Social and Cultural Influences on Traditional Balinese House Pattern in the Highland Areas of Eastern Bali

The design of a traditional Balinese house is based on the polarity principle, which states that the world is divided into two opposing poles. As a result, the orientation and form of space influence the physical landscape of Bali, including house plans. The topography of Bali, with the plateau running through the center of the island from west to east, causes changes in the spatial orientation system in various locations throughout the island. This condition is due to the fact that spirituality is based on geography, with high areas thought to be the abodes of the gods. As a result, the spatial orientation patterns of the island's southern and northern regions differ. Furthermore, many settlements in the eastern part of the island of Bali have unique pattern variations due to the island's unique orientation system. This individuality has an impact on local customs, such as traditional house design. To investigate this uniqueness, this article examines traditional residential patterns in several villages in eastern Bali. It investigates through the examination of buildings and exposure to developments and spatial changes associated with people's daily activities. This approach includes visual analysis and stories about community cultural activities. Geographic orientation, according to this study, has an impact on settlement patterns. Even though they are close to one another, the spatial layout of customary settlements differs.

Traditional Islamic House (Ottoman House) Architecture, in Old Fatimid Cairo and Rosetta Cities, Egypt - An Example of Sustainable Architecture

The unique Traditional Islamic architecture characterizes some cities in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The purpose of the study is to highlight the significance of the Traditional Islamic house design, architectural elements, and the use of low-technology in house construction concerning sustainable architecture, in Old Fatimid Cairo and Rosetta (Rashid) cities. The study's method includes a literature review; with an overview of the history, the urban form, and the Islamic house design and architectural elements influenced by the local Islamic context (natural and cultural environments). A field survey included: the selection of eleven examples, five from Old Fatimid Cairo city and six examples from Rosetta (Rashid) city representing the most famous houses including the different architectural elements, and analyzing its components, the house design, spatial organization, building materials, house elements, courtyard, Mashrabiyah, wind catchers, and the construction system. Moreover, a comparative study for the selected Islamic houses illustrates the contexts' impact on the house design. In conclusion, the study highlighted the significance of Islamic house design and low-technology in house design and construction, which could be considered sustainable architecture and developed in the form of advanced technology in the future.

Intelligent Fracture Diagnostic Procedure Using Smart Microchip Proppants Data

Unconventional oil and gas reservoir development requires an understanding of the geometry and complexity of hydraulic fractures. The current categories of fracture diagnostic approaches include methods for near-wellbore (production and temperature logs, tracers, borehole imaging) and far-field techniques (micro-seismic fracture mapping). These techniques provide an indirect and/or interpreted fracture geometry. Therefore, none of these methods consistently provides a fully detailed and accurate description of the character of created hydraulic fractures. This study proposes a novel approach that uses direct data from the injected fine size and battery-less Smart MicroChip Proppants (SMPs) to map the fracture geometry. This novel approach enables direct, fast, and smart of the received high-resolution geo-sensor data from the SMPs collected in high pressure and high-temperature environment and maps the fracture network using the proposed Intelligent and Integrated Fracture Diagnostic Platform (IFDP), which is a closed-loop architecture and is based on multi-dimensional projection, unsupervised clustering, and surface reconstruction. Affine transformation and a shallow ANN are integrated to control the stochasticity of clustering. IFDP proves its efficacy in fracture diagnostics for 3 in-house design synthetic fracture networks, with 100% consistency, rated "fairly satisfied" to "highly satisfied" in prediction capability, and between 85-100% in execution robustness. The integration of the couple affine transformation-ANN increases the performance of unsupervised clustering in IFDP.

Adequate BIM level of detail for LCA energy simulation

<p>This research tested the new LCAQuick Residential, a computer-based analysis tool developed by BRANZ (available from www.branz.co.nz). This tool is designed to allow the ready preparation of a LCA at an early point in the design process for a residential house. The research problem was created by the infancy of the program and its unknown ability to produce results to support decision making to include Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for designers and developers seeking a more sustainable design outcome. The method of testing was to take a real house design and model it using Autodesk Revit™ to create a virtual model. The virtual model was then used to input material quantities into LCAQuick Residential, which in turn generated a full set of Life-Cycle Energy (LCE) data. To test this approach, the data from a Quantity Surveyor (Schedule of Quantities) was also used as input to LCAQuick Residential, and the results compared. For this research on the energy component of LCA was examined – the LCE. It was found that the material quantities generated by each of the approaches differed, and it was necessary to critically compare them to ensure material volumes, density and quantity were appropriately matched and entered into the tool. Considerable care was also required to ensure materials were correctly identified and allocated to the appropriate LCAQuick library material.</p>

