buildings

Architecture
Integration of Art
and Engineering
Edited by
Oleg Kapliński, Agata Bonenberg,
Wojciech Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini
Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Buildings

www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings
Architecture: Integration of Art and
Engineering
Architecture: Integration of Art and
Engineering

Editors
Oleg Kapliński
Agata Bonenberg
Wojciech Bonenberg
Marco Lucchini

MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade • Manchester • Tokyo • Cluj • Tianjin
Editors
Oleg Kapliński Agata Bonenberg Wojciech Bonenberg
Poznań University of Poznan University of Poznań University of
Technology Technology Technology
Poland Poland Poland

Marco Lucchini
Department of Architecture
and Urban Studies
Italy

Editorial Office
MDPI
St. Alban-Anlage 66
4052 Basel, Switzerland

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Contents

About the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Preface to ”Architecture: Integration of Art and Engineering” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Oleg Kapliński
Architecture: Integration of Art and Engineering
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 1609, doi:10.3390/buildings12101609 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Shuaizhong Wang, Federico Bertagna, Patrick Ole Ohlbrock and Davide Tanadini
The Canopy: A Lightweight Spatial Installation Informed by Graphic Statics
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 1009, doi:10.3390/buildings12071009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Joseph Cabeza-Lainez
Architectural Characteristics of Different Configurations Based on New Geometric
Determinations for the Conoid
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 10, doi:10.3390/buildings12010010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Anna Jóźwik
Application of Glass Structures in Architectural Shaping of All-Glass Pavilions, Extensions, and
Links
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 1254, doi:10.3390/buildings12081254 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Bin Li, Weihong Guo, Xiao Liu, Yuqing Zhang and Luca Caneparo
The Third Solar Decathlon China Buildings for Achieving Carbon Neutrality
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 1094, doi:10.3390/buildings12081094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Rongbo Hu, Kepa Iturralde, Thomas Linner, Charlie Zhao, Wen Pan, Alessandro Pracucci
and Thomas Bock
A Simple Framework for the Cost–Benefit Analysis of Single-Task Construction Robots Based
on a Case Study of a Cable-Driven Facade Installation Robot
Reprinted from: Buildings 2021, 11, 8, doi:10.3390/buildings11010008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Yingyi Zhang and Chang Liu

Digital Simulation for Buildings’ Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Urban Neighborhoods
Reprinted from: Buildings 2021, 11, 541, doi:10.3390/buildings11110541 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Aref Maksoud, Emad Mushtaha, Zaid Al-Sadoon, Hala Sahall and Ahmed Toutou
Design of Islamic Parametric Elevation for Interior, Enclosed Corridors to Optimize Daylighting
and Solar Radiation Exposure in a Desert Climate: A Case Study of the University of Sharjah,
UAE
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 161, doi:10.3390/buildings12020161 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Joanna Kołata and Piotr Zierke

The Decline of Architects: Can a Computer Design Fine Architecture without Human Input?
Reprinted from: Buildings 2021, 11, 338, doi:10.3390/buildings11080338 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Kazimierz Leonard Butelski

Contemporary Odeon Buildings as a Sustainable Environment for Culture
Reprinted from: Buildings 2021, 11, 308, doi:10.3390/buildings11070308 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Antoni Taraszkiewicz, Karol Grebowski, Karolina Taraszkiewicz and Jarosław Przewłócki

Medieval Bourgeois Tenement Houses as an Archetype for Contemporary Architectural and
Construction Solutions: The Example of Historic Downtown Gdańsk
Reprinted from: Buildings 2021, 11, 80, doi:10.3390/buildings11030080 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

v
Wojciech Targowski and Andrzej Kulowski
Influence of the Widespread Use of Corten Plate on the Acoustics of the European Solidarity
Centre Building in Gdańsk
Reprinted from: Buildings 2021, 11, 133, doi:10.3390/buildings11030133 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Wojciech Niebrzydowski
The Impact of Avant-Garde Art on Brutalist Architecture
Reprinted from: Buildings 2021, 11, 290, doi:10.3390/buildings11070290 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Anamaria Andreea Anghel, Joseph Cabeza-Lainez and Yingying Xu

Unknown Suns: László Hudec, Antonin Raymond and the Rising of a Modern Architecture for
Eastern Asia
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 93, doi:10.3390/buildings12020093 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Wan-Fang Liu, Chun-Ta Tzeng and Wen-Chang Kuo

Historical Cultural Layers and Sustainable Design Art Models for Architectural
Engineering—Took Public Art Proposal for the Tainan Bus Station Construction Project
as an Example
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 1098, doi:10.3390/buildings12081098 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Michał Malewczyk, Antoni Taraszkiewicz and Piotr Czyż

Preferences of the Facade Composition in the Context of Its Regularity and Irregularity
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 169, doi:10.3390/buildings12020169 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Keunhye Lee
The Interior Experience of Architecture: An Emotional Connection between Space and the Body
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 326, doi:10.3390/buildings12030326 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Magdalena Celadyn and Waclaw Celadyn

Apparent Destruction Architectural Design for the Sustainability of Building Skins
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 1220, doi:10.3390/buildings12081220 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Eun Joo Park and Sanghee Lee

Creative Thinking in the Architecture Design Studio: Bibliometric Analysis and Literature
Review
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 828, doi:10.3390/buildings12060828 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385

Magdalena Celadyn and Waclaw Celadyn

Application of Advanced Building Techniques to Enhance the Environmental Performance of
Interior Components
Reprinted from: Buildings 2021, 11, 309, doi:10.3390/buildings11070309 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407

Chuloh Jung, Naglaa Sami Abdelaziz Mahmoud, Gamal El Samanoudy and

Nahla Al Qassimi
Evaluating the Color Preferences for Elderly Depression in the United Arab Emirates
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 234, doi:10.3390/buildings12020234 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Yuzhen Chen, Jinxiu Wu, Yamei Zou, Wei Dong and Xin Zhou
Optimal Design and Verification of Informal Learning Spaces (ILS) in Chinese Universities
Based on Visual Perception Analysis
Reprinted from: Buildings 2022, 12, 1495, doi:10.3390/buildings12101495 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

vi
About the Editors
Oleg Kapliński
Oleg Kapliński is currently a professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Poznan University
of Technology in Poznan, Poland. He received his Ph.D. and DSc. in civil engineering and has
authored or co-authored 280 publications (articles, reports), including 12 books (academic scripts
and monographs) on related topics. His academic achievements cover the theory of decision
making, including multicriteria decision aiding; construction processes organization and modeling,
including analysis of the phenomena of waiting, the phenomena of equilibrium, the balancing of
the construction processes in conditions of uncertainty, risk in management, network planning, and
reliability of production systems; research on resentment and predilection to risk in the light of utility
theory; work ethos; integrated design and management; and sustainable development. Currently,
his research at the Faculty of Architecture includes interactions between architects and engineers.
Kapliński is a member of the Civil Engineering Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences and
Doctor honoris causa of VGTU, Lithuania. Honorary member of EURO Working Group: Operations
Research in Sustainable Development and Civil Engineering (EWG-ORSDCE).

Agata Bonenberg
Agata Bonenberg is a professor and head of the Institute of Interior Design and Industry Design
at Faculty of Architecture, Poznan University of Technology, Poland. Interests: flexible interior
design; design of inclusive and universal environments; color in architecture.

Wojciech Bonenberg
Wojciech Bonenberg is a professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Poznan University of
Technology, Poland. He is the promoter of 26 doctoral dissertations and 150 diploma theses. He
is the author or co-author of over 100 scientific publications, including nine books. His research
interests are related to sustainable design, architectural revitalization, and requirements engineering
in architecture. He has been invited for seminars and a series of lectures by universities in Germany,
Netherlands, Italy, Belarus, Ukraine, and China. He is the author of more than 200 architectural
projects, many of them awarded. These include the projects of the largest trans-European road
terminals: Terminal Swiecko–Frankfurt/O, Terminal Koroszczyn–Brest (route Moscow–Paris),
Terminal Olszyna–Forst (route Kiev–Strasbourg). Bonenberg is a member of the Architecture and
Urban Planning Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences and of the Council of Scientific
Excellence in Poland.

Marco Lucchini
Marco Lucchini is an architect and an Associate Professor at the School of Architecture Urban
Planning and Building Construction and at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies,
Politecnico di Milano. He is a visiting professor at Faculty of Architecture of Poznań University of
Technology and is a member (as external collaborator) of the ‘Grupo de Investigación en Arquitectura:
Experiencias del Entorno (GIA EDE), Universidad de Alicant, Departamento Project y Expresion
Grafica’. His research activity focuses on housing design at different scales, the relationship among
tectonics, building construction and expression, the narrativity in architectural design and the
identity of architecture. In recent years, he has focused on the relationship between Barcelona and
Milano modernist architecture. As his interests are modern literature and philosophy, he frequently

vii
explores the associations between architecture and philosophy itself.

viii
Preface to ”Architecture: Integration of Art and
Engineering”
The book is addressed to architects, as well as those involved in art, interior design, and
construction engineering. There is always something interesting going on at the interface of
disciplines. It is also the case here, i.e., at the interface of architecture, art, and engineering. The
border is multidimensional, but it is clear that research plays an important role. The range of subjects
of the presented articles is diverse, there are also indications of new research techniques, resulting in
new approaches, and being the keystone that brings together designers involved in these disciplines.
The reader is welcomed to learn about all the novel findings.

Oleg Kapliński, Agata Bonenberg, Wojciech Bonenberg, and Marco Lucchini

Editors

ix
 buildings
Editorial
Architecture: Integration of Art and Engineering
Oleg Kapliński

Faculty of Architecture, Poznań University of Technology, ul. Jacka Rychlewskiego 2, 60-965 Poznań, Poland;
[email protected]

Abstract: The current Special Issue is a synthetic overview of 21 published articles. The contact point
of architecture–art–engineering is multidimensional, and therefore, this synthesis of works takes
into account three criteria: (a) research subject indication, (b) research problem identification, and
(c) sublimation of the research techniques and instrumentality used. Research problems, scientific
values, and utility values have been highlighted. This synthetic tripartite is intended to make it easier
for the reader to find an interesting subject and instrumentality. As the topics of the articles overlap,
guided by the dominant values of each article, five subject groups have been sublimated. These
are: structural aspects and design, digitization, architectural heritage, aesthetics and emotions vs.
engineering, and interior architecture. The characteristic values of each subject group are presented.
The indicated new design and research tools do not separate but combine the subject industries; they
connect the entities of the investment process.

Keywords: architecture; art; building engineering; research methods; synthesis

1. Introduction
Art and engineering integration is a process taking place before our eyes, in a dy-
namically changing reality. Architectural IQ is not only a theory, whereas modelling and
digitization have become commonplace in everyday activities and, above all, in design and
implementation, i.e., in architecture, art, and engineering. The importance of knowledge-
based design is systematically growing. Once modest and restrained, research in various
Citation: Kapliński, O. Architecture:
areas of life is now permanently interwoven into our reality as the basis of creativity,
Integration of Art and Engineering. resourcefulness, and efficiency of human existence. It is favoured and even forced by
Buildings 2022, 12, 1609. https:// new design requirements (e.g., integrated design) or simply by the paradigms of sustain-
doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101609 able development. Contemporary challenges grow in importance: they make architects
react to climate change or they demand a reaction (now generally accepted) to energy
Received: 23 September 2022
consumption limitations.
Accepted: 28 September 2022
Concepts such as researcher and AECO (architect–engineer–contractor–owner) have
Published: 5 October 2022
become inseparable. The set of publications in the current issue confirms the observation
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral that spectacular achievements are the result of the cooperation of all entities in the invest-
with regard to jurisdictional claims in ment process and all industries, and the concept of research should be present at all stages
published maps and institutional affil- of this process in advanced design. This current Special Issue is about the interlacing of
iations. research and the importance of its presence in architecture.
This edition follows on from an earlier Special Issue [1], which shows a tendency to
make connections rather than disconnect architecture and engineering. A comprehensive
summary is provided in [2].
Copyright: © 2022 by the author.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
2. Contributions
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
The current Special Issue includes 18 research articles, one review, one project report,
conditions of the Creative Commons and one communication. A total of 60 authors or co-authors took part.
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// The distribution of authors (and co-authors) by country is presented in Figure 1.
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ Participants originate from 11 countries, with participants from Poland, the United Arab
4.0/). Emirates, and China dominating.

Buildings 2022, 12, 1609. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101609 1 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 1609

8 6

3
11
4

3
1
1 2
3

18
Germany China Egipt
Italy Korea Poland
Romania Spain Switzerland
Taiwan United Arab Emirates

Figure 1. Distribution of authors by countries.

Each of the presented works contains interesting values. A synthetic summary of the
values of all 21 works is presented in Table 1. The synthesis of works takes into account
three criteria: (a) indication of the research subject, (b) identification of the research problem,
and (c) sublimation of the research techniques and instrumentality used. As part of the
subject of research, not only parts of buildings, types of structures, and city districts were
indicated but also the researched phenomena. As part of exposing the research problem,
not only the aim of the research and the relationships sought but also scientific values have
been indicated.
The characteristic research tools are presented in the third column of Table 1. They
are extremely diverse: from bibliometric analysis, through the online questionnaire, to
elements of artificial intelligence. This synthetic tripartite is intended to help the reader
find answers to questions of interest, also in terms of topics and instruments.
The last column (on the right side of Table 1) shows the subject group to which the
article has been classified. Obviously, the topics of the articles overlap. Guided by the
dominant values of each article, five subject groups have been sublimated. They are:
structural aspects and design, digitization, architectural heritage, aesthetics and emotions
vs. engineering, and interior architecture. Characteristic values of individual subject groups
are presented below.
Four papers have been qualified for the structural aspects and design group. Article [3]
is a good example of seamless integration between the disciplines of architecture and
structural design. The geometry of a light spatial installation called Canop is discussed.
Scientific support for new architectural forms is included in [4]. The side surfaces of various
Conoid-type structures used in architectural engineering are considered. A proprietary
calculation procedure, based on differential geometry, is proposed. This paper should be of
particular interest to lovers of Antonio Gaudi’s architecture. Architectural and construction
forming of all-glass objects is the content of the next article [5]. The reader will find relations
between functional–spatial aspects, form, and structure. Identifying the carbon neutrality
effect is the domain of work [6], presenting the results of post-competition projects of a
15-building housing estate in China. A case study of a cable-driven facade installation
robot is presented in [7].

