This book analyzes forms of architectures within the frame concept of geo-architecture, and looks into the interaction of architecture and its environment. It starts by discussing the collisions between architecture and geography, humanity, as well as other architectures and reflects on the ancient Chinese notion of emotional relief and expression through natural landscape. It then studies important transportation and scenic routes, like pavilions, towers, clan halls and villages within architectural systems. It also discusses the forms of geographic integration and isolation expressed through architecture, which reflects their historical and cultural context.This book is the first of a 4-volume book series. The series develops the innovative concept of "geo-architecture" by exploring the myriad influences of natural, human and historical factors upon architecture. These influences are considered in three categories, namely, interaction between architecture and nature, interaction between architecture and its human users and change in architecture over time--each category serves as a lens. Augmenting these lenses is the Time-Person-Place concept applied different geographic. The analysis ultimately focuses on two aspects: geographic influence on architecture and architectural response to geography. The over 1000 pictures of case architectures enriches the study with stunning and unique visual angles. "This unprecedented work will be a unique and valuable contribution to the literature. Integrating as it does the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and geography, Wang Fang's voice is original, compelling, and will be much appreciated by English-speaking readers (and inside China, too, I can only imagine.)" Stephen M Ervin Assistant Dean Graduate School of Design, Harvard University July 2nd, 2013 "One reason for why there would be interest is because her research would fill some significant gaps in the literature.What is novel about Dr. Wang's series is that she further extends this intellectual project of looking at Chinese architecture through Chinese eyes, by taking it one provocative step further."Annette M. Kim Associate Professor Department of Urban Studies and Planning, M.I.T. July 1st, 2013

This book presents a selection of the best papers from the HEaRT 2013 conference, held in Cosenza, Italy, which provided a valuable forum for engineers and architects, researchers and educators to exchange views and findings concerning the technological history, construction features and seismic behavior of historical timber-framed walls in the Mediterranean countries. The topics covered are wide ranging and include historical aspects and examples of the use of timber-framed construction systems in response to earthquakes, such as the gaiola system in Portugal and the Bourbon system in southern Italy; interpretation of the response of timber-framed walls to seismic actions based on calculations and experimental tests; assessment of the effectiveness of repair and strengthening techniques, e.g., using aramid fiber wires or sheets; and modelling analyses. In addition, on the basis of case studies, a methodology is presented that is applicable to diagnosis, strengthening and improvement of seismic performance and is compatible with modern theoretical principles and conservation criteria. It is hoped that, by contributing to the knowledge of this construction technique, the book will help to promote conservation of this important component of Europe's architectural heritage.

Over more than five decades, legendary architect Moshe Safdie has built some of the world's most influential and memorable structures - from the 1967 modular housing scheme in Montreal known as Habitat to the Marina Bay Sands development in Singapore. For Safdie, the way a space functions is fundamental; he is deeply committed to architecture as a social force for good, believing that any challenge, including extreme population density and environmental distress, can be addressed with solutions that enhance community and uplift the human spirit. If Walls Could Speak takes readers behind the veil of an essential yet mysterious profession to explain through Safdie's own experiences how an architect thinks and works - from the spark of imagination through the design process, the model-making, the politics, the engineering, the materials. Relating memorable stories about what has inspired him - from childhoods in Israel and Montreal to the projects and personalities worldwide that have captured his imagination - Safdie reveals the complex interplay that underpins every project and his vision for the role architecture can and should play in society at large. Illustrated throughout with drawings, sketches, photographs, and documents from his firm's voluminous archives, If Walls Could Speak is a book like no other, and will forever change the way you look at and appreciate any built structure.

This book provides an up-to-date coverage of green (vegetated) roof research, design, and management from an ecosystem perspective. It reviews, explains, and poses questions about monitoring, substrate, living components and the abiotic, biotic and cultural aspects connecting green roofs to the fields of community, landscape and urban ecology. The work contains examples of green roof venues that demonstrate the focus, level of detail, and techniques needed to understand the structure, function, and impact of these novel ecosystems. Representing a seminal compilation of research and technical knowledge about green roof ecology and how functional attributes can be enhanced, it delves to explore the next wave of evolution in green technology and defines potential paths for technological advancement and research.

Residents look at their neighborhood differently than visitors and designers do. The features that they see as most important can differ significantly, so that spaces that are viewed as successful by designers may be disliked by residents. Designers who hope to create successful residential environments can benefit from a more complete understanding of the residents' perspective and their priorities. This residents-eye-view is especially critical in troubled neighborhoods.

Brower compares the responses to the same environment by residents, tourists, and designers. Using observations, interviews, innovative survey methods, and an examination of the literature, he details accepted norms that govern who uses and controls neighborhood spaces, children's play networks, neighboring patterns, territorial behavior, and the personalization of space. Brower then describes the application of these ideas and findings in a series of design interventions in an inner city neighborhood in Baltimore. These interventions are thoroughly documented and evaluated, and the lessons learned from both successes and failures are used to inform design ouidelines for the study area. The interventions also help to define the role of outside professionals; in particular, the importance of involving residents in defining and resolving their own problems, and the need to accept space management and social organization as proper concerns of design. The book is written in clear, simple language, and uses drawings and photographs to illustrate the ideas presented.

A thematic reassessment of the work of two influential South African photographers.

This book focuses on a dialogue between two of the most important South African photographers of the twentieth century-David Goldblatt (1930-2018) and Santu Mofokeng (1956-2020). There are both profound similarities and differences between the two artists' work.