Adequate BIM level of detail for LCA energy simulation

<p>This research tested the new LCAQuick Residential, a computer-based analysis tool developed by BRANZ (available from www.branz.co.nz). This tool is designed to allow the ready preparation of a LCA at an early point in the design process for a residential house. The research problem was created by the infancy of the program and its unknown ability to produce results to support decision making to include Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for designers and developers seeking a more sustainable design outcome. The method of testing was to take a real house design and model it using Autodesk Revit™ to create a virtual model. The virtual model was then used to input material quantities into LCAQuick Residential, which in turn generated a full set of Life-Cycle Energy (LCE) data. To test this approach, the data from a Quantity Surveyor (Schedule of Quantities) was also used as input to LCAQuick Residential, and the results compared. For this research on the energy component of LCA was examined – the LCE. It was found that the material quantities generated by each of the approaches differed, and it was necessary to critically compare them to ensure material volumes, density and quantity were appropriately matched and entered into the tool. Considerable care was also required to ensure materials were correctly identified and allocated to the appropriate LCAQuick library material.</p>

Social and Cultural Influences on Traditional Balinese House Pattern in the Highland Areas of Eastern Bali

The design of a traditional Balinese house is based on the polarity principle, which states that the world is divided into two opposing poles. As a result, the orientation and form of space influence the physical landscape of Bali, including house plans. The topography of Bali, with the plateau running through the center of the island from west to east, causes changes in the spatial orientation system in various locations throughout the island. This condition is due to the fact that spirituality is based on geography, with high areas thought to be the abodes of the gods. As a result, the spatial orientation patterns of the island's southern and northern regions differ. Furthermore, many settlements in the eastern part of the island of Bali have unique pattern variations due to the island's unique orientation system. This individuality has an impact on local customs, such as traditional house design. To investigate this uniqueness, this article examines traditional residential patterns in several villages in eastern Bali. It investigates through the examination of buildings and exposure to developments and spatial changes associated with people's daily activities. This approach includes visual analysis and stories about community cultural activities. Geographic orientation, according to this study, has an impact on settlement patterns. Even though they are close to one another, the spatial layout of customary settlements differs.

The House Reformed: A Reaction to Suburban Monotony

<p>Joyless rows of monotonous houses are be- ginning to define the suburban typology of tomorrow. Quality and innovation is being compromised for speed and quantity and there is a distinct lack of consideration for the home’s potential to enrich and influence the life-styles and well-being of its occupants. This thesis is a reaction to the researcher’s dis- satisfaction with New Zealand’s suburban typology and seeks to identify and demonstrate an alternative design approach. The research- er considers that a house should enable its occupants to flourish by instigating moments of joy and surprise whilst maximising economy of space. The thesis uses an investigative research method of five different design tests. Each test reveals strategies to aid the approach of designing the suburban typology, focusing on maximising joy, surprise and economy of space. Both digital and manual methods are used, revealing their respective strengths and flaws. The Digital method used in the Data House and Rigid x Fluid house tests lacked the ability to apply tangible aesthetic qualities to a de- sign. The manual hands on method of used in the Patchwork House and House Reformed tests was hugely beneficial for the aesthetic qualities of design, however it lacked the rigor and capacity to apply individuality on a mass scale. Discoveries made in the thesis investigations are collated in a final design outcome, the House Reformed. This house design demonstrates a compilation of the successful strategies identified in the research and reveals the benefits of approaching home design with qualities of joy, surprise and economy of space. The most successful strategies used to achieve these aims were establishing a great- er connection with the outdoors, providing flexible spaces through the use of innovative partitions and furniture and injecting unexpected aesthetic moments through the use of interesting texture and colour. Overall the research reveals a successful de- sign outcome and provides interesting in- sights into design method. It explores worth- while questions and issues related to the lived domestic experience such as the lack of joy, surprise and economy of space in suburban housing and demonstrates the importance of designing with such qualities.</p>

