The concept of saving a building from destruction by moving it is nothing new. But with creative thinking and passion, traditional techniques have played a new role in Taiwan. This study reveals that both ″Community Development by Participation″ and the ″Historic Preservation Movement″ between the 1980s and 1990s offered the opportunity for the transformation of techniques for moving endangered buildings. The reasons for their success are not only the fostering of a subjectively supportive atmosphere, but also the advantages offered by the techniques themselves. Based on low-tech and economical principles, moving buildings became an acceptable alternative to demolition. Moreover, its participation-friendly character also encouraged citizens to become actively involved in the building-moving process. Thus, building-moving techniques have played an important role in the historic preservation movement in Taiwan over the past ten years by, among other things:
1. The establishment of a participatory platform: The application of the available techniques provided opportunities for negotiation and communication between private and public sectors. With this advantage, the crisis of demolition was delayed, while the participatory platform was taking shape.
2. The concept of ″Temporary Revitalization″: As the technology to move buildings expanded, the concept of extracting a building from the threatened site and then returning it to its original location emerged. Between removing the building and replacing it, its "revitalization" as a temporary exhibition space providing a window for future development was invented.

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It is important to carry out research into historical architecture before buildings are lost to demolition or decay, a risk that is particularly great in rapidly growing developing countries. The historic town of Gondar, Ethiopia, has a wealth of historical architecture, including a palace that is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage property, as well as traditional houses and Italian-style buildings constructed during the Italian occupation. These buildings have been examined, but the research has not been thorough enough. In my previous research, I looked at the construction of these buildings, and described details such as the distribution of the buildings, their ownership and uses, their height and current condition and how they are being preserved. Here, I focus on the methods and materials used in the construction of Gondar′s Italian-style buildings, and attempt to clarify their features, any damage they have incurred, and the key issues involved in their preservation.

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This study is an attempt to construct a spatial database that captures the heterogeneous character of the residential district in the medieval city of Kamakura. The landscape in Kamakura is mainly housing and alleys multi-layered on a historical urban frame. The landscape is apparently a miscellany of irrelevant artifacts, and thus, contemporary planning is limited to individual preservation. In contrast, the historical urban frame is almost imperceptible from the perspective of residential artifacts.
In this study, archival research is undertaken in terms of site, architecture and street network to reveal characteristics in different stages. By further analysis, artifacts are sorted and interrelated to clarify the structure and spatial features unique to this district. As a conclusion, possible typologies and spatial trends are suggested, which can lead to methods of synthetic preservation/reconstruction of the landscape.

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This paper investigates and analyzes a typology of the plan and structure of the Javanese mosque and its distribution. The study will focus on the plan of the main prayer hall and the soko guru principle structure (master pillars in the centre of the main prayer hall, supporting the upper hipped roof of the mosque) since these two elements and the roof are the main characteristics of the Javanese mosque. Until today these were generally well-preserved elements. The study investigates and analyzes 127 mosques that were constructed in the 15^th-19^th centuries in Java. Based on this analysis, the paper argues that the main/original mosque type is square in plan with four master-pillars in the centre of the main prayer hall. It also finds and argues that there are many variations on these two elements in its development, but the main type is evenly spread throughout Java Island.

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This research focuses primarily on the Taiwan Exhibition (1935) with particular reference to its archetype, the Great Exhibition (1851). Through these, this paper considers the concepts and appearance of world exhibitions. It also discusses how they became a spatial venue to show ″modernity″ and ″colonialism″ in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
It starts with a description of the history and concepts of world exhibitions, and follows with a discussion of modernity and colonialism. Since the nineteenth century, world exhibitions have been regarded as the most meaningful invention of ″modernity″. These not only present the exhibition of commodities, but also reflect the turning point in industrialization. However, camouflaged by the cover of modernization, world exhibitions essentially revealed the ideologies of imperialism and colonialism.
Although postdating the Great Exhibition by almost eighty years, this essay will suggest that the Taiwan Exhibition, the greatest exhibition held in Japanese colonial territories, conveyed the same ideologies of modernity and colonialism. It seems that there are unexpected similarities between these two events in completely different times, 1851 and 1935, and places, the west and the east.

