Architecture Commons^™

The Metaverse: A Virtual World In The Palm Of Your Hand, Ziad Doughan, Hadi Al Mubasher, Mustafa El Bizri, Ali Haidar

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

This paper explores the actual and future impact of the Metaverse as a virtual space. Thus, it focuses the probe on the technical challenges that face this everlasting emerging technology. Today, the Metaverse presents a digital environment to build collective architecture and historical heritage in a virtual space. In this digital world, the modeling and design methodology is based on individual archetypes that can puzzle new elements. Currently, traditional methods require change and adaptation in both the education and work market, especially due to the remote-work integration in the last few years. For example, many components are required to build …

Effects Of Bisphenol A And Nicotine On Cytochrome P450s In Brain And Liver Of Pregnant Rats, Mohammad Merii, Manal Fardon, Mahmoud Khalil

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Bisphenol A (BPA), a widely used chemical, is associated with endocrine disruption through its interactions with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). BPA crosses into the human body mostly through migration from plastic packaging into the daily diet. AhR regulates the expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs), including numerous CYP450s, and mediates xenobiotic reactions. This study aims at examining how the expression of CYP450s expression is affected, in the brain and liver of pregnant rats, by exposure to BPA and nicotine. Pregnant female Sprague-Dawley dams were exposed to increasing doses of BPA; 0 (control), 50, 500, and 5000 g/kg/day , or in …

Concrete Mix Design Using Abrams And Bolomey Methods, Salem Abdelgader, Marzena Kurpinska, Hakim Abdelgader, Jamal Khatib

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

This research studied concrete design methods. To design concrete using two methods, including the Abrams law and the modified Bolomey method. Concrete with assumed compressive strength 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 MPa was researched. The research was conducted in the laboratory using two types of samples: cubic 15x15x15cm for compressive strength tests and cylinders ϕ-15cm, h-30cm for the splitting strength tests using the Brazilian method.

The analysis of the cement content in the composition of 1m3 of the mixture showed very large differences depending on the calculation method used. The cement content calculated according to the Abrams method ranged …

Studying Changes And Addressing The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Restaurants, Nael Mohamed Nabil Alsarrag

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Several everyday activities were majorly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting these activities to become safe for people to perform and become "covid-friendly" required many studies. Dining out in restaurants was one of the major activities that were affected by this pandemic. Permanently or partially closed, restaurants adapted quickly to sidewalk pickups, and excessive delivery demand, and accordingly, their menus and even the staffing were shortened. Several months later, the foodservice industry was one of the first to move a step forward against coronavirus and positively adapt by coming up with creative and innovative ways to be able to re-open …

Tree Provision Achieving Kid’S Thermal Comfort Through Finishing Material Performance In Subtropical Outdoor Playgrounds. Comparison Between King Fahed And Al Biaa Garden In Tripoli, Lebanon, Houda Kabbara, Eslam M. Elsamahy, Mary Felix

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Outdoor playgrounds are one of the most spaces needed for kids to make different types of activities, and enhancing thermal comfort in such space consist a critical value due to its impact on kids’ health. Unfortunately, the acceleration of urban heat island (UHI) in outdoor spaces, caused by the presence built-up area has affected the temperature of outdoor spaces especially playgrounds. Many researches highlighted the importance of studying outdoor playground materials to achieve kid’s thermal comfort. Nevertheless, analyzing the impact of providing trees on material performance consist a new research perspective. This research highlight on the importance of using trees …

Architectural Representations Of Human Rights, El-Bastawissi Y. Ibtihal, Youssef Maged

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

The United Nations defines the Human Rights as the rights of all human beings, regardless of race, gender, language, religion, nationality, or any other status. These rights include all claims to live freely, to educate and work in equality, and to inhabit humanistic urban and architectural spaces. Throughout the history of architecture, civilisations have generated different perspectives towards respecting the human rights. Temples of Ancient Egyptian Architecture crushed the human scale to introduce religious experiences to their visitors. Tibetan temples over mountains enforced people to make anti-humanistic journeys to reach them. After thousands of years, the mega-scale palaces and cathedrals …