2
 Table 1. The content of the Special Issue “Architecture: Integration of Art and Engineering”. Synthetic collation.

Research Techniques Subject

Author Subject of the Research Research Problem
Instrumentality Group
The Canopy—a lightweight spatial installation Graphic statics
The geometry of the perforated
Wang et al. The design and fabrication process of the Relationship between form diagram
hanging membrane
Buildings 2022, 12, 1609

temporary installation and force diagram.

The Conoid
The evolution of new architectural forms A differential geometry procedure.
Cabeza-Lainez, J. The Antisphera
Calculus of surface areas Parametric design
A revolution of forms
Indication of the relationship between
EN 1990:2002 + A1 Eurocode-Basis of
Glass structures functional and spatial aspects, form and
Jóźwik, A. structural design—Section 5.2 Design
All-glass pavilions, extensions, and links structure. Shaping all-glass
assisted by testing.
structures in buildings
Architecture vs. carbon dioxide emissions.
Li et al. The Third Solar Decathlon China (SDC) Scoring of 15 competition solutions
Defining active and passive technologies
Structural aspects and design

A case study of a cable-driven facade

Facade installation. Single-task construction robots
Hu et al. installation robot,
Curtain wall modules; (STCRs)
cost–benefit analysis (CBA)
Thermal comfort. Longer-term, digital techniques
The study of buildings’ outdoor thermal
Zhang & Liu The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) Grasshopper 3D and Rhinoceros 3D.

3
comfort in urban areas
Two districts in Beijing Three-dimensional models
Improving the visual and environmental Parametric design.
conditions of the interior The Ladybug tool for Grasshopper.
Maksoud et al. The University of Sharjah’s (UoS) campus
Optimize daylighting and Rhinoceros 3D.
solar radiation exposure Solar radiation analysis
Digitization

Literature review
Artificial General Intelligence
Designer position in architecture Will computers eliminate the human factor
Kołata & Zierke (AGI)/Strong Artificial Intelligence
The replacement of humans by machines in the design?
(SAI)
Active Augmented Reality
 Table 1. Cont.

Research Techniques Subject

Author Subject of the Research Research Problem
Instrumentality Group
Odeons: form, function.
The Odeon in Biała Podlaska,
Butelski, K.L. Mobile forms of roofing Typology of open cultural spaces
Buildings 2022, 12, 1609

Amphitheater in the Royal Baths Park in

Warsaw
Medieval Bourgeois Tenement Houses Archetype for contemporary architectural Iconographic analysis.
Taraszkiewicz et al.
The historical centre of Gdańsk and construction solutions 3D modelling of structural systems
Targowski & The European Solidarity Center. Influence of material homogeneity on Reverberation time
Kulowski Corten plates usage room acoustics Flutter echo
Identification and characterization the
Historical interpretative studies.
Niebrzydowski, W. Brutalist architecture most important ideas and principles
Studies of buildings in situ
common to avant-garde art
Architectural Heritage

Historical origins modern architecture in East

Preserving the architects’ legacy Syntactic approach to
Anghel et al. Asia.
Historical research architectural composition
Space syntax
The Delphic Hierarchy Process
Modern urban renewal
The Tainan bus station construction project (DHP).
Liu et al. Balancing the cultural value of
Artistic symbol of urban architectural The AHP expert questionnaire.

4
historic buildings
The MATLAB, a compiling software.
Online questionnaire
Multi-family housing The degree of the composition regularity of Social network (Facebook)
Malewczyk et al.
Aesthetics-expectations of recipients the facade elements Psychology and neurosciences
elements
An emotional connection between space and
How people experience interior space
the body. Multi-sensory experience and
Lee, K. Which aspects improve the quality of
A phenomenological understanding of emotional connection: A review
spatial and emotional experience
interior space
vs. engineering

The sustainability of building skins.

Technical durability and aesthetical The proposed Apparent Destruction
Celadyn & Celadyn The building’s enclosure as an active boundary
longevity of building skins Architectural Design (ADAD)
Aesthetics and emotions

Aesthetical longevity
Design studio Increasing the creativity of students in the
Park & Lee Bibliometric analysis
Creative design pedagogy design studio.
 Table 1. Cont.

Research Techniques Subject

Author Subject of the Research Research Problem
Instrumentality Group
Celadyn & Improving the Environmental creative introduction of advanced
Aesthetic functionalism; Sensorial experiences
Celadyn, Performance of Interiors construction techniques
Buildings 2022, 12, 1609

Colour therapy
The Seniors’ Happiness Centre in Ajman UAE. A survey using the Geriatric
The physiological and psychological
Jung et al. Architectural design for elderly with Depression Scale (GDS)
responses
depression Electroencephalogram (EEG
Colour preferences
Interior architecture

The relation between users’ perceptions Visual perception analysis.

Chen et al. Informal learning space (ILS)
and the spatial environments Eye tracking technique

5
Buildings 2022, 12, 1609

Several articles are candidates for the digitization subject group (some of them have
been allocated in the remaining groups). The use of parametric modelling and digital simu-
lation techniques to ensure continuous and effective assessment of the buildings’ outdoor
thermal comfort is presented by Zhang and Liu [8]. Here, digital tools such as Grasshopper
3D and Rhinoceros 3D are used to create three-dimensional models. The article by Mak-
soud et al. [9] is discussed in the Interior Architecture group, but instrumental richness
should be indicated here. Two sets of codes are designed: for environmental simulations
(sun path, solar radiation, wind rose diagrams), and for generating Islamic geometric
patterns. Parametric design techniques include The Ladybug tool for Grasshopper and
Rhinoceros 3D.
This subject group includes the above-mentioned article on the construction of all-glass
objects (see [5])—the use of Eurocodes and, above all, the article [4] for parametric design
and the new differential geometry procedure for creating conoidal surfaces.
In the architectural heritage group, cultural heritage is intertwined with historical
heritage. Under the provocative title ‘Can a Computer Design Fine Architecture without
Human Input’, the authors of Kołata and Zierke [10] prophesy the decline of architects.
Fortunately, they withdraw from the ruthless statement about the decline of the designer’s
position in architecture, leaving the reader with concepts such as Active Augmented Reality,
Artificial Super Intelligence, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and Strong Artificial
Intelligence (SAI). Nonetheless, it does not preclude further polemics.
Butelski [11] introduces us to open cultural spaces, from amphitheatres to odeons
(roofed theatres, membranes, and canopies). It is an example of cultural heritage with
a tendency to support form and function. A striking example of cultural heritage is the
paper [12] about the historic centre of Gdańsk, including burgher residential buildings
in the context of archetypes of contemporary architectural and construction solutions.
Targowski and Kulowski [13] present the European Solidarity Centre Building in Gdańsk.
The relationship between a strong architectural vision and expectations regarding acoustics
is described here. The importance of the finishing material is emphasized, which underlines
the importance of cultural heritage. However, the European Solidarity Centre itself is
already a historical legacy today.
Brutalist architecture is also culture and history. These are the 60s and 70s of the
last century. The greatest impact on brutalism was exerted by such avant-garde trends as
art autre, art brut, and musique concrète. Details can be found in [14]. Historical heritage
dominates the next two articles. Anghel et al. [15] examine and recall two European
architects (acting independently) who influenced the form of modern architecture in East
Asia. Liu et al. [16] combine historical and cultural layers with architectural engineering,
thus balancing the cultural value of historic buildings with the concept of a bus station
(in aiwan).
Aesthetics and Emotions vs. Engineering is the fourth subject group. Malewczyk et al. [17]
introduce us to the world of facade composition, aesthetics, and neurosciences. They indi-
cate the importance of adapting the visual dimension of architecture to the expectations of
its recipients. Multi-family housing in Poland is an example here. The title of the article [18]
is significant: ‘An Emotional Connection between Space and the Body’. Therefore, it is
about the way people perceive inner space. This issue is clearly related to the interior
architecture subject group. Technical durability and aesthetical longevity of building skins
are the subjects of Communication [19]. The apparent destruction of the building material
is the basis for further consideration. Park and Lee [20] glorify creative thinking. The
slogan of creativity covers the pedagogy of creative design in a design studio. The topic
may be useful in planning college syllabuses.
Interior architecture is the fifth subject group. The above-mentioned problems of emo-
tions and ethics have their consequences, visible in interior design. An example is an
aforementioned article [18] which presents quite sensitive research: how the problems
of interior architecture are influenced by multi-sensory space and how this space is con-
nected with the emotional experience of the user. The influence of advanced construction

6
Buildings 2022, 12, 1609

techniques and the physical properties of materials on the aesthetics and increasing the
functionality of designed interiors is the domain of research presented in the article by
Celadyn and Celadyn [21]. The article by Maksoud et al. [9] is also mentioned in the
digitization subject group because of its instrumental richness. In this article, the issues
of interior design are strongly highlighted. The research concerns daylighting and expo-
sure to solar radiation in desert climates. The results are used to improve the visual and
environmental conditions of corridors in one of the universities in UEA.
Colour therapy is closely related to interior design. Colour therapy is a widely accepted
treatment for depressive symptoms in the elderly. Jung et al., a team of researchers, presents
the results of the analysis of physiological and psychological reactions of patients to the
proposed colour preference in [22]. The research was carried out using electroencephalo-
grams. This research serves to improve the quality of life of the elderly. Relationships
between the users’ perception and the spatial environment are the subject of research by
Chen et al. [23]. In this case, interior architecture is supported by visual perception analysis
and instrumentally armed with eye tracking. This technique should be used more often in
architectural studies. In Chinese universities, learning spaces constitute the subject matter
of research.

3. Discussion and Comments

The division into subjects presented in Table 1 is a working version, but to a large
extent, it shows the state of knowledge covered by this Special Issue. At the same time, it
indicates that the issues are multi-threaded and multi-layered. In all subject groups, there
are technical (construction) problems, there is a clear attitude fostering sustainable develop-
ment, and economic issues are present. What is important is that all the works (articles,
reviews, project reports, and communications) are research-based or discuss research.
The presented research emphasizes the fact that new design and research tools do not
separate but combine subject sectors. They constitute a strong trend that binds together
and inspires various disciplines of science and technology. The review of works presented
in the current SI has shown and confirmed that looking for divisions between engineering
and art is unnecessary: it is important that the structures are both beautiful and functional
while meeting human needs.
The digital techniques presented (especially in the digitization subject group) greatly
enrich the view of architecture, engineering, and art. Parametric engineering is the best
example of this, five works can be mentioned here [4,5,7–10]. The human–computer
interactions type thread appeared against this background (see [10]). It concerns not only
digitization but, above all, artificial intelligence. It is worth engaging in polemics on this
subject (not only with the authors). This is what inevitably awaits us.
Clearly, shared research areas have emerged, but it is less about design paradigms
as such, especially Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Building Life Cycle Modelling
(BLCM). The current Special Issue does not give the problem closure, but in the near future,
it will also be worth paying attention to VR/AR (virtual and augmented reality), design
paradigms based on the neurosophic approach, and taking into account biometric systems.
On the other hand, in the current SI, there is the quality of the built environment (including
the quality of life and the quality of spatial experiences): [8,15,17,22,23].
In the articles in the Aesthetics and Emotions vs. Engineering subject group, the role
of the senses in architecture came up (e.g., [18]). Obviously, intuition helps to make choices
but the observation–evaluation–feeling relationship is important. We enter a delicate and
sensitive field of sensuality, i.e., perceiving stimuli using senses. This is where unsolved
problems arise at the interface between engineering and art. Not denying the importance
of sensuality, it must be said that, in architecture, nonetheless, sight is decisive. We receive
about 80 percent of information about the environment through sight. [24]. Architects
call it the “sixth sense of architecture”, which means that, e.g., a construction drawing
has a lower rank than the context of a location. There is a slight analogy to the human–
computer interaction issue mentioned above. Nevertheless, it is necessary to take into

7
Buildings 2022, 12, 1609

account empathy [25]. This is a step towards empathic design, which not only stresses the
attitude of sensitizing users, these are also procedures and methods.
There are two interesting and important aspects of this issue worth mentioning here.
Architecture responds to climate change; in this case, clear examples are [6,9]. The re-
action presented there is in line with the mission of ‘ARCHITECTURE 2030’ [26]. It is
worth using these experiences in the light of climate change around the globe and the
international movement: architecture in the age of climate change. Another aspect, interior
design, is an increasingly attractive topic among architects because architect-researchers
use sophisticated instrumental measures more and more often, and they also use brain-
waves [22]. New, interesting instruments dramatically increase the usefulness of their
designs—see [9,18,21–23].