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This paper presents the result of a study based on a selection of writings produced by Antonin Raymond in Japan and America between 1935 and 1964, which are considered by the author as the best expression of the architect's way of thinking. This study is part of a larger research on the residential architecture designed by Antonin Raymond in pre Second World War Japan. The research explores more particularly the idea of ′synthesis′ in Raymond's architecture, a synthesis between western principles of modern architecture and Japanese principles of design and conception of space. The present paper aims to present the result of a study on the definition of ″the Architect″ based on Antonin Raymond's way of thinking, and to show that the architect himself is a man of synthesis. It also provides the opportunity to present a series of writings which have not yet been thoroughly analyzed, nor published in English. Through the selection of a number of keywords contained in the texts, we were able to distinguish three themes, which embody the core characteristics of the ″Architect″ in Antonin Raymond's way of thinking. They are embodied in the three words artist, engineer, and guide.

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The subject of this paper is devoted to a short summary of the ″city planning/utopia″ combination that influenced most of the urban projects developed in Japan for its capital in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It aims to illustrate the relationship between the geneses of the visionary experiments of a new generation of architects, and the economic and cultural background of postwar Japan, at the dawn of its economic miracle. Focusing on the elements that promoted a strong criticism of current city planning methodologies, the paper attempts to further describe and clarify the origin of a period of insightful research in the field of urban design, that fostered the search for new design principles suitable to express the dynamic changes of Japanese cities led by several factors, that were especially evident in the case of Tokyo.

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In recent years, Chinese house production has reached the vast scale of ten million units each year, many of which are being commercialized. China has gradually developed a unique form of two-stage unit realization where the unit owner, the long-term lessee, endeavors to procure fitting out. This causes various risks for the stakeholders, such as the authority, the developer, the infill supplier and especially the owner. The authors have investigated the state-of-the-art of the fitting out practice for multi-family housing in Chinese metropolises, and structured the risks imposed on the stakeholders. Having found a similarity in the supply pattern with single-family detached housing rather than multi-family housing in other countries, a viable means to avoid the risks was sought. Proposed in this paper is a system which combines incremental inspection with escrow service, a type which has already been introduced to the custom-built single family housing market in Japan.

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A city is a spatial system that is generated in the process of searching for an ideal form. From the structure of a city, we can find paradigms of the past in which worldviews of the society are instilled. Baroque, to be studied in this paper, is interpreted as a change from ′limitation′ to ′infinity′. There are many studies that investigated Baroque but they see the change from a single viewpoint of either cosmology or practicality. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to combine these two viewpoints for a comprehensive understanding of what paradigm has formed Baroque cities. Practicality is revealed by means of Space Syntax and our new concept, Urban Entropy Coefficient (: UEC), which is then related to cosmology. We conclude that the intention of Baroque was to configure a Multi-Center layout for the dynamic function of the city.

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In this research, we attempt to highlight the differences between specialists and non-specialists in their overall approach and memory skills by comparing their ′micro acts′ patterns, as they are constructing ′models′ using 1:10 scale LEGO(R) blocks. By focusing on 50 subjects (with and without architectural backgrounds), we observed and identified different patterns of combination and various transitional stages in their ′main micro acts′ (attach act, detach act and pause act) during the construction of models under the proposed brief.
On the contrary to our first hypothesis, although subjects with architectural background applied more disrupted micro acts patterns during construction, it does not necessarily mean that they would replicate the required task as ′fluently′ as other subjects with no architectural background. We noticed that a portion of the specialists who engaged the tasks more carefully initially also displayed some form of difficulties when attempting to replicate the models in the second trial. In contrast, there are a number of non-specialists who remembered better than their specialist counterparts, thus questioning the implications of ′subconscious playing′ and ′conscious constructing′.