Medicinal Plants’ Stress Factors: Effects On Metabolites And Novel Perspectives For Tolerance, Mayssaloune Ali Kanso, Mohamad Ali Hijazi, Maha Aboul Ela Prof., Abdalla El-Lakany

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Medicinal plants are rich in secondary metabolites representing different chemical classes and synthesized by various biochemical pathways. However, these compounds are susceptible to potential herbal predators and to environmental influences. Several factors induce different biotic and abiotic stresses (drought, cold, salinity, heat) that lead to fluctuations in the biogenesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites by which plants react to overcome the threatening stress conditions. This contribution aims to give an overview of the various medicinal plant defense mechanisms against imminent threats and their impact on secondary metabolites profiles in the most effective medicinal plant species such as the levels of …

Role Of 3d Printed Green Walls In Healing Architecture, Sara Chahin, Ayman Afify, Hiba Mohsen, Maged Youssef

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has become a fundamental issue in modern global technology, touching practically every element of modern human life.Three-dimensional (3D) printing (also known as additive manufacturing) is an advanced manufacturing technology that can autonomously manufacture complicated shape geometries from a 3D computer-aided design model without the use of equipment or fixtures.However, there is a friction between traditional designs and the rise of 3D printed technology when it comes to architectural healing approaches, and this adaptability is hurting human healing tactics that are dependent on the relationship between space and environment.Due to its capacity to create products in a wide …

Investigating Commercial Urban Corridors - A Pilot Study In Beirut Lebanon, Nour El Baba, Ibtihal Y. El-Bastawissi, Ayman Afify, Hiba Mohsen

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Urban environments are multifaceted, varied, dynamic, complex, and evolving as are the underlying features for human health and wellbeing (Bai, Nath, Capon, Hasan & Jaron, 2020). Healthy and resilient cities can be entry points and platforms for change, adaptation and innovation to achieve optimal health for urban communities and the environment (Regional Framework for Urban Health in the Western Pacific 2016–2020: Healthy and Resilient Cities, 2016). Planners considered urban corridors, which are connection and access between urban districts, as major elements in shaping the city image and forming its identity and investigating them are vital for enhancing healthy and resilient …

Exploring The Attributes Of Open Public Spaces In The Developing Cities, Aya Chehab

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Open Public Spaces, according to Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), are vital elements of urban fabrics that animate communities in cities. These significant spaces not only provide the residents with different facilities, but also promote social, economic, environmental and health opportunities. Successful open public spaces meet the needs of people of various social classes, ethnicities, and different backgrounds in general. Despite its importance within the city, the lack of appropriate design and planning strategies in developing cities have resulted in a degradation of the urban environment and subsequently the quality of urban life. The problem needs to …

Developing An Agent-Based Model Of Pedestrian Wayfinding To Conduct The Best Touristic Path In Historic Districts, Saada Hassan Khaled, Eslam M. Elsamahy, Mary Felix

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

A historic district is a historic and cultural conservation area that reflects traditional aspects from the past. A sense of memorable pathway allows pedestrian to experience the city happily and attract touristic activity in urban historic districts. The characteristics of touristic districts which facilitate pedestrian movement help in determining the optimum track. The aim of the research is to create an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate the activity of pedestrians in historic districts in order to way find the best touristic paths. Using Space-Syntax, a simulation of the interaction of tourists with the attraction points in old districts pathway will …

The Relationship Between School Architecture And Self-Efficacy Of Students With Special Needs In Some Schools In Lebanon - The Reciprocal Architectural Design Method, Hayat M. Itani

