This research is focused on the traditional machiya (buildings which were and in some cases still are both used as dwellings and places of work) in the Shimotsui district and the Odagun Yakage-Cho area of the City of Kurashiki, in Okayama Prefecture. Ceremonies, events and the various celebrations going along with the life of people living in the machiya have been taking place for many centuries. We tried to investigate where such (ceremonies were actually held so that we could learn how the spaces in the Machiya have functioned:) marriage ceremonies, funeral services, delivery of a baby, as well as annual events such as New Year celebrations, Bon (Festival of the Dead, or the Buddhist All Soul's Day) and neighborhood meetings. We surveyed a total of 76 buildings in the two areas mentioned, first by surveying the buildings in their present state. Then we tried to make graphic reconstructions of them in their original form, and finally we recorded exactly where the various ceremonies and events of the types mentioned above had taken place, by interviewing the elder members of the families living there. MAIN FINDINGS 1. The main ceremonies, celebrations and events of the types mentioned took place in at least one of the spaces (rooms) of the machiya, and the locations were fixed. 2. The various ceremonies, celebrations and events had a direct relationship with the locations in which they took place. That relationship was either with the same location or with a different location. 3. There was a distinction in the way that the different areas of the building were used for ceremonies, celebrations and events for the living and those for the dead. 4. If machiya has one or more of spaces with a tokonoma (either a fixed or temporary place of celebration or decoration), they were rather used specifically for different purposes. However, there was very little difference in that usage even when there were more than three such spaces. 5. In a “linear” type of machiya the okunoma (the space most distant from the street) had two uses: it was either used as a place for people to sit at Bon celebrations and at funeral ceremonies, or as a place to eat. In some cases the distinction was less well defined. 6. In those buildings with two stories, ceremonies for the dead were carried out on the lower level and a clear distinction of usage was made between ceremonies for the dead and those for the living. 7. Those buildings without a second storey were used in two ways. Various ceremonies, celebrations and events were either held in different spaces, or one space was put to several different usages.

View full abstract

Taiwan had been under the rule of Japan until the Second World War. So many official residences were constructed based on the construction of plans same as that using in Japan. Some of them were broken down, but some are still used for houses of Taiwanese people. This study is to investigate the differences of housing style between Japan and Taiwan from the viewpoint of the comparative theory of housing. It is based on the analysis of the trans-figuration of space by extension and reconstruction of this Japanese style house and living style of Taiwanese people. Main contents are the following (1) Mostly families increase number of rooms by extension and reconstruction. The reasons are * A chair-using-style room have only single function. * Though mat (tatami) rooms have diversified functions, the number of rooms (3 or 4) are not enough for living. (2) It is the principal that KYAKUCHO (a room for reception and relaxation) being arranged in front of the access and having considerable scale. But in the case of being unfit these conditions, to keep scale takes precedence and the position of KYAKUCHO is unstable. It is also seen the trend of extending KYAKUCHO by repair or removing a sliding door. (3) Considerable scale for a bed and furniture for living is necessary at SHUGASHITU (a master bedroom). Privacy also must be kept. So, if the room satisfied these conditions cannot be acquired in the original part, extension is done in many cases. Even in the case of sufficient scale being available, a partition is changed for privacy. (4) For outside space, a front yard oriented, traditional Taiwanese organization is succeeded. Most of KITAIRI-type houses use a back yard which originally should be a main garden, as a rear garden. So, there is a clear difference in the way of thinking for outside space between Taiwan and Japan. (5) Difference and variation are seen on the arrangement of the rooms. There is a strong demand to arrange KYAKUCHO in front and to keep its scale. In the case of the construction of plans being satisfied these conditions, the position of KYAKUCHO is comparatively stabilized. However, if GASHITU (a bedroom) is arranged at the back of KYAKUCHO, inconvenience would be occurred because of the passage by the room to a lavatory etc. That is why KYAKUCHO is arranged at the center of a house in many cases. On the other hand, there are some houses arranging KYAKUCHO in front by big alteration or changing the access. This shows deep-rooted tradition.

View full abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the transformation of form of houses and space configuration of new urban houses in Tohoku and to make the factors of the transformation clear. For this purpose, we established a concept of “KAMAEKATA” deducted from the concept of the Patterns of culture and investigation was made from the viewpoints of succession and transformation of the concept. This study is to follow the two studies “A Study of the Local color of Urban Houses in Tohoku District” conducted in 1984 and 1985. This study was conducted on newly constructed houses (middle size or bigger, separate houses, order-made and in the city area) in Aomori, Akita and Morioka. The results obtained are as follows: 1. Traditional forms are succeeded in the followings: (a) basic construction of a serial parlor and a Japanese room (b) construction of form of a parlor (c) traditional construction of arrangement They are transformed in the followings: (a) westernization of rooms (b) second storied construction (c) independence of rooms (d) living section facing south (e) dining-kitchen style (f) formality of traditional entertainments and a Japanese parlor (g) expressiveness of a Japanese parlor 2. New form of configuration of rooms in new houses is as follows: (a) combination of Japanese and western style rooms (b) room configuration of private rooms, Japanese serial parlor, dining-kitchen, etc. (c) separation and connection of rooms by use of corridor and hall (d) south and north placement of living section and service section respectively (e) traditional arrangement of rooms (hall-adjoining room-parlor) 3. Transformation of living style is seen in the followings: (a) decrease of social .life function of houses (b) living style based on separation of public and private rooms (c) separation by parents-children relationship (d) family-life oriented life style (e) Japanese and western living styles combined (f) houses to express one's own talents and sense 4. According to the above mentioned survey, a new form of urban houses may be called Integrated Forms of Japanese and western style based upon Tendency for Welfare. 5. However, concrete configuration of rooms differs in various ways. Awareness of form and living style, together with the variety of configuration, may be said to play a big role in the transformation of form of houses.