4. Conclusions
The issues emerging at the interface of architecture–art–engineering are very broad
and open-ended. This review of 21 articles shows that these problems are multi-threaded
and multi-layered. The research techniques presented here are of great importance, as they
significantly enrich the core of the matter and the view on architecture, engineering of a
building, and art. All the studies presented here are aimed at improving the quality of life.
It is clear that the methods known in other disciplines, such as psychology or artificial
intelligence, are now successfully transferred to the field of architecture. Hence, the scope
of the research presented in this book is quite wide: from parametric engineering to the
role of the senses in architecture.
Taking over the instrumentality as well as the presented research emphasizes the fact
that new design and research tools do not separate but combine individual industries
and connect the entities of the investment process. The very process of the research in
question, research techniques, technological progress in construction, and integrated design
combined with life-cycle modelling means that not only research is collaborative but design
itself has become a team game.
All this is meant to improve the quality of the built environment, fostered by empathic
design. All this creates new challenges.

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: The author expresses his gratitude to the Buildings journal for offering an
academic platform for researchers where they can contribute and exchange their recent findings in
architecture and engineering.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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2020; 362p. Available online: http://www.mdpi.com/books/pdfview/book/3233 (accessed on 1 January 2021.).
2. Kapliński, O.; Bonenberg, W. Architecture and Engineering: The Challenges—Trends—Achievements. Buildings 2020, 10, 181.
[CrossRef]
3. Wang, S.; Bertagna, F.; Ohlbrock, P.O.; Tanadini, D. The Canopy: A Lightweight Spatial Installation Informed by Graphic Statics.
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009. [CrossRef]
4. Cabeza-Lainez, J. Architectural Characteristics of Different Configurations Based on New Geometric Determinations for the
Conoid. Buildings 2022, 12, 10. [CrossRef]
5. Jóźwik, A. Application of Glass Structures in Architectural Shaping of All-Glass Pavilions, Extensions, and Links. Buildings 2022,
12, 1254. [CrossRef]
6. Li, B.; Guo, W.; Liu, X.; Zhang, Y.; Caneparo, L. The Third Solar Decathlon China Buildings for Achieving Carbon Neutrality.
Buildings 2022, 12, 1094. [CrossRef]

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7. Hu, R.; Iturralde, K.; Linner, T.; Zhao, C.; Pan, W.; Pracucci, A.; Bock, T. A Simple Framework for the Cost–Benefit Analysis
of Single-Task Construction Robots Based on a Case Study of a Cable-Driven Facade Installation Robot. Buildings 2021, 11, 8.
[CrossRef]
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[CrossRef]
9. Maksoud, A.; Mushtaha, E.; Al-Sadoon, Z.; Sahall, H.; Toutou, A. Design of Islamic Parametric Elevation for Interior, Enclosed
Corridors to Optimize Daylighting and Solar Radiation Exposure in a Desert Climate: A Case Study of the University of Sharjah,
UAE. Buildings 2022, 12, 161. [CrossRef]
10. Kołata, J.; Zierke, P. The Decline of Architects: Can a Computer Design Fine Architecture without Human Input? Buildings 2021,
11, 338. [CrossRef]
11. Butelski, K.L. Contemporary Odeon Buildings as a Sustainable Environment for Culture. Buildings 2021, 11, 308. [CrossRef]
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Contemporary Architectural and Construction Solutions: The Example of Historic Downtown Gdańsk. Buildings 2021, 11, 80.
[CrossRef]
13. Targowski, W.; Kulowski, A. Influence of the Widespread Use of Corten Plate on the Acoustics of the European Solidarity Centre
Building in Gdańsk. Buildings 2021, 11, 133. [CrossRef]
14. Niebrzydowski, W. The Impact of Avant-Garde Art on Brutalist Architecture. Buildings 2021, 11, 290. [CrossRef]
15. Anghel, A.A.; Cabeza-Lainez, J.; Xu, Y. Unknown Suns: László Hudec, Antonin Raymond and the Rising of a Modern Architecture
for Eastern Asia. Buildings 2022, 12, 93. [CrossRef]
16. Liu, W.-F.; Tzeng, C.-T.; Kuo, W.-C. Historical Cultural Layers and Sustainable Design Art Models for Architectural Engineering—
Took Public Art Proposal for the Tainan Bus Station Construction Project as an Example. Buildings 2022, 12, 1098. [CrossRef]
17. Malewczyk, M.; Taraszkiewicz, A.; Czyż, P. Preferences of the Facade Composition in the Context of Its Regularity and Irregularity.
Buildings 2022, 12, 169. [CrossRef]
18. Lee, K. The Interior Experience of Architecture: An Emotional Connection between Space and the Body. Buildings 2022, 12, 326.
[CrossRef]
19. Celadyn, M.; Celadyn, W. Apparent Destruction Architectural Design for the Sustainability of Building Skins. Buildings 2022,
12, 1220. [CrossRef]
20. Park, E.J.; Lee, S. Creative Thinking in the Architecture Design Studio: Bibliometric Analysis and Literature Review. Buildings
2022, 12, 828. [CrossRef]
21. Celadyn, M.; Celadyn, W. Application of Advanced Building Techniques to Enhance the Environmental Performance of Interior
Components. Buildings 2021, 11, 309. [CrossRef]
22. Jung, C.; Mahmoud, N.S.A.; El Samanoudy, G.; Al Qassimi, N. Evaluating the Color Preferences for Elderly Depression in the
United Arab Emirates. Buildings 2022, 12, 234. [CrossRef]
23. Chen, Y.; Wu, J.; Zou, Y.; Dong, W.; Zhou, X. Optimal Design and Verification of Informal Learning Spaces (ILSs) in Chinese
Universities Based on Visual Perception Analysis. Buildings 2022, 12, 1495. [CrossRef]
24. Średniawa, P. Szósty zmysł architektury. Zawód Archit. 2022, 86, 80–83.
25. Walter, H. Social cognitive neuroscience of empathy: Concept, circuits and genes. Emot. Rev. 2012, 4, 9–17. [CrossRef]
26. AIA 2030 Commitment: Architects Prepare to Meet the Challenge. Available online: https://www.aiachicago.org/images/
uploads/pdfs/2030-housing-focus-presentation.pdf (accessed on 2 September 2022).

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 buildings
Project Report
The Canopy: A Lightweight Spatial Installation Informed by
Graphic Statics
Shuaizhong Wang *, Federico Bertagna, Patrick Ole Ohlbrock and Davide Tanadini

Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland; [email protected] (F.B.);

[email protected] (P.O.O.); [email protected] (D.T.)
* Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +41-77-977-6840

Abstract: This paper illustrates the design and fabrication process of the temporary installation The
Canopy, developed as part of the fib Symposium on Conceptual Design of Structures 2021. The
geometry of the perforated hanging membrane that forms The Canopy is the result of seamless
integration between the disciplines of architecture and structural design, which was one of the
driving inputs for the entire process. Particularly, the use of geometry-based models and graphic
statics allowed activating the interplay between these disciplines. This was the key to balancing
the relationship between architectural spaces and structural requirements, and to informing the
multifaceted design exploration of The Canopy from conceptual design to construction.

Keywords: temporary installation; architecture and structure; structural design; graphic statics;
lightweight structure

Citation: Wang, S.; Bertagna, F.; 1. Introduction

Ohlbrock, P.O.; Tanadini, D. The The Canopy (Figure 1) is a temporary lightweight installation made of wide perforated
Canopy: A Lightweight Spatial
fabric strips hanging from steel cables inside the Kiesofenhalle, a former cellulose factory
Installation Informed by Graphic
in Attisholz, Switzerland. The project aimed at creating a venue for the 3-day event of the
Statics. Buildings 2022, 12, 1009.
International fib Symposium on “Conceptual Design of Structures” [1], which was held in
https://doi.org/10.3390/
September 2021 and hosted over 150 participants. In conjunction with the conference, an
buildings12071009
exhibition explored the Swiss contribution to structural design looking at design methods
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński, and exemplary projects. Particular emphasis was given to the use of physical models for
Agata Bonenberg, Wojciech form-finding and graphic statics, represented by the work of renowned Swiss engineers
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini such as Heinz Isler (1926–2009) and Robert Maillart (1872–1940).
Received: 20 June 2022
Accepted: 12 July 2022
Published: 14 July 2022

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral

with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.

Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/). Figure 1. The front elevation of The Canopy as seen from the reception desk. Photo by Shuaizhong Wang.

Buildings 2022, 12, 1009. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12071009 11 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

The objective of this paper is to illustrate the design, fabrication, and erection processes
of The Canopy. Drawing inspiration from the work of Sekler [2], this paper elaborates on
the strategy to integrate and balance the relationship between structure, construction,
and tectonics. These three aspects are addressed from three perspectives throughout The
Canopy’s design process: conceptual design, fabrication and assembly, and final spatial
expression. The paper shows the instrumental role of graphic statics in unfolding the
relationship between form and forces and thus in reconciling spatial artistic needs and
structural requirements from the conceptual design phase. Graphic statics provides an ideal
medium for integrating the design of structure, construction, and tectonics, with the aim
of fostering a collaborative and creative interaction between architecture and engineering.
The Canopy’s design process exemplifies the significance of this collaboration.

2. Background
The Kiesofenhalle is a former industrial hall located inside the industrial estate of
Cellulose Attisholz AG, a company that operated for over 100 years in the paper production
industry. The company was founded in 1881, merged with the Balsthal paper mill in 1914,
and finally was acquired the German company Hakle in 1983 [3]. Since the end of 2016,
in collaboration with the municipality of Riedholz and the Canton of Solothurn, the area
has gone through radical transformation that aimed to turn it into a mixed-use artistic and
cultural district while preserving the original cultural values of the industrial buildings [4]
(Figure 2a).

Figure 2. (a) Aerial view of the industrial complex Cellulose Attisholz AG in 1924, © Walter Mittel-
holzer/ETH Library (http://doi.org/10.3932/ethz-a-000492184 (accessed on 30 May 2022)); (b) The
interior of the Kiesofenhalle today. Photo by Shuaizhong Wang.

The overall size of Kiesofenhalle (Figure 2b) exceeds 3000 m2 and reaches a maximum
height of 17.5 m. The hall served as a storage for raw material whose chemical properties
greatly enhanced the risk of corrosion of metal elements. For this reason, even the roof
slender trusses are in fact made of concrete, thus remarking the strong industrial expression
of the hall. Furthermore, the building’s exceptionally tall scale and large, continuous
south-facing windows contribute to the creation of an almost sacred spatial experience
similar to a modern concrete church.
The enormous size of the hall called for a series of interventions that would frame the
space and create a human-scale venue to accommodate the different functions required by
the organizer of the conference. In particular, it was necessary to separate the hall into a
conference space, an exhibition area, and a registration and catering area.
Apart from a limited amount of time for on-site assembly—only three days—another
requirement was to intervene on the existing structure as little as possible. This excluded
the possibility of using the existing roof trusses as supports, or anchoring elements to the
ground. Moreover, the possibility to introduce high external forces in the walls was also

12
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

limited. Because of these constraints, the design was defined as a lightweight structure
made of parallel steel cables and perforated fabric strips hanging from above. The undulat-
ing geometry of the fabric allowed for a continuous generation of vertical partitions and of
horizontal surfaces with different heights above ground. Thanks to this simple logic, the
elements could be pre-fabricated off-site and easily transported and assembled in the given
time frame. In this sense, the combination of cables and textile elements represented a
suitable way to generate the desired spaces, while complying with the given requirements,
as demonstrated by several reference projects [5–8].
In response to the conference’s functional requirements, the hall was divided into
three main areas based on different privacy levels: a public area with registration desks
and a catering area; a semi-public exhibition area; and a relatively intimate auditorium for
lectures and discussions (Figure 3). In the auditorium, the height of the fabric had to be
higher than 4.8 m to avoid obstructing the projector but less than 7 m in order to create the
feeling of an enclosed space. Conversely, the more public character of the exhibition and
reception areas called for more open spaces, with fabric heights reaching up to 11 m above
ground. The division between these three functional areas was achieved solely through the
geometry of The Canopy. As better explained in Section 4.1.1, by manipulating the lower
boundary line of the fabric sags, it was possible to create a subtle spatial division between
the different areas, thus suggesting a new spatial order to the enormous hall. Aspects
related to the acoustics of the diverse spaces were not considered as integral part of the
design process since the Symposium program did not include parallel sessions, and the
catering and exhibition areas were not used during the presentations.

Figure 3. Floor plan and functional planning. The hall was divided through the sole use of hanging
fabric strips into three areas characterized by different levels of privacy.

Based on the design concept, to achieve the sensation of lightness and a floating
effect, The Canopy’s supporting structure had to be designed to be as invisible as possible.
Therefore, when conceiving the structural system, we sought to minimize both the size
and number of components. The slender and clear supporting structure for The Canopy
was made of simple steel cables. The catenary line that they draw as they span over the
hall recalls the historical methods of form-finding using hanging models, also relating to
the content of the exhibition. The use of hanging models as a design tool to determine
the optimal form for structures is a technique used by many architects and engineers,
especially before the introduction of analytical methods. Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) already
used the hanging model as a three-dimensional design tool to determine the optimal form

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

for structures subjected to purely compressive loads at the turn of the 20th century, and
ultimately obtained the structural form of the Sagrada Familia [9]. Later on, the Swiss
engineer Heinz Isler has been a key protagonist in the use of this technique to determine
the optimal shape for shell structures [10]. For them, the physical model entails not only a
method for determining the ideal shape, but also a method of thought and operation [11].
Similarly, graphic statics was used as a key method in the design of The Canopy.

