Architecture Commons^™

Inquiry-Based Learning To Explore The Design Of The Built Environment, Anahid A. Behrouzi, Daniel Kuchma

Architectural Engineering

Typically in introductory structural engineering courses with a lab component, the instructional approach is to present the underlying theory via pre-lab lecture/reading and subsequently have students conduct guided experiments that affirm that theory. The new Fall 2015 course offering described in this paper takes the reverse approach where students’ hands-on exploration of a concept occurs prior to formal instruction. As such, the course is based upon Da Vinci’s perspective that: “[i]n the examination of physical problems I begin by making a few experiments,…we must commence with experience, and strive by means of it to discover truth.”

In the course, student …

Enhancing An Upper Division Structural Dynamics Course Using K'Nex Toys, Allen Estes, Cole C. Mcdaniel, Alec Roberto Zavala

Architectural Engineering

K’nex toys consist of various plastic rods and connectors cleverly-sized to allow the creation of a variety of structures. While the K’nex Corporation focuses on the K-12 market, there are a myriad of engineering applications that have been demonstrated at the university level. Many of these occur at the lower division level in freshman experience courses or introductory statics courses. Other applications have included constructing structural models for structural design and capstone courses. This paper takes this use of classroom technology even further by demonstrating how K’nex pieces can be used effectively in an upper-division, highly technical structural dynamics / …

Physical Artifacts In Introductory-Level Reinforced Concrete Design Instruction, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

Incorporating physical models and demonstrations in the introductory-level reinforced concrete design course has shown to be beneficial for students in clarifying and engraining fundamental concepts. The research study conducted at the author’s university during Spring 2015 involved the design, fabrication, and implementation of models to supplement traditional lectures on topics that students have found challenging in prior offerings of the course. Specifically, these demonstration tools illustrate:

• Three-dimensional stress blocks for rectangular/flanged beams subjected to varying levels of flexural demand • Distinctions between the flexural behavior of one and two-way slabs • Placement of steel reinforcement for singly/doubly reinforced beams …

Accreditation Insights And The Next Body Of Knowledge, Allen Estes, Thomas A. Lenox, Kenneth J. Fridley, Richard O. Anderson P.E.

Architectural Engineering

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) published the second edition of the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge (BOK2) in 2008 expanding the knowledge, skills and attitudes required of future civil engineers. There were major changes to the BOK2 as the number of expected outcomes increased from 15 to 24 and the cognitive level of attainment was more precisely defined. A major implementation and enforcement mechanism for the BOK is the ABET accreditation criteria which includes both general criteria 3 and 5 and the discipline-specific program criteria. Of those, the program criteria are the easiest to change.

In 2013, ASCE …

The State Needs To Supply Its Own Housing — To Save Money, Lorcan Sirr

Media

Much debate about housing has centred on proposed solutions such as the Central Bank’s lending limits and a reduction in VAT for developers. The Department of the Environment’s contribution managed to bypass the democratic process, ignore its own civil service rules, then introduce newmandatory smaller apartment sizes, which, it said, would bring down costs and stimulate development. Of course, such a crude move did no such thing—just as reducing VAT for developers and lifting bank lending ratios for lenders will not create an affordable housing system. These “solutions” are like Nero fiddling as Rome burned behind him.

Fiction As A Resource In Participatory Design, Eva Knutz, Tau U. Lenskjold, Thomas Markussen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In recent years, co-design research has moved into the heart of business and organisational matters of concern. As a consequence of that fact, the idea of what design is capable of evolves into something that does not only encompass product and service design, but also at the same time changes organisations’ way of doing things – or in other words, it challenges the organisational culture and the mindset of the decision-makers as a way towards the successful embedding of a project within the organisation. This paper investigates how the development of a new service design project together with integrated co-design …

Perception, Meaning And Transmodal Design, Mathias Nordvall, Mattias Arvola

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Our perceptual system allows us to experience and make meaning of the world through different modalities. We can move between feeling, seeing and hearing things and still makes sense of our world. Our cognitive activities are transmodal. In interaction design this means that both our design processes and our users’ interactions are transmodal. We have gained insights into how transitions between modalities, both in the design context and in the users’ interaction context, modulate meaning and experience, by analysing three interactive systems: SimProv, VibEd, and Sightlence. We propose that a transmodal design approach facilitate designers to realize the communicative potential …

