Architecture Commons^™

A Talent Management Based Framework For Developing Sustainable Quality Of Work Life In Architectural Design Firms In Egypt, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Marwa Naguib Elwazer

Architectural Engineering

Purpose –This research aims to develop a talent management (TM) based framework to achieve a sustainable quality of work life (QWL) in architectural design firms (ADFs) in Egypt.

Design/methodology/approach – A research methodology consisted of literature review, case studies and a survey questionnaire, was designed to achieve the abovementioned aim. Firstly, the literature review was used to investigate the work environment’s demotivating factors in ADFs, TM strategies and process to depict the relationship between developing sustainable QWL and TM and finally explore how TM can assist in achieving Egypt’s vision 2030. Secondly, three case studies of ADFs from Denmark, Norway …

A Knowledge Management Based Framework For Enhancing The Learning Culture In Architectural Design Firms In Developing Countries, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Mirna Mohamed Elkady

Architectural Engineering

Purpose – In spite of the active role of continuous learning on improving organisational performance, the construction industry generally and architectural design firms (ADFs) in particular are criticised for their inability to use organisational knowledge to foster learning culture towards enhancing their performance. This paper aims to develop a framework based on knowledge management (KM) to enhance the learning culture in ADFs in developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the abovementioned aim, a research methodology consisted of data collection, data analysis and action required is designed to achieve four objectives. First, to examine the nature of the construction industry in …

The Neighborhood As An Energy-Generating Community The Case Of El-Banafseg Residential Neighborhood, East Cairo, Mona Helmy, Amany Micheal

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Slo Botanical Garden Deck, Noah E. Demer

Architectural Engineering

This project consists of the design and construction of an outdoor-use deck. This deck is to be located in the NE corner of the Sage Meadow at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden at 3450 Dairy Creek Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. This deck’s intended use is as a gathering area for people to congregate. Originally, the ideal deck area was proposed as 700+ square feet, but with further site and project limitations the final design was ~480 square feet. This deck has not been constructed.

A Machine Learning Model To Predict Urban Sprawl Using Official Land-Use Data, Mohamed E. Elattar

Architectural Engineering

The rate of global urbanization is constantly increasing. As a result of the massive population growth, there is an increasing demand for further urban development, especially in developing regions such as Aswan city. This paper aims to examine the usage official land-use data in predicting future urban growth until 2046, moreover, to define urban driving forces in case study area. This was done using Similarity weighted model, a machine learning based model to simulate future urban growth. The results show that official land-use data produce a slightly better results’ accuracy than remote sensing sources within small to medium scales. The …

Improving The Thermal Performance And Energy Efficiency Of Buildings By Incorporating Biomass Waste Into Clay Bricks, Mohamed E. Elattar

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Inclusive Schools Design: A Phenomenological Investigation Into Visually Impaired Lived Experiences, Sarah Oteifa, Khaled Dewidar, Yasser Mansour

Architectural Engineering

Inclusive design is an approach that aims to include special children with the general student population by developing the whole system, including the built environment, to accommodate their needs. Although efforts have been made to include children with visual impairments in the educational mainstream, available design guidelines often miss their "real lived experience". Available inclusive school design criteria are considered limited and the necessary design qualities of space to cope with their impairments are often missing the phenomenological, holistic approach. This study is conducted using a mixed method. The necessary spatial qualities are extracted from visually impaired children's real experiences …

Precious Plastics - Plastic Brick Machine Fabrication, Timothy Ukaobasi Kanu, Evi Paraskevi Troulis

Architectural Engineering

The goal of this research is to determine the structural parameters of the recycled plastic polypropylene when molded into bricks resembling CMU blocks. To accomplish this, three mechanisms had to be assembled: the shredder, the injector, and the 1x1 mold. A tensile and compression test were to be performed on the plastic brick, and the values would be used to compare the tensile and compressive strength of PP plastic bricks, as well as their modulus of elasticity and stress vs. Strain performance. These values would be analyzed to determine whether it would be feasible to build an entire plastic wall. …

The Impact Of Design Elements On Users’ Psychology To Foster Pro-Environmental Behavior In University Open Spaces., Dalia Moati, Toka Fahmy, Rehab El-Sayed

