Enhancing Form-Based Code: A parametric approach to urban volumetric morphology in high density cities

<p>Parametric tools have been broadly implemented in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. Recently, an increasing volume of research finds that parametric tools also have the capability to facilitate large-scale planning and urban design. Much of this research, however, focuses on parametric representation or environment simulation. There is insufficient research about using parametric tools to enhance urban regulation. Parametric tools can provide smart design procedures by integrating strategies, solutions and expressions in one system. They may allow alternative approaches to urban regulation that conventional tools do not process. This research aims to create a parametric modelling system to aid urban regulation. The system offers a visualised coding interface to manipulate parameters and achieve interactive performance feedback at the early stage of urban regulation. Form-Based Code uses the modelling system in this research. It generates a specific morphology by controlling physical form with less focus on land use. With the rise of New Urbanism, Form-Based Code has been used in various American regulation projects. This research extends the application of Form-Based Code, adopting it for urban-peripheral environments outside of the USA. High-density cities where provide the volumetric morphology context is important for this work. Tsim Sha Tsui area of Hong Kong works as an experimental site. The feasibility of parametric urban regulation is examined by developing a parametric modelling system for Form-Based Code in Hong Kong. Understanding the site’s form characteristics, the transect matrix of Form-Based Code is expanded by incorporating multi-layered zone types and regulating plans. Embedding the zones into parametric modelling software Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper 3D, a regenerative prototype works to create real-time scenarios responding to parameters, rules and geometry constraints. The results of parametric urban regulation are evaluated by both Form-Based Code standards and local urban regulation standards to assess its feasibility in context. This research demonstrates that the parametric modelling system for Form-Based Code has both technological and implemental potential to work as an alternative approach to urban regulation, especially in complex developments. Form complexity is a reflection of sophisticated human-society systems and the sequential evolution of a dynamic morphology. Form-Based Code is enhanced by the parametric modelling system to describe and regulate form complexity in a logical manner. Additionally, although parametric Form-Based Code processing is based on the original Form-Based Code, it is not limited to that. Describing urban regulation with visualised models bridges specialists and the public in community demonstrations and code assembling. The parametric modelling system has a positive impact on resolving challenges, predicting outcomes, and applying urban regulation innovation to the volumetric morphology of high-density cities in Asia.</p>

Enhancing Form-Based Code: A parametric approach to urban volumetric morphology in high density cities

<p>Parametric tools have been broadly implemented in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. Recently, an increasing volume of research finds that parametric tools also have the capability to facilitate large-scale planning and urban design. Much of this research, however, focuses on parametric representation or environment simulation. There is insufficient research about using parametric tools to enhance urban regulation. Parametric tools can provide smart design procedures by integrating strategies, solutions and expressions in one system. They may allow alternative approaches to urban regulation that conventional tools do not process. This research aims to create a parametric modelling system to aid urban regulation. The system offers a visualised coding interface to manipulate parameters and achieve interactive performance feedback at the early stage of urban regulation. Form-Based Code uses the modelling system in this research. It generates a specific morphology by controlling physical form with less focus on land use. With the rise of New Urbanism, Form-Based Code has been used in various American regulation projects. This research extends the application of Form-Based Code, adopting it for urban-peripheral environments outside of the USA. High-density cities where provide the volumetric morphology context is important for this work. Tsim Sha Tsui area of Hong Kong works as an experimental site. The feasibility of parametric urban regulation is examined by developing a parametric modelling system for Form-Based Code in Hong Kong. Understanding the site’s form characteristics, the transect matrix of Form-Based Code is expanded by incorporating multi-layered zone types and regulating plans. Embedding the zones into parametric modelling software Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper 3D, a regenerative prototype works to create real-time scenarios responding to parameters, rules and geometry constraints. The results of parametric urban regulation are evaluated by both Form-Based Code standards and local urban regulation standards to assess its feasibility in context. This research demonstrates that the parametric modelling system for Form-Based Code has both technological and implemental potential to work as an alternative approach to urban regulation, especially in complex developments. Form complexity is a reflection of sophisticated human-society systems and the sequential evolution of a dynamic morphology. Form-Based Code is enhanced by the parametric modelling system to describe and regulate form complexity in a logical manner. Additionally, although parametric Form-Based Code processing is based on the original Form-Based Code, it is not limited to that. Describing urban regulation with visualised models bridges specialists and the public in community demonstrations and code assembling. The parametric modelling system has a positive impact on resolving challenges, predicting outcomes, and applying urban regulation innovation to the volumetric morphology of high-density cities in Asia.</p>

Assessing Dense Neighbourhood Sustainability for Daylight Performance: A Case Study of Beijing

Daylight is a valuable natural resource that has been related to space quality and sustainable development. With the increasing density of urban population and physical environment, current manual-based daylight analysis and assessment have limited capabilities for dense neighbourhood evaluation and fail to effectively quantify natural daylight in residential zones. This paper proposes a parametric-based modelling system that perform year-round daylight access in dense neighbourhoods. Neighbourhood samples of Beijing work as study cases. Methods include data integration and parametric modelling. Geographic and climate information, building geometries, and daylight performance are computed with the parametric-based modelling system. Experiments at various residential building cluster layouts demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed system. Results indicate that parametric technology can provide positive innovation for daylight performance evaluation and dense neighbourhood sustainability assessment.