View full abstract

When the appearance of individual rooms is an inevitable phenomenon in modern dwelling, a problem seems to lie in the formation of behavior-style of proper use of individual rooms and a living room which contrast each other. In this report, the concept of “Ima (living room)” in our country, is discussed from a viewpoint of history. And the following questions are clarified: how does “Ima” function as a room for Home Circle today? how does each family member regards the character of “Ima” in one's own consciousness? and how does family relationship, parent-child relationship in particular, have influence on their behaviors in “Ima”? In this way, we studied what “Ima” should be like in the future and what the expected problems of “Ima” should be from a viewpoint of Housing Culture Theory. The result of the historical analysis of a given name, “Ima”, and detailed stereo investigation of housing life in 46 houses (we used a video tape recorder in 8 houses), clarified several points as follows. 1) We tried to analyze the concept of “Ima”, using dictionaries published since the Meiji era up to present. We found out that the concept can be classified into two, i.e., a living room as a room usually for a husband and his wife, a concept for users, and a living room as a room for Home Circle, a concept for general behaviors. And next we analyze historical changes of such concept of “Ima.” As a result, We found that a living room of a husband and his wife changed into “Ima” as a room for Home Circle. 2) The result of the analysis of the length of the time spent in “Ima” and behaviors brought into “Ima”, shows that parents' dwelling life there has a far greater importance than others. This tendency has nothing to do with the condition of formation of a master bedroom, but has to do with “Ima” functioning as father's space. That is, in spite of its function as a room for Home Circle, it strongly persists the character that parents are main users. 3) Consequently, a center of children's housing life comes into their own room. If this tendency becomes remarkable, some problem will arise in family communication. In order that “Ima” should function as a room for general behaviors, it is necessary to form behavior-style in which a master bedroom functions as a room whose main users are parents, and at the same time, to form family relationship with children in the center.

View full abstract

The aim of this study is to develop standards for evaluation of plane types of collective houses. The recent form of public housing has come out of the traditional uniformity. And various approaches have been made and its level has remarkably risen. However, the thorough investigation is needed as to whether the change has realized the living environment in accordance with the needs on the residents' part. Especially the type of plane needs to be studied fully. The trend of plane planning after the War has to be the one which separates the public and the private zones in houses. This tendency still holds good in cases of public houses today. However, considering the privacy consciousness of Japanese people and the younger generation of residents, it is doubtful that above stated plane plan fulfills fully the various needs of daily living. Even the thorough investigation of living styles in public and private room type plane houses does not give a good plane plan to replace the conventional plan in order to respond to the needs of residents. From this viewpoint, we intended in this study to suggest an open type plane which is quite contrary to the public and private room type, and to clarify the evaluation standard of plane type through comparison of the living styles of the two plane types. Comparison was made on the following items: 1. how to use each room in the house and evaluation by residents 2. evaluation of inner environment 3. evaluation of facility 4. kinds of furniture and their arrangement 5. condition of movement of fixtures Public houses in Ibaraki prefecture were investigated as test houses of public and private room type plane. The results show the followings: (1) the use of every room is fixed, (2) the inner environment is not good in the rooms which are located in the north and are quite separated, (3) most of life is spent in rooms facing south, and (4) every room is not in efficient use. On the other hand, the life styles of residents of open type plane houses are diversified and the rooms are used in accordance with their own life style. Though the plane type that allows free utilization of rooms is not always the most comfortable plane type for the residents, the fact that there is a significant difference between the two plane types should be an important item to be evaluated in planning of planes of public houses in the future.

View full abstract

The developmental process of a young child can be regarded as the one in which he grows into not only an “independent self”, but also a “social being” through experiencing social and physical environments and controlling them. Privacy seeking behavior in ownership of space and choice of actions, in this regard, is also related to the attainment of children's independence. Therefore it can be assumed that physical environment as children's private space has a profound influence on their attainment of independence. This study is a preliminary study on how the child's room as a private space is related to his attainment of independence and his family life. It is postulated that by doing comparative re-searches in Japan and the U.S.A., the underlying universal process of the effect of space can be clarified. We describe how child's rooms are in each country in terms of the child, the parents (family), and the space: degree of ownership of the space, physical settings of entrance to the space, control of the door, existence of separation device, and control of the key to the door. Further we go on to describe the relationships between the parents' attitude toward child rearing and the children's family lives such as how they sleep, how they communicate with the parents, and how they share family chores. Based on the descriptions of these the children's socialization in terms of psychological, self-care, and economical independence can be analyzed from many angles. Some findings are as follows: The degree of ownership of child's rooms as their milieu has an influence on qualitative content of children's activities. It also is closely related to some items on the three aspects of independence mentioned above as well as overall psychological independence. Underlying these relationships, the parents' control over their children is observed to be an important factor in both countries. It is related to the parents' rearing attitude as well as the degree of encroachment on the child's rooms. Especially in Japan the independence factor is found to be closely related to whether the children share family chores. The communication factor between parents and children, although it is considered to be important in showing parent's encouragement of role sharing by children and their interests in children, is found to be insufficient indicator of parents' autonomy granting since in itself it cannot indicate the content of their interests in child rearing. Based on these analyses we are planning to further elucidate the relationships between children's attainment of independence and the management of child's rooms.