Design For Resourceful Ageing: Intervening In The Ethics Of Gerontechnology, Elisa Giaccardi, Lenneke Kuijer, Louis Neven

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper discusses an innovative approach to the design of technologies for older people. The approach contains a critique of “gerontechnology” as taking decisions out of the hands of older people and materializing what it means to live healthily and well into “foolproof” designs that easily become inappropriate in the variety of situations in which older people end up using them. The proposed design approach focuses on re-delegating such ethical decisions to the point at which technology is used. It does so by considering technologies as resources that can complement the ageing competences of older people and adapt in a …

Les Transferts De « L’Art Total » De La Suisse Au Brésil : Une Modernisation Très Particulière, Ana Paula Cavalcanti Simioni

Artl@s Bulletin

Cet article considère les projets d’art décoratif réalisés par John et Regina Graz, un couple pionnier dans l’introduction de l’idée d’ « art total » au Brésil (1920-30). On s’intéresse à la façon dont ils transposèrent dans un contexte très différent des modèles et des hiérarchies appris durant leur formation à Genève, selon un processus de réception sélective qui correspondait aux projets d'identité et de distinction de l'élite locale brésilienne. Plus largement, cette étude de la réception des arts décoratifs au Brésil permet de découvrir d'autres modèles artistiques modernistes que ceux venus de Paris, auxquels on résume encore l’histoire de …

L’Architecture Des Premières Maisons Européennes D’Alger, 1830-1865, Asma Hadjilah

Artl@s Bulletin

Dès 1830, la présence française à Alger apporta un changement notable dans paysage architectural de la ville. La construction de maisons européennes en constitue le trait le plus manifeste. Leurs premiers modèles sont élevés au sein même de la ville ottomane, principalement dans sa partie basse. Nous tentons dans cet article d’éclairer certains aspects de ce type d’habitat. Pour ce faire, nous nous appuierons sur les trois outils de travail nécessaires à l’étude de l’architecture mineure, à savoir le parcellaire, le gabarit et l’ordonnancement. Par ailleurs, on interrogera le débat sur la circulation internationale des modèles et leur relation au …

Significance Of Parameters Affecting The Performance Of A Passive Down-Draft Evaporative Cooling (Pdec) Tower With A Spray System, Daeho Kang, Richard K. Strand

Publications and Research

PDEC towers with spray systems are known to achieve substantial energy savings. Various parameters such as the wet-bulb depression, the tower height, and the wind speed have been known to be key factors affecting the performance of the system. To date, the significance of these parameters and other important factors have not been adequately treated in the literature. There also has been a lack of models that can successfully investigate potential benefits of the system under various conditions where this particular system could be applicable. To address these critical issues, this study performed a parametric analysis by using a FLUENT …

On The Flux Richardson Number In Stably Stratified Turbulence, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy, Jeffrey R. Koseff

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The flux Richardson number Rf (often referred to as the mixing efficiency) is a widely used parameter in stably stratified turbulence which is intended to provide a measure of the amount of turbulent kinetic energy k that is irreversibly converted to background potential energy (which is by definition the minimum potential energy that a stratified fluid can attain that is not available for conversion back to kinetic energy) due to turbulent mixing. The flux Richardson number is traditionally defined as the ratio of the buoyancy flux B to the production rate of turbulent kinetic energy P. An alternative generalized definition …

Hearst Lecture: Andrea Johnson - New York City (Steady) State, Andrea Johnson

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Provisional Capital: National And Urban Identity In The Architecture And Planning Of Bonn, 1949-1979, Samuel L. Sadow

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the physical transformation of Bonn in the postwar period, with a particular focus on the 1960s and 1970s, as the city accommodated the West German federal government. Bonn’s long campaign in the 1960s to redraw its municipal borders and the federal government’s construction of several high-rises in the city and its neighbor, Bad Godesberg, were the most concrete markers of Bonn’s evolution as a capital city in this period. The complex political processes and sometimes bitter conflicts behind each of these developments paralleled the gradual and successful entrenchment of democracy in the Federal Republic of Germany. At …

Classics And Rockefeller Center: John D. Rockefeller Jr. And The Use Of Classicism In Public Space, Jared A. Simard

