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Although streets are empty spaces, they have a strong effect on one's perception of the city. They work as a key reference in space and time that influence people's mental map and facilitate their orientation. Not only they may carry footprints of past civilizations, but also they provide a place for public activities, whether cultural or functional. This paper tries to search for the role of streets and its representation in the old town of Nablus, Palestine. It aims at understanding their role in keeping peopleВ...

The paper concerns theory and practice of architectural design with the focus on actual interpretation of critical regionalism intertwined with elements of bioclimatic strategies. The aim of the paper is to analyse the relationship between indigenous cultural heritage, theory of architecture and contemporary building project. These interacting elements are presented in the light of the complex process of architectural education. The paper explains how modern architectural design should be based on the balance betw...

The Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements (JPCPs) can resist high traffic demands without invasive maintenance interventions that produce delays, discomfort and even can affect users safety. However, sealing the joints of JPCPs and keeping them sealed for 10 years, costing up to 45% more than the Unsealed Joints (UnJs). As in addition the joint seals are not working well enough there is an increasing interest to eliminate them. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has reported savings of 6,000,000 US dol...

The current pace of urbanization is so rapid that, as of the moment of the writing of this article, more than half of the world's population lives in cities. This causes the eyes of many researchers from many different fields to focus on them. This essay illustrates the relations that shape the influence of technology, architecture, ecology and society on the functioning of and the form that cities take. The technical death of many buildings and structures, which have until recently met the expectations of the inh...

The recent tendency to redefine architecture and its role on the social function of space is awaiting for its reflections in the architectural design studio practice to be included in the grounds of the future architects' design know how. This paper explores this attempt in a design studio case conducted at Gazi University, Department of Architecture, the topic of which was a secondary school design. Throughout the semester the students sought for ways to make a school building and its surrounding site an integral...

Play is an activity of paramount importance to the child's development; hence it is crucial to have spaces created especially for this purpose. It is visible that, currently, this concern is taken into account as there are numerous children's play areas. A question is raised though, regarding the involvement of children in the process of creating these spaces: are their preferences taken into account when creating these spaces for them to relish? In order to answer this question during the ongoing research, it bec...

The history of the development of cities teaches us that changes to the structure and the model of a city and its constituent parts occur in a process of evolution. This ceaseless process is stimulated by the development of industry and the growth of the economy, inducing social changes that generate new needs and expectations. The process of the evolution of an urban organism is irreversible and its only stable trait is the increasing pace at which the changes take place. The introduction of new spatial structure...

There are a lot of structural mechanics' problems which associated with buildings working under dynamic loading conditions; many existing methods of the solution of dynamic tasks consider a simplified model of a real building. Normally internal friction is not considered. Number of degrees of freedom is limited. Exitation forces are simulated simplistically: system's response to a single (usually instant) impulse is investigated, more complex loadings (groups of impulses) are being studied for a single-degree-of-f...

Nowadays password 'sustainable development', for all the validity of the idea became fashionable slogan, because its actual, highly demanding requirements imposed are often impossible to apply from day to day in economic, technological and legal context of a particular country. Responsive architecture is the first step towards sustainable design, when the architect takes into account the status quo and makes decisions on basis of the analysis of current, available technological possibilities and financial capabili...

Considering the user's importance during the creation process in design and the fact that we live in a society where diversity reigns, in order to have a greater guarantee of success in a project, it is imperative to use a participatory methodology. However, when those users are children under school age it is necessary to pay special attention to possible necessary adjustments, especially from the point of view of communication. It is intended to build a communication code focused on child audience so that it can...

A main concern of contemporary cities in developed countries is to provide an urban environment that encourages non-motorized transport. However, depending on the socio-cultural background of the city under study, specific parameters may demand to be considered. This paper tackles the study and assessment of the environmental qualities of Taipei city urban environment from the point of view of its walkability. The examination of the potentials of urban ambiances in Taipei city and the sensory stimuli they provide,...

Although the studio based learning in architectural education is founded on the interaction between the tutor and the design student, there are few studies on the means and methods to facilitate this interaction. The well-known methods are one to one and public tutorials and from the tutors' side, all function for articulating what they think is important for the effective development of the student project. Within the specific system of limited guidance in the final semester design studio at Gazi University, Depa...

The environmental factors directly affect the persons' perception, comfort, and concentration in working environments. Accordingly, in home office environments, room settings can enhance the preference of the working environment. With this in mind, differently designed home office environments, were assumed to influence the perceptual performance of design students. To verify this hypothesis, six different home office room pictures, were tested by eliciting responses to seven bipolar semantic differential items on...

The rapid development of metropolises is pushing the prices of real estate higher and higher, as areas closer to their centers become more attractive to real-estate developers for the purposes of constructing high quality office and residential complexes. The inhabitants of these areas who are not wealthy enough to purchase a larger dwelling and for whatever reason choose to remain in them, are forced to inhabit smaller and smaller residences and apartments. The article attempts to examine the phenomenon of micro-...

There had been some researches made related with the effects of the physical settings within the offices on the behavior of the employees by now. This paper has been trying to carry this topic one step further by researching the effects of the physical settings within the offices on the motivation of the employees by considering the motivation theories existing in the literature. To be able to increase the awareness; case studies are used in addition to the literature to be able to reveal the real life experiences...

The principles of harmonization of sound and visual components in multimedia advertizing are considered. Five main indicators on which it is expedient to establish compliance with the subsequent harmonization are offered. The emphasis is placed on timbre characteristics of a sound component. The technique and algorithm for practical use are offered.

The transition from Gothic to Renaissance usually explained in the canonical architectural criticism as the (re)discovery of Greco-Roman culture fostered by humanism. Faced with this traditional view, the proposed paper attempts to show that the change, rather than disciplinary, was due to the emergence of a new structure of thought. In Europe, this change entailed moving from a world and a transcendent space to another scientist, as reflected in the passage of the space/divine light of Gothic cathedrals to the sp...

The timber architecture trails of the borderlands and the inclusion of the preserved Orthodox and Catholic churches, as well as unique timber synagogues on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List has contributed to the development of cultural tourism in Poland and in the neighboring countries. Open-air museums have been established around these timber structures and their staff have started to seek new ways of advertising their exhibitions through marketing. The aim of their management is to increase the popularity of...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons why students from Hacettepe University, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design who have been to Italy have decided to participate in the Erasmus Student Exchange Program. The methods used in the study include interviews and questionnaires conducted on the students who participated in the program. Through these methods, it was examined why the students have attended the Erasmus student exchange program; have choses Italy, and Italy's cont...

The paper presents various aspects of the process of transience in architecture: technical, functional, social and civilizational. Both the transience and the tendency to nomadism are intrinsically linked with the architecture of buildings and cities. However, the perception of these processes is largely associated with hard to define, subjective assessments.

The existence of many cultures and religions is a fascinating phenomenon which continuously raises questions. This is an inspiring phenomenon, stimulating intellect and emotions. This is a phenomenon which reveals old conflicts as well as instills joy and hope. In the past, all religions were isolated from each other and their convergence was impossible. Today, more and more often, their authentic interest in each other can be noticed. To a higher degree than in the past, symptoms of a mutual exchange of ideas and...