Architectural Engineering

Environmental psychology is the study of the interaction between the user and the environment. This field is crucial in understanding how the design elements affect human behavior, moods, and feelings. As well as, understanding the aspects and influences of environmental psychology is crucial key to investigating how design can influence human behavior to be environmentally friendly. This is known as pro- environmental behavior where human actions are sustainable and impacts the environment positively. Accordingly, this paper aims to explore the impact of outdoor design elements on environmental psychology to foster pro-environmental behavior in university campus open spaces. To achieve this, …

Techno-Economic Evaluation And Environmental Benefit Of Pv-Based Electric Vehicle Charging Station On University Campus, Rania Rushdy Moussa

Architectural Engineering

Smart utilities comprise an important aspect of modern smart cities. The aim of this work is to present a case study for implementing a solar- energy-based electric vehicle charging station (for the first time on a campus in Egypt) at the British University in Egypt. The total amount of energy needed for charging each electric vehicle (EV) was estimated to be 13.3—16.2 kWh. The EV is operated by 12 batteries. The station was designed to provide energy sufficient for charging up to two vehicles daily during summer. Thus, the station sizing was based on the provision of 16.2 KW and …

A Review On Sustainable Disposal Of Plastic Waste By Integration In Construction Materials, Yara S. El-Metwally, Iman El-Mahallawi, Khaled M. Dewidar, Mostafa R. Refaat

Architectural Engineering

Over the last decades, plastic waste (PW) has increased exponentially and has become a serious threat to our planet, aquatic system and human health. Recycling or reusing PW in producing ecofriendly materials is an efficient solution to reduce plastic pollution and to minimize the depletion of raw materials as well. Previous studies have shown promising potentials of using PW in the construction sector, such as binder, aggregate, or substitute of cement and sand in concrete, brick or mortar. Laboratory results indicate that implementing plastic waste as aggregates in cement composites obtains higher thermal resistance and acoustical performance. However, a reduction …

Urban Streets: Remaking Human-Based Places, Mona Helmy

Architectural Engineering

Over the past few decades, due to the emerging compactness of cities considering the increase in population, and consequently the increasing demand for fast mobility, many streets have lost their human dimension. They have been transformed into fast roads, giving priority to vehicles, and reducing the rights of pedestrians. This transformation has affected streets in terms of planning, design, function, and scale. The paper argues that remaking cities’ urban streets as human-based places seeks to achieve a better balance between urbanism, people, nature, and culture, thereby improving their urban life in general. Through a literature review, this article chronologically investigates …

Urban Screens As A Tool For Placemaking, Mona Helmy

Architectural Engineering

Urban screens, as part of the lightscape of places, can play a fundamental role in placemaking. They have the flexibility to be positioned in various locations in spaces with various sizes, shapes, moods, and effects for functional or aesthetical reasons. They can be temporary or permanent, active, or interactive instruments for creating a dynamic, stimulating, and unique public realm atmosphere that engages people and encourages social interaction. This research aims to create a theoretical framework for urban screen typologies as tools for placemaking. It investigates, explores, analyzes, and discusses different approaches where urban screens are used as a main tool …

The Impact Of Noise On Employees’ Performance, Satisfaction, Stress Level, And Concentration In Open-Plan Corporate Offices., Dalia M. Rasmi, Ahmed Khaled Ahmed, Esraa Torky

Architectural Engineering

Noise is defined as any sound that obstructs or interferes with a person's ability to accomplish their job duties, whether it be background noise or noise from a loud workplace. An open-plan office is a workspace that makes use of available space rather than isolating staff members in offices or cubicles. An essential factor that influences both well-being and focus with relation to functional performance is noise, especially in enclosed spaces. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of noise on employees in an open-plan workplace regarding focus, task performance, concentration, and interpersonal communication, by conducting research …

Knowledge Management As An Approach For Enhancing The Performance Of Construction Firms: An Analytical Study, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman, Marwa Abdelhafez, Essam Mahrous

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Use Of Precious Plastic Method Of Bricks For The Construction Of Tiny Homes, Haylie E. Tallon

Architectural Engineering

Precious Plastics, a Netherlands based company, created an open source project that can be used to create different objects from recycled plastics. The San Luis Obispo area has a large amount of recyclable plastic that is being treated as trash, adding to the pollution of the ocean and the air. This project is to determine the necessary steps to create plastic building blocks, using the Precious Plastic process, as a construction material for low-income, temporary housing. This report covers the process that was used to build two of the machines that will be used to create the bricks. This requires …

Reciprocal Frames: The Flat Beam Grillage, Cesar Noe Jimenez Ramirez, Nicholas Sowatzke