3. Methodology
In the design process of The Canopy, the simultaneous requirements related to form
and forces were reconciled using graphic statics. Graphic statics is a set of geometric
rules that allow unfolding in a diagrammatic way the relationship between the form of a
structure in static equilibrium and the forces within it [12–14]. Several scientists contributed
to the development and formalization of graphic statics starting from the 16th century.
Interestingly, many of the early works related to graphic statics make use of the hanging
models under given loads to illustrate the basics of the method [15–17] (Figure 4a). Graphic
statics was eventually formalized and expanded by the German engineer and ETH Professor
Karl Culmann in his two volumes of Die Graphische Statik [18] (Figure 4b). His work on
graphic statics significantly influenced renowned Swiss engineers such as Robert Maillart
(1872–1940) [19], and this legacy remains an integral part of the teaching of structures at
ETH Zurich to these days [20]. The use of graphic statics as the structural design tool for
the canopy is a tribute to this legacy.

Figure 4. (a) Stevin’s diagrams illustrating equilibrium states for a cable under different loads, and the
corresponding internal forces using graphic statics [16]; (b) Culmann’s introduction of the polygon of
forces and funicular polygon [18] (p. 513).

It is worth mentioning that this approach is radically different compared to conven-

tional Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software for structural engineering. In fact, unlike
graphic statics, FEA software is based on analytical models that are solved through numeri-
cal techniques [21]. When used for design purposes, FEA shows several shortcomings as it
generally tends to conceal the relationship between form and forces. This often hinders
the possibility to operate on a conceptual level and to create an effective dialogue between

14
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

architects and engineers [20]. Conversely, the diagrammatic nature of graphic statics offers
a common ground between disciplines and an effective design tool for the conceptual
design phase of a structure [22]. Additionally, it also facilitates the early integration of the
art and technology of structures as part of the architectural design process by reducing
the design of load-bearing structures to basic equilibrium concepts and by translating
calculations into simple geometric operations [23,24].
In addition to its visual nature, the constructive and generative nature of the vector-
based operations of graphic statics enables easy integration with digital design methods
that began to emerge in architecture in the early 2000s [25–28]. Digital implementations
of the method allowed for overcoming the inherent limitations of manual applications
and proved effective for the creation of architectural spaces informed by form and forces
simultaneously [29–31]. A simple digital implementation of graphic statics has also been
used in the design of The Canopy for rapid form-finding and calculation of forces using
Grasshopper3D.

4. Case Presentation: Structure, Construction, and Tectonics

To elaborate The Canopy’s design and fabrication methods, this paper utilises Eduard
F. Sekler’s critical aspects of structural design to dissect its embedded structural think-
ing: structure, construction, and tectonics [2]. In his article, Structure, Construction, and
Tectonics, Sekler defines structure as an “intangible concept” that is “realized through
construction and visualized through tectonics” [2]. Thus, structures are bonded to the
construction technique and the perceptual representation of the tectonic form (Figure 5).
Based on this understanding, the following section of the paper describes how graphic
statics was used to inform the design in order to facilitate early collaboration between the
architects and engineers.

Figure 5. The graphical representation of the relationship between Structure, Construction, and
Tectonic from the concept of Eduard Franz Sekler.

4.1. Structure: A Lightweight and Minimal Intervention

The most challenging aspect of intervening in the building was transforming the over-
scale floor height into a human-scale exhibition and lecture space with the least amount

15
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

of means. This led to the main design concept: designing a small, nested space within
the building with a limited height above ground that separates three functional areas
with varying dynamic and static partitioning. Due to the spatial qualities of the original
structure, it was decided early on to create this enclosure out of a translucent or perforated
material. As such, the installation would limit the space while preserving the context of
the surrounding scene. The three main functional areas were identified based on the main
entrance’s location, located in the south-east corner of the building (Figure 3).
The project was conceived as a lightweight spatial installation, a translucent, abstract,
white fabric canopy that floats within the hall in a gradual wave pattern. Each fabric fold
corresponds to the axis of the building’s original concrete trusses, achieving geometric and
visual continuity. While defining the space beneath it, the fabric separates the different
functions of the private density through the fluctuating height changes of the fabric in the
vertical direction, linking the entire space in a holistic and continuous form while meeting
the requirements for the conference activities. The free-falling, hanging form of the fabric
seeks to recall the image of paper rolls that were once produced at Attisholz and the logic of
the catenary curve as a pure structurally-informed shape. This interplay between form and
force was also addressed repeatedly in the exhibition that was organized in conjunction
with the conference.
From the beginning of the design process, the diagrammatic nature of graphic statics
allowed for the intuitive expression, rapid communication, and visual definition of these
structural forms during the design brainstorming phases (Figure 6).

Figure 6. (a) The early canopy design concept based on graphic statics describing how to use
compression element in the center and tension elements on both sides to create a covering surface;
(b) Sketches of the canopy’s different hanging methods according to different functional use.

Due to the enormous size of the canopy, with the fabric sagging up to 6.5 m, the choice
of fabric properties such as porosity, weight, and elasticity had a significant impact on the
final result. To simulate the material as realistically as possible, several 1:1 mock-ups were
built and tested (Figure 7). In particular, these tests showed that fabrics that were too light
could not easily result in a precise catenary geometry for the lack of sufficient self-weight.
Heavier fabrics, despite generating cleaner catenary lines, proved to be excessively opaque,

16
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

thus considerably weakening the desired architectural image and the relationship with the
context. Additionally, fire safety represented an additional requirement that excluded the
possibility to use several types of materials. The final choice was a polyethylene 2-m wide
white mesh of 5 mm and a weight of 0.1 kg/m2 .

Figure 7. Physical suspension mock-up of different fabric materials. The analysis of diverse physical
models allowed finding the desired balance between weight and translucency of the fabric. Photo by
Shuaizhong Wang.

Before the detailed design of the hanging structure, a crucial design step was to
decide whether to suspend the fabric using longitudinal or transversal rows of cables in
the Kiesofenhalle. Even though the building footprint is symmetrical in its short section,
the north side of the façade is almost entirely closed with a solid retaining wall, whereas
the south side of the building has stunning continuous windows that give the building
a sense of breathing. Due to the shorter transversal distance, the first test comprised an
array of parallel cables along this direction (Figure 8a). However, the presence of windows
heavily limited the freedom in choosing locations for the hanging structure’s anchor points.
Moreover, because of the inevitable sagging of the cable when spanning, it was difficult
to maintain the same height for fabric strips that belong to the same row. This would
have called for the need to add a second array of cables in addition to the main one,
which would have significantly affected the simplicity and abstraction of the overall form.
Therefore, we ultimately decided to suspend the fabrics along the building’s longitudinal
axis (Figures 8b, 9 and 10). This decision results in four direct benefits:
1. It provides more freedom in the placement of anchor points on the walls;
2. The anchor points of each cable are placed further away one from each other, thus
evoking a sense of ambiguity due to The Canopy’s incomprehensible structural logic
as users cannot see both arrays of anchor points simultaneously;
3. The cables span the entire 94.5-m-long hall, elongating The Canopy longitudinally,
expanding the covered area, and enhancing the dialogue with the building;

17
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

4. The longitudinal anchorage allows the lower portion of the fabric to remain horizontal
in the vertical direction while slightly lifting the sides due to its own sagging, giving
the sides of the building a geometry that follows the interior circulation more closely.

Elevation (West wall)

Cable anchor point

Figure 8. (a) Spanning the cables along the short side of the building would have called for a
secondary structure to keep the top part of the fabric strips on the same height; (b) Conversely, when
the cables span the longitudinal direction, it is possible to avoid the need for this secondary structure.

Figure 9. Axonometric diagram of the relationship between the structural model and the order
of the existing building. In its final configuration, the cables were suspended along the building’s
longitudinal axis, thus eliminating the secondary structure and giving more freedom for the placement
of anchor points on the walls.

18
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

Figure 10. The plan and section drawings of The Canopy.

4.1.1. Form-Finding through Graphic Statics

After the definition of the hanging direction, graphic statics was used to investigate
the geometry of the cables that would support the fabric strips, as well as to control the
forces in the supports. The Canopy’s catenary line is not just a formal translation of the form
diagram of graphic statics. Instead, it is an attempt to retrace the design logic of graphic
statics as a method and integrate it with the site and functional needs of the conference.
Therefore, the interaction and synergy between the force diagram and the form diagram
were used in many ways as the leading logic in designing the structures of The Canopy.
The use of graphic statics allows for a clear illustration of the relationship between form
and forces to control the relationship between the height of each fabric strip, as well as
their length. Figure 11 shows the final geometry, as well as two variants with a slightly
lower (Variante 1) and higher (Variante 2) cable. The corresponding force diagrams show
the change of the force F in the cable connected to the counterweight according to the
three different geometries. It is worth mentioning how the force in the cable is extremely
sensitive to changes in cable height and vice-versa. Thanks to the use of graphic statics, this
dependency between design parameters (i.e., depth of the cable sag, force in the cable, and
reaction forces) is represented in an explicit manner. The manipulation of form and force
diagrams represented an extremely important design tool that allowed controlling the form
of the cable and the resulting forces in the walls jointly. The geometric lower boundary of
the installation is determined by the separation function that the fabric needs to provide.
The final design is, therefore, a tradeoff that enhances the expressiveness of the canopy and
its functional aspects, while keeping the forces under control.

19
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

$ % & ' ( ) * + , - .
Finalȱdesign

Lowerȱboundary m
F 2

10
Finalȱdesign
Varianteȱ1

20

Lowerȱboundary

F1

Finalȱdesign
Varianteȱ2

Lowerȱboundary
50
F2
Formȱdiagram

F1

Pulley
kg
10

50

F2 100

200

Fromȱtheȱforceȱdiagram:

Fȱƿȱȱ370ȱkg

F1ȱƿȱ180ȱkg

F2ȱƿȱ815ȱkg

Forceȱdiagram 500

Figure 11. Graphic statics unfolds the relationship between the shape of The Canopy (Form diagram)
and the forces acting in the cable and supports (Force diagram). For each element in the Form
diagram, there is a corresponding segment in the Force diagram, whose length is proportional to
its internal force. The figure shows a superposition of form and force diagrams for three different
options. The mutual relationship between Form and Force diagrams shows in an explicit way that
even small changes in the form of the cable greatly affect the internal forces in it and vice-versa.
For instance, a reduction in the sag of the cable (Variante 2) would result in deeper sags for the
fabric—which enhances the spatial effect of the strips—but it would also result in extremely high
reaction forces that might create problems when anchoring the cable to the walls.

20
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

Because of the undulating form, the weight distribution at each point where the fabric
and the cable are connected were different. The magnitude of the force at each connection
point informed the geometry of the cable and, consequently, the relative height between
each strip and the adjacent strip of the fabric. This necessarily results in an iterative form-
finding process in which the shape of the fabric and the cable are interdependent. Thanks
to the use of parametric tools (i.e., Grasshopper3D), it was possible to instantly update the
relative relationship between the form of the fabric and the force on the cable, as well as
provide immediate feedback on the magnitude of the force and the corresponding form.
As a result, the folding positions of the ten fabrics waves corresponded to the positions of
the concrete trusses on the roof, and the precise control of the forces enabled the structural
elements to be as thin as possible, thus enhancing the dialogue between The Canopy and the
existing structure.
Due to production and transportation constraints, the longest dimension of a fabric
roll was limited to 75 m. Therefore, we implemented a simple optimization algorithm to
approximate as closely as possible the relationship between the desired undulating form
and the total length of the fabric, in the attempt to minimize the need for cuts and overall
material waste. This optimization problem was solved using Galapagos [32], a native
Grasshopper3D component.

4.1.2. Structural Detailing

Once the overall force distribution pattern was determined, it was necessary to develop
a connection system between extremely thin steel cables ( 5 mm) and aluminum pipes
( 17 mm) on which the fabric is folded. The system had to be easy to produce and it
had to allow for simple adjustments on site also considering that neighboring pipes might
result in misalignments along the vertical direction. For this reason, the joint between the
cable and the pipes was designed as a hook that is pin-jointed to the pipes in order to
guarantee the necessary tolerances with respect to vertical movements. The connection
between fabric strips and pipes was solved using 3D printed holders to be screwed directly
onto the pipe (Figures 12 and 13). To meet the constraints of a three-day construction period
and a one-day dismantling period, The Canopy was designed in such a way that all the
components could be pre-fabricated and partially pre-assembled in the workshop. The
following section illustrates the pre-fabrication process and how the assembly was then
carried out on site.

5 60 mm 50 mm 60 mm

8
6
6
5 5
4 3
4 4
3 5
1 2 2 1

7
1 70 mm 70 mm

4
9 9
2

2 1 - Aluminium Pipe (d = 17 mm)

1 2 - Custom made fork piece (casted)
7
3 - Custom made hook (laser cut)
4 - Custom made fabric holder (3D printed)
5 - Self-tapping screw
6 - Tightening screw
7 - Pin
8 - Steel cable (d = 5 mm)
9 - Fabric

Figure 12. The structural detail drawings of the fabric, pipe, and cable connections.

21
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

Figure 13. (a) The detail of the joints’ final expression; (b) The joints become invisible from a distance.
Photos by Shuaizhong Wang.

4.2. Construction: A Convenient and Flexible System

The Canopy’s entire structure was pre-fabricated at ETH Zurich and partially assembled
before transporting it to the site. The components of the nodes were custom made-using
3D printing and laser cutting, and pre-assembled onto the pipes (Figure 14a). This made it
possible to quickly hang and adjust them on-site during construction. To ensure that the
fabric folding position could be precisely measured and that the aluminum pipes could be
fastened without creating creases or discoloration of the fabric from repeated fabrication
processes, a customized rolling machine was developed at the Raplab at ETH (Figure 14b).
This allowed for precise measurements of the fabric strips and for an easy installation of
the pipes at the right location along the strips.

Figure 14. (a) The 3D-printed and laser-cut elements for the joints (Photo by Alessandro Tellini);
(b) The rolling machine for measuring the fabric strips and for the installation of the pipes developed
at the Raplab (ETH Zurich) (Photo by Giulia Boller).