View full abstract

Nakanomata, Joetsu City in Niigata Prefecture and Futagamijima, Nakajima-machi in Ehime Prefecture are both villages suffering from decrease of population. The former is a mountain village, while the latter is a fishing village with 80 houses and 150 houses respectively. The young people in both villages have in recent years moved out of the villages one after another and the people there are trying hard to find out the way to take to cope with the problem in the future. Both of them have carried on precious historical materials such as : space configuration of village, plans and structure of private houses, history of the village and customs of people. Precise investigation and analysis of these materials will be helpful for the understanding of historic value of the villages and for prevention of decrease of population. There are about 60 houses with thatched roofs called “Kuzuya” in Nakanomata. The oldest of them was built in 1785. The plane plans are almost the same with ‘chanoma’ (family room) of 3ken × 3ken or 2.5ken × 3ken (1 ken is about 2 yards) as the center. On the other hand, in Futagamijima there are 7 houses which were built in Edo period. The feature of houses in Futagamijima is the arrangement which may be called middle garden form, the main house and ‘heya’ are located surrounding the middle garden called “hinora”. Both villages have only one shrine in the village. They send ‘mikoshi’ (a portable shrine) at the time of festivals. The passages of the procession of mikoshi are somewhat different in the two villages: one round tour around the village in Nakanomata and one round trip go and return along the seaside road in Futagamijima. Both passages well illustrate the feature of space configuration of the villages. The houses are located here and there in Nakanomata and the roads run around those houses, while in Futagamijima, the houses concentrate on the mountain side of the seaside road. There is a custom called “egae” in which they exchange houses in Nakanomata. The custom in Futagamijima is to worship various gods in the houses. Both customs are very peculiar to the villages and we are studying them in terms of history of the villages. The survey is still underway, and we plan to continue with the survey and investigation comparing the two villages.

View full abstract

1 Aim and Method of the study Living environment in villages is behind in terms of facility development, but on the other hand, the villages are blessed with abundant green, vast land, peaceful landscape and precious heritage passed down from the past. In developing the villages, these advantages should be taken into consideration. The aim of this study is to investigate the method to form the better living environment, making use of the superior environmental characteristics which the people have formed and maintained with continuous efforts, under which the people themselves control their own behaviors concerning formation of better environment free from restriction set by others. The method of the study is the analysis of the actual cases in every area. Analysis was made on the successful cases of self-controlled formation of better environment from the viewpoints of contents, reasons and system. 2. Analysis of Results of Survey The analysis of the results shows that high level of consciousness of self-government and norms on the people's part and necessity of paradigms play important roles in preservation of environment such as concluding agreements to cope with sudden and important problems, because self-controlled methods are only inside restrictions. Furthermore, in order to make inside restrictions function effectively, they are trying hard to originate ideas such as to think out the system to make preservation easy, and to adopt public authority at the time of introducing businesses of every kind and giving permission or approval. The self-controlled method is not only realized in traditional villages, but also it is actively introduced in the villages facing problems of urbanization or decrease of population. It is clarified that the self-controlled method is not only the measures taken to maintain and pass down old traditions but to cope with remarkable social problems as well.

View full abstract

We surveyed folk houses in Okinawa and Taiwan in 1986, this year we focused on folk houses in Foochow, Chuanchou and Amoy of Fukien Province. Foochow located at the estuary of the Min River, abounds in trees and it is not windy there. Many houses of this city are wooden Sangoin roofed with the grey-black tiles on rafters. In Chuanchou and Amoy of South Min district, however, folk houses are bricks and loam wall and their roofs are covered thickly with unglazed red tiles. The style and the environment of these houses are same as those in P'eng-hu Liehtao and south west area of Taiwan. It is a natural phenomenon, because most immigrants to Taiwan came from Chuanchou and Chang-chou after Min era. While, Ryukyu developed rapidly after trade with Min had started in the 14th century, and the contribution of 36 clans who came to Ryukyu in 1392 was helpful for this development. At that time, Chuanchou had close relation both with Taiwan and Ryukyu. It is thought that 36 clans, 40 percent of whom were from Chuanchou and Chang-chou, and their descendants influenced politics, economy, and culture of Ryukyu. For example, the feature of architectural composition that a gate, hinpun and an altar of nibanza lining up on the central axis of rectangle site surrounded with stonewall is common among Chinese folk houses. Nibanza is equivalent to altar room of Sangoin and resembles closely to that of South Min district in those points, the color and the shape of rectangular frame on the altar, and also the color, material and manufacturing method of roof tiles. It also adopted Japanese common style which is open-style wooden house with a hipped roof and deep eaves surrounded by a wind break. That is, the folk house of Okinawa established its own style combining Japanese culture and South Min culture. But this compound culture did not bloom in Amami Islands that came to be under the control of the Satsuma clan at the beginning of the 17th century, so the style and the material of folk houses of these islands are different. South Min culture spread over Fukien, west part of Taiwan, Sakizima Islands and Okinawa Islands, all of which are in the same latitude and it ended at Okinawa main island as the northern border.

