International Journal of Architectural Engineering & Urban Planning
Volume:34 Issue: 3, Jul 2024

Any scientific activity or instrumental application involving façades—such as research, design, evaluation, and decision-making—requires a comprehensive set of criteria to cover all expected requirements. This highlights the necessity of a study to explore, gather, and organize a holistic set of criteria for the evaluation, study, design, and decision-making regarding façades. Moreover, establishing a comprehensive list of criteria is essential but insufficient on its own. It is equally important to achieve a mutual understanding of these criteria, providing experts and researchers with a common language and understanding regarding façades. Although various criteria have been mentioned in different façade-related research, a summary study to gather, organize, and reliably define these criteria is needed to improve the logical applications of façades and facilitate mutual understanding. This study aims to take the first step in meeting this requirement by describing each criterion relevant to façade assessment. In this context, a systematic library-based research approach was employed, reviewing 71 related papers. Criteria were then extracted using an exploratory study based on open and axial coding methods. Ultimately, 42 criteria were identified and organized into five primary categories: environmental aspects, social impacts, economic aspects, efficiency and effectiveness, and technical aspects.

Given the crucial role of medical buildings in emergency situations, health maintenance, and disease control, as well as the importance of ensuring user comfort, recent architectural studies have emphasized the need to revise design criteria. One of the key considerations for creating comfortable environments in hospitals is managing undesirable lighting. Although research underscores the importance of sufficient and appropriate natural light in reducing patients' length of stay, reliance on general standards may not adequately address the needs of specific patient groups. To assess visual comfort in an ophthalmic ward while minimizing the potential biases and limitations of human studies, this research utilized an in vivo animal model using rabbits. Rabbits were selected due to their physiological similarities to humans, especially regarding the visual system, making them appropriate subjects for studying cataract-related reactions. Moreover, animal studies offer better control over environmental factors, ethical considerations, and reproducibility compared to human studies, where individual variations and external factors can affect results. In this study, daylight simulation and its effects were analyzed through a point-by-point illuminance comparison using Rhinoceros modeling software, Grasshopper, and HoneybeePlus version 1.4.0. The results demonstrated a 15.19% discrepancy between the visual comfort limits set by international standards and the expectations of patients with cataract eye problems. This inconsistency has led to a 22.44% reduction in the comfort levels within the patients' rooms.

High temperatures and air pollution are significant challenges in ensuring fresh air supply in the hot-humid climate of Asalouye City. These conditions compel residents to rely heavily on mechanical cooling, which subsequently escalates energy consumption and deteriorates indoor air quality. The primary air pollutants include Particulate Matter (PM), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), and microorganisms. Fiber filters and electrostatic filters are the most common methods for purifying PMs from the air, with the electrostatic method offering advantages such as high efficiency, the ability to remove a wide range of particles, low-pressure drop, and no need for frequent replacement. This study proposed a ventilation system integrating a window,
a precipitator using electrostatic technology, a cooling coil, and an exhaust fan. The system's performance was evaluated using CFD simulation in Ansys-Fluent software (2021) to assess its effectiveness in reducing PM concentrations, pre-cooling incoming air, and maintaining the standard ventilation rate. The findings revealed that at air velocities of 6 m/s and 1 m/s, the system could completely remove copper, nickel, and sulfur particles with diameters of 0.1 µ and 10 µ. Additionally, the distance between the system's air inlet (window opening) and its air outlet (where air enters the interior) significantly influences the particle reduction level. The proposed cooling coil, however, only managed to reduce the air temperature by 2°C. In the absence of wind, an exhaust fan with a pressure jump of at least 250 Pa or 500 Pa is necessary to achieve the standard airflow and ventilation rate.

In the current century, the crisis of meaning and the loss of individual identity underscore the need to focus on self-actualization as a viable solution. Self-actualization is a psychological necessity, and it is crucial to leverage all environmental capabilities to facilitate individuals' self-actualization. This study aims to introduce a causal model for the design components of residential complexes centered on residents' self-actualization. The research was conducted in three phases: 1) document analysis using the Delphi method, 2) a survey-based second phase, and 3) correlation analysis. The study begins with an examination of resources, supplemented by expert insights gathered using the Delphi method, which was chosen for its capability to achieve group consensus through expert judgment. A researcher-made questionnaire was developed for users, and design components effective for self-actualization were identified using R-factor analysis. The theoretical model of the research components was presented, and its validity was assessed using Amos software. The results indicated that the factors influencing the design of residential complexes, based on self-actualization, included Creative Environment, Eventful Environment, Diversity, Collaborative Environment, Interactive Environment, Environmental Safety, and Discoverability. Consequently, it can be acknowledged that a social environment that is safe and secure, where environmental events can occur, and where creative participation is encouraged, can significantly support individuals' self-actualization. This study contributes a novel causal model that elucidates the relationships among the design components of residential complexes, with an emphasis on promoting residents' self-actualization.