Eventually, the 10 fabric rolls—with pipes already installed on them—were transported

on site. At that point, 11 pairs of anchor points were installed on both walls. Due to the
structure’s extreme lightness, the anchor points for the cable consisted of 22 mm threaded
bars and stainless steel rings. The 22 anchor points represent the sole direct intervention on
the existing structure.
The stainless steel cables were connected on one end directly to the anchor points
on the wall, whereas the other end is redirected to a set of counterweights placed on

22
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

the ground using a pulley. The counterweights were created on site using sandbags. To
facilitate the assembly process, the counterweights were equipped with a hand-operable
winch to control the length of the cables, and thus their height above ground. Once the
cables were arranged, the 10 fabric strips were unrolled on the ground and connected to
the cables using the hooks (Figure 15a). The erection process consisted of a simultaneous
rise of the 11 cables until they reached their final position (Figure 15b). The overall erection
process was carried out in less than two days, whereas the final disassembly required only
three hours, including the process of rerolling the fabric for future reuse.

Figure 15. The 10 fabric strips were first unrolled on the ground and connected to the cables (a). The
entire system was later lifted into the final position through a set of hand-operable winches located at
the ground level (b). Photos by Shuaizhong Wang.

4.3. Tectonic: An Abstract Floating Cloud

Due to the in-depth consideration of the structure, the final expression of The Canopy
appears as a temporary cloud floating in the Kiesofenhalle in a pure and ethereal way,
showing ever-changing levels of transparency as the user moves in the space. The user’s
perception is challenged, as the structural logic is not evident at first glance. This was
achieved thanks to the extremely thin cables that almost disappeared in the height of the
hall. This ambiguous structural expression also invites users to discover and explore the
entire installation from all sides, inadvertently echoing the conference’s intention to refine
and stimulate conceptual thinking about structures through a multidisciplinary exchange.
Furthermore, the long side of The Canopy, with its gaps between the fabrics, exposes as
much as possible of the original walls, thus defining the scale of the space primarily in terms
of height. This enhanced the existing architectural quality of the space and gave it new
life subtly and reverently, swiftly transforming it into a new functional space (Figure 16).
Interestingly, the Kiesofenhalle is also used for cultural events and exhibitions, and it featured
an indoor immersive light show that was displayed at the end of the conference (Figure 17).
Although it was not considered in the design process, such a unique lighting condition
greatly enhanced the floating image of The Canopy.

23
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

Figure 16. (a) The Canopy as seen from the entrance of the Kiesofenhalle; (b) A side view showing
the partitioning elements between the lecture hall and the exhibition area; (c) The relatively small
height of The Canopy above the lecture hall allowed creating an intimate space at human-scale;
(d) The exhibition area under The Canopy; (e) A view of the entire installation from above; (f) The
superposition of several layers of fabric in space created very diverse levels of transparency that
stimulated user curiosity and interaction with The Canopy. Photos by Shuaizhong Wang.

24
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

Figure 17. (a) Some of the lighting situations greatly enhanced the ethereal character of The Canopy;
(b) The Canopy reacting to the immersive light show present in the venue. Photos by Shuaizhong Wang.

5. Discussion
The final materialization of The Canopy demonstrated that all the design intentions,
functional requirements, and site constraints were met. The thinking process behind
this project reflects the interaction between form and force, creating a space of “Strong
Structures” [33] through a synergy of structure, construction, and tectonic aspects with
an extremely lightweight and minimal intervention. The Canopy ultimately succeeded
in providing an attractively proportioned and functionally partitioned temporary space
for the conference, always respecting the existing space in which it was immersed. By
considering the structure from multiple scales and perspectives, the design concept and
the intended function of the space are achieved.
The use graphic statics enabled simultaneous control of form and forces during each
design phase, and helped to reconcile structural constraints, functionality, and spatial
expression of the factory building. The development of the form and force diagrams in
2D, as in the case of The Canopy, is in fact very simple to the point that it can also be
conducted by hand. However, the development of a 3D structure soon results in more
demanding graphical constructions as the geometric complexity significantly increases.
This might represent the sole limitation of the method proposed in this paper, meaning
that three-dimensional applications are often possible only with the help of 3D modelling
software or specific digital implementations.
Finally, the workflow of The Canopy shows that the pursuit of structural art is not about
letting the structure’s sound overshadow the building itself [34]. We can instead find an
interdependent and solid balance between the two by utilizing the proper design medium
and process [35,36]. Obviously, achieving this equilibrium requires multiple iterations
of the design process instead of allowing the structure to realize the building’s form in a
“post-rationalization” manner.

6. Conclusions
This paper described the design, fabrication, and erection process of The Canopy, a
temporary spatial installation created as part of the International fib Symposium on “Con-
ceptual Design of Structures”. The Canopy is the result of a multidisciplinary design process
in which spatial, structural, and functional needs were reconciled using graphic statics. The
diagrammatic and intuitive nature of graphic statics enabled the rapid communication and
definition of structural concepts using both qualitative hand-sketches in the conceptual
design phase and digital implementations of the method in the form-finding stage. The
diagrammatic and cross-scale nature of graphic statics also clarifies the subsequent detail
processing and construction process, enabling the structural concept to be systematically
linked to the construction, thereby harmonizing the relationship between structure, con-
struction, and tectonic in the design and reinforcing their relevance. The design process

25
Buildings 2022, 12, 1009

of The Canopy demonstrates the significance of collaboration and the use of common and
practical design methods in structural design such as graphic statics. In fact, without the
establishment of an effective common ground between architects and structural engineers
The Canopy’s final spatial expression would not have been possible.
At the end of the conference, the company currently managing the Kiesofenhalle ex-
pressed the desire to preserve The Canopy and reuse it for future events. The Canopy is
currently stored in the warehouse adjacent to the hall and will be re-erected in the hall to
recreate, with extremely simple means, that space-within-a-space that allowed a radical,
yet respectful transformation of the Kiesofenhalle.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, S.W., F.B., P.O.O. and D.T.; methodology, S.W., F.B. and
D.T.; formal analysis, F.B. and D.T.; writing—original draft preparation, S.W.; writing—review and
editing, F.B., P.O.O. and D.T.; visualization, S.W., F.B. and D.T. All authors have read and agreed to
the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the whole team involved in the design, fab-
rication, and construction of The Canopy, and all the people who made it possible to realize this
project. Special thanks to Giulia Boller, Ueli Oskar Brunner, Philippe Hilger, Joseph Schwartz (ETH
Zurich); Enrique Corres, Diego Hernandez, and Aurelio Muttoni (EPF Lausanne); Alessandro Tellini,
Christian Egli, Fabio Meier (Raplab, ETHZ); Pierluigi D’Acunto (TU Munich); Marco Bahr (Schwartz
Consulting); Fabian Graber (Jakob AG).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References
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May 2022).
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30 May 2022).
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the-2018-venice-biennale (accessed on 10 July 2022).
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ferrando-architecture (accessed on 10 July 2022).
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pp. 98–109.
11. Kotnik, T.; Schwartz, J. The Architecture of Heinz Isler. J. Int. Assoc. Shell Spat. Struct. 2011, 52, 185–190.
12. Allen, E.; Zalewski, W. Form and Forces: Designing Efficient, Expressive Structures; Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2010.
13. Muttoni, A. The Art of Structures: Introduction to the Functioning of Structures in Architecture; EPFL Press: Lausanne, Switzerland, 2011.
14. Saliklis, E. Structures: A Geometric Approach: Graphical Statics and Analysis, 1st ed.; Springer International Publishing: Cham,
Switzerland, 2019.
15. Stevin, S. De Beghinselen der Weeghconst; Franciscus Raphelengius: Leiden, The Netherlands, 1586.
16. Varignon, P. Nouvelle Mécanique ou Statique; Chez Claude Jombert: Paris, France, 1725.

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17. Maxwell, J.C. On the calculation of the equilibrium and stiffness of frames. Lond. Edinb. Dublin Philos. Mag. J. Sci. 1864, 427,
294–299. [CrossRef]
18. Culmann, K. Die Graphische Statik; Meyer und Zeller: Zürich, Switzerland, 1866.
19. Billington, D.P.; Doig, J.W. The Art of Structural Design: A Swiss Legacy; Princeton University Art Museum: Princeton, NJ,
USA, 2003.
20. Schwartz, J. Structural Theory and Structural Design. In Cooperation: The Engineer and the Architect; Flury, A., Ed.; Birkhäuser:
Basel, Switzerland, 2012.
21. Zienkiewicz, O.C.; Taylor, R.L.; Zhu, J.Z. The Finite Element Method: Its Basis and Fundamentals; Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford,
UK, 2013.
22. Muttoni, A.; Schwartz, J.; Thürlimann, B. Design of Concrete Structures with Stress Fields; Birkhäuser: Basel, Switzerland, 1997.
23. Kotnik, T.; D Acunto, P. Operative Diagramatology: Structural Folding for Architectural Design. In Proceedings of the Design
Modelling Symposium, Berlin, Germany, 28 September–2 October 2013; pp. 193–203.
24. Kramer, S. Operative Bildlichkeit. Von der ‘Grammatologie’ zu einer ‘Diagrammatologie’? Reflexionen über erkennendes ‘Sehen’.
In Logik des Bildlichen: Zur Kritik der Ikonischen Vernunft; Heßler, M., Mersch, D., Eds.; Transcript Verlag: Bielefeld, Germany, 2009.
25. Block, P.; Ochsendorf, J. Thrust Network Analysis: A New Methodology for Three-Dimensional Equilibrium. J. Int. Assoc. Shell
Spat. Struct. 2007, 48, 167–173.
26. Rippmann, M.; Lachauer, L.; Block, P. Rhino VAULT—Interactive Vault Design. Int. J. Space Struct. 2012, 27, 219–230. [CrossRef]
27. Ohlbrock, P.O.; D’Acunto, P. A computer-aided approach to equilibrium design based on graphic statics and combinatorial
variations. Comput.-Aided Des. 2020, 121, 102802. [CrossRef]
28. Yuchi, S.; D’Acunto, P.; Jasienski, J.; Ohlbrock, P.O. A new tool for the conceptual design of structures in equilibrium based on
graphic statics. In Proceedings of the International fib Symposium on Conceptual Design of Structures, Attisholz, Switzerland,
16–18 September 2021; pp. 75–82.
29. Zastavni, D. The Structural Design of Maillart’s Chiasso Shed (1924): A Graphic Procedure. Struct. Eng. Int. 2008, 18, 247–252.
[CrossRef]
30. Fivet, C.; Ochsendorf, J. The Graphic Statics behind the Collier Memorial. In Proceedings of the IASS Symposium, Boston, MA,
USA, 16–20 July 2018; pp. 1–8.
31. D Acunto, P.; Jasienski, J.; Ohlbrock, P.O.; Fivet, C.; Schwartz, J.; Zastavni, D. Vector- based 3D graphic statics: A framework for
the design of spatial structures based on the relation between form and forces. Int. J. Solids Struct. 2019, 167, 58–70. [CrossRef]
32. Rutten, D. Galapagos: On the Logic and Limitations of Generic Solvers. Archit. Des. 2013, 83, 132–135. [CrossRef]
33. Wang, S.; Kotnik, T. Embodied structural ambivalence: A neurophysiological perspective on structural expression. In Proceedings
of the International fib Symposium on Conceptual Design of Structures, Attisholz, Switzerland, 16–18 September 2021; pp. 23–30.
34. Billington, D.P. The Tower and the Bridge: The New Art of Structural Engineering; Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, USA, 1985.
35. Nervi, P.L. Aesthetics and Technology in Building; Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 1965.
36. Wang, S.; Kotnik, T.; Schwartz, J. Redefining Structural Art: A Neuroaesthetics Perspective on the Art of Structural Design. Archit.
Struct. Constr. 2022, 2, 3–16. [CrossRef]

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 buildings
Article
Architectural Characteristics of Different Configurations Based
on New Geometric Determinations for the Conoid
Joseph Cabeza-Lainez
Department of Architectural Composition, University of Seville, Av. Reina Mercedes 2, 41002 Sevilla, Spain;
[email protected]

Abstract: The aim of this article is to orient the evolution of new architectural forms offering up-to-
date scientific support. Unlike the volume, the expression for the lateral area of a regular conoid has
not yet been obtained by means of direct integration or a differential geometry procedure. In this
type of ruled surface, the fundamental expressions I and II, for other curved figures have proved
not solvable thus far. As this form is frequently used in architectural engineering, the inability to
determine its surface area represents a serious hindrance to solving several problems that arise
in radiative transfer, lighting and construction, to cite just a few. To address such drawback, we
conceived a new approach that, in principle, consists in dividing the surface into infinitesimal elliptic
strips of which the area can be obtained in an approximate fashion. The length of the ellipse is
expressed with certain accuracy by means of Ramanujan’s second formula. By integrating the so-
found perimeter of the differential strips for the whole span of the conoid, an unexpected solution
emerges through a newly found number that we call psi (ψ). In this complex process, projected shapes
have been derived from an original closed form composed of two conoids and called Antisphera for
its significant parallels with the sphere. The authors try to demonstrate that the properties of the new
surfaces have relevant implications for technology, especially in building science and sustainability,
Citation: Cabeza-Lainez, J.
Architectural Characteristics of
under domains such as structures, radiation and acoustics. Fragments of the conoid have occasionally
Different Configurations Based on appeared in modern and contemporary architecture but this article discusses how its use had been
New Geometric Determinations for discontinued, mainly due to the uncertainties that its construction posed. The new knowledge
the Conoid. Buildings 2022, 12, 10. provided by the authors, including their own proposals, may help to revitalize and expand such
https://doi.org/10.3390/ interesting configurations in the search for a revolution of forms.
buildings12010010
Keywords: conoid; ellipse; calculus of surface areas; number psi; number Pi; parametric design;
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński,
Agata Bonenberg,
cubature architecture; design paradigms
Wojciech Bonenberg and
Marco Lucchini

Received: 6 December 2021

1. Introduction
Accepted: 20 December 2021
Outline of the Problem
Published: 24 December 2021
Since antiquity the meaning of the number Pi has been associated with the length of
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral a circumference, that is, such length, if the diameter of the said circumference is the unit,
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
equates Pi, and correspondingly for different measures of the diameter. Even in the Bible,
published maps and institutional affil-
when an injunction is transferred to building an offering’s laver (the Sea Bronze) of circular
iations.
design in Solomon’s Temple, it is mentioned that the perimeter ought to be three times the
diameter [1]—a revealing estimate.
Given this, it is reasonable to speculate, from a scientific point of view, about the
Copyright: © 2021 by the author.
meaning of different powers of Pi, for example, PiN ?
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The answer is positive, and in this article, we would discuss the particular case of
This article is an open access article the second power of π, that is, Pi squared or Pi2 . Such a situation arises when we try to
distributed under the terms and calculate the surface area of a Conoid, a ruled surface generated by parallel straight lines
conditions of the Creative Commons that project from a circumference directrix onto a linear edge (Figure 1).
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).