View full abstract

The purpose of this study is to present basic principles to secure amenity in rural area of Japan by analyzing method of improving living environment in commune in France which has amenity accumulated through history. There are two points to be clarified. One is to clarify change of planning in land use which is a premise of environment planning in view of the revision of legislation on rural areas. Another is to make clear process of putting legislation into practice in improvement of environment in commune. Results are summarized as follows. 1. After the revision of legislation based on decentralization in 1981, land use planning has been under strict control without which construction permission is not given. 2. Land use planning includes not only control of land use but also of construction. In the latter included are both control of quantity (volume, height, etc.) and control of quality (facade, color, etc.) so that landscape may well be preserved. 3. Housing consists of supply of new houses and renovation of old houses. HLM with reasonable rent functions significantly in housing policies by government. In rural areas, housing in the name of HLM other than apartments is built to maintain population. 4. Project of improving not only houses but also openspace and public institutions copes with interior of houses providing modern equipment and preserving exterior and landscape. 5. On the whole, renovation of houses with an idea of rebuilding them is considered important in improving environment and requires preparatory research in full detail.

View full abstract

In the traditional collective dwellings, there exists a peculiar order to generate their own urban environment. Some efforts have been made to clear the form of urban environment, how-ever, the mechanism of its generation has not been cleared yet. Aizu Wakamatsu was selected to be studied as an objective place. This study aims to clear the form of its urban environment based on the field investigation. The mechanism and the element of its generation are also studied. In Chapter 1, in order to condition the objective clearly, the past studies on the urban structure of Aizu Wakamatsu are surveyed with some comments. The purpose, method and the results of the field investigation are also described briefly. In Chapter 2, on the basis of the investigation of the remains of urban dwellings, the structures of individual urban dwellings are classified and the form of their environment is defined. Analyzing the relation among individual dwellings, urban environment in the traditional collective dwellings is abstracted and its form in the domain of the Aizu clan is surveyed. In Chapter 3, the results of the investigation of the remains are checked up with historical drawings and documents. Thus, the process of building urban dwellings from the period of Meiji back to the late period of Edo is cleared, and the structure and the form of urban environment in the traditional collective dwellings in the late period of Edo are historically clarified. In Chapter 4, the way to generate urban environment in the traditional collective dwellings, whose form is cleared in Chapter 3, is considered on the basis of historical documents. First, the process to generate the order in a depth is cleared groping for the element of building the traditional collective dwellings in relation to the market-opening (ichidate). Second, the process to generate the order in a frontage is cleared groping for the element of generating environment in the traditional collective dwellings in relation to the fence-following rule (oikaki). At the end of this paper, the element of generating environment in the collective dwellings is considered in relation to urban zoning (machiwari).

View full abstract

‘MEJIRO-BUNKA-MURA’, one of the typical prewar residential land developments in Tokyo, was developed by Hakone Land Co. Ltd. in 1922. However, it has been disappearing rapidly. The reasons are (1) The damage of two-thirds of the district was burnt down in the war. (2) Two main roads were laid after the war. (3) Generations have changed during 60 years since the development. Then, the special feature of this ‘study’ is trying, to survey ‘BUNKA MURA’from all round aspects, such as economics, city planning, history of architecture, housing in Home Economics, cultural assets protection, local historian and city planning consultant. In chapter 1, characteristics of Hakone Land Co. Ltd. within prewar estate business are analyzed. It became clear that Yasujiro Tsutsumi had purchased many pieces of land to preserve and employ his assets profitably before he sold it in lots as a base of his business operation. In chapter 2, we compared its feature of city planning with other development of residential section at that time, ‘BUNKA MURA’ could be positioned at a transition stage when residential land came to be sold on urban scale. In chapter 3, the present situation of the district of ‘BUNKA MURA’ is surveyed. Though it is still comparatively good residential area, the trend toward future cannot be defined with subjective judgment alone, because the families there, in spite of their attachment to the area, are getting aged. In chapter 4, an investigation was conducted through inter-viewing residents who have been living there since prewar period. The prewar living style at ‘BUNKA MURA’was analyzed in relation to improvement of life. Plane figures of 23 houses in those days were restored. Many residents, conspicuously scholars and cultured men of urban middle class, adopted western living style in various ways. However, most houses are ‘middle corridor style’and complete western style and ‘living room oriented style’ are not seen.

