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The latter third of the 19th Century was the golden age of balneotherapy on the Iberian Peninsula. Sea or wave baths along the Spanish coastline, which have now disappeared and are unknown in the current architectural panorama, are captured on a plethora of postcards and advertising posters that used photography, which was fully developed throughout Spain, as a means of promoting the culture of bathing. Through photography we are now able to see what these absent structures looked like, and to understand the esthe...

Understanding the genesis of urban landscape defined by fields/urban matrix, lines and points in time continuum is crucial as a pre-method for composing new structures concerning their position, form and purpose. Ston urban landscape has been formed spontaneously and by planning throughout a long period of time. It developed into an organised whole of landscape and its structures. That harmonious unity is in constant change. Such time-spatial dynamics ought to be accepted as a precondition for contemporary design,...

This study looks at the ways how spatial identity of neighbourhoods is formed and considers implications that may be stated for policies seeking the ways to improve and enhance their development in future. The area of Bolderaa neighbourhood in Riga, Latvia, is a typical historical neighbourhood of Riga, having gathered evidence from various phases of evolution of urban structure and urban design. Through the investigation of Bolderaa the study examines the results of changing urban shape, pattern and scale by time.

The continuous and accelerated change of the contemporary society leads to an uncertainty regarding the needs and aspirations of tomorrow. Under what parameters could we build for tomorrow if today's needs are already evolving? How many resources could we direct to the fulfilling of ever changing necessities? We imagine adaptable forms capable to better respond to the uncertainties of the future. The consequences of this phenomenon are both the over exhaustion of the human capacity to adapt and the elimination of ...

The Diocletian's mausoleum was built at the beginning of the 4th century and was later turned into Split's cathedral in the 7th century. Due to its importance, it is not a surprise that the cathedral is an architecturally influential building. There are several churches near Split that contain the central octagonal element in their spatial composition and the church of Saint Clement in Sitno Gornje is the oldest one, still standing. The researchers have often emphasized the influence of the Diocletian's mausoleum,...

Under increasing pressure for change in the land use patterns within city's floodplains, there is a need of protecting or reconnecting fragmented ecological corridors along the riversides. Combining leisure and recreational activities with urban agriculture and flood protection, seems to be the most sensible thing to do in order to ensure efficient use of ecosystem services. In practice, this often leads to formation of mosaic landscape pattern, where a patchwork-like parcels have an integrating function. The arti...

Every day, in hospitals around the world, thousands of people spend hours, days, months for investigations, diagnosis or treatment, in search of healing. For patients and their families, the experience of the time spent in the hospital is often a crucial episode of their lives, whether their child was born there, whether it was the place where the life of a family member or loved one has been saved or a bout of illness was cured or treated there. The hospital often represents a milestone in people's lives, a landm...

In the present-day context, the collective housing represents a generalized urban phenomenon, a largely spread residential typology, which shapes the contemporary city both physically, as well as from the social-cultural point of view. Therefore, the matter of life quality for the communities residing the collective housing neighborhoods becomes significant, from the perspective of the factors which influence this aspect, as well as of the urban strategies implementable in order to improve the existing circumstanc...

Architectural heritage restoration assumes a key role to achieve urban sustainable development due to the advantages it ensures in terms of limited soil consumption, energy efficiency, increased urban quality and community well-being. In territories where welfare reaches satisfactory levels, the ratio between qualitative and quantitative needs tends to increase progressively; this phenomenon involves all production sectors, including that of architectural design which is urged to introduce appropriate quality obje...

As every living thing, cities change within years. It can be said changing is the nature of the city. In Europe, transformation of the city began to get different meanings after the Industrial Revolution. Because with the Industrial Revolution more and more people began to migrate to cities but cities didn't have enough substructure to take people in. They had to meet the requirements so they began to transform. This situation, which happened in Europe in 19th and beginning of the 20th century, began to be seen in...

The modern concept of restoration as a result of a long historical process was shaped in the eighteenth century, when the evolving modern conservation principles found their first concrete expressions. Regarding this, investigating the relationship between the definition of the restoration gave by the lexicography, by the architects and by the antiquaries, and comparing it with the results of the concrete work constitutes a solid base to know in depth the process that led to the concept of restoration in its moder...

The article explores possibility of providing a high quality architectural space and profitability of investment in the context of increasing requirements for energy efficiency of buildings. For this purpose legal requirements relating energy efficiency of buildings are analyzed (EU directives, the local law, ecological certification LEED, BREEAM) and their influence on architecture through evaluation of existing energy-efficient facilities built on a different scale. Continuously increasing requirements concernin...