Architectural Engineering

This report follows the pursuit of attaining information and researching academic resources regarding the elusive reciprocal frame structures throughout history, in particular the flat beam grillage. In the following pages, the reader should expect to learn about reciprocal frames in a historical context throughout the globe, as well as, gain insight on how to potentially analyze these frames when they span two-dimensionally. As seen in Figure 1 (Pugnale 2011) and Figure 2 (Godthelp 2019), reciprocal frame structures consist of multiple groups of three or more members that are mutually supported. Along the perimeter of the structure, the members are supported …

Mosque Architecture In Contemporary Popular Cultures: A Critical Perspective, Mona Helmy

Architectural Engineering

This research paper claims that among important phenomena of several forms of contemporary mosques, there is a blurring of a clear distinction between their related popular/low cultural and formal/high-cultural status. For many centuries, high cultural mosques that are following what so called “formal architectural aesthetics” exist, which shaped by specific sets of well-established design principles and elements, trends, styles, tastes, designs, etc. Parallel to that, mosques in a context of popular cultures are shaped by folkloric signals, signs, and symbols, producing what can be called “Informal aesthetics”.

The popularization of mosque architecture in various contexts of cultural communities has different …

“Biophilia As A Sustainable Design Approach For University Buildings Design: A Case Study In University Campus Drawing Studios Cairo, Egypt, Amira Mohamed Mahrous, Khaled M. Dewidar, Mostafa Mohamed Refaat, Ashraf Nessim

Architectural Engineering

University campuses have a long history of enriching the social, cultural, and economic value of societies. Worldwide, there is a rising demand for the integration of new approaches into the planning and design of university buildings to further improve their quality. According to the literature, many approaches needed to be considered while designing university buildings that can enhance students’ performance. Biophilic design is known to have enhancing levels of interaction, and interaction patterns, enhancing health and wellbeing in terms of physiological, psychological, cognitive, and social/ spiritual benefits, while rigorous scientific evidence that supports such claims is rare. Many researchers have …

Increased Strength And Stiffness In Plywood Shear Walls Through Steel Straps, Mike Deigert, Elizabeth Claypool, Michelle Dennin, John W. Lawson

Architectural Engineering

In a recent iteration of an upper-division engineering design lab course at Cal Poly SLO, students were challenged to identify and understand the probable failure mechanism of conventionally built plywood shear walls and hypothesize how they could delay or prevent common failure mechanisms to increase the overall lateral load carrying capacity. After observing the results of a test on a conventional, code specified wall, a solution to integrate metal gauge strapping into edge nailing was developed to address the common failure mechanisms of nail head pull through and panel edge tear out. A shear wall with metal strapping installed between …

Leveraging Lessons Learned From A Virtual Hands-On Outreach Program To Cultivate Diversity In The Next Generation Of Structural Engineers, Anahid Behrouzi, Nicole Buck, Sarah Navias

Architectural Engineering

A challenge that continues to face the structural engineering (SE) profession is the recruitment and retention of individuals from underrepresented minority (URM) groups, underscored over the years by findings reported on by the SE3 project committee. One approach to address this is by developing and conducting early outreach efforts with diverse populations of K-12 students, so they are aware of SE’s meaningful contributions to society and the intriguing technical problem- solving opportunities in this field. During these educational activities it is also important for young students to be exposed to engineering practitioner-educators who represent diverse backgrounds and whose lived experience …

A Parametric Study Of The New Wood Diaphragm Design Force Methods, John Lawson, Emily Taylor

Architectural Engineering

Since the introduction of seismic design provisions in U.S. building codes and standards, a single generally-accepted method has existed for determining seismic design forces on diaphragms. Recently, an alternate procedure was introduced in the Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE 7-16) (ASCE, 2016), and an additional alternate procedure is introduce in its next edition ASCE 7-22 (ASCE, 2022) for single-story rigid-wall flexible-diaphragm (RWFD) buildings. Suddenly the determination of seismic diaphragm forces has become a much more complex choice. The two newer alternate methods are based on better predictive modeling research; however, it is of …

Timber Buckling Restrained Brace, Faith Sharp, Armando Castaneda Jr

Architectural Engineering

The timber buckling-restrained brace (TBRB) experiment at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), began in 2018 with the goal of finding whether timber may provide proper restraint against buckling of a steel brace. The TBRB was motivated by the limited lateral force resisting systems (LFRS) available for low-to-mid-rise, type V construction; this system would provide strength and ductility at a scale and level of cost appropriate to timber construction.