View full abstract

Not to mention countries in Europe, North America and Japan, so called developing countries are also under way of remarkable urbanization. The “urban age” is expected to come worldwide in the 21st century. While developing countries are under rapid urbanization, formation, forms and urban life of cities which are different from those of Europe have attracted attention. In this regard, big cities in Japan, especially Edo Tokyo are being paid big attention. On the other hand, Tokyo domestically has come to its extreme and it is establishing its international position as “center of international finance and information” in parallel to New York and London. Reflecting this situation, the study of Edo Tokyo has become a boom. The aim of this study is to analyze the urban life of Edo Tokyo from the aspects of living space and urban space. Characteristics of this study are as follows: 1) Interdisciplinary and general approach was taken from such fields as architecture, urban planning, history, folklore, economics and so on. 2) Edo Tokyo was examined from the consistent viewpoint. In more concrete words, we established “Edo Tokyo Forum” composed of some 30 researchers from every field who are interested in lives of Edo Tokyo. Reporters are assigned and we had more than 10 research meetings. Every member showed his own individual approach toward urban life of Edo Tokyo at the series of research meetings. And the common problem consciousness among the members has been formed through interdisciplinary, free and active discussion throughout the meetings. The topics of discussion are as follows: (1) continuity and non-continuity of Edo and Tokyo (2) comparison of Edo Tokyo with other cities, and positioning of Edo Tokyo from global viewpoint (3) actual situation of architecture and city space as stage setting of urban life According to thus stated development of research meetings of “Edo Tokyo Forum”, outlines of reports reported at the meetings were classified into the following 5 fields: (1) Edo Tokyo examined through comparative study with other cities, (2) Infrastructure of modernizing Tokyo, (3) Urban space and architecture of modern Tokyo, (4) Edo examined from a new viewpoint, and (5) Architectural technique of Edo. This report consists of those classified reports of the Forum.

View full abstract

It is mandatory to obtain the common assent of residents in concluding the Building Agreement. In recent days, however, there have been increasing number of planned houses with the Building Agreement without the common assent of residents. This study aims to investigate the possible measures to improve the problems of the Building Agreement without the common assent of residents and to lead to better manage the environment. First of all, the present situation of approval of the Building Agreement and the contents of building regulations are clarified. Then the survey was conducted in the planned houses areas on the present situation of remodeling of houses, and the consciousness of residents regarding administration of the Building Agreement. The results of the survey show that there are many problems in restricting construction without clear image of how the housing environment should be. Designing environment regardless of the living needs and demand or with uniform idea is one of the factors to complicate the environmental problems. Furthermore, the problems and the points to be improved in the implementation of Building Agreement, and designing plan to preserve the housing environment were investigated with consideration on the characteristics of consciousness of residents and the present situation of environmental management. It can be said as a conclusion that establishment of the system to make the administration of the agreement easy, and designing plan with consideration on the characteristics of the consciousness of residents are very important in order to form common assent of residents and proceed the housing environment preservation activities without trouble. The organization of administration committee should be reinforced and it is also important to get the constant professional instruction and guidance. We claim that it is necessary to design space to cope with the diversification of housing demand.

View full abstract

In Japan housing policy has to be changed as to apply to housing standard and characteristics of housing demand and supply in every region. For that the methodology for housing planning ought to be established. For example, before planning housing supply we have to clarify the mechanism how some specific housing supply raises a level of housing conditions. It is more important to plan maintenance of housing stock which has been accumulated enormously in each region than to plan new housing supply. And Regional Housing Planning is needed, which corresponds to not only public sector but also private sector. In this study we developed new planning models and also applied existing mathematical models for regional housing planning. Characteristics and limitations of these models were studied. In developing models we utilized existing housing statistics as much as possible for raising an operational level of models. In the report (2) we studied five kinds of planning models as follows, 1 analysis of housing movement using a disaggregated model, 2 analysis and predicting housing movement using Markov chain, 3 developing a descriptive model of housing movement caused by new housing supply, 4 analysis and planning of floor size distribution using a probability density function, 5 constructing a planning model for maintenance of housing stock. Studies from 2 to 5 were developed out of the results of the report (1). Each model could be applicable to some stages of planning process, i.e. analysis of existing conditions, future predicting, planning of alternative plans and evaluation of alternative plans. With the report (1) and (2), we have not yet attained all that were aimed at the beginning and we realize that there are still many problems to be coped with. Nevertheless we believe that each model we developed in this study could be applied in the sphere of housing planning.

View full abstract

Whether dwellers can be proud of living in multifamily housing with feeling of attachment is a key to the future of urban residential communities. To realize such communities, there are some vital yet simple requisites. • management of housing estates must mean both control by management and by user's attachment, • community oriented behaviors should complement such management. • user participation should be promoted as a liaison between management and community. In this study we tried to make comparative analysis of typical cases to clarify the above points. Some cases regarding making of one room extension in Japan were studied concerning “Jichikai” (the tenant association) activities at rental housing supplied by Japan Housing Corporation and municipal housing respectively. Also some typical cases with innovative efforts in Europe and USA were covered. Through these case studies it was clarified that the concept of management by user participation is defined as integration of “hard” and “soft” aspects of public housing management, and has to flow from a single entity which is supported and is eventually responsible to the community. This study shows that “Jichikai” which is organized in every residential area in Japan seems to be a potential management by user participation. The management co-operative in U.K. is suggestive of the similar active management. There the tenants have an advantage of having control over their dwellings, estates and environments. Consequently they are generally satisfied with the benefits of management and maintenance. The role of the community technical aid movement in the U.K. is to facilitate community self-help building or environmental projects. Association of Community Technical Aid Centre (ACTAC) is a local community resource centre. It is worth notice that the system supports and encourages users to participate in design process.