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

This study sought to develop a new architectural design methodology for educational facilities. The design factors of inclusive schools built environment affect the self-efficacy of students with special needs. Self-efficacy being defined by Albert Bandura as one's belief in one's ability to succeed completing specific tasks in a certain environmental action. This research is conducted by following the sequential explanatory research design, surveyed by a mixed method. Participants were a group of 35 special education teachers and 25 students with special needs, conveniently selected from some schools in Lebanon. The two questionnaires and the individual interviews administered by the researcher …

Toward Sustainable Smart Cities: Concepts & Challenges, Nabila Al-Ghabra

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

The world’s urban population is growing enormously, increasing of energy usage, air toxicity, and traffic congestion in urban areas which need a furthermost effective way for solutions. Smart city as a solution is expected to solve the functionality of urban systems. It needs to improve ICT infrastructure as an authoritative, adaptable, accessible, secure, and flexible one, and improve the quality of daily lifetime, refine citizen’s healthiness as well to achieve economic growth and develop the physical infrastructure services to promote sustainable development. This research is a narrative review, kind of methodological approach presented as open research and structured as follows: …

Calculating Vandalism Risk Assessment For Archaeological Findings Within Heritage Buildings: The Case Of Al-Attar Historical Mosque In Tripoli Lebanon, Hazem Aysh, Eslam M. Elsamahy, Mary Felix

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

A heritage building is a genuine witness for the past and it mostly correlates with communities’ collective memory. It involves a considerable economical asset for cultural tourism in addition to other emotional values. However, building archeology is slightly exposed when handling historical buildings; it is subject to reburial to minimize potential risks and to keep it for future generations. The aim of this research is to explore the validity of exposing an archeological feature by establishing an estimation for vandalism risk through an assessment for society’s attitude concerning the new image given to a historic mosque with exposed archeological features. …

Adaptive Reuse Of Abandoned Buildings As A Means Of Improving Livability, Carol Bassal, Mostafa Khalifa

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Due to the rapid growth of cities around the world, many buildings in ancient cities are now deserted, prompting countries to preserve their historical sites that represent their identity. According to researchers, Adaptive reuse, along with the renewal of social life and economic development activities, serve the basic concepts of livability, as well as the community's recognition of adaptive reuse as a reasonable alternative to the demolition and redevelopment of existing facilities. The study assumes that adaptive reuse of abandoned buildings revitalizes the area and preserves its values and identity. In this context, adaptive reuse refers to the process of …

The Five Big Factors Of Personality Among Displaced Syrians And Palestinians Refugees Living In Lebanon, Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek, Mayssah A. El Nayal, Olfat Khalil Mahmoud

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are a major challenge at the social, economic and psychological levels, in addition to the issue of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon in the wake of the Naksaa of 1948. The main hypothesis of this study is that the difficult circumstances experienced by the displaced may affect their personality traits. The sample consisted of 430 individuals, (n=204) Syrian refugees and (n=226) Palestinian refugees of both sexes. All the members of the sample responded to the Arabic Inventory of the Five Big Personality Factors. The inventory enjoys good to high alpha coefficients in both samples, and was …

Platonic Love Poetry: Feminist Literature In The Umayyad Era, Samir Itani

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Readers of Platonic Love pieces, that were popular in the Umayyad era and spread in Arab society until almost a century after its demise, observe its uniqueness in terms of presenting the personalities of poets in a distinguished way as to men in that time in respect of cultural features. The stories also include extraordinary events that drive them away from the real framework, which critics used to believe, and puts them in an artistic framework that seeks to present a possible reality that is not achieved in actuality. Perhaps this is due to the reasons; one of the most …

Towards New Pedagogical Practices In Times Of Covid: Distance Education As A Mark Of Resilience In The Moroccan University, Abdelfettah Nacer Idrissi

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Affected, like most countries in the world, by the covid-19 pandemic which has affected all sectors of activity, Morocco has proposed, as part of a policy of prevention and anticipation. The measures including the objective is not only to limit the spread of covid but also and above all to ensure educational continuity and the transition from face-to-face teaching to distance learning. However, not having, like the majority of countries, a prior strategy to deal with this disaster situation, the concept of the resilience of education systems was not yet included in public policies. This fact did not prevent the …