Goldblatt documented the ways in which architecture and spatial planning reflect the ideology of apartheid, and how the land continues to bear its legacy in post-apartheid South Africa. His investigations explore both actual structures and how mental constructs reveal how ideology has shaped our landscape. Mofokeng's photo essays shed light on everyday life in South Africa, beyond the stereo-typical news pictures of Soweto depicting violence or poverty. Deeply personal, they record communities in townships and rural areas, religious rituals and landscapes imbued not only with historical significance but spiritual meaning, memory and trauma.

The approach of Tamar Garb in Beyond the Binary is both daring and inquisitive-she "scrambles" and reassembles Mofokeng's and Goldblatt's photographs, blurring the boundaries between them and creates juxtapositions and insights that challenge prevailing views of these established images.

By delineating 15 viewpoints around the themes of "Earthscapes," "Edifices," and "Sociality," Garb decontextualizes the work and creates a platform for comparing and rethinking the artists' practices.

Distillation is an art. And even an ancient one. It is strange to find that the history of this oldest and still most important method of producing chemically pure substances has ever been written. The reader looking at the bibliography appended to this book might object that many data existed. This may be true but the proper history of the art from the origin up to the present time was lacking.

Way to the West is a glorious collection resulting from a collaboration between disciplines of art. Featuring twenty-five beautiful full-page watercolours alongside accompanying poems, its focus is on the western tip of Cornwall. For Andy and Vally Cornwall's geographical remoteness, its abiding attraction as a holiday location, its proud fishing and mining history and the varying and often dramatic moods of its weather and sea are an inspiration and cause for celebration. The profound emotional and psychological effects on visitors to Cornwall is not lost on the authors, who have a long association with the area, having walked its entire coastline and holidayed there for over a half a century. Way to the West is a celebration of the natural world and the home, the past and the present, and of the fierce interconnectedness of people with their landscape.

This book highlights the electronic governance in a smart city through case studies of cities located in many countries. "E-Government" refers to the use by government agencies of information technologies (such as Wide Area Networks, the Internet, and mobile computing) that have the ability to transform relations with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. These technologies can serve a variety of different ends: better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business and industry, citizen empowerment through access to information, or more efficient government management. The resulting benefits are less corruption, increased transparency, greater convenience, revenue growth, and/or cost reductions. The book is divided into three parts. * E-Governance State of the Art Studies of many cities * E-Governance Domains Studies * E-Governance Tools and Issues

This book explores mobilities as a key to understanding the practices that both frame and generate contemporary everyday life in the urban context. At the same time, it investigates the challenges arising from the interpretation of mobility as a socio-spatial phenomenon both in the social sciences and in urban studies. Leading sociologists, economists, urban planners and architects address the ways in which spatial mobilities contribute to producing diversified uses of the city and describe forms and rhythms of different life practices, including unexpected uses and conflicts. The individual sections of the book focus on the role of mobility in transforming contemporary cities; the consequences of interpreting mobility as a socio-spatial phenomenon for urban projects and policies; the conflicts and inequalities generated by the co-presence of different populations due to mobility and by the interests gathered around major mobility projects; and the use of new data and mapping of mobilities to enhance comprehension of cities. The theoretical discussion is complemented by references to practical experiences, helping readers gain a broader understanding of mobilities in relation to the capacity to analyze, plan and design contemporary cities.

Recently a renewed emphasis on the benefits of proper use of natural light has focused attention on the need to define a new paradigm - to properly assess the variability of the amount light that can be used not only to enhance the presence of natural light as a instrument to outline expressively the indoor space, but also to reduce the demand for electricity and thermal energy consumption in buildings.This title deals with the many advantages associated to the use of natural light, comparing architectural experiences, technological devices and calculation methods. It explores the spatial qualities of built environments through the use of natural light, involving energy saving strategies and visual comfort definition, although in current architectural practice, daylight is a deeply underexploited natural resource. A proper natural lighting system, tailored to the requirements of architectural form and customized to occupants functional desires is an essential support to modern climate control policies, as well as to energy-saving measures and in reducing thermal loads.An in-depth investigation on the different methods of assessment natural light highlights deficiencies and inaccuracies, showing the need to define a new calculation procedure that merges purely qualitative assessment with the new dynamic approach, involving users' preferences. Primarily intended for architects and designers, this book provides an introduction to the types of problems encountered and current available solutions to enhance and to convey the right dose of daylight inside the buildings, with a deep attention to energy saving strategies and to indoor visual comfort. Written for practitioners whose work is related to design and retrofit actions, the book will also be of interest to postgraduate students and lecturers dealing with indoor design optimization and energy saving issues.

The book reveals how green buildings are currently being adapted and applied in developing countries. It includes the major developing countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, Cambodia, Ghana, Nigeria and countries from the Middle East and gathers the insights of respected green building researchers from these areas to map out the developing world's green building revolution. The book highlights these countries' contribution to tackling climate change, emphasising the green building benefits and the research behind them. The contributing authors explore how the green building revolution has spread to developing countries and how national governments have initiated their own green building policies and agendas. They also explore how the market has echoed the green building policy, and how a business case for green buildings has been established. In turn, they show how an international set of green building standards, in the form of various techniques and tools, has been incorporated into local building and construction practices. In closing, they demonstrate how the developing world is emerging as a key player for addressing the energy and environmental problems currently facing the world. The book helps developers, designers and policy-makers in governments and green building stakeholders to make better decisions on the basis of global and local conditions. It is also of interest to engineers, designers, facility managers and researchers, as it provides a holistic picture of how the industry is responding to the worldwide call for greener and more sustainable buildings.