Changing the Architectural Profession - Evidence-Based Design, the New Role of the User and a Process-Based Approach

The construction industry is characterised by ever-changing projects that constantly involve new clients, teams and people. This results in the need to build up new sets of relationships each time. Within these relationships the perspective of the users of space is mostly neglected, partly due to the ephemeral nature of the industry, but partly also because of the character and culture of the architectural profession. In contrast, this paper argues that the architectural profession needs to make a double turn: firstly, the needs and wishes of the user need to be in the centre of the architectural business. Secondly, the whole industry may change from a project-centred one into a process-based one where the process of finding out what the client needs, of engaging the users, proposing a design solution, managing the project, and evaluating its use and appropriation in the end in order to learn from it, is nearly as important as aesthetics, form and function. This involves a lot more intelligence and research about cultures and characteristics of the client, may it be a private person, a city council or a corporation, hence architectural and organisational research may play a new role in the architectural professional culture

Evidence-based design: theoretical and practical reflections of an emerging approach in office architecture

Evidence-based design is a practice that has emerged only relatively recently, inspired by a growing popularity of evidence-based approaches in other professions such as medicine. It has received greatest attention in design for the health sector, but has received less in office architecture, although this would seem not only to be beneficial for clients, but increasingly important in a changing business environment. This paper outlines the history and origins of evidence-based practice, its influence in the health sector, as well as some of the reasons why it has been found more difficult to apply in office architecture. Based on these theoretical reflections, data and experiences from several research case studies in diverse workplace environments are presented following a three part argument: firstly we show how organisational behaviours may change as a result of an organisation moving into a new building; secondly we argue that not all effects of space on organisations are consistent. Examples of both consistent and inconsistent results are presented, giving possible reasons for differences in outcomes. Thirdly, practical implications of evidence-based design are made and difficulties for evidence-based practice, for example the problem of investment of time, are reflected on. The paper concludes that organisations may be distinguished according to both their spatial and transpatial structure (referring to a concept initially introduced by Hillier and Hanson in their study of societies). This means that evidence-based design in office architecture needs to recognise that it deals with a multiplicity of possible organisational forms, with specific clients requiring case-dependent research and evidence gathering. In this evidence-based design practice differs markedly from evidence-based medicine. Finally, we suggest a framework for systematic review inclusion criteria in the development of Evidence-Based Design as a field of practice. We argue that it is only through the development of an approach tailored to the specific nature of design practice and organisational function that research evidence can properly be brought to bear

Effective workplaces – bridging the gap between architectural research and design practice.

Architectural researchers and design practitioners mostly segregate in distinct communities with hardly any overlap, collaboration or exchange of ideas. This gap between research and practice leads to a wide-spread ignorance and inability to make practical use of evidence produced by research, resulting too often in poor designs and a self-absorbed research that cannot make a difference to peoples’ everyday lives and spatial experience. In order to bridge the gap between architectural research and design practice, UCL’s Bartlett School of Graduate Studies and Spacelab Ltd. have commited themselves to a Knowledge Transfer Partnership on Effective Workplaces. Ideas and concepts on how to change architectural business to combine research and practice will be presented as well as the first analytical results from this newly started venture

Comparative studies of offices pre and post — how changing spatial configurations affect organisational behaviours

Understanding the way in which design interventions in an office affect everyday users, and thus shape organisational behaviour, should be high on the agenda for architects, designers and consultants alike. Surprisingly, this seems rarely to be the case. Here we aim to help close this gap by studying a variety of organisations in depth both before and after an office move from the point of view of design practice. This paper thus aims at understanding how a newly designed office is seen, used and filled with life by staff, so that planners can continuously and systematically reflect on and learn from experience, and create effective and well-used workplaces for the future. The research and reflective practice presented in this paper resulted from a collaboration on 'Effective Workplaces' between The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies at University College London and Spacelab architects. Insights from in-depth case studies conducted over the last four years on various corporate clients in the media sector in the UK will be drawn upon. The studies each compared an organisation before and after it moved into a Spacelab-designed office. Two different lines of argument will be presented: firstly, results of the pre-post comparison of organisations before and after moving into a newly designed space suggest that physical space influences the way in which organisations communicate, interact, and perform in many ways. Secondly, the practical side of evidence-based design will be discussed. It can be seen that designers would do things differently if they had had the specific evidence prior to the design process. At the same time, difficulties arise in conducting 'evidence-based' practice, for example the problem of time in a business environment where designers are often asked to deliver solutions within days or weeks, whereas gaining a good understanding of a complex organisation may take months. These issues will be reflected on. General conclusions on the use and usefulness of Space Syntax in an architectural practice will be drawn