Eddy Around Zhoushan Island: Observations with Synthetic Aperture Radar at C-band

We studied mesoscale (∼100 km length) eddy around the Zhoushan Island (one Sentinel-1 (S-1) image at coastal East China Sea). The simultaneous sea surface temperature (SST) data from the Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) confirms the existence of upwelling in the Western Pacific Ocean, although, the AVHRR data around the Zhoushan Islands were not available. The difference in the root mean square error (RMSE) between the simulations with the Region Ocean Modelling System (ROMS) and that of the AVHRR data was around 1 °C. Also, the RMSE of the model-simulated current speed compared with that of the Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2) data was 0.04 m/s. We concluded that natural biogenic slicks mainly contributed to damping Bragg waves for sub-mesoscale upwelling, while ocean currents are an important factor affecting the roughness of mesoscale cold eddies.

Storm surge hazard over Bengal delta: A probabilistic-deterministic modelling approach

Storm-surge induced coastal inundation constitutes a substantial threat to lives and properties along the vast coastline of the Bengal delta. Some of the deadliest cyclones in history made landfall in the Bengal delta region claiming more than half a million lives over the last five decades. Complex hydrodynamics and observational constraints have hindered the understanding of the risk of storm surge flooding of this low-lying (less than 5 m above mean sea level), densely populated (> 150M) mega-delta. Here, we generated and analysed a storm surge database derived from a large ensemble of 3600 statistically and physically consistent synthetic storm events and a high-resolution storm surge modelling system. The storm surge modelling system is developed based on a custom high-accuracy regional bathymetry enabling us to estimate the surges with high-confidence. From the storm surge dataset, we performed a robust probabilistic estimate of the storm surge extremes. Our ensemble estimate shows that there is a diverse range of water level extremes along the coast and the estuaries of the Bengal delta, with well-defined regional patterns. We confirm that the risk of inland storm surge flooding at a given return period is firmly controlled by the presence of coastal embankments and their height. We also conclude that about 10 % of the coastal population is living under the exposure of a 50-year return period inundation under current climate scenarios. In the face of ongoing climate change, which is likely to worsen the future storm surge hazard, we expect our flood maps to provide relevant information for coastal infrastructure engineering, risk zoning, resource allocation, as well as future research planning.

Bottom–Up Inventory of Residential Combustion Emissions in Poland for National Air Quality Modelling: Current Status and Perspectives

For many years, the Polish air quality modelling system was decentralized, which significantly hampered the appropriate development of methodologies, evaluations, and comparisons of modelling results. The major contributor to air pollution in Poland is the residential combustion sector. This paper demonstrates a novel methodology for residential emission estimation utilized for national air quality modelling and assessment. Our data were compared with EMEP and CAMS inventories, and despite some inequalities in country totals, spatial patterns were similar. We discuss the shortcomings of the presented method and draw conclusions for future improvements.

Analisis Karakteristik Arus di Perairan Teluk Parepare, Sulawesi Selatan

Perairan Teluk Parepare merupakan teluk semi-tertutup, beberapa titik tertentu terdapat submarine canyon (kontur yang menjorok ke dalam) yang secara viskositas dinilai dapat mempengaruhi pola sirkulasi arus laut yakni vektor dan magnitude-nya. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pola arus dan kecepatan arus pasang surut yang disebabkan oleh karakteristik kedalaman di perairan Parepare. Metode penelitian menggunakan analisis deskriptif kualitatif. Sementara analisis hidrodinamika menggunakan software SMS (Surface Water Modelling System) dengan sub-program RMA-2 yang diturunkan dari persamaan beda hingga 2D. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kondisi perairan di Teluk Parepare pada waktu-waktu tertentu terjadi rotasi arus dan pertemuan arus yang disebabkan oleh variasi kedalaman dan adanya perubahan kecepatan. Perubahan dari kecepatan yang tinggi 0,068 – 0,21 m/s ke kecepatan yang cukup rendah 0,0029 – 0,0051 m/s. Pada daerah submarine canyon (kontur yang menjorok ke dalam), pola arus membentuk pusaran (turbulensi) dengan kecepatan rata-rata berkisar 0,031 m/s. Sehingga dapat dikatakan bahwa tipe kontur kedalaman dapat mempengaruhi pola arus di perairan Teluk Parepare. Karakteristik kondisi arus pada saat musim barat (hujan) kecepatan arus lebih besar dan lebih fluktuatif (tidak stabil) dibandingkan dengan kecepatan arus rata- rata pada musim timur (kemarau).