View full abstract

The aim of this study is to fully illustrate the population structure in the collective housing areas and the planned houses by public corporations such as Housing and Urban Development Corp. and so on. Actual housing situation in the public planned housing areas was thoroughly analyzed from the viewpoint of population structure. And at the same time, actual situation of historical change of housing in the planned houses was intended to be clarified in comparison with our data of 20 years ago. Outline of the results is as follows: (1) Difference of social stratum of residents of public collective houses according to the districts is discussed on nationwide basis. (2) Cluster analysis regarding location of housing was conducted on the public housing in the metropolitan area to classify the location sectors. And the effect of location factor on attributes of residents was analyzed by polyaddtion correlation analysis. (3) Regarding Public Corporation housing, residents cards were thoroughly studied and actual situation of residents was clarified according to the type of housing, lease or sold in lots, or different plans of housing. The data obtained were compared with is a qualitative change in collective housing habitation. (4) In addition to (3), other publicly managed housing and planned houses by Public Corporation were surveyed and analyzed. The result shows that the same supply condition invites the same social stratum of residents. And qualitative change of social stratum of residents has been taking place in the 20 years in these public housing as well. Thus, the recent trend of planned houses habitation was generally clarified from the viewpoint of population structure.

View full abstract

With Japanese wooden house, we can find highly completed building system, which is to be rightly evaluated and inherited. For us it is urgent to evaluate its technical contents from various aspects. In this study, we attempted to clarify how wooden house building system has changed in central Kishuu area, and what is the structure of building system there. House building system consists of various factors; natural, technical, political, social etc. Thus, our approach is also inter-disciplinal. Results are summerized as follows. (1) Wind resistance system: In outer area of Nada-Kusui, protective devices are taken in level 3, and in inner area, devices are taken largely in level 2. This shows space structure of building systems in this region. (2) Relation between planning and roof sub-structure: There are two types in ‘Yotsuma-dori’ planning system in this area, and those two have co-relation to two types of roof sub-structure. (3) Roof tiling system: ‘Hon-gawara buki’ system is prevailing over this area but not in adjoining areas. This differance is due to economic factors (lesser urbanization), distance from production sites (50km from Awaji-shima island at sea) and cultural evaluation of people. Changes are observed in flood time (1953) and high economic growth period (1960's) (4) Wall system: There are several systems in outer wall construction. Changes are observed in 1920's and 1940's, the former due to change of production system, the latter due to economic growth and revival of traditional wall.

View full abstract

In this study, we define the measures for snow damage as those taken for the tow phenomena: “moving/falling” and “melting/freezing.” The aim of the study is to obtain the experimental view on how to control these phenomena by the building system. In other words, problems concerning above mentioned phenomena, moving/falling and melting/freezing, occur constantly in snowy areas in general, regardless of the quantity of snow. They can be characterized as the basic subjects which we have to cope with by reinforcing roof for snow. The subject of this study consists of four analysis parts which are considered necessary as fundamental materials when technicalizing the building system for damage protection, and the following analysis on each part was conducted. (1) Basic problems regarding roof building system for snow damage protection By examining the following subjects, the basic conditions on roof building system for snow damage protection were clarified. The followings were analyzed. a. snow damage problems of houses b. the actual condition of roof-snow damage c. effects of roof-snow and its regional characteristics (2) Sliding character of roof-snow This is the experimental analysis of sliding characteristics of roof-snow in relation to roofing materials and results obtained are as follows: a. for statical character: statical friction between roofing materials and snow ice was clarified b. for dynamic character: acceleration in relation to the slope where sliding starts, and properties of dynamic friction were clarified. (3) Configuration of slided and accumulated roof-snow This is the actual measurement analysis of configuration of accumulated snow caused by moving/falling: a. Accumulation pattern of slided snow were clarified, (studied from the viewpoints of roof building system and climatic factors.) b. falling speed and sliding distance and their correlation (4) Melting Solution and freezing phenomena of roof-snow This is the actual measurement analysis on forming and development of “icicle” defined as one of the typical phenomena of snow meltine and freezing. The actual conditions to form icicle such as surface and back temperature of roofs and atmospheric temperature (temperature, sunshine) were totally observed and the conditions to form “icicle” were studied in view of their correlation.