Buildings 2022, 12, 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12010010 29 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 10

Figure 1. A typical straight conoid with circular directrix, where R = L = 5.

The equation that regulates such a warped figure for x and y positive is:

L2 z2
+ y2 = R2 (1)
( L − x )2

where R is the radius of the directrix in the case of a circumference and L is the length in
the X-direction as shown in Figure 2. If we make L = R, it turns out that,

R2 z2
+ y2 = R2 (2)
( R − x )2

Figure 2. Explanation of the parts of a straight conoid with circular directrix, in this case R = L = 4.

To solve the problem of the lateral area of such surface, after failed attempts for a solu-
tion with other methods, we employ Ramanujan’s second approximation for ellipses [2].

2. Methods and Materials

2.1. Resolution of the Proposed Approximation
In his well-known proposal to calculate the perimeter of an ellipse, Ramanujan stated
that the perimeter (P) of the curve equates:
  
P = π 3( a + b) − (3a + b)(3b + a) (3)

where a is the major and b is the minor semi-axis. Such an approximation is fairly easy to
handle and it works well for the extreme case of b = 0, a straight line, which tends to appear
in the limit edge of the conoid and its boundaries.

30
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

The error committed by using this formula is not constant since it depends on the
diverse conoidal sections. On the other hand, as we do not possess an exact expression for
the length of an ellipse, there is no proper way to compute such error in a mathematical
fashion. In Table 1 we have attempted to do so by numeric methods.

Table 1. Results of computing the area of several conoids by the method proposed by the author
and with graphic interpolation procedures allowed by the software Grasshopper and the command
Alphashape of Matlab.

Radius Alpha- Cabeza Grass- Delta Δ Delta Δ

= L Unit Shape Approx. Hopper Alphas Grassh
0.25 0.1958 0.1862 0.1842 0.0096 −0.002
0.50 0.7712 0.7446 0.7369 0.0266 −0.0077
1 3.0726 2.9784 2.9476 0.942 −0.308
2 12.155 11.913 11.790 0.242 −0.123
3 27.734 26.805 26.528 0.929 −0.277
4 48.886 47.654 47.161 1.232 −0.493
5 76.019 74.460 73.690 1.559 −0.77
6 109.27 107.22 106.11 2.05 −1.11
7 148.83 145.94 144.43 2.89 −1.51
8 194.54 190.61 188.64 3.93 −1.97
9 246.41 241.25 238.75 5.16 −2.5
10 304.254 297.841 294.76 6.413 −3.081

For the said directrix, we can substitute a for R, the radius of the circumference.
Thus, a = R and it is easy to prove that being R/L, the tangent of the angle formed by
the middle section of the figure, the minor semi-axis is nothing but b = x×R/L. It should
be noted that in the following calculations, the positive direction of the x-axis is reversed
for simplicity from that in Figure 2 and the origin of coordinates is at the linear end of the
figure and not at the extreme of the circumference.
Then, as previously stated, R is the radius of the end semicircle and L is the total length
and for any x value between 0 and L, we would obtain,
   
xR 3xR
P = π 3( R + xRL) − 3R + +R (4)
L L

And grouping similar terms,

  
P = π 3R(1 + x/L) − R(3 + x/L) R(3x/L + 1) (5)

  
P = π 3R(1 + x/L) − R2 (3 + x/L)(3x/L + 1) (6)

The half perimeter is,

  
P1 = (π/2) 3R(1 + x/L) − R2 (3 + x/L)(3x/L + 1) (7)

We can take R out of the whole expression,

  
P1 = (πR/2) 3(1 + x/L) − (3 + x/L)(3x/L + 1) (8)

And L as well,
  
P1 = (πR/(2L)) 3( L + x ) − 3x2 + 10Lx + 3L2 ) (9)

31
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

To obtain the lateral area of the conoid composed by diminishing strips along the
central section, we need to perform the integration of,
 L 
πR
Ac = 3L + 3x − 3x2 + 10Lx + 3L2 ) dx (10)
2L 0

The first two terms are immediate and give the solution;
L
3x2
I1 + I2 = 3Lx + (11)
2 0

And the final result for these two terms, applying the limits of integration is,

3L2 9L2
I1 + I2 = 3 × L2 + = (12)
2 2

This, multiplied by the constants out of the integral gives, 9πRL

4 ;
The third term is slightly more complicated following the square root type and it
involves a logarithmic primitive.
 L
I3 = 3x2 + 10Lx + 3L2 dx (13)
0

This integral presents the root of an expression of the type a + bx + cx2 .

As such, it is recommended to find the value of Δ = 4ac − b2 , for this case,
36L2 − 100 L2 = −64L2
The solution yields, [3]
     L
6x + 10L 64L2 1
I3 = 3x2 + 10Lx + 3L2 − √ log 2 3(3x2 + 10Lx + 3L2 ) + 6x + 10L (14)
12 24 3 0
And substituting,
         
4L 64L2 1 10L √ 2 64L2 1
I3 = (4L) − √ log 2 3(16L2 ) + 16L − 3L − √ log 2 3(3L2 ) + 10L (15)
3 24 3 12 24 3
 √  2  2   
16L2 5 3L2 8L 8L
I3 = − + √ log(16L) − √ log 8L (3) + 16L (16)
3 6 3 3 3 3
By virtue of the properties of division of the logarithm,
 √   √ 
2 16 5 3 8 3+2
I3 = L − − √ log (17)
3 6 3 3 2

And from Equation (12), the sum of the two previous immediate integrals was,

9L2
I1 + I2 =
2
The total result for the so-conceived area, subtracting I3 from Equation (17) is,
 √   √ 
πR 2 9 16 5 3 8 3+2
L − + + √ log (18)
2L 2 3 6 3 3 2

32
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

After careful simplification, the Area of the conoid based in R and L gives:
 √  √  √ 
πRL 27 − 32 5 3 8 3 3+2
I= + + log (19)
2 6 6 9 2

which can be reduced to,

 √  √  √ 
πRL 5 3 5 8 3 3+2
I=A= − + log (20)
2 6 6 9 2

And consequently,
  √ 
πRL 1 √  √ 3+2
A= 15 3 − 1 + 16 3 log (21)
4 9 2

2.2. Discussion of the Findings

For several reasons we have decided to name this new number ψ,
  √ 
1 √   √ 3
ψ = 2 15 3 − 1 + 42 3 log 1 + = 3.140923532703498 (22)
3 2

ψ∼
=π (23)
For computational purposes both numbers can be equated, and it will considerably
simplify Equation (21) as,
πRL ∼ π 2 RL
A= [ψ = π ] = (24)
4 4
We find such a result remarkable in sundry senses. Firstly, because, ψ is a transcen-
dental number [4], akin to Pi but original in concept. Secondly, if substituted for Pi in
the discussion it could perhaps improve the accuracy of Ramanujan’s approach, and this
remains a question open for discussion in future developments.
Thirdly, it involves the fact that the area of the figure studied, the conoid, if R = L = 1
would be a fourth of Pi squared or Pi multiplied by itself.

2.3. Definition of the Antisphera

A volume composed of four symmetrical opposed conoids, as previously defined
(radius = 1), would have a lateral surface of π 2 , that is Pi squared.
When conceiving such a form, obvious similarities with the sphere come to mind
and that it is why we have named this curious figure in Grecian “Antisphera”. The plan
of the figure resembles a square of two by two, but the front view is a circle of diameter
one. It constitutes a three-dimensional example of the circle’s quadrature, sought since
antiquity [5].
Its equation responds to,

R2 z2
+ y2 = R2 (25)
(±( R − x ))2

We consider just the former to be a noticeable finding. However, the problem is

not completely solved since the parallel infinitesimal strips may not fit perfectly with the
curved surface and they would act as a kind of envelope. For engineering purposes this
is deemed sufficient when the angle of inclination of the figure, θ, is not too steep (less
than π/2.5), but in order to improve accuracy, we have calculated a coefficient to take into
account the differences of width of the said strips.

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Since we certainly know that at the middle section of the surface, the width of an
actual unit section of the conoid is not dx but instead dx/cos θ, we need to take into account
this feature and effect an interpolation between both values.
It can be discussed whether the variation of the strip is curvilinear or not, but several
experimental calculations (See Section 2.4), estimate that for the time being, this is the pre-
ferred approximation for angles under Pi/2.5 (other approaches are also being considered
for higher values of θ, see Section 2.5).
Such a coefficient of Cabeza-Lainez, κ, would accordingly be,

1 + sec θ 1 + cos θ
κ= = (26)
2 2 cos θ
where tan (θ) = R/L as θ is the arctangent of the central section of the figure.
Therefore, the final expression to compute the lateral area of this particular surface,
with the caveats referred above, produces,

π 2 RL (1 + cos θ )
A= (27)
4 2 cos θ
But if R and L coincide, Equation (27) is reduced to,
 √ 
π 2 R2 1 + 2
A= (28)
4 2
In the case of a new volume that we have defined as Antisphera ©, if R is the unit and
if we adjoin the four quarters of which it is composed (Figure 3),
 √   √ 
1+ 2 1+ 2
A = π 2 R2 = π2 (29)
2 2

Figure 3. Depiction of the Antisphera for R = 5. View from below.

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Nevertheless, if we should make,

2
R2 =  √  (30)
1+ 2

It would mean that for an Antisphera of precise Radius = 0.9102,

A = π2 (31)

In this fashion, a new and distinct meaning, has been attributed to the second power
of π, by virtue of such elaborate demonstration.

2.4. Comparison with Other Approximate Computing Methods

Subsequently, we have proceeded to compare the aftermath with other numerical
simulations available, for instance the command Alphashape for computation of areas in
Matlab and the graphic interface Grasshopper. The results show a considerable agreement,
and our findings stay in the middle of the output for both approximate tools (Table 1).
More thorough data are being prepared, but the procedure for the graphic interfaces is
clumsy and haphazard as a bespoke volume is required every time in order to compute the
areas, and the mesh of interpolation has to be decided beforehand with frequent hollow
regions. This is a clear advantage of our method.

2.5. Discussion for Higher Values of the Conoid Angle

The κ coefficient previously defined must, for coherence, remain over,

2 tan θ
κ> (32)
π
It is however clear that, for values of θ > 1.25 the former relation may cease to verify
(Figure 4).

Figure 4. Depiction of Cabeza-Lainez coefficient κ (blue) and limit case (red).

For lower quantities, the coefficient performs smoothly, since cos θ tends to be one and
the same as κ does, so our prediction becomes even more accurate.
But for values over Pi/2.5, it is convenient to define a new coefficient. We are currently
estimating different adjustments to present them in a further development of our theory.
In the meantime, a tentative assumption for the value of the area, would be the following,
 
π 2 RL πR2 πR π 2 RL 2R
A= + = (πL + 2R) = 1+ (33)
4 2 4 4 πL

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Thus, the new coefficient κ 1 would be,

2 tg θ
κ1 = 1 + (34)
π
A suggested experimental refinement of this factor from θ = π/2.5 and onwards is,
π  2 tg θ sin θ
κ2 = sin −θ + (35)
2 π
In most problems of engineering, high values of the said angle are rare because they
imply that the conoid is very close to the circle or in other words, there is little or no space
left inside the surface, which may become contradictory to the nature of spatial design [6].

2.6. Calculations of the Area for an Elliptic Conoid

In Section 2.1 we had delayed the discussion after attaining the area values for the
conoid ending in a circumference, but in a similar manner we can continue to use Ramanu-
jan’s prediction for an ordinate fragment of the same conoid whose extreme is logically an
ellipse. For any real number n, the area yields,
 nL
πR (1 + cos θ ) 3L + 3x − 3x2 + 10Lx + 3L2 ) dx
Aec = (36)
2L 2 cos θ 0

⎡
 √  ⎤
9 18n(2 + n) − (6n + 10) n(3n + 10) + 3 + 10 3 +
πRL (1 + cos θ ) ⎢ √  ⎥
Aec = ⎣ √ 3n(3n + 10) + 9 + 3n + 5 ⎦ (37)
216 2 cos θ 96 3 log 8

For n = 1 the solution is Equation (21).

As before, we have employed the coefficient κ, but we need to be aware that for values
of θ nearing π/2.5 the expressions proposed in the previous section, that is, κ 1 or κ 2 should
be introduced in its stead.