Erosion and deposition in interplain channels of the Maury channel system

Large turbidity currents originating on the insular margin of southern lceland have flowed clown a 2 500 km-long pathway comprising rise valleys, unchanneled plains and segments of erosional and depositional deep-sea channels that are collectively called the Maury Channel system. Two steep interplain reaches of the channel have been eut up to 100 m through volcanogenic turbidites of probable La te Pleistocene age. Near-bottom observations with side-scan sonars and profllers across the upper channels (at 59°24\u27N, 18°50\u27W, 2 750 m depth) and at the lower interplain channel (around 56°23\u27N, 24°25\u27W, 3 340 m depth) defmed their structure and morphology. The upper channels, and a tributary to the lower channel, start as broad, shallow depressions that deepen and narrow downstream. The lower channel bas a pattern of anastomosing branches that probably evolved by head ward extension of low-angle tribu taries to the original sinuous channel, and its branches are at different stages of development. Several hundred bottom photographs show well-indurated rocks on channel walls and floors, with such flysch-like characteristics as cyclic graded bedding, clastic dikes, and syndepositional deformation. The lower-channel branches have been eut by turbidity currents with speeds of 5- 12 rn/sec., and combined discharges exceeding 1 x 106 m3 /sec. Bedrock erosion in and around the channels bas proceeded by intense corrasion and fluid stressing, and is marked by such small-scale effects as rock polishing, fluting, pot-holing and ledge recession. Rockfalls have caused retreat of steep channel walls, and conglomerate or pcbbly mudstone deposits suggest that debris flows have been locally active. Sorne coarse debris delivered by these processes and clay halls torn from semi-lithifled outcrops remain in the channels, but the channel f1ll is generally thin, with a patch y veneer of pelagie mud that bas accumulated since the last major turbidity current event. The surfaces of the unconsolidated s~diment have been smoothed and lineated, or moulded into seo ur moats and occasional fields of ripples, by thermohaline currents

Improved performance of motor-drive systems by SAW shaft torque feedback

The paper describes the application of a non-contact, high bandwidth, low cost, SAW-based torque measuring system for improving the dynamic performance of industrial process motor-drive systems. Background to the SAW technology and its motor integration is discussed and a resonance ratio control (RRC) technique for the coordinated motion control of multi-inertia mechanical systems, based on the measurement of shaft torque via a SAW-based torque sensor is proposed. Furthermore, a new controller structure, RRC plus disturbance feedback is proposed, which enables the controller to be designed to independently satisfy tracking and regulation performance. A tuning method for the RRC structure is given based on the ITAE index, normalized as a function of the mechanical parameters enabling a direct performance comparison between a basic proportional and integral (PI) controller. The use of a reduced-order state observer is presented to provide a dynamic estimate of the load-side disturbance torque for a multi-inertia mechanical system, with an appraisal of the composite closed-loop dynamics. The control structures are experimentally validated and demonstrate significant improvement in dynamic tracking performance, whilst additionally rejecting periodic load side disturbances, a feature previously unrealisable except by other, high-gain control schemes that impose small stability margins

Revision of the New World Heteromeringia (Diptera: Clusiidae: Clusiodinae).