Resilience Through Reading And Writing In Lambeaux By Charles Juliet, Sophie Nicolaïdès-Salloum

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Lambeaux writen by Charles Juliet is the result of a trauma in his early infancy. A month after his birth, he is separated from his mother interned in a psychiatric hospital after a suicide tentative. His biological father entrusts him to a family who will love him and raise him like their own. When he becomes an adult he decides to write his biological mother’s biography with his imagination because he had not enough information about her life and his autobiography bind to his adoptive mother. Writing becomes his resilience. Two people help him to achieve his goal: his adoptive …

From Trauma To Resilience: The Cases Of Beirut Syndrome By Alexandre Najjar And Beirut 2020 Diary Of A Collapse By Charif Majdalani (Comparative Study), Ilham Slim-Hoteit, Lama Farhat

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

This study is an attempt to think, interpret and analyze the concept of resilience and to study the factors and mechanisms that result from it under the influence of historical, psychic, social and cultural challenges. Boris Cyrulnik defines resilience as a "biological, psycho-affective, social and cultural process that allows a new development after psychic trauma". It is thus presented as an experience that can only be lived after going through various shocks, turbulences and disturbances, whether individual or collective. The two novels of Alexandre Najjar Le syndrome de Beyrouth and Charif Majdalani Beyrouth 2020 Journal d'un effondrement seem to offer …

Memories, A Process Of Resilience In The Face Of Captivity, Nadia Naboulsi Iskandarani

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity, trauma, stress, and other problems such as depression, family problems and difficult situations in order to be able to survive regardless of the types of shocks suffered. In his novel, Tous les hommes n’habitent pas le monde de la même façon (All men do not inhabit the world in the same way), the French writer Jean-Paul Dubois (Goncourt price-2019) narrates the story of Paul Hansen, locked down in Montreal prison where he shares a 6 square meters cell with Patrick Horton, convicted for murder. Paul Hansen passes time recalling the greatest moments of …

Post-War Culture And Reconciliation: From Optimism To Resilience, Michel Abou Khalil

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

Culture and Post-War Reconciliation: from Optimism to Resilience. At the end of the civil war, Lebanon tried to rebuild itself but fairly quickly wars, assassinations, repeated political crises and an influx of refugees weakened it. From 2019, it is downright descent into hell with an aborted popular revolt and a whole series of financial, economic and health disasters culminating in the explosion of August 4, 2020, which transformed it into a true martyr nation. Once again, the Land of the Cedars falls back into the cycle of the absurd, even into the circularity of the myth of Sisyphus, going so …

Three Strong Women, By Marie Ndiaye: The Grace Of Resilience, Carole Auroy

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

By taking "three strong women" as heroines, Marie NDiaye brings out the paradoxical strength of characters caught up in the destructive mechanisms of stories with uncertain endings. We perceive in these women the models of a resilience whose restorative grace is inscribed the intersubjective relations of which they are the hearths. This hypothesis invites us to observe how these relationships, threatened by an alienating confusion, get out of it, but also to locate the opaque zones of the narratives which designate the fragility of the process. Resilience could be the faculty of escaping from the dead life, that which makes …

From Damage To Words : The Diary Of A Confined Person, Christelle Stephan-Hayek

BAU Journal - Society, Culture and Human Behavior

From March 16 to April 20, 2020, therefore from the 1st to the 35th day of confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in France, Wajdi Mouawad writes his logbook every day, during this crossing of the desert, alone which more is “A word from a confined human to a confined human,” he says in his introduction.