2.7. Calculations of the Volume of the Conoid

As a complement for the theories exposed, the computation of the volume of the
conoidal figure by means of the previous integral method is relatively simple and exact.
Since the value of the area of an ellipse is πab, and as before, a = R and b = xR/L
 nL
πR2 n2 L
V = πR [ xR/L ]dx = (38)
0 2
This equates the volume of the equivalent cylinder multiplied by s = n/2.
If n = 1 and the limit is L,
πR2 L
V= (39)
2
that is half the volume of the equivalent cylinder (as s = 1⁄2).
Finally, if L = R, the volume gives

πR3
V= (40)
2
Making R = 1 as in the Antisphera, we receive V = π/2.
With R = 0.9102 as in Equation (30), the volume reaches, 0.3770 π.
The volume and area properties in the conoid are smaller than in the cylinder but
still larger than the equivalent cone. This will prove advantageous for the sustainability of
structures and buildings (Sections 5 and 6) as the envelope and consequently the energy
exchange and materials are less costly.

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The finding of the volume of a conoid is sometimes attributed to Johannes Kepler but
to our knowledge the first polymath to deduct it by comparison with the volume of a cone
of the same basis, was Guarini in Euclides Adauctus [5].

3. Repercussions for Radiative Heat Transfer

3.1. Introduction to the Problem of Surface Factors
In previous studies [6], some of which were published in this journal [7], Cabeza-
Lainez highlighted that the radiative exchange factor for any manifold surface is dependent
on the equation:
 
1 cos θ1 cos θ2
F12 = dA1 dA2 (41)
A 1 A2 A1 πr2
In a volume composed of only two surfaces, the same author established its second
principle of radiation [8], which states that in the said situation, the rate of exchange is
proportional to the areas of the intervening surfaces. For example, in a hemisphere (see
Figure 5), the respective areas are A1 = 2πR2 and A2 = πR2 .

Figure 5. The second radiation principle of Cabeza-Lainez form-factors applied to a hemisphere.

As such, the corresponding form-factor from the half sphere to its base disc is [8],
F12 = AA1 = 2 , and the amount of energy from the hemisphere to itself, F11 is also ⁄2 [8].
2 1 1

By the principle of conservation of energy, all interchanges must add up to 100% or

unity [6].
However, if the disc were topped by a double symmetric conoid (Figure 6), since previ-
ous to our finding we ignored the value of its lateral area, the question remained unknown.

Figure 6. The second radiation principle of Cabeza-Lainez applied to the form-factor of a double conoid.

We are finally in the position to respond to this issue with perfect ease. It is opportune
to outline that the above integral equation, Equation (41), is deemed unsolvable for the
conoidal geometry [7].

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The area of this double conoid is,

 √ 
π 2 R2 1 + 2
A= (42)
2 2

3.2. Example 1
In all the cases where θ = π/4, the relationship between the area of the base circle πR2
and the double conoid is precisely,

A2 4
F12 = =  √  = 0.527393 (43)
A1 π 1+ 2

This is the factor from the conoidal top to the circular base and since F11 + F12 = 1, the
self-factor F11 is then,

F11 = 1 − F12 = 1 − 0.527393 = 0.4726 (44)

For this particular disposition, the values are not dissimilar from those of the hemi-
sphere, 0.5, but they will need to be included in a standard comparison among radiative
shapes described in reference [8].
Let us now discuss a new and more difficult situation for a conoid with radius 2 and
length 4 (Figure 7).

Figure 7. The single conoid limited by a rectangular plane and semicircle.

3.3. Example 2
In reference [9], Cabeza-Lainez has partly solved Equation (31) for some circular
fragments.
For any vertical circular sector with a center situated in the middle of the edge x of a
horizontal rectangle of dimensions, x and y; by virtue of the Cabeza-Lainez seventh princi-
ple, [10] the configuration factor from the sector of radius r to a point in the perpendicular
rectangle, will be:  
For t = r2 + y2 + x2 , m = x2 sin2 θ1 + y2 and n = x2 sin2 θ2 + y2
 
y cos θ1 r cos θ2 r y (t − 2 cos θ1 rx )
f 12 = × arctan − arctan +ln
m+ cos θ1 x
n+ cos θ2 x
θ2 x − r ) (t − 2 cos θ2 rx )
m (cos θ1 x − r ) (cos
2π m n 4πx
n
(45)
Bearing in mind that the sector is comprised between the angles θ 2 and θ 1 and being
its radius r as mentioned.
In the usual situation of a semicircle the above expression is reduced to,

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1 r+x r−x y
f 12 = arctan + arctan + [ln r2 + y2 + x2 − 2rx − ln(r2 + y2 + x2 + 2rx )] (46)
2π y y 4πx
By numerical procedures detailed in [7], we extend the above expression to the whole
rectangle to find the form-factor, whose value is of F12 = 0.1272. It represents fraction of
exchange of radiative energy from the horizontal rectangle under the conoid (A1 ) to the
semi-circular side of the figure (A2 ).
The previously unknown area of the conoid A3 , following the above stated formulas
(Equation (27)) is 20.9042
From the reciprocity principle [6], A1 F12 = A2 F21 , whence,

F21 = (16/2π)0.1272 = 0.3239 (47)

Being A1 and A2 planar, it is mandatory that [6],

F12 + F13 = 1 (48)

F21 + F23 = 1 (49)

And this implies,
F13 = 1 − 0.1272 = 0.8728 (50)
F23 = 1 − 0.3239 = 0.6761 (51)
Applying reciprocity again [6], A3 F31 = A1 F13 and A3 F32 = A2 F23 , which yields,

F31 = (A1 /A3 ) F13 = (16/20.9042) 0.8728 = 0.6680 (52)

F32 = (A2 /A3 ) F23 = (2π/20.9042) 0.6761 = 0.2032 (53)

By virtue of the principle of conservation of energy [6],

F31 + F32 + F33 = 1 (54)

F33 = 1 − F31 − F32 (55)

Being non-planar, the fraction of energy that the radiating conoid exchanges with
itself is,
F33 = 1 − 0.6680 − 0.2032 = 0.1288 (56)
Not merely radiative heat transfer in the figure under study has been solved by this
procedure, but also light transmission when it originates at conoidal skylights such as those
constructed by Ilja Doganoff [11] in 1957 in Bulgaria (See Section 5.1).

3.4. Example 3
If we, as in a sort of check, would double the conoid presented in example 2 and
compare in it the factor between a circle (A2 ) and (A1 ) the enclosing figure, (Figure 8) we
obtain that, since the relation of areas is now 0.3006, the factor from the conoid to the circle
is precisely this value, following Cabeza-Lainez’ second principle [8].
Accordingly, the complex self-factor of the conoid to itself yields nothing but,

F11 = 1 − 0.3006 = 0.6994 (57)

In the original half Antisphera, if we remember Section 3.2, and example 1, the same
quantity amounted to,
F11 = 1 − 0.527393 = 0.4726 (58)

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Figure 8. The same conoid of Figure 7 but closed to obtain the form-factor.

Such a difference can be explained because the area of this new conoid is larger than
the previous one since the angle θ is less pronounced (in this case, the length doubles the
radius), or in other words more energy is retained under the new configuration.
In the second example discussed, of a half-conoid (Section 3.3) involving three surfaces
(rectangle, semicircle and conoid), the self-factor (Figure 9) was smaller, 0.1288, but a
noticeable fact is that even so, it does not reach a fraction of one half of the self-factor for
the whole conoid (0.6994/2 = 0.3497) of the same dimensions (Example 3), as logic would
perhaps induce us to think. This exemplifies the complexity of the solutions because they
often appear to rule out common sense [12].

Figure 9. The three surfaces intervening in Example 2 whose area is calculated by computer
graphic interpolation.

It is important to stress the utmost difficulty of obtaining these entities by any other
method, including quadruple integration [7].

4. Generation of New Figures Based on the Previous Findings

In Section 2, we defined the symmetrical figure composed of four conoids, namely the
Antisphera (Figure 10).
Nevertheless, we have conceived that by altering the symmetry and parts of the
previous figure, a series of other interesting bodies is derived, maintaining initially the
ratio R = L.

40
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

Figure 10. Three-dimensional rendering of the Antisphera. View from above.

The first one is opposed geometrically to the Antisphera because the edge straight lines
intersect at its center plane, which is void. Due to this elusive, and somewhat dual, nature
we have coined the name Dyosphera © for this shape (Figure 11).

Figure 11. The horizontal part of the body known as Dyosphera.

In total, the Dyosphera features eight conoidal sections, organized in groups of four,
rotated π/2 degrees (Figure 12)

Figure 12. Distorted depiction of the complete Dyosphera.

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The corresponding Equations are,

R2 z2
+ y2 = R2 (59)
x2
Combined with,
R2 x 2
+ y2 = R2 (60)
z2
The open cavities and sinuous receptacles of this figure make it particularly suitable
for aeronautical and machinery parts. It is also a very stable form because it has four
circular bases.
The horizontal parts of the Dyosphera can be adroitly combined with the upper part of
the Antisphera (Figure 13), to obtain a different figure, which we have called Alosphera ©.

Figure 13. Detail of the upper part of the Antisphera.

In Figure 14, we see the Alosphera represented; its main feature is that two of the bases
are square and two are circular, making it suitable for different uses, with straightforward
storage of various units; we have come to guess that some cellular growths of different
organisms may respond to this evolutive pattern.

Figure 14. The Alopshera.

The Alosphera is the first Antisymmetric figure that we have identified but, similar to
the Dyosphera, it also presents eight conoids.
Finally, a very important antisymmetric finding is the Pterasphera (Figure 15).

42
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Figure 15. Initial Section of the Pterasphera.

This body as we shall discuss in Section 6 is tubular in nature. Being internally

connected in its entirety, it is apt for conducting all kinds of fluids in an advantageous
manner since, for instance, it can reduce the velocity and, at the same time, the noise of
transporting the required fluids. Unlike Antisphera, it is self-standing and well balanced,
which renders it suitable for elongation in the manner of a tower.

5. Architectural and Engineering Significance of the Geometric Findings

5.1. Historical Evolution
To our knowledge the first mathematician to introduce the conoidal figure was C.
Guarino Guarini [5] in his famous treatise Euclides Adauctus et Methodicus. (Figure 16)

Figure 16. The point-cone and the cone that ends in a line according to Guarini.

He claims that only he has discovered the form (Figure 17) and says that it is a cone
that ends in a straight line. (Later he uses the word hyperbolic conoid but for an entirely
different body [5]).

Figure 17. Architettura Civile. Camillo G. Guarini. Lastra IX. Trat. IV. Depiction of a cone ending in
a line.

43
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In another monumental work entitled Architettura Civile, published posthumously

in 1737, he again refers to this unusual cone, stating that it has limited applicability in
the corners of chamber vaults; we surmise that as a kind of squinch. He goes so far as
to calculate the volume of the figure accurately, in the sense that we have explained in
Section 2.7.
After this, the form remains all but forgotten in Architecture until, at the beginning of
the 20th century, it receives a definitive impulse by the hand of revival architects such as
Antonio Gaudi, who designed a roof with serially alternated conoids for a school building
in front of his Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona (Figure 18).

ȱ
Figure 18. The Sagrada Familia Schools re-built. A. Gaudi.

Around the 1930s, the advent of concrete shell construction favored a revolution of
engineering forms and the conoid surface was the recipient of much interest, especially for
building hangars, factories and warehouses [13].
One of the best extant examples is the work of the Bulgarian Engineer Ilja Doganoff
who, in 1956–1957, erected a repair workshop for Bulgarian Railways featuring a hundred
conoid skylights (Figures 19–21) .

ȱ
Figure 19. Ilja Doganoff. Current state of the Railway Depot. Source: Author.

44
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

ȱ
Figure 20. Recent aerial view of the Railway Depot by I. Doganoff.

ȱ
Figure 21. Close-up of the array of the conoids still standing after 64 years without maintenance.

The shapes were prefabricated in situ and then put on the roof with the help of a crane.
They are an example of the extreme feasibility of the surfaces. We have calculated the
daylighting transmission of similar shapes in Section 3, an undertaking neither Doganoff
nor Ramaswamy [13] were able to perform.
Ramasamy [13] and Doganoff [11,14] report that owing to the want of knowledge
about the surface, structural calculations turn out to be cumbersome, yet engineers still
cherish the form because of its many advantageous properties and elegance, citing lighting
and economy of construction [15,16] as potential reasons to explain their predilection.

5.2. Recent Projects of Conoids Realized by J. M. Cabeza-Lainez

The present author has been working in such conoid shapes for more than twenty-
five years and his experience has ignited in part the present article. Modeling of the
characteristic structural, acoustic and lighting properties of conoids has encompassed a
significant amount of my career as researcher. Based on that, I can attest to its sustainability
and endurance [17].
From the structural point of view, as a ruled surface, it can be built directly through
straight lines (beams or poles); this fact greatly facilitates the construction and scaffolding,
as more natural materials such as bricks or bamboo rods can be used without difficulty,
even for reinforcement or repair.
Carbon-fiber coating has become a recent alternative for reinforcement, although
moderately expensive.
The arched section of the conoid, whether circular or elliptic, presents a vertical
tangent, shown in the previous sections [18]. Therefore, if adequately constructed, it is free
from horizontal thrusts that might compromise the supporting frame. In other words, it
transmits all the loads of the structure vertically and avoids the use of buttresses (Figure 22).

45
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

ȱ
Figure 22. School of Engineering of the University of Sevilla. Aerial view of conoidal skylights.