Die 18 neuweltlichen Arten von Heteromeringia Czerny, 1903 werden revidiert inklusive Beschreibung von 10 neuen Arten (H. apholis sp. n. (Mexiko), H. aphotisma sp. n. (Brasilien), H. decora sp. n. (Mexiko), H. lateralis sp. n. (Costa Rica), H. mediana sp. n. (Brasilien), H. nanella sp. n. (Brasilien), H. nervosa sp. n. (Costa Rica), H. quadriseta sp. n. (Ecuador, Peru), H. volcana sp. n. (Costa Rica) und H. zophina sp. n. (Mexiko)). Die nearktische Unterart H. nitida nigripes Melander & Argo, 1924 wird zur Art erhoben. Die H. nitida-Artengruppe und die H. czernyi-Artengruppe werden aufgestellt, und die Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse der letzteren (ausschließlich neotropischen) Gruppe werden diskutiert. Sobarocephala subfasciata Curran, 1939 wird synonymisiert mit H. czernyi Kertesz, 1903. Heteromeringia dimidiata Hennig, 1938 wird in die Gattung Sobarocephala Czerny, 1903 comb. n. gestellt. Heteromeringia tephrinos nomen nov. wird als Ersatzname vorgeschlagen für die afrotropische H. nigrifrons Lamb, 1914, ein jüngeres primäres Homonym von H. nigrifrons Kertesz, 1903. Die Biologie von Heteromeringia wird diskutiert und ein Bestimmungsschlüssel für die neuweltlichen Arten wird vorgestellt. Zum ersten Mal wird aggressives Verhalten innerhalb der Gattung beschrieben: Männchen von H. nitida benutzen ihre zweifarbigen Vorderbeine zur Verteidigung von Paarungsrevieren.StichwörterHeteromeringia, H. czernyi species group, H. nitida species group, Clusiidae, Diptera, New World, revision, new species, stat. n., syn. n., comb. n., nomen n., biology, behaviour.Nomenklatorische Handlungenapholis Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.aphotisma Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.decora Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.flavipes (Williston, 1896) (Heteromeringia), Lectotype described as Heteroneura flavipeslateralis Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.mediana Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nanella Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nervosa Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nigripes Melander & Argo, 1924 (Heteromeringia), stat. n. described as Heteromeringia nitida var. nigripesquadriseta Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.tephrinos Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), nom. n. pro Heteromeringia nigrifrons Lamb, 1914, nec Kertesz, 1903volcana Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.zophina Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.dimidiata (Hennig, 1938) (Sobarocephala), comb. n. hitherto Heteromeringia dimidiatasubfasciata Curran, 1939 (Sobarocephala), syn. n. of Heteromeringia czernyi Kertesz, 1903The 18 New World species of Heteromeringia Czerny, 1903 are revised, with 10 species described as new: H. apholis sp. n. (Mexico), H. aphotisma sp. n. (Brazil), H. decora sp. n. (Mexico), H. lateralis sp. n. (Costa Rica), H. mediana sp. n. (Brazil), H. nanella sp. n. (Brazil), H. nervosa sp. n. (Costa Rica), H. quadriseta sp. n. (Ecuador, Peru), H. volcana sp. n. (Costa Rica) and H. zophina sp. n. (Mexico). The Nearctic H. nitida nigripes Melander & Argo, 1924 is raised from subspecies to species. The H. nitida species group and the H. czernyi species group are erected, and species relationships are discussed for the latter (entirely neotropical) group. Sobarocephala subfasciata Curran, 1939 is included as a junior synonym of H. czernyi Kertesz, 1903. Heteromeringia dimidiata Hennig, 1938 is moved to Sobarocephala Czerny, 1903 comb. n. Heteromeringia tephrinos nomen n. is provided as a replacement name for the Afrotropical H. nigrifrons Lamb, 1914, which is a junior primary homonym of H. nigrifrons Kertesz, 1903. The biology of Heteromeringia is discussed, and a key is provided for all New World species. Agonistic interactions are described for this genus for the first time, with H. nitida Johnson, 1913 males recorded as using bicoloured forelegs to defend mating territories.KeywordsHeteromeringia, H. czernyi species group, H. nitida species group, Clusiidae, Diptera, New World, revision, new species, stat. n., syn. n., comb. n., nomen n., biology, behaviour.Nomenclatural Actsapholis Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.aphotisma Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.decora Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.flavipes (Williston, 1896) (Heteromeringia), Lectotype described as Heteroneura flavipeslateralis Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.mediana Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nanella Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nervosa Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.nigripes Melander & Argo, 1924 (Heteromeringia), stat. n. described as Heteromeringia nitida var. nigripesquadriseta Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.tephrinos Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), nom. n. pro Heteromeringia nigrifrons Lamb, 1914, nec Kertesz, 1903volcana Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.zophina Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007 (Heteromeringia), spec. n.dimidiata (Hennig, 1938) (Sobarocephala), comb. n. hitherto Heteromeringia dimidiatasubfasciata Curran, 1939 (Sobarocephala), syn. n. of Heteromeringia czernyi Kertesz, 190

A minimum price per unit of alcohol: A focus group study to investigate public opinion concerning UK government proposals to introduce of new price controls to curb alcohol consumption.

UK drinkers regularly consume alcohol in excess of guideline limits. One reason for this may be the high availability of low-cost alcoholic beverages. The introduction of a minimum price per unit of alcohol policy has been proposed as a means to reduce UK alcohol consumption. However, there is little in-depth research investigating public attitudes and beliefs regarding a minimum pricing policy. The aim of the present research was to investigate people's attitudes and beliefs toward the introduction of a minimum price per unit of alcohol policy and their views on how the policy could be made acceptable to the general public