View full abstract

Significance of the experiments Timber structure should be strengthened by using bolts and metal fasteners. However, in case of traditional or esthetic design of wood building, as columns and roof trusses are disclosed, exposed metal fasteners are apt to be unsightly. One of the ideas to solve this problem is to apply adhesives at the tenon-mortise joints of the construction on site. To secure final resistance (fall-safe) of the joint, L shaped metal connector could be nailed inside the wall covering. These reinforcements make a frame stiffer and stronger against lateral forces without any bearing wall or bracing. The adhesives used here should have the following properties, (1) “Open time” should be long enough for use on site. (2) Not subject to insensible any change of temperature and moisture when it is hardening. (3) Keeps ductility after setting. The author chose a modified Urethane glue for this purpose. To examine stiffness and strength of the T joint, 135 test-pieces were tested by 27 categories of tests to know the influence of, (1) species of the member, (2) sectional dimension of the member, (3) length of the tenon, (4) effect of the angle piece metal reinforcement. Test results and summary The experiments were conducted applying a lateral force to the top of the column 70 cm apart from the sill. Rigidity of the joint could be determined by measuring angle of deformation caused by the load. Results are as follows; (1) Species …HINOKI (Japanese Cypress) was the best not only in stiffness but also strength, as well as ductility. BEITSUGA (Hem-fir) followed hext a little lower, and SUGI (Japanese Cedar). (2) Sectional dimension…The wider the better in stiffness and strength especially in case of the short tenon. (3) Length of the tenon…Specimens having long tenon are 1.5 times stronger than the shorter ones. Long tenon was often broken at the last stage of the test. While short tenon was pulled out from the hole. (4) Method of fastening…Glued joints are superior to mechanical fasteners are we assumed. A series of experiments were successful. And it is effective to use metal fastener with glued joint for increasing rigidity, strength and ductility. (5) Possibility of the wood rahmen structure …According to the above mentioned results, a column with adequately fastened lateral members is expected to endure in certain extent against lateral forces caused by earthquake or heavy wind. Allowable load is estimated as 104 kg (12 cm sq.) to 141 kg (13.5 cm sq.) in case of HINOKI. And we have learned for our survey that 0.5-1.0 columns are existing in a contemporary wood house. This plan has a good chance to establish another system of house construction taking place the bearing wall system. Development of the' adhesives for this use and trial the construction in the hearest occasion should be the way to realize beautiful and strong wooden houses.

View full abstract

This study is to follow the same titled study of the previous year. The fundamental efficiency of various materials of dowels and the properties of flexure of latticed beams can be clarified by the previous study. Main purpose of the study this year was to construct a full-size falsework. In order to supplement the data of the previous study, the bending test of framed single beams and flexure test of latticed beams were carried out. As for the bending test of framed single beams, firstly we examined the diameter of bolts and effects of adhesives. Tests of bolts with the diameter of 8mm and 12mm have shown that within the practical flexure limit of this system, there is hardly any direct effect of the diameter of bolts and that the bolt with 8mm diameter can sufficiently be of use. And it was clarified that its stiffness becomes approximately twice when used in combination with adhesives. When compared with the experimental data of the previous study under the same conditions, the stiffness of the framed single beams tested this year is approximately twice. Secondly, at the site of Tokyo Lumber Service Center in Shiomi, Koto-ku, a full-size, two-storied falsework with three layered lattice was built up and the data on its execution was obtained. Fairly low cost of processing and manufacturing of wood members will be realized by application of the processing machines. On the other hand, building up at the site has a disadvantage that we cannot obtain fixed horizontal measurements before actual layering. It also has the same problem with the vertical measurements. The framed single beams require supports until the end of the built up. The test of flexural ability was carried out for added vertical force first with the built up falsework and then with its disjointed wood members built up again in a falsework. Through this test, the relationship between the distribution of load and the flexure was examined. In parallel with above tests, analysis program of latticed beams was applied to the data of framed single beams. According to the resulting data, it has shown that in cases of even-distribution of load, the flexure of latticed beams can be simulated if the conditions are set up to some degrees. Based on this result, we applied the latticed beams to general housing plans. It has shown that within the average live load, the flexure can be controlled within 2cm in case of span of 3600mm.

View full abstract

This report, as the first half of the long period vibration perception study, is consisted of the followings: (1) the purpose and the significance of this study; (2) the survey of the past studies in relating fields; (3) the investigation of vibration perception in existing high-rise dwellings; (4) the results of developing a vibration simulator to test the threshold of vibration perception, which is a major scope of this study; (5) the results of basic tests for the threshold of vibration perception by the simulator; and (6) the future tasks. As super high-rise dwellings and hotels have been well developed in these several years, the quality of dwellings seems to be deeply concerned about the frequency of perceiving motions. In this study, the dispersion of thresholds for perception of long period vibration (say one to several seconds of natural periods) is quantitatively investigated, and it is suggested to provide an objective guideline to adopt a critical situation for the service-ability limit state of wind resistant design for super high-rise dwellings: First of all, papers of the past studies on vibrations of existing high-rise buildings and the thresholds of long period vibration perception were surveyed. Measured vibrations of buildings by winds indicate that the tensional vibration is super-imposed to the vertical translation mode. Both of them seem to have the predominamce only in the first natural modes. The survey of the past reports on the threshold of long period vibration perception shows that there are only few report which discuss directly the threshold of perception of around 1Hz vibration, and that dispersion based on the difference of individuals has not been sufficiently examined yet. As one of investigations on actual situations, the questionnairing on vibration due to the maximum instantaneous wind velocity 28m/s was conducted on dwellers living on higher than the 19th floor of a 23-storied super high-rise dwelling (steel encased reinforced concrete structure, the first natural frequency is 1.2Hz). One out of 19 dwellers answered that he had felt a vibration caused by wind. A spring-pendulum type shaking simulator has been developed, which provides a highly precise sinusoidal wave with a lower level of acceleration. With this simulator, tests in the threshold of vibration perception were conducted to the total number of 120 subjects for a wide variety of ages and both sexes. Details are yet to be analyzed, however, the dispersion thresholds of perception seems to be well represented by a lognormal distribution as far as the present test is concerned.