Faced with one of the greatest social challenges that our current world has had to face in its almost entirety, each "confined human" has experienced a fight and has had no choice but to fight it. We will consider that of the Lebanese-born playwright, …

Partial Systems' Analysis Of Traffic Noise Reduction In Tarik Al Jadidah, Beirut, Ibtihal Y. El-Bastawissi, Nour El Baba, Shireen Khalil, Nour El Hage, Rouba Joumblat, Franz Gatzweiler

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Traffic noise is considered one of the main pollutants in an urban space and has multiple side effects regarding the physical and mental health of the human being. Tarik Al Jadidah, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Beirut City- Lebanon, is selected as urban area for a project-based initiative and the focal point of different studies in BAU Urban Lab. The area suffers from various urban problems, but prominently traffic noise that highly damages the urban residents' quality of life due to its high levels of traffic noise that surpasses the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

BAU Urban …

From Waste To Energy:   Reuse Of Landfills To Create Eco-Friendly Spaces, Maya Maasarani, Ayman Afify, Hiba Mohsen, Maged Youssef

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Waste to Energy (W to E) minimize the amount of waste sent to landfill, which also reduces negative impacts on the environment. This problem has been a common occurrence since the beginning of time. Waste to Energy will assist in the creation of a low-carbon society. Currently, the challenge behind reaching Eco-friendly space is a result of the continuity of incineration and landfill uncontrolled Municipal Solid waste on slopes and seashore. This environmental disaster as worldwide landfill is oversaturated and can collapse at any moment and cause dangerous damage to the environment. The average trash production increased phenomenally worldwide, resulting …

Extending The Role Of Architecture Intervention Across The Disaster Life Cycle, Khaled Zahra, Ayman Afify, Hiba Mohsen, Maged Youssef

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Disasters have been a common occurrence since the beginning of time, yet they are increasing phenomenally worldwide and especially in developing countries. Factors that led to the cause of destructive disasters are often complex and interrelated; researchers detect human influence and rapid development is intensifying the damage and scale of disaster-prone areas through urban sprawl and human interference. Observing the disaster life cycle, it is made up of four stages: preparedness stage, resilience and mitigation stage, response and relief stage, and finally reconstruction and recovery stage. The main focus usually lies in the response and relief stage which comes immediately …

Beirut Arab University - Faculty Of Architecture, Design & Built Environment Newsletter May, 2022, Faculty Of Architecture, Design & Built Environment

Arch Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Interleukin-16 Rs4778889 Polymorphism And Its Interaction With Interleukin-10 Rs1800896 Polymorphism Increase The Risk For Knee Osteoarthritis In The Lebanese Population, Zeina El-Ali, Fouad Ziade, Hassan Zmerly, Nisrine Bissar

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

To investigate the effect Interleukin-16 (IL-16) and Interleukin-10 (IL-10) polymorphisms, and their interaction, on knee osteoarthritis (KOA) risk in the Lebanese population. Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) genotyping assay was performed to determine IL-16 rs4778889, rs11556218, and rs4072111 and IL-10 rs1800896 polymorphisms in 118 patients diagnosed with KOA ( ≥ 2 points on Kellgren-Lawrence (K&L) radiological classification scale) and 70 controls matched for age and gender (K&L score ≤ 1). After adjusting for age, gender, presence of metabolic disorders, smoking and drinking status, our findings suggest that rs4778889 TT genotype increases the risk for KOA compared to the combined CC …

Assessment Of The Lebanese Community Pharmacist Knowledge, Practice And Barriers Regarding The Prevention Of Osteoporosis, Noura Issa Khram, Maha Aboul Ela, Mohamad Ali Hijazi, Lama Soubra

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Osteoporosis is a silent skeletal disease that is often recognized when fractures occur as a result of minimal trauma. Limited studies have assessed the degree of pharmacists’ involvement in osteoporosis prevention, risk-assessment/screening and physician referrals. To assess the Lebanese community pharmacists’ knowledge, practice and barriers regarding osteoporosis prevention. Secondary aim is to assess the pharmacists’ ability to identify high-risk patients who should be referred for bone mineral density (BMD) testing. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Beirut, Lebanon between September and October 2020 using self-administered questionnaire. Pharmacists completed a multi-component questionnaire that consisted of socio-demographic characteristics, practices, knowledge and …