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The modernization of African cities, shifted toward decentralization in the early 90s, with state commitment to creating a platform for human resource development and poverty alleviation.The urbanization of West African cities occurred through transformations of socio-cultural structures resulting from colonial practices, leading to a rupture between tradition and modernization. This paper seeks to clarify the essence of changes that affect the spatial and social core of West African cities. Our research focuses on the transformation of Bamako and Segou and consists of (1) a comparative study of city forms, (2) a linguistic study of city words rooted in an historical assessment of spaces, and (3) a comparison of regional development between Bamako and Segou. Our results clarified the different ways in which the breakdown in communication between planning authorities and the proponents of local tradition have influenced the process of urban space.

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′Rehabilitation′ and ′reconstruction′ projects for natural disaster stricken areas have always posed questions to the physical, social and financial aspects of the victims. With appropriate measures undertaken by the respective governments in executing rehabilitation and reconstruction projects, the community and the livelihoods of disaster-affected victims could be better restored. This research aims to investigate the viability of the recovery strategies undertaken by the Malaysian Government in its aims to alleviate the hardships of the tsunami-affected communities based on a questionnaire survey.

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In the metropolis of Eastern Asia a new category of space is unfolding: dividual space. Consisting of commercial settings that are publicly used as private domestic environments, prices are comparatively low enough to turn these spaces into an integral part of public life. This paper takes the city of Tokyo as a study field to document the emergence of dividual space and to identify its main spatial characteristics.

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Generally the analysis of steel moment resisting frames has been performed without considering the accurate connection behaviors. However, a number of beam-column connections of the steel moment resisting systems raised sudden fracture resulted in enormous economical loss in recent earthquakes. In this study, the analytical modeling of Korean beam-column connections in steel moment resisting frames was proposed based on the experimental studies of other researchers. The adopted computer program for inelastic analysis was DRAIN-2DX, and the standard element type was set to the Element Type 10 in DRAIN-2DX for panel zones and beam-connections. The inelastic analysis results of the example structure with connection modeling were compared to those of the structures without connection modeling.

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This paper presents experimental investigations of a bond-strengthening method for reinforced concrete (RC) beams and columns, which consist of 1300 MPa-class spirals as shear reinforcement. This method uses U-shaped bars (hooks) made of normal strength steel. The hooks are applied to longitudinal bars as supplemental lateral reinforcement. The hooks increased the bond strength along longitudinal bars, resulting in a remarkable improvement in the members' shear capacity.
Experimental observation indicated that a hook′s anchor requires a stress-transmitting zone in the concrete within 15 times the hook diameter. Based on this observation, the authors proposed limiting the bond-strengthening effectiveness by introducing an effective number of hook anchors N_be. The AIJ Guideline-based equations were used to rationally evaluate the shear capacities of the members.
When the 1300 MPa-class spirals are adopted in constructing RC buildings, however, structural designers prefer to design with a guideline evaluated by the Building Center of Japan (BCJ-C1166) than with the AIJ Guideline because the latter underestimates the effectiveness of the spiral. Hence, this paper extends the BCJ Guideline to estimate the shear capacities of RC members with hooks. The extended guideline was corroborated with the test results of 28 specimens.

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In this paper, a new method for estimating the load and resistance factors using the first three moments of random variables is proposed. Unlike the currently used method, the load and resistance factors can be determined without using distributions of random variables, and the present method needs neither the iterative computation of derivatives nor any design points. The present method can effectively reflect the characteristics of the skewness of random variables and the performance function, and generally provide much more accurate results than the second moment method. Thus, the present method should be convenient and more effective in estimating the load and resistance factors in practical engineering. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the advantages of the present method.