Early research consisted of uniaxial component testing, where researchers played with the balance between the core brace design and utilization of timber casings for buckling restraint, with minimal …

Hands-On Earthquake Engineering Curriculum For The Virtual Classroom, S. Navias, N. Buck, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

During Summer 2021, five week-long virtual earthquake engineering sessions were offered in the Cal Poly Engineering Possibilities in College (EPIC) summer program. Typically, this is a residential program comprised of faculty-led workshops in various engineering fields to provide pre-college experiences to students, particularly from underrepresented backgrounds. The challenge posed by remote learning, due to the global pandemic, was to continue providing educationally effective hands-on activities. To accomplish this, the instructor team designed, fabricated, and shipped over 120 mail-home engineering kits for students to assemble a shake table, build and retrofit a structural model, as well as collect and analyze data …

Asce's Response To The Pandemic: Execution Of A Remote Exceed Teaching Workshop, Kelly Salyards, Allen Estes, Camilla M. Saviz, Patricia Clayton, Julian Ly Davis, Corinna Marie Fleischmann, Tonya Lynn Nilsson, Pinar Omur-Ozbek, Fethiye Ozis, Monica Palomo, Carolyn M. Rodak, Cassandra Rutherford, Cristina Torres-Machi, Dion Karean Coward, Leslie Nolen

Architectural Engineering

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) Teaching Workshop (ETW) started in 1999 and has produced 1035 graduates from 266 colleges and universities throughout the world. ASCE has conducted 44 week-long, inperson workshops without interruption for over two decades. The ExCEEd graduates returned to their home universities and applied the lessons of this workshop to the classes they teach. The details and long-term benefits of the ETW have been reported in many venues.

In Spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation and remained a persistent threat throughout 2021. As a result, the in-person …

Center For Centering: Analysis Of A Modular Timber Dome, Lucas J. Brown

Architectural Engineering

Analysis of a modular timber dome with focus on inductive, sensory, social, and environmental aspects.

Same Polytechnic College Tanzania Build 2022, Paulina Robles, Anna Yamauchi, Surina Marwaha, Tia Kelly, Dillon Schneider, Audrey Hoang, Connor Gilligan, Jennifer Viveros, Jenna Beutelschies, Robert Hardwick

Architectural Engineering

In collaboration with The Mbesese Initiative for Sustainable Design, the Cal Poly senior project team has designed, engineered, and prepared construction documents for a new vocational training college in Same, Tanzania, a rural area in the Mt. Kilimanjaro region. Upon its completion, the college will offer quality and practical educational opportunities for up to 1,200 students; in the interim, individual structures will be occupied immediately, adding value to the community throughout the construction process. The campus will house continuing educational programs, sports and agriculture fields, as well as hotels and other community-facing structures.

Structural Design Of A New Reaction Frame For High Bay Laboratory, Cassidy A. Sutton, Adelaide Albro

Architectural Engineering

The Cal Poly High Bay Testing Lab recently acquired hydraulic actuators for structural testing. The actuators are used for performing force and displacement tests on structural specimens designed and built by students and faculty. The existing frame that the old actuators mount to did not have enough capacity to accommodate the amount of force that the new actuators are capable of. New reaction frames were needed to be designed and constructed so the new actuators could be used to their full potential. The following report explores two different options for possible reaction frames in the lab. Both options have a …

Guidelines For The Eeri Seismic Design Competition, Kate Robinson

Architectural Engineering

The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) has been dedicated to exposing undergraduate students to the wide range of interdisciplinary subjects related to earthquake engineering through the Seismic Design Competition. In 2022, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) sent 14 students to Salt Lake City, Utah for the competition – to compete with 31 other teams who all tackled the competition problem statement uniquely. The 2022 team was tasked with the research, design, analysis, and construction of a new structure to be built in downtown Salt Lake City, with the goal of replicating the design sequence of real-world …

Sage Garden Pavilion Shade Structure, Anthony Razouk Karroum, Manuel Bermudez, Matthew Kilbride, Sarah Holt, Marisa Martineau

Architectural Engineering

Form finding, testing, and construction of funicular double-layered shells in an interdisciplinary format with a focus on designing a shade structure for the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden Children’s Pavilion. In the process, challenges such as connection design, materiality, storage, and more are explored and refined in relation to shell structures.