

To What Extent Can Motor Imagery Replace Motor Execution While Learning a Fine Motor Skill?

Motor imagery is generally thought to share common mechanisms with motor execution. In the present study, we examined to what extent learning a fine motor skill by motor imagery may substitute physical practice. Learning effects were assessed by manipulating the proportion of motor execution and motor imagery trials. Additionally, learning effects were compared between participants with an explicit motor imagery instruction and a control group. A Go/NoGo discrete sequence production (DSP) task was employed, wherein a five-stimulus sequence presented on each trial indicated the required sequence of finger movements after a Go signal. In the case of a NoGo signal, participants either had to imagine carrying out the response sequence (the motor imagery group), or the response sequence had to be withheld (the control group). Two practice days were followed by a final test day on which all sequences had to be executed. Learning effects were assessed by computing response times (RTs) and the percentages of correct responses (PCs). The electroencephalogram (EEG) was additionally measured on this test day to examine whether motor preparation and the involvement of visual short term memory (VSTM) depended on the amount of physical/mental practice. Accuracy data indicated strong learning effects. However, a substantial amount of physical practice was required to reach an optimal speed. EEG results suggest the involvement of VSTM for sequences that had less or no physical practice in both groups. The absence of differences between the motor imagery and the control group underlines the possibility that motor preparation may actually resemble motor imagery

The influence of motor imagery on the learning of a fine hand motor skill

Motor imagery has been argued to affect the acquisition of motor skills. The present study examined the specificity of motor imagery on the learning of a fine hand motor skill by employing a modified discrete sequence production task: the Go/NoGo DSP task. After an informative cue, a response sequence had either to be executed, imagined, or withheld. To establish learning effects, the experiment was divided into a practice phase and a test phase. In the latter phase, we compared mean response times and accuracy during the execution of unfamiliar sequences, familiar imagined sequences, and familiar executed sequences. The electroencephalogram was measured in the practice phase to compare activity between motor imagery, motor execution, and a control condition in which responses should be withheld. Event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related lateralizations (ERLs) showed strong similarities above cortical motor areas on trials requiring motor imagery and motor execution, while a major difference was found with trials on which the response sequence should be withheld. Behavioral results from the test phase showed that response times and accuracy improved after physical and mental practice relative to unfamiliar sequences (so-called sequence-specific learning effects), although the effect of motor learning by motor imagery was smaller than the effect of physical practice. These findings confirm that motor imagery also resembles motor execution in the case of a fine hand motor skill