STAP: An Architecture and Design Tool for Automata Processing on Memristor TCAMs

Accelerating finite-state automata benefits several emerging application domains that are built on pattern matching. In-memory architectures, such as the Automata Processor (AP), are efficient to speed them up, at least for outperforming traditional von-Neumann architectures. In spite of the AP’s massive parallelism, current APs suffer from poor memory density, inefficient routing architectures, and limited capabilities. Although these limitations can be lessened by emerging memory technologies, its architecture is still the major source of huge communication demands and lack of scalability. To address these issues, we present STAP , a Scalable TCAM-based architecture for Automata Processing . STAP adopts a reconfigurable array of processing elements, which are based on memristive Ternary CAMs (TCAMs), to efficiently implement Non-deterministic finite automata (NFAs) through proper encoding and mapping methods. The CAD tool for STAP integrates the design flow of automata applications, a specific mapping algorithm, and place and route tools for connecting processing elements by RRAM-based programmable interconnects. Results showed 1.47× higher throughput when processing 16-bit input symbols, and improvements of 3.9× and 25× on state and routing densities over the state-of-the-art AP, while preserving 10 4 programming cycles.

Specific Skill Requirements within Prefabricated Residential Construction: Stakeholders’ Perspectives

Skill availability is an important component in the uptake of prefabrication and plays a crucial role in housing supply. However, the challenge is that the demand for housing has outgrown the availability of specifically trained workers. This challenge is not unique to New Zealand; many developed countries worldwide are facing similar issues. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine relevant skills in the prefabricated residential construction sector in New Zealand (NZ) and suggest improvement measures from the standpoint of industry stakeholders. The study adopted a semi-structured online survey and administered it to multiple construction industry practitioners. The study found the training of the construction workforce as one significant area of focus. In addition, external sourcing of international prefabrication-specific skilled workers could improve the issues of skill shortages in the residential prefabrication sector. Furthermore, the study revealed that the barriers to healthier prefabrication uptake are closely linked to shortages in management, digital architecture and design, and vocational skills related to residential construction. The study has contributed to the current pool of knowledge by identifying skill issues in NZ’s prefabricated residential construction sector, classifying the major restraints limiting prefabrication implementation, and determining measures for increasing industry uptake. It is anticipated that this will help construction organizations and the wider industry develop strategic goals and a roadmap for meeting the skill requirements in NZ. Training policies and programmes can be developed with focus on crucial prefabrication skill requirements at governmental level. Curriculum reviews are recommended for uptake by academic and vocational institutions.

Digital Participatory Platforms for Civic Engagement: A New Way of Participating in Society?

The article is focused on the digital participatory platforms (DPPs) as a tool to enhance civic engagement through dialogue and interaction with the Public Administration and to reduce Digital Divide. To this end, the article presents the objectives and the outcomes of “My Smart Quartier,” a project funded within the ERASMUS + 2017 Program, in which the Department of Architecture and Design (DAD) of the Politecnico di Torino participates with a consortium of European partners. The aim of this project is the setting up and testing strategies and actions to reduce digital illiteracy and increase citizen participation. Best practices from the project partner countries (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal) are selected and analyzed in order to understand if they can constitute innovative ways of participation and civic engagement. Specifically, the article identifies some parameters and indicators that can be used to bring out key success factors of digital participatory platforms.

The Interpretation of Graphical Features Applied to Mapping SWOT by the Architecture Students in the Design Studio

The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of how the architecture students deploy a range of graphical features to visualize SWOT, standing for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Architectural design studios provide students with a range of analytical techniques, and SWOT analysis is considered to be useful and effective, particularly at urban-scale design projects. However, it is a text-based framework and needs to be converted to thematic analysis maps across architecture and design fields. The main issue is that the determining factors affecting the way in which students choose graphical features to map the outputs of SWOT analysis is unclear at architectural design studios. The research employed qualitative methods, specifically observation, focus group, and graphical analysis, to examine SWOT maps produced by the architecture students. The findings demonstrated that the selection of graphical features in the process of producing SWOT analysis maps are dependent on scale of study (macro, meso, and micro), as well as location, spatial connection, and size of elements derived from SWOT matrix. For instance, lines and planes were most frequent features at macro level while the variety of symbols remarkably increased at micro level. In conclusion, the students personalized the process of mapping, meaning that they applied point, line, plane (shape), color, texture, and typography in several different ways. Therefore, SWOT analysis not only help architecture students to better understand the problems of their design projects, organize and consolidate information, and visualize opportunities and constraints, but could lead to the representation of realistic solutions in an innovative way.

Architecture, Waste, and the Circular Economy

Waste is a modern global crisis. The world is drowning in an unprecedented amount of waste due to an increasing linear economy model that drive societies to consume more every day. It was reported that the average American citizen consume nearly 32 times more that the average Indian citizen. Companies, businesses, and corporates are continuously racing to deplete the planet’s natural resources in an astonishing rate. The design and construction sector alone is responsible for 30-40% of total solid waste worldwide, yet as architects, designers, and planners the waste problem is almost absent from the current discourse, both in practice and academia. Beyond sustainability, and if ideas such as the Dutch “CircularCity” become more appealing to architects, designers, and clients, the architectural education must adopt a transformational shift in the design thinking process to prepare a more responsible future architect. A shift from goal-oriented design to means-oriented design requires a shift in the design education, and the studio pedagogy. A transformation is needed in education, practice, research, and the related professions to address the current and emerging economic challenges more so post crises and pandemics, and through the built environment lens. It is time to define the role of architecture and design in the circular economy paradigm shift.

Establishment of data centre at Mzuzu University: A survey of anticipations and aspirations of key project stakeholders

Mzuzu University lost its Library as a result of a fire that took place on December 18, 2015. In response, the university established two processes to ensure the library services were not interrupted. The first process was to restore information services within six months by creating an interim Library. The second was to design a new library in collaboration with Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture and Design in the United States. A total of three conceptual designs were developed, from which Mzuzu University selected a final design. One key aspect of each conceptual design was a dedicated space for a data centre. The initial concept was that the data centre would support research activities at the University, within Malawi, and with international partners outside Malawi, such as Virginia Tech. This paper captures the anticipations and aspirations of the key stakeholders involved with the library design project at Mzuzu University in Malawi and Virginia Tech in the USA. Data were captured by a survey that was shared via email with 29 stakeholders. A total of 10 responded at Mzuzu University, and 12 responded at Virginia Tech. A key finding from the survey was the need to create clear plans for each aspect of the project to ensure the effective implementation of the data centre. Critical aspects to the project include staffing, equipment procurement, the management of the data centre, data literacy programming, and the long-term sustainability of the data centre. Developing a policy/process to guide the operations of the data centre was also found to be critical. The library construction began in February 2021 and is expected to end in February 2023. Having a clear plan for how the data centre could be operationalized will be essential to ensuring the centre is successful. The data centre will be a new facility for the university and this paper is a first step towards shaping the requirements of, and potential for, this new facility.