Design with forms as well as patterns

The research investigates How can the morphological approach in combination with the pattern language approach assist urban designers to achieve historical continuity in urban design both on theory and application levels. This research overviews the developments and applications of the two approaches worldwide with a special emphasis on the Dutch school. The Dutch morphological reduction technique and the Dutch interpretation of a pattern language are used in the case study—Wuhan, a Chinese city—to study the transformation of urban form and lifestyle. The multi-scalar historical morphological analysis results in an atlas that consists of four series of analytical maps on three levels of scale as well as 13 spatial structuring elements of the city; whereas the public life study results in a pattern book consisting of 20 individual patterns and three pattern languages. The practical implications and relevance for -- the design of -- the future of the city are discussed. The research is set up in a systematic and symmetrical manner for comparison of and reflection on the two approaches. It concludes that: The morphological approach can be used to interpret first space (perceived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space), whereas the pattern language approach can be used to interpret third space (lived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space). The morphological approach has a tendency to work from large scale to small scale and the pattern language approach tends to be built up from small scale to large scale, whereas urban design works with multiple scales at the same time. The morphological approach and the pattern language approach provide means for urban designers to systematically recognize historical layers so as to distil the meaning in the physical and non-physical contexts respectively. Consirately adding another layer that contains the contemporary meaning (design intervention) to these recognized layers is the way to pass down and simultaneously generate incremental change in the tradition of the context. This results in historical continuity and thus in permanence in urban design. The morphological approach, the pattern language approach, and urban design are processes in themselves and can be combined into one integrated process. The morphological approach, the pattern language approach and urban design are characterized by reduction, abstraction, interpretation, and communication. Some properties of the two approaches can be seen as counterparts because the roles these properties play in the design process tend to be similar: Individual homogeneous areas vs Individual patterns; Structural homogeneous areas vs Anchoring points/ Structuring patterns; Secondary connections in homogeneous areas vs Linkages between patterns; ? / Typology of homogeneous areas vs Clusters of patterns

Design with forms as well as patterns

The research investigates How can the morphological approach in combination with the pattern language approach assist urban designers to achieve historical continuity in urban design both on theory and application levels. This research overviews the developments and applications of the two approaches worldwide with a special emphasis on the Dutch school. The Dutch morphological reduction technique and the Dutch interpretation of a pattern language are used in the case study—Wuhan, a Chinese city—to study the transformation of urban form and life style. The multi-scalar historical morphological analysis results in an atlas that consists of four series of analytical maps on three levels of scale as well as 13 spatial structuring elements of the city; whereas the public life study results in a pattern book consisting of 20 individual patterns and three pattern languages. The practical implications and relevance for -- the design of -- the future of the city are discussed. The research is set up in a systematic and symmetrical manner for comparison of and reflection on the two approaches. It concludes that: The morphological approach can be used to interpret first space (perceived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space), whereas the pattern language approach can be used to interpret third space (lived space) and convey its information into second space (conceived space). The morphological approach has a tendency to work from large scale to small scale and the pattern language approach tends to be built up from small scale to large scale, whereas urban design works with multiple scales at the same time. The morphological approach and the pattern language approach provide means for urban designers to systematically recognize historical layers so as to distill the meaning in the physical and non-physical contexts respectively. Consirately adding another layer that contains the contemporary meaning (design intervention) to these recognized layers is the way to pass down and simultaneously generate incremental change in the tradition of the context. This results in historical continuity and thus in permanence in urban design. The morphological approach, the pattern language approach, and urban design are processes in themselves and can be combined into one integrated process. The morphological approach, the pattern language approach and urban design are characterized by reduction, abstraction, interpretation, and communication. Some properties of the two approaches can be seen as counterparts, because the roles these properties play in the design process tend to be similar: –– Individual homogeneous areas vs Individual patterns; –– Structural homogeneous areas vs Anchoring points/ Structuring patterns; –– Secondary connections in homogeneous areas vs Linkages between patterns; –– ? / Typology of homogeneous areas vs Clusters of pattern