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation situates the mythologically-inspired artwork of Rockefeller Center in the classical education of its sole proprietor, John D. Rockefeller Jr. I argue that his extensive classical education at the Browning School and Brown University led to an adult interest in the Classics. Through extensive, original archival research at the Rockefeller Archive Center and the Rockefeller Center Archive Center, I demonstrate that this interest was expressed through his philanthropy of prestigious institutions such as the American Academy in Rome, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and the excavations of the Athenian Agora. Colonial Williamsburg and Versailles are also …

Table Of Contents

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Editor's Overview, Vicente Del Rio

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A Note From The Department Head, Michael R. Boswell

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A Planner's Perspective: Liars And Slanderers, Chris Clark

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Eulogy For David Dubbink

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Global Changes, Local Impacts: California's Adaptation Tools Help Its Cities Address Climate Change, Michael R. Boswell, Christopher Read

Focus

The State of California has been changing state-level policies and legislation to prepare for and minimize the impacts of climate change. But how can local governments integrate climate adaptation planning into local policy and practice? Through three-case studies, Boswell and Read discuss how state agencies and the robust set of tools and guidance in the California Adaptation Planning Guide have been helping California communities in climate action planning.

Form-Based Codes: An Overview Of The Literature, Evan Evangelopoulos, Cornelius Nuworsoo

Focus

Urban form, sustainability, community vision, place specificity, code document clarity, and efficiency of the development process are identified as the essential themes behind form-based codes by Evan Evangelopoulos and Cornelius Nurworsoo. The authors note the need to develop measurable parameters to better study these themes and understand the impact of form-based codes in their effort to reform US cities and move them away from Euclidian zoning.

From Downtown To The Inner Harbor: Baltimore's Sustainable Revitalization, Vicente Del Rio

Focus

The revitalization of Baltimore's Inner Harbor and waterfront is internationally recognized as a planning and urban design model. This successful story started in the late 1950s with the Charles Center redevelopment plan for the core of the Central Business Distric and its positive effects on the city's economy. In the first of a twopart article, Vicente del Rio writes about this early plan and its role in Baltimore's efforts towards a sustainable revitalization. Next FOCUS will feature his account of the plan for the Inner Harbor and beyond.

A Wellness District For The City Of Ventura, Vicente Del Rio, Amir Hajrasouliha

Focus

This article describes the work by a graduate urban design studio from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s CRP Department during the Spring Quarter, 2016. Under a contract with the City of Ventura’s, the students explored the notion of a wellness district anchored by two major hospitals, and developed an urban design concept plan that is consistent with the General Plan and the city’s economic strategy.

Transportation Policy For Campus Climate Action Planning: Process And Policy Implications, Curran K. Lord-Farmer, William W. Riggs, Adrienne Greve

Focus

This article discusses the innovative methods used to complete the transportation components of Cal Poly’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). The campus's CAP was completed by a BSCRP studio during the fall and winter quarters (2015-2016AY) in collaboration with Facilities Planning and Capital Projects. Professors William Riggs and Adrienne Greve (instructors for the studio along with Chris Clark) developed the methods discussed here, and C. Kai Lord-Farmer was the graduate assistant who assisted in completing the technical analysis.

Highlights Of The Crp Summer 2016 Field Trip To San Miguel De Allende, Mexico, Hemalata C. Dandekar, Vicente Del Rio, Alex Chapman, Audrey Ogden, Kara Tobin, Melissa Smith, Tara Ash-Reynolds

Focus

From August 15 to 27, 2016, CRP professors Hemalata Dandekar and Vicente del Rio led a group of five CRP undergraduate students in a field trip to Mexico. Based in Los Arcos, an educational facility in San Miguel de Allende, the group studied the city’s planning and urban design, visited other cities and places of interest, and interviewed with local planners and architects.

Back Cover

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Theses And Professional Projects Abstracts

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For fulfilment of the MCRP degree, the CRP department offers the student a choice between a final comprehensive planning studio, a thesis, or a professional project. The following abstracts represent master’s theses and projects approved during the 2015/2016 academic year. They are all available from Cal Poly’s Kennedy Library at http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses.

Coversations With Alumni: Spotlight On Norm Allinder

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Cartoon Corner

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