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ECC is a pseudo-strain-hardening, highly ductile cementitious composite. However, the major studies on this material have been limited to laboratory scale without experience in full-scale plants. Thus, practical applications of ECC have not been previously investigated. In the current study, full-scale processing experiments were executed, and mechanical and fresh properties were tested, where emphasis was placed on two types of tensile test. It was thus proven that ECC can provide excellent fresh and mechanical properties in full scale production, and a statistical basis for determining tensile property specifications was provided. Furthermore, it was found that flexural tests can be utilized for inspecting tensile properties in daily production. These experimental data were reflected in an actual building construction project that was designed to utilize ECC structural elements. As a result, ECC element production was successfully achieved with the required quality in this project.

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The effect of soil-structure interaction is generally ignored in the design process of low-rise buildings resting on shallow foundations though it has been shown that ignoring such effect may lead to unsafe seismic design. In the present paper, the effect of soil flexibility on base shear and uncoupled torsional-to-lateral natural period ratio, two crucial design parameters in the elastic range, is examined in a comprehensive manner. Variation of such quantities with different influential parameters has been studied considering the effect of soil-flexibility. Apart from reiterating the need significance of soil-flexibility effect for safe seismic design, a large number of rationally derived curves have been presented to incorporate this effect in seismic design with ease and convenience. The exhaustive range of case studies encompassed through such curves may be useful to the designers to easily account for such effect for most of the practically encountered low-rise buildings if needed, through interpolation. Furthermore, the trend observed in such soil flexibility effect is also highlighted to provide physical insight into the issue.

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Ternary blended cements are often used in cement manufacture using industrial waste and natural resources to produce a low cost and an environment friendly cement. Ternary blended cements also have the advantage of combining the synergic effects of their ingredients, which compensate for their mutual weaknesses. In this paper, the effect of combining a very active mineral addition (silica fume) SF on the mechanical properties and durability of cements containing natural pozzolana NP is analyzed. The optimal couples ″natural pozzolana/silica fume″ proposal is based on their mechanical properties and durability performance. The results confirm that the use of ternary cements contributes to the improvement of strength at an early stage. Better resistance to sulphate and acid attacks and less chloride ions penetration also enhanced durability.

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The behavior of indoor particulate matter as it relates to pets was studied from the viewpoint of architectural hygiene. The viable particles from pets can be classified into two types, pathogenic microorganisms and pet allergens. This study investigated Pasteurella, which is a pathogenic organ of Pasteurellosis, dog allergen Can f1 and cat allergen Fel d1 in eight dwellings in Tokyo. In six of these dwellings (the case dwellings), the dogs and/or cats were allowed free access to indoor areas. Pasteurella and the pet allergens were quantified by biochemical and immunological methods, respectively. The relationship between suspended particles and airborne Fel d1 was also examined.
Three species, P. canis, P. dagmatis and P. multocida, were isolated from the oral cavity of the dogs and cats. In the six case dwellings, dust allergen Can f1 and Fel d1 ranged from 1 to 1000 μg allergen/g dust and 100 to 5000 μg/g, respectively. The indoor air of the case dwellings contained concentrations of airborne Fel d1 ranging from 10 to 100 ng of allergen/m³ air. In addition, there was a significant relationship between the distributed concentration of suspended particles larger than 5 μm and airborne Fel d1 (P< 0.01). These findings suggest that the traditional reduction method for coarse particles, for example the use of a domestic air filtration cleaner, may be effective in removing airborne pet allergens.

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The energy consumption and indoor temperature of 13 housing units sited in the northern region of Honshu Island, Japan were investigated for a full two years from Dec. 2002 to Nov. 2004. Five of the houses were installed with all-electric equipment. The annual and daily energy consumption profiles of two typical houses were analyzed, and the annual energy consumption per house was found to range from 40GJ/year to 120GJ/year. The difference of energy consumption between the two years was very small, while in some houses, energy consumption during the second year decreased due to a rise in energy saving awareness. The results indicated that the characteristics of energy consumption were not only greatly influenced by regional climate but also by the use of household equipment and lifestyle. Finally, the relationship between energy consumption for space heating and indoor temperature is discussed.