Mapping Wuhan

Chinese cities have been expanding since the early 1980s under trends of rapid modernization, urbanization and globalization. Since then they have changed dramatically, and have in the process lost many of their traditional environments and spatial characteristics. Urban planners and designers have been and are facing unprecedented challenges in China. They not only have to learn to understand the constantly emerging new urban mechanisms, and seek balance among stakeholders, but they also need to cope with the political pressures and the changing context under often extreme time pressure. In such circumstances, future- and design-oriented analysis based on a designerly way of thinking is useful—if not indispensable—for understanding the existing city and deciding on its transformations in a responsible and accountable way that is communicable among designers and with the public. This is especially so, in light of the growing awareness—also in China—of the value and importance of local urban identity, that is always—at least partially—based on history. In this atlas the Delft method of historical morphological analysis is applied to the city of Wuhan, valuing the importance of and finding meaning in the local urban identity of a city with a population over 11 million with a floating population of 14 million. The series of maps show the urban development, covering a century and a half

Mapping Wuhan: Morphological atlas of the Urbanization of a Chinese City

Chinese cities have been expanding since the early 1980s under trends of rapid modernization, urbanization and globalization. Since then they have changed dramatically, and have in the process lost many of their traditional environments and spatial characteristics. Urban planners and designers have been and are facing unprecedented challenges in China. They not only have to learn to understand the constantly emerging new urban mechanisms, and seek balance among stakeholders, but they also need to cope with the political pressures and the changing context under often extreme time pressure. In such circumstances, future- and design-oriented analysis based on a designerly way of thinking is useful—if not indispensable—for understanding the existing city and deciding on its transformations in a responsible and accountable way that is communicable among designers and with the public. This is especially so, in light of the growing awareness—also in China—of the value and importance of local urban identity, that is always—at least partially—based on history. In this atlas the Delft method of historical morphological analysis is applied to the city of Wuhan, valuing the importance of and finding meaning in the local urban identity of a city with a population over 11 million with a floating population of 14 million. The series of maps show the urban development, covering a century and a half

Bioinformatic and systems biology approach revealing the shared genes and molecular mechanisms between COVID-19 and non-alcoholic hepatitis

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic and poses a serious threat to human health. Many studies have shown that pre-existing nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) can worsen the clinical symptoms in patients suffering from COVID-19. However, the potential molecular mechanisms between NASH and COVID-19 remain unclear. To this end, key molecules and pathways between COVID-19 and NASH were herein explored by bioinformatic analysis.Methods: The common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between NASH and COVID-19 were obtained by differential gene analysis. Enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis were carried out using the obtained common DEGs. The key modules and hub genes in PPI network were obtained by using the plug-in of Cytoscape software. Subsequently, the hub genes were verified using datasets of NASH (GSE180882) and COVID-19 (GSE150316), and further evaluated by principal component analysis (PCA) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC). Finally, the verified hub genes were analyzed by single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and NetworkAnalyst was used for the analysis of transcription factor (TF)-gene interactions, TF-microRNAs (miRNA) coregulatory network, and Protein-chemical Interactions.Results: A total of 120 DEGs between NASH and COVID-19 datasets were obtained, and the PPI network was constructed. Two key modules were obtained via the PPI network, and enrichment analysis of the key modules revealed the common association between NASH and COVID-19. In total, 16 hub genes were obtained by five algorithms, and six of them, namely, Kruppel-like factor 6 (KLF6), early growth response 1 (EGR1), growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible 45 beta (GADD45B), JUNB, FOS, and FOS-like antigen 1 (FOSL1) were confirmed to be closely related to NASH and COVID-19. Finally, the relationship between hub genes and related pathways was analyzed, and the interaction network of six hub genes was constructed with TFs, miRNAs, and compounds.Conclusion: This study identified six hub genes related to COVID-19 and NASH, providing a new perspective for disease diagnosis and drug development