The House Reformed: A Reaction to Suburban Monotony

<p>Joyless rows of monotonous houses are be- ginning to define the suburban typology of tomorrow. Quality and innovation is being compromised for speed and quantity and there is a distinct lack of consideration for the home’s potential to enrich and influence the life-styles and well-being of its occupants. This thesis is a reaction to the researcher’s dis- satisfaction with New Zealand’s suburban typology and seeks to identify and demonstrate an alternative design approach. The research- er considers that a house should enable its occupants to flourish by instigating moments of joy and surprise whilst maximising economy of space. The thesis uses an investigative research method of five different design tests. Each test reveals strategies to aid the approach of designing the suburban typology, focusing on maximising joy, surprise and economy of space. Both digital and manual methods are used, revealing their respective strengths and flaws. The Digital method used in the Data House and Rigid x Fluid house tests lacked the ability to apply tangible aesthetic qualities to a de- sign. The manual hands on method of used in the Patchwork House and House Reformed tests was hugely beneficial for the aesthetic qualities of design, however it lacked the rigor and capacity to apply individuality on a mass scale. Discoveries made in the thesis investigations are collated in a final design outcome, the House Reformed. This house design demonstrates a compilation of the successful strategies identified in the research and reveals the benefits of approaching home design with qualities of joy, surprise and economy of space. The most successful strategies used to achieve these aims were establishing a great- er connection with the outdoors, providing flexible spaces through the use of innovative partitions and furniture and injecting unexpected aesthetic moments through the use of interesting texture and colour. Overall the research reveals a successful de- sign outcome and provides interesting in- sights into design method. It explores worth- while questions and issues related to the lived domestic experience such as the lack of joy, surprise and economy of space in suburban housing and demonstrates the importance of designing with such qualities.</p>

Inside the First Light House: Interior Design for New Zealand’s Entry into the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2011

<p>This thesis documents a two year journey to design and build a most unconventional kiwi bach. It reports on the applied research undertaken in order to meet the specific requirements of a particular construction project: the development of a transportable, modular, demountable, entirely solar-powered house built in New Zealand to compete in the US Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon, held in Washington DC. This challenge was initially taken on by a small team of undergraduate students with very little previous experience in the construction process. The team faced a set of technical and logistical hurdles that would have been daunting for even the most experienced practitioner to negotiate, let alone a group for whom an architectural career was just beginning. Such challenges included: - Creating a house design that would comply with two sets of building codes, endure 18,000 kilometres of transport over two months, expedite assembly by a team of unskilled labourers, and enable comfortable inhabitation after seven days; - Optimising the thermal performance and liveability of one building for two climates in two hemispheres; - Using architecture, landscape and interior design to explain New Zealand and its lifestyle to an American audience of 200,000; - Realising an entire and complex project that required 100% external funding and in-kind support from as-yet unknown parties. By predisposition, then, the project was not going to be simple: very little of the process and very few of the construction details were going to be standard in any way. This thesis focuses on the critical design developments of the house interior, from a hypothetical design to the full-scale assembly of a ‘kiwi bach’ in the heart of Washington DC. The research and outcomes presented here are not necessarily all precedents for future building projects, but rather ‘best-fit’ solutions for the highly particular and constrained design situation brought about by the interaction of the range of logistical, legislative and economic controls, the dynamics of the wider team, and the demands of the Solar Decathlon competition. The project as a whole can, and should, act as a valid precedent for future architectural projects with regard to research into modular construction, prefabrication, and the collaborative building process. The students that were involved will embark on their professional careers with the Solar Decathlon experience as a foundation for their future contribution to the construction industry.</p>

Inside the First Light House: Interior Design for New Zealand’s Entry into the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2011

<p>This thesis documents a two year journey to design and build a most unconventional kiwi bach. It reports on the applied research undertaken in order to meet the specific requirements of a particular construction project: the development of a transportable, modular, demountable, entirely solar-powered house built in New Zealand to compete in the US Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon, held in Washington DC. This challenge was initially taken on by a small team of undergraduate students with very little previous experience in the construction process. The team faced a set of technical and logistical hurdles that would have been daunting for even the most experienced practitioner to negotiate, let alone a group for whom an architectural career was just beginning. Such challenges included: - Creating a house design that would comply with two sets of building codes, endure 18,000 kilometres of transport over two months, expedite assembly by a team of unskilled labourers, and enable comfortable inhabitation after seven days; - Optimising the thermal performance and liveability of one building for two climates in two hemispheres; - Using architecture, landscape and interior design to explain New Zealand and its lifestyle to an American audience of 200,000; - Realising an entire and complex project that required 100% external funding and in-kind support from as-yet unknown parties. By predisposition, then, the project was not going to be simple: very little of the process and very few of the construction details were going to be standard in any way. This thesis focuses on the critical design developments of the house interior, from a hypothetical design to the full-scale assembly of a ‘kiwi bach’ in the heart of Washington DC. The research and outcomes presented here are not necessarily all precedents for future building projects, but rather ‘best-fit’ solutions for the highly particular and constrained design situation brought about by the interaction of the range of logistical, legislative and economic controls, the dynamics of the wider team, and the demands of the Solar Decathlon competition. The project as a whole can, and should, act as a valid precedent for future architectural projects with regard to research into modular construction, prefabrication, and the collaborative building process. The students that were involved will embark on their professional careers with the Solar Decathlon experience as a foundation for their future contribution to the construction industry.</p>