Experimentally investigated strength and stiffness at uniaxial compression of wood-cement composite as a orthotropic material. The diagrams "Force (N) - Deformation (mm)" were obtained with using test machine SHIMADZU AG300kNX in Mechanical Laboratory. prof. N.A. Belelyubskiy [http://mech-lab.ru/history.php]. Samples in the form of a cube with an edge of 10 cm in 28 days of age were tested. Components of material: sawdust, Portland cement, sodium silicate, calcium chloride, polypropylene fiber (segments of 18 mm l...

This study focuses on design process of “living space” through house and dwelling projects in Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul. By taking the “dwelling” unit as a tool for training, students practice different approaches to “living space” in many architecture schools. How the student's perception of living space and their approach to the dwelling design change during architectural education is the subject of this paper. The methodology of this study was based on selected examples of compulsor...

Previous studies have identified a strong preference for finishes that provide a surface perceived comparably close to that of wood in its natural state. This study focuses on establishing if physical characteristics of wood grain can affect the choice of a finish, regardless of the initial preference. Experienced examiners carry out the analysis, while the influence of their individual cultural background is taken into consideration in analyzing the results. The subjects are presented with a selection of samples ...

This article is focused on the role of architectural design in metropolitan spatial structures. Iconic architecture located at the nodes of the metropolitan urban network strengthen the quality of its public spaces and crystallize some of them into polycentric sub-centers of the metropolitan structure. The article proposes a matrix of relations between problems and their scales as a tool for analytical research, which focuses on the metropolitan structure of Krakow. These relations can be used to help explain the ...

This article focuses on how children play, their behavior while playing and how we can create enjoyable and functional play areas in cities. Children can play anywhere. Important thing is to make play times beneficial for children both physically and mentally. In play environments children are always interested in natural elements such as sand, trees and water because of their play qualities and their power to enable the creation of new games. Because of that reason governments try to increase natural recreation a...

The study of water landscapes involves a number of ways and methods. It has become especially important nowadays when the latest technologies and ideas on shaping water can be applied to create water parks' interiors. Water has been a key potential in the development of water parks. The article illustrates possibilities of formal solutions with the use of water in various forms, leaving it open for further research in this topic. By analysing the internal landscape of contemporary in situ water parks, the author s...

Contemporary Czech liturgical music is a genre which has been given an official attention of cultural community only after the year 1989. It relates to the political situation and the state ideology that prevented the spread of this music and even obstructed its musicological processing or pedagogical use. However, until this time, it has not been systematically analyzed, although the differences of styles and experience from concert presentations show that this music deserves the attention of artists, students, s...

This study investigates performance and perception of microintervals in first movement (Hora lunga) from Gyorgy Ligetis' Sonata for Solo Viola. The 2.5 bar excerpt was performed live by the professional viola player – the author of this paper, with intention to test the performance and perception of two intonational versions – one containing equally tempered semitones B3-C4 (100 cents), and the other containing microintervals, which should be performed by lowering pitch B3 by 49 cents, or about a quartertone (...

This paper wants to present and highlight the very difficult but very valuable work of Romanian composer Viorel Munteanu, conceived as a theme with variations, inspired from a carol from Transylvania (Romania), collected by Bela Bartok. There are presented the results of research and artistic activity carried out in several stages: structural analysis and solving the specific technical problems, for such an interpretive act; the results of the interpretation experience resulted from performing the work in differen...

Approaching the history of music at present day, entails, first and foremost, setting in order the writings of important authors, who, by their general- cultural view (connection to the historic, esthetical, philosophical and political ideas of the time), and musical (the balance between general aspects regarding the presentation of either eras, styles, or composers and their oeuvres, and the personal option for certain esthetics, certain language or significant opus), contributes to the diversity of research meth...

We propose a very important research subject developed around the concept of actor, namely a theoretical and applied study of stage movement in developing the creativity of actors. The study proposes the identification and, afterwards, the use of the contemporary acting and its adaptation to freelancing. Thus, starting from the present theoretical models together with the existent case studies, we will approach this subject taking into account the specificity of European and Romanian cultural pattern. Taking into ...

Beginning with the second half of the XIXth century, the Romanian space has known a powerful stylistic orientation, with its own main purpose to exploit the archaic, archetypal chant and melody, specific to the oral traditional Romanian music. The impact was strong and generalized, gathering a great number of composers who, through the approach of all musical genres, have developed the musical language up to a maximal degree of complexity, in a perfect synchronicity with the musical tendencies and currents promote...

At present, the link between musicology and new information and communications technologies, a well as the novel possibilities this link provides for preparing critical editions of music, receive more and more attention. Furthermore, financing and publishing extensive series of critical editions of music for print is becoming more complicated. Institutions financing research in this field are beginning to place more emphasis on the preparation of scholarly editions in digital format. The success of some of these e...