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In this study, using an indoor airflow analysis model established for housing units, a computer simulation was conducted to investigate the indoor-to-outdoor and room-to-room ventilation performance in multi-housing. In the computer simulation, actual measured ventilation performance data were used as the input conditions for the airflow analysis program COMIS, in which a network model for indoor airflow analysis was employed. A prediction model was developed to evaluate the ventilation performance of multi-family housing based on multiple regression analysis with the data obtained in the computer simulation.

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This paper investigates the living environment in a residential area at Taman Melati in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Traffic volume, NO₂ emissions, noise level and streetlight illuminance were variables selected to measure the living environment. A questionnaire was also used to evaluate residents′ perceptions regarding their living environment. A high average traffic volume of about 7,800 vehicles per hour, especially along the arterial road (major road) was reported. Generally, a noise level in the range of 50-70 dB was measured in the residential area, and the average L_Aeq near the arterial road was about 76 dB. NO₂ concentration in the residential area varied widely, between 0.01 ppm and 0.04 ppm; the average NO₂ concentration was 0.018 ppm. The horizontal streetlight illuminance was measured under all streetlights and at every 5 m interval. The illuminance near the streetlights was high, but was low between them. Traffic noise proved to be a major limitation concerning a healthy living environment according to the residents of the study area. Even so, more than half the residents in the study area expressed satisfaction with the present living environment.

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This paper discusses the evaluation of a proposed combined heat and power (CHP) system for Jin Mao Tower (JM Tower), a commercial building in the centre of Shanghai. Because of the essential similarity in climate condition and latitude between Shanghai and Tokyo, electricity and heating consumption estimates are based on available Tokyo data. However this study does point out degree-days in order to guarantee the accuracy of energy consumption intensities of Shanghai. Two types of energy supply systems are considered: conventional and CHP. Environmental impact and economic efficiency are evaluated regarding the efficiency of both systems. Relative to the conventional system, CHP is capable of reducing the primary energy consumption by 23% and CO₂ emission by 36%. The total annual running cost savings - the sum of energy, maintenance, and labour costs - are 11.8 million RMB, with a payback period of 3.8 years.

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In this paper, seven cases with three different options for energy provision, PV, co-generation and all-electrified system, have been assumed for a detached house. In order to obtain an energy-saving effect, a new theory concerning the determination of running schedule for the co-generation system has been presented. On this basis, the outcomes for various options have been evaluated regarding the energy-saving, environmental and economic effects. The results can be summarized as follows:
(1) A function relationship between the heat-to-power ratio and energy saving has been proposed. Moreover, expressions to calculate the minimum thermal utilization efficiency and the electric generating efficiency for the track electricity and track thermal operation modes also have been derived.
(2) Energy supply systems using PV can achieve excellent effects considering each evaluating index. However, because of the high initial cost, the payback period is longer than for other systems, at more than 9 years.
(3) The co-generation system can achieve energy-saving and environmental effects. In addition, with the remarkably low running cost, its payback period is less than 4 years.
(4) The energy saving and environmental effect of the all-electrified energy supply system depends on the COP/efficiency performance of electricity consumption equipment. However, the economic effect is excellent compared with the reference system.

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As a result of global warming people are paying more attention to the use of natural energy, such as solar power. As one of the main forms of solar energy, photovoltaic (PV) power generators have been developed rapidly in the past few years. Proper installation, especially the tilt angle, directly affects the system's output. Determination of the optimal tilt angle of a solar cell module depends on the solar radiation characteristics, season, and reflectivity in the local area.
This paper evaluates the performance of four small PV modules at different tilt angles, and analyzes the relationship of solar radiation power output with tilt angle by using actual measurement data at Kitakyushu city. A calculation method for optimal tilt angle is then presented using horizontal and diffuse radiation. The method has been verified through comparison with the experimental data. In addition, the sensitivity of optimal tilt angle to radiation rate, reflection rate, solar declination and latitude have been studied through parameter analysis.