View full abstract

This study aims to develop a personal computer based system to conduct a series of the following procedures. 1. Evaluation of thermal comfortableness based on the measurement of indoor thermal environment 2. Economical evaluation of energy based on estimated annual air-conditioning load 3. Picking up the related problems 4. Investigation of the measures to improve the problems Main contents of the study are as follows: (1) Preparation of Standard for Environmental Evaluation Based on Conditions for Thermal Comfortableness A computer program was prepared to calculate the value of PMV and the values were calculated for various combinations of different volume of clothing and environmental conditions. Based on the results, we developed and proposed a standard for the most desirable values and.5 stages of evaluation of indoor temperature, MRT, humidity and air stream for every season. (2) Development of Estimation Method of Energy Consumed for Air-Conditioning Based on the data of standard weather, we picked up the date representing the load for every period and developed and proposed a method to estimate the annual air-conditioning load by calculation of only a few days. The above mentioned method was developed based on the weather data in eight cities in Japan. Comparison of calculation accuracy was conducted with response factor method by a model calculation and good accuracy of load calculation was obtained for every city. (3) Investigation of Distribution of Indoor Temperature under Heating Distribution of indoor temperature at the time of heating has much to do with indoor comfortableness and formation of dews. Investigation was made in the study on the forming of distribution of indoor temperature through model experiments and numerical simulation. We developed a program based on the results to estimate room temperature, distribution of PMV values and places of dew formation for the houses under the survey.

View full abstract

This study aims to clarify how the following factors affect outbreak of cerebral apoplexy. The factors to be studied are as follows: 1) Performance of housing, centering around thermal indoor environment of houses 2) Social and economic factors of residents 3) Climatic condition as natural environmental factor First of all, the questionnaire was conducted on 1438 houses in 10 cities and towns in Miyagi Prefecture. The data obtained show that in areas of high death rate due to cerebral apoplexy (farm areas), many of the houses are in a cold environment due to insufficient heating and outdoor toilets. Secondly, comparative surveys between contrast groups and patients groups were conducted in Shiwahime-cho and Karakuwa-cho. The patients groups consisted of the families whose members had died of celebral apoplexy during the previous 5 years. The results obtained by the survey on social and economic environ-mental conditions are as follows: (In Shiwahime-cho: 35 persons in each group Karakuwa-cho: 34 persons in each group) Significant difference between the patients and contrast groups on health conditions and habit of meals 1) More persons under treatment for hyperpiesia in the patients groups 2) More previous heart diseases in the patients groups 3) Tendency to prefer salty food in the patients groups According to the survey on housing construction and thermal environment, (In Shiwahime-cho: 37 houses in the patients group, 43 houses in the contrast group. In Karakuwa-cho: 34 houses in the patients group, 47 houses in the contrast group) the difference between the two groups on housing construction and heating can hardly be realized. But when comparing the two groups on the weekly average room temperature, in any case excluding family hours in bedrooms in Shiwahime-cho, the temperature of the patients group was lower, though the difference was less than 1.3° C. For example, difference of average living room temperature at family hours after dinner was 1.12° C in Shiwahime-cho, and 0.56°C in Karakuwa-cho (between contrast and patients groups.) But it is not clear enough how much the difference affects the death rate due to cerebral apoplexy. The detailed survey on room temperature shows that the difference of the temperatures at family hours between a heated room and an unheated room such as a bedroom or a toilet often became more than 10°C. And according to the continuous observation of blood pressure of two persons, it was apparent that blood pressure rushed up in moving into a cold place. Thus it may be said that the lessening of the difference of temperature among the rooms for daily use as mentioned above may help to prevent cerebral apoplexy.

View full abstract

It is well known that plants play an important role in the formation of the environment in a residential area, for instances psychological effects and functions of climate control. However, it seems to be a fact that there are few examples of design plans which are taken those effects into good considerations. The aim of this study is to show the materials for understanding of plants' effects on thermal environment in designing a residential area or house, and to make clear the situation of the space with plants in built environments. I. 29 sites with and without plants were selected as test points for the measurements by using the outdoor thermal environmental meter and other ones. The actual conditions of the thermal environment on clear days in the summer time were investigated. The situation of the surroundings of each test site is understood by computing shape factors of trees, grass, buildings and the sky to the measurement point. II. Based on the measured results, principal component analysis was carried out for the measurement points. Descriptive variables are temperatures at the centers of the three globes, air temperature and wind speed in the day time and at dusk. According to the result of the above analysis, we obtained principal component axes which can be interpreted as “effect of sunshine”, “degree of reradiation feeling” and “wind speed”. The relationship between characteristics of thermal radiation environment and shape situation was examined by plotting principal component scores of every test point on the principal component axes of “effect of sunshine” and “degree of reradiation feeling”. Therefore, the situation of plants in the thermal environment outside buildings was clarified. The findings are as follows: i) The sites with plants are the ones where negative thermal radiation feelings is strong whether they are sunny or not, except for the sites which are surrounded by the materials with high heat capacity and not exposed to the sky like underground passages. This explains the effectiveness of plants on creating a cooler thermal environment in summer. ii) The thermal environment of the space in the shadow of trees dose not influenced by weather, and changes little from the day to the evening. III. Air temperature, total solar radiation, mean radiant temperature and wind speed－the main factors of the thermal environment under the row of trees and in a garden with lawns and on an asphalt parking lot were obtained from the measured values of the outdoor thermal environmental meter. The characteristics of planted space were clarified by explaining the findings of II. with those thermal factors.

View full abstract