Term scene design relates to professional, artistic, curatorial, theoretical and ideological practices developed from the expanded meaning of scenography – as semantic category and artistic discipline. The first researches in this area in Serbia started in 1996 with the series of exhibitions and theoretical symposia dealing with the phenomenon of spectacle in the contemporary world, and resulting in scene design being defined as a joint process of conception, creation and realisation of a scene in the broadest s...

In the contemporary music industry the image of a musician or a music event appears to be one of the most important parts of an agent or concert organization work. Thanks to correctly formed image a musician (music event) becomes memorable, recognizable and able to concentrate appropriate target audience around him (it). Successful and elaborated image is a key factor for a music project success and sometimes overshadows the quality of the music itself. The purpose of the article is to present our own vision on im...

In his book length essay L'homme revolte / The Rebel, Albert Camus describes the absurd man in terms of its major essential qualities: freedom, passion and revolt and identifies its three major prototypes: the Creator, Conqueror and Don Juan. All these qualities of the absurd man, outlined by the famous French writer and philosopher in his writings, are undoubtedly vivid descriptors of Samuel Beckett, in all his human and professional stances: as playwright (The Creator), director (The Conqueror) and complete arti...

There are neither simple nor facile things or answers when we talk or wonder about Samuel Beckett the person, the artist, the professor, the playwright, the director. His manifest theater flashed briefly through the world, revolutionizing and breaking patterns and demolishing conventions. He challenged and irreversibly changed the horizon of expectation for spectators in what the theatrical experience was concerned. His dramatic creation, bridge between world and stage set new delimitations of the space of accepta...

The notion of empty space in this work was defined on the basis of theoretical investigations in the fields of theatre, psychoanalysis, philosophy, and theory of space. Understanding of the empty space in theatre was based onto the theories of a British director Peter Brook, while the theoretical postulates of Jacques Lacan were taken from the field of psychoanalysis. Concept of the emptiness, which Peter Brook defines as the ultimate condition for emergence of the truly theatrical experience, was analyzed in a re...

From a general perspective, the Romanian composers of the second half of XX century felt themselves united to a certain synchronistic spirit of the musicians from the Western Europe (and not only them), being polarized by the imperative to create a synthesis, essentially based on the fusion of three factors: 1. The assimilation of composition techniques universally recognized; 2. The valorisation of the autochthone modal-archaic potential; 3. The personal, authentic infusion of the creator. In this context, two st...

Silence means concentration, emotion, analysis. The spectator understands what he sees. In the moment in which he sees a sign, he decodes it; the sign can be represented by a gesture or a sound but by silence as well. Could silence be a sign of the inner conflict on both sides of the stage? The present research is based on three axes: the actor's play, the communication with the partner and the reception of the message considering the unuttered word the expression of the inner language. In this vein, methodologica...

Globalization is a leading concept which has become the main factor in everyday business during the last few decades. As every aspect of life is inadvertently affected by this phenomenon, the very notion of architecture is also influenced with the emergence of new meanings and definitions. The foremost example of such a transition in the field of architecture is no doubt the modern shopping environment. Being one of the initial activities of mankind; commerce and trade first emerged as simple bartering and continu...

Globalization is unification. In the field of architecture and in the social structure alike, the globalization leads to a blending of economies and cultures that produces uniformly branded public space as a response to universal assumptions of integration and correlation. While branding consists in creating a recognizable and outstanding image a strong contradiction exists between both of these approaches. As a result, regional architecture is disappearing, while the growth in significance of international archit...

This paper includes a brief report of the research that questions whether an outline of the structure of the modern architectural knowledge could be drawn and how the concepts 'discontinuity' and 'opposition' could be utilized in attaining an epistemological reading of it. A contextual analysis of the texts and visual material on architecture has provided us with compatible data on how oppositions such as the ones between 'building and topography', 'compositional unit and whole', 'iconic and symbolic values of arc...

The objective of this research is identification, studying and analysis of the combined technologies for art processing of glass, which will allow us to expand the range of products of arts and crafts considerably. This paper presents the features of the combined technologies for kilnformed glass. The technology of consecutive agglomeration and recomposition of the glass elements is especially important. The author conducted an experiment which helped to research and investigate main characteristics of the pre-fus...

The experience of the expropriation of conventual complexes and their adaptation for the new administration is the basis for a detailed discussion that illuminates the cultural and political world and is especially significant for the development of Italian architecture in the last decades of the nineteenth century. In these experiences we observe the search for a "national style" and the debate on the professional skills required to work on pre-existing architectural stuctures. This last aspect is important in th...