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This research investigates and analyzes the current condition of urban and rural residential energy consumption of Jilin Province, China, by establishing a model of residential energy demand. The model can predict such energy demand based on the demand types and environmental load of Jilin Province until 2020. Compared with 2000, rural residential energy demand will reduce approximately 25% in 2020, because of the decrease of rural population per household, while the urban residential energy demand will grow about 2.5 times in 2020, because of the increased urban population and rising standard of living. At the same time, compared with 2000, CO₂ emissions resulting from rural residential energy consumption will grow approximately 10% in 2020. The basic reason for this is the increase of electricity consumption by rural residents. CO₂ emissions from urban residential energy consumption will grow about three times in 2020.

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The purposes of this study are to look into the actuality of rural residential energy consumption in Hunan province, China, to improve energy utilization structure, and to protect the environment. An investigation on rural residential energy consumption was carried out in the villages of Xintian and Jiangwan from March to May 2005. Common energy is used in Xintian while marsh gas is popularized in Jiangwan. A questionnaire survey covered basic information of residences in the two villages, and energy consumption of each family was also tracked continuously. In this paper, the energy utilization structures of the two villages are contrasted. Sequentially, the economic and environmental benefits are assessed when marsh gas substitutes biomass energy. The conclusions are summarized as follows: a complicated energy structure is still dominant, where biomass energy accounts for a significant proportion and manifold energies exist simultaneously; and consumption of the energy is high. Nevertheless the usage of marsh gas makes a great contribution in optimizing energy consumption structure, which could reduce energy consumption and domestic costs, discharge less harmful gases and keep the ecosystem in balance. The comparison between common energy and ecotype energy provides instructions for the future development of rural residential energy consumption.

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This study is being conducted to clarify the heat load characteristics of underground structures. The authors have sought to achieve this by clarifying the heat and moisture behavior of an underground basement and surrounding ground, and acquiring basic data for computational analysis. This paper presents measurement results acquired over approximately one year of field experiments on an underground experimental basement under internal heat generation conditions, commenced in October 2004. The authors also present the results of analyses on the heat and moisture behavior of the experimental basement and ground, the influence of internal heat generation on the surrounding ground, the condensation behavior, the interrelationship between precipitation and the fluctuation of moisture content in the ground, the annual mean heating load per unit area, and other factors.

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This paper presents a simple model of a distributed energy system, which was introduced in the Kitakyushu Science and Research Park, in order to evaluate the energy saving and operating characteristics of the distributed generation system. We analyzed the effects of fuel price and equipment efficiency on the operating time, running cost and energy saving. The increase of electricity price and decrease of gas price will enhance the attractiveness of the distributed energy resource. According to the load function of the system, energy-saving and environmental improvement will have a maximum value at its optimal operating time. Compared with heat recovery efficiency, power generation efficiency has more influence on energy saving and CO₂ reduction when total efficiency of the system is assured.

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In this paper, using historical weather observations, the trends of outdoor temperature and solar radiation were analyzed. A model to estimate cooling degree-hours was developed using daily average temperature and solar radiation as parameters. Using heating/cooling load models developed by the authors in previous studies, trends of heating and cooling loads of residential buildings at 22 Chinese locations were clarified. The main conclusions from this study are as follows: (1) The yearly average dry-bulb temperature has risen by 1.0 degree during the period of 1961-2000; (2) The increasing rate of outdoor temperature in January is larger than that in July; (3) Solar radiation is decreasing at most of the 22 locations; there is little difference between seasons in the decreasing trends; (4) The heating load is decreasing at all the 22 locations; (5) The increasing rate of cooling load is positive at some locations while negative at others; (6) With the improvement of thermal insulation of buildings, heating and cooling loads will be less affected by climate change.

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