Statement of problem: due to the weakened social life and residence function in historical fabrics, they have absorbed attention as the social and identity heart of the city. A part of each city's identity is composed of narratives concerning the roots, influential figures, as well as prominent processes and activities, most of which have occurred in historical centers. Preserving and reinforcing the historical fabric of Yazd requires a comprehensive multidimensional approach, requiring the recognition of the previous socio-economic structures of the fabric, and valuing it once more as a part of the solution. Therefore, the present study aimed to find an answer to the question of what lessons can be gained from the social relation narratives of economic activities and professions in historical fabrics of Yazd and how they can be used in the regeneration of the neighborhoods. The purpose of the study was to find lessons from the social relation narratives and economic activities and professions of the fabric and to show how these narratives can be used in the planning of different regeneration approaches of historical fabrics. The research was conducted using an interpretive paradigm with a qualitative approach, historical methodology, and narrative. According to the results, a feature that has distinguished Yazd city from other cities in Iran is that the people from different religions have peacefully lived together; followers of all religions have contributed to making valuable physical elements. Moreover, women from different religions have been involved in architectural activities. The neighborhoods were socially connected. The elders were the leading social figures in each neighborhood, who were volunteers in public affairs, including the creation of neighborhood facilities and services, as well as helping the poor and people in need, and played a prominent role in the economic, social, and management activities of the neighborhood. Today, any act to reconstruct the historical neighborhoods needs to be based on “reinforcing social life and the resident’s behavioral systems” and “the use of popular management, revival and improvement of the elders in the neighborhoods, and reviving the old professions to their modern versions and according to the needs of the time as a manifestation of economic and social empowerment of the historical fabrics”. At the end, the study presented how “narratives” can be used for “planning” in different approaches of regenerating the historical fabrics.

Medical plants gardens are places that primarily focused on the conservation, cultivation, research, and education of plant species that are used medicinally. These gardens have a long history. The creation of a tranquil and pleasant conditions for the visitors, as well as development of the local economy and raising citizen awareness, could be further objectives of the medicinal plants garden. Therefore, the architectural style of successful herbal botanical gardens needs to reflect a broad understanding of botany and encourage creative thinking in garden design and interpretation. It seeks a design that can maintain the virtuous cycle of the medicinal plants and at the same time maintain the spatial equilibrium of the dynamic development of urban landscapes, so as to make them have good ecological and urban functions. The aim of this study is to explore the design methods of plant landscaping in urban medical plants gardens under the concept of sustainability. We first reviewed the design of medicinal plants garden and its application to urban green space design. This research focuses on how to select principles that are adapted to the sustainability and how to promote biodiversity, and improve the quality of life of urban residents through eco-design approaches. Through the analysis of a number of domestic and international cases of medicinal plants gardens, we found that effective sustainable design is not only choosing the right areas but also includes the rational management of water resources, energy conservation, environmental impacts reduction, and creating a calm space and increasing the awareness of citizens. This study also points out socio-cultural challenges and strengths of these gardens. Finally, this paper carries out a specific analysis of the sustainable evaluation system for design of medicinal plants landscaping in urban green spaces and experimentally verifies that, compared with other styles, sustainable architecture style is better overall. This study aims to provide a practical reference and guidance for urban planners, garden designers, and environmentalists.

Various methods have been employed in vernacular architecture, to achieve energy efficiency in different regions worldwide, especially in facade designs. In Iran, most vernacular buildings are still in use without major modifications and renovations, even in harsh climatic conditions. This study uses mathematical analysis to conduct a quantitative approach toward principles used in the façade design of Bushehr's vernacular architecture. The research critically examined the physical characteristics of eight residential buildings, which were selected as case studies. These parameters included window-to-wall ratios, the surface area for each facade, and the size of different openings concerning height and weight. These physical characteristics of the selected houses were systematically extracted for both the interior and exterior facades, delineating eighteen criteria. The statistical analyses were done using IBM SPSS Statistics version 16.0. The results revealed fourteen linear models—six models related to the exterior facades, five models concerned with interior facades, and three models about the opening. Although the linear models are specific to the vernacular architecture of Bushehr, the research method and approach outlined in this study have the potential to contribute to a framework that can be used by other researchers to uncover underlying principles in vernacular facades elsewhere around the world.

One of the effective strategies for achieving sustainability and creating interaction between the “conservation and development of urban heritage” is to maintain “integrity” in historic cities. The definition of integrity, in relation to the definition of the special values of urban heritage, is important. Reviewing international conservation documents and conventions, as well as relevant theoretical perspectives, indicates that the evolution of the concept of integrity has been the result of both sources, with an emphasis on the principle of conservation and the conservation of heritage significances. It then becomes associated with the concept of “authenticity” in convey of significance, and ultimately aligns with the concept of sustainability and sustainable development in "conserving significance " and "transferring significance." The present study aims to explain and recognize the relationship between the concept of integrity and the sustainable conservation and development of urban heritage. Therefore, the approach of this research is fundamental, and the dominant strategy is content analysis, in order to provide a conceptual framework that, on the one hand, focuses on the concept of integrity and the conservation and convey of heritage significances over time, and on the other hand, ensures the secure and convey of significances to future generations through the concept of sustainability. Therefore, the concepts of "convey significance “and “conservation significance" are vital and essential in the process of sustainable conservation and development of urban heritage.