This article deals with Ural factory hospitals of various periods of time and styles: Demidovsky Hospital in Nizhny Tagil, Factory Hospital in Zlatoust and Factory Hospital in Satkinsk. Authors carried out comparative analysis of planning and facade decisions, features of planning. Distinctions in plans enable one to observe evolution of planning decisions of hospitals and to estimate influence of the made changes on planning structure of the building as a whole.

The use of a projector to display information has increased. An advantage of projected information is that there is no need for the user to wear special devices. We proposed an interface design to support the display of operating guides on the surface of equipment. We designed an experiment to determine how to display text. Then, we created an interface design to support the procedures of maintenance.

As the world economy has become more global towards the end of the 20th century, protection of intellectual property rights has gained a special importance for the free movement of goods. Intellectual property rights are generally organized into two categories: Copyright and industrial property. Copyright refers to the rights related to artistic and literary works whereas industrial property primarily refers to inventions, trademarks and industrial designs. As designs are intellectual outputs embodying both artist...

While spending time in our everyday urban environment do we ever think how particular architecture influences the economic value of that space? Space has its measurable financial value. From the economic point of view a place can be treated as a product that fights for appearing in tourists' and investors' consciousnesses. Space - treated as an object of demand and supply - becomes an element in a marketing game. To reach its maximum value the space should be competitive to the other spaces, from which it wants to...

While thinking on and writing on the contemporary architecture of 21st century, it is known that there are always encounters difficulties and restrictiveness of making distinct descriptions, because of the existence of many different interesting architectural project examples all over the world. All kinds of descriptive approaches to be held towards the field of contemporary architecture and/or the names that are producing works in the field will inevitably include some details while they also will exclude some ot...

In the 21st century EU is one of the super-power of the World while the definition of the union has been produced since the Middle Ages, more than this it is known that the definition of Europe has been produced since the Antique regarding to the economic, sociological, cultural and politic conditions. Although the idea of the united Europe had existed since the Middle Ages, till the 19th century, it is known that the idea could not turned into the reality. Unless after the 19th century and the early 20th century,...

The tendency to offer hypothetical design problems in architectural design studios is contradictory with its excuse. The assertion that neglecting some contextual inputs would increase creativity remains null as it detaches students from the realistic situations that provide a high chance of possessing a sincere motive for achieving an effective solution. Detachment from the social variables of a given context has such an impact on students who, therefore, tend to focus on formal configurations and skill demonstra...

The Romanian church architecture represents a generic title that refers to the evolution of this branch of religious art, within the lands occupied by the Orthodox Romanians. Places of worship appeared in these lands since the fourteenth century and they were built in all the architectural styles found, from the basilical style to the most complex forms of the byzantine style.However, taking into consideration the fact that Romania was an unified state only after 1918, until the date mentioned earlier in our study...

The aim of the paper is to examine the potential of augmented reality in architectural projects. Authors identify the approaches to augmented reality and present the methodology of its use in architectural practice, as well as the result of own case study - augmented reality design of the district El Cabanyal in Valencia, Spain. The AR Project “TimetravellersCabanyal 2013” enabled not only the virtual reconstruction of demolished buildings on their original place, in three-dimensional representation, but also ...

The paper presents the impact on the architecture of the new technologies of realization of concrete structures. Some topological concepts of structural system, known earlier, can be realized only now – thanks to technological development. The possibility of shaping complex organic forms is important because of the visual perception of created architectural objects.

Since early age, the concrete experiences deformations due to thermal differences and shrinkage. The Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements (JPCPs) have joints, these are weak zones where it is expected the cracks will be produced. In fact the designed slab length considers that the joints crack. During the construction of JPCPs in Chile, in wet climatic conditions, it was observed that the joints remained uncracked even 3 weeks after construction. Nevertheless, in average climatic conditions, the cracking time of the f...

In recent years, the concept of "design culture" is often used in the analysis of various aspects of the theory and practice of design. The researchers from other areas of the humanities knowledge (cultural studies, pedagogy, sociology) operate these aspects. In the present article, the attempts of theoretical understanding of the concept of "design culture" in art are made. The author's definition of the term is given and developed taking into account the experience of its usage in related humanitarian sciences, ...

Architecture is a complex system composed of parts and elements which interact with one another. As Vitruvius claims: 'The design of a temple depends on symmetry, the principles of which must be most carefully observed by the architect. They are due to proportion /.../ Without symmetry and proportion there can be no principle in the design of any temple; that is, if there is no precise relation between its members, as in the case of those of a well shaped man. [\ldots] Therefore, if it is agreed that the numerical...