These consistent and diminishing arches function as girths for most parts of the sur-
face [19] and provide increased resistance to a significant degree. It is true that calculation of
hyper-static arches is not widely treated in the literature, but we suggest the column analogy
method proposed by H. Cross [20] as a helpful and programming-friendly procedure.
Due to its curvature, the aerodynamics of the roof is excellent for bearing wind loads
and other meteorological phenomena such as rain, drizzle or snow. At the same time,
because of the former, it enhances air flow from the outside or from the internal stack effect
with appropriate vents.
Regarding lighting properties if, as usual, the glazed apertures lie in the curvilinear
extremes of the forms, they bring uniform illuminance, as we calculated in Section 3
(Figure 23) and can be easily shaded by eaves protruding from the same brim of the surface
(Figure 24).

ȱ
Figure 23. Interior view showing light diffusion at the central conoid. School of engineering of Seville.

ȱ
Figure 24. Semicircular opening and projecting overhang at the extreme of the central conoid of the
School of Engineering of Seville.

46
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

Acoustic properties stem from the circumstance that the inside surface of the conoid is
mostly convex as we have checked mathematically [6]. Sound waves are diffused in this
kind of ceiling and consequently, noise and reverberation become dampened. If, through
appropriate design, the conoid covers a trapeze or fan-shaped plan (Figures 25 and 26) the
effect of an even sound pressure is manifest [21]. (In this last case the surface is not a proper
conoid as the forming lines are not all parallel to a common plane).

ȱ
Figure 25. Three rotated conoidal roofs designed for a musicians’ family. Sanlucar (Seville).

ȱ
Figure 26. View of the house of the musicians. The vaults are entirely constructed in brick with
occasional steel reinforcement.

The aforementioned acoustic benefits are extensive to interior illumination for the
same reason of convexity of forms.
The cover in Figure 25, strictly-speaking is not a conoid, because its equation differs
from what we have explained above. The forming straight lines are not parallel to a plane
but they all coincide along a central vertical axis; such is a new form named Cabeza-Abajo
surface (after the author). However, topping of a fan-shaped plan with this kind of surface
offers a very interesting structural property: the larger spans between pillars are covered
by arches, while the tapered end of the trapeze features a common slab or planar beam,
which seems very logical from the constructive aspect [21].
In this way, the shells’ materials can be lighter and smoother, in Figure 27 we present
three vaults consisting of thin layers of hollow brick with steel mesh as a reinforcement.
The result has proven to provide increased insulation and adds variety of light effects
(Figure 28).

47
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

ȱ
Figure 27. Vault pieces are constructed in hollow thin brick with steel mesh for reinforcement and
attached to a concrete frame.

ȱ
Figure 28. Detail of pseudo-conoid roofs in which the sun-path produces intriguing variations
through the day.

5.3. Future Proposals

As a corollary to the theories elucidated, we will discuss two project-forms that we
have created with conoids, taking into account evolving technologies. The first one is
a system of skylights similar to the one depicted in Figures 21 and 24, but in this case,
the glazed parts instead of being planar are also conoids (Figure 29). Bearing in mind
the discussion on heat and light transfer of Section 3, this feature presents undoubted
advantages [22]. Firstly, the glazing is better shaded and protected by the opaque upper
conoid. Secondly, sunlight and heat transmission are modulated by the smooth curves
conjoined to the innovative glass properties. In this way the glass surface becomes load-
bearing and collaborates with the general structure. The form can be easily adapted to
arrays of skylights (Figure 30).

48
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

Figure 29. Outline of proposed skylights with internal conoid glazing.

Figure 30. A suggested array of six conoidal skylights.

The new skylights are more impervious, break-proof, safer and cleaner in the absence
of maintenance, as dust collection is diminished with the curvature.
The second form consists of an innovative proposal for an amphitheater, music or
sports venue (Figure 31).

Figure 31. 3D drawing of the new Amphitheater.

In this case, being a double conoid, the advantages previously elucidated are even
increased. The sections are closed curves, such as the ellipse and the circumference in
the brim. Thus, they work as tension rings or girdles to hold the structure together
without severe deformations. The bearing capacity of the shape is extreme. The tiers of
the amphitheater are the obverse of the external façade; there is no need to superimpose
a conical structure inside a cylinder such as in the Colosseum or in Spanish bull-rings.
Among other problems, the ancient structures were forced to build giant discharge vaults
and galleries, which transferred severe thrusts to the outer façade. As a result, we have
calculated that savings in building materials of this proposed facility could be massive.

49
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Still, the structure can be easily constructed with straight beam elements and reinforce-
ments. The foundations are pointing to the soil as in a kind of arrow, which means that it
will be very stable, safe and simple to develop.
The outer surface of the conoid is not vertical but inclined, and so the surroundings of
the amphitheater would be self-shaded—an interesting feature in warm climates.
As for the grandstands, it is not difficult to adapt awnings or other shading systems to
the inside area in order to protect the tiers from the rain or the sun (Figure 32).

Figure 32. The Amphiteater with proposed retractable shade.

As mentioned above, the effect of concentration of sound, rather annoying in con-

ventional stadiums will be almost completely avoided due to the convexity of the surface.
In Reference [6], we have demonstrated such effect by acoustic ray-tracing procedures.
These rely on the finding of the normal to the conoid surface at each point.
The procedure to extract the normal is first-order differentiation of the equation of the
surface defined as F(x,y,z). The normal vector is obtained as N = (Fx , Fy , Fz ) and in this case,
has the value of:  
R2 z2 R2 z
N= , y, (61)
( R − x )3 ( R − x )2
We can trace a vector field with the reflected sound-rays from an emission point to
check that they are effectively dispersed in the air and not concentrated [6].
The only remaining questions would be those of selecting the relative heights of the
stages and platforms and other design issues such as circulation in the venue. Nonetheless,
we believe that our proposal could be another good example of how the conoid-based bod-
ies are able to create a significant volumetric space with a comparatively small enveloping
surface; the key is that they offer a high spatial compactness, which is usually an added
value in terms of heat exchange, costs reduction and sustainability, in general.

6. Repercussions for Technology

So far, we have presented scientific design developments that we hope will find
a myriad of applications in technological areas such as Nautical, Aerospace, Building,
Heritage, Retrofit and associated industries or machinery. Such facts attest to the versatility
and feasibility of the solutions presented, which derive from our mathematical investigation.
In the last part of the research, due to their complexity, the surfaces have been materialized
with the help of 3D fabrication procedures to help decide about some difficult points of
the equations or to reflect on future realizations of the proposals. It is undeniable for us
that the results attain to the domains of Art and Design (Figures 33–36). They have been
included in the study, as they constitute a veritable revolution of forms.

50
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

ȱ
Figure 33. Antisphera in bronze by the artist Sergio Portela and in plastic 3D print (green).

ȱ
Figure 34. 3D print of a conoid similar to Doganoff’s skylight.

ȱ
Figure 35. The Dyosphera in 3D print, detail of interlocks.

51
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

ȱ
Figure 36. The Dyosphera standing on one of its four bases.

We believe that the implications of this geometrical advance are far-reaching. Due to
its internal logic, it would be suitable for biotechnology. Especially the last development,
the Pterasphera, being of a tubular nature, would be prone to fluid transportation. As a
spring-like configuration it conjoins flexibility and balance. In Figures 37 and 38, we present
examples of possible association and growth in parallel or opposed patterns.

Figure 37. Two parallel Pterasphera tubules.

Figure 38. The same tubules opposed.

52
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

If we analyze the internal section of the tubules (Figure 39), it is composed of two
semi-ellipses of varying sizes, but the span is constant at R; the extreme one is a semi-
circumference of radius R and the middle horizontal section is a complete ellipse of minor
axis R and major axis 2R.

Figure 39. Horizontal section of a Pterasphera of major axis 10 and minor 5.

The dimensions of the section are constant, but its shape is not; thus, the velocity of
the fluid inside the tubule can be deftly regulated from the same form. This would offer a
clear alternative to reduce the noise level in the ducts or to decant particles in suspension.
The longitudinal central section of the Pterasphera gives a lozenge of horizontal di-
mensions R and the sides are inclined to the angle (π/2 − θ), with θ = arctan(L/R). The
perpendicular distance between inclined sides is of d = R cos θ.
This characteristic will facilitate insertion in existing rectangular ducts. for example, in
retrofits. Mass fabrication is also simple since the form allows cuboid molds of the middle
section over 2R × R cos θ.
In Figures 40 and 41, we present examples of vertical growth of the tubules, resem-
bling vegetal pillars. Such form connects with the art tradition of coloana infinutului by
Constantin Brâncuşi and with the architectural orders of classical architecture.

Figure 40. A pair of tubules of different height.

53
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

Figure 41. Different perspectives of the tubule.

We decided to explicate this finding because of the possibilities that it showcases,

for instance, in tower buildings. Vertical connections are always feasible at the middle
plane of the column, but the external envelop will benefit from the sun-tracking or shading
properties already elucidated, combined with new photic materials of variable transparency
(Figure 41). In consequence, lighting, thermal and acoustic features will considerably
improve the existing conditions.
The structure of the so-conceived tower can be as lightweight as desired due to its inner
balance and counterweight. As we have explained previously, alone or better in groups
(Figure 42), it should perform adequately under earthquakes, extreme wind conditions or
other unpredictable circumstances.

Figure 42. A symmetric array of twin tubules.

54
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

Conversely, the authors, by designing operations have achieved the form of a straight
tubule of reversed sections.
Diverse technological fields could have a keen interest in the new forms that we have
found, both for the macro- and micro-scales. It is indeed a leap into a sustainable future,
which we hope go beyond.

7. Conclusions and Future Aims

In the first part of the article, we have identified adroit mathematic procedures, which
greatly enhance our understanding of conoidal shapes. In the process, a new transcendental
number has been obtained. We would call this cipher ψ. Being of a very precise nature, it
provides a surprisingly accurate approximation of π. Thanks to Ramanujan’s conjecture, we
have been able to find the lateral area of the conoid, a recurrent form in organic structures
whose scientific and technical knowledge was insufficient, although much desired for the
benefit of art and architecture.
With such a procedure, we have created no less than four new types of figures that
present high potential in many realms, such as aerospace, naval industries, transport,
communication, biotechnology and fluid, light and sound-conducting devices.
Consequently, we have developed a vast array of revolutionary forms that showcases
their utility for the design of sundry aeronautical parts and vessels. Due to their particular
geometric properties, they can work, both for heat storage or dissipation, as the case may
be. They perform aptly in thermal, luminous and acoustic radiation domains.
As a concession to the architectural discourse and paradigm, we have discussed how
the notions that led to this form have evolved since early modern times; former examples
of structures demonstrate integration of tradition with sustainability.
Further advantages to be outlined include that they enhance the employment of
engineering and architectural forms, which can save considerable amounts of materials
and building time, not only when used as cover or roofing in the sense of vaults or domes,
but also vertically for cantilevered stadiums and amphitheaters, based on the cylinder since
the Roman colosseum. Additionally, towers and high-rise buildings can be designed after
the last form presented, Pterasphera, owing to its tubular nature, which opens the way for
its use in transport infrastructures.
From the building perspective, easy reinforcement for pre-stressed construction and
enhanced structural behavior could be other reasons for their use. Self-shading of the
structure and built-in protection from weather phenomena are added values and contribute
to its durability. An ample field of research in new materials is inaugurated with the
properties revealed by the said forms.
The repertoire of possibilities derived from such geometric findings and explorations
seem to be never ending.
Finally, from the mathematical point of view, a precise and non-trivial meaning has
been attributed to the number π 2 ; this is an unexpected achievement that leaves us room to
speculate on the notions of π 3 , π N and π elevated to infinite power ∞ and their applications
in future art and architecture.

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: This article is dedicated to J. M. Cabeza Arroyo. The author would also like to
express remembrance for the late J. R. Perez de Lama who showed great interest in the early phases
of this research. J. L. Perez de Lama Halcón was helpful in the preliminary 3D fabrication models
used by the author to ascertain the hypotheses. J.C.-L. wants to thank Francisco Salguero-Andujar for
his collaboration in checking the results of column 4 in Table 1.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

55
Buildings 2022, 12, 10

References
1. The Bible. 1 Kings 7:23. “And He Made the Sea of Cast Bronze, Ten Cubits from One Brim to the Other; It Was Completely
Round. Its Height Was Five Cubits, and a Line of Thirty Cubits Measured Its Circumference”. Available online: https:
//biblehub.com/1_kings/7-23.htm (accessed on 29 August 2021).
2. Ramanujan, S. Ramanujan’s Collected Works; Chelsea Publishing Company: New York, NY, USA, 1962.
3. Jeffrey, A.; Dai, H. Handbook of Mathematical Formulas and Integrals; Elsevier Academic Press: Burlington, MA, USA, 2008.
4. Weisstein, E.W. (Ed.) Trascendent Numbers; MathWorld; Wolfram Research: Champaign, IL, USA, 2014.
5. Guarini, C.G. Euclides Adauctus et Methodicus Mathematicaque Universalis; Baptistae Zappatae Bibliopolae S.R.C.: Turin, Italy, 1671.
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on 7 September 2021).
6. Cabeza-Lainez, J.M. Fundamentos de Transferencia Radiante Luminosa o la Verdadera Naturaleza del Factor de Forma y sus Modelos de
Cálculo; Netbiblio: Seville, Spain, 2010.
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Radiative Transfer. Mathematics 2020, 8, 2176. [CrossRef]
8. Cabeza-Lainez, J.M.; Pulido-Arcas, J.A. New configuration factors for curved surfaces. J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transf. 2012,
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9. Cabeza-Lainez, J.M.; Pulido-Arcas, J.A.; Sanchez-Montañés, B.; Rubio-Bellido, C. New Configuration Factor between a Circle and
a Point-Plane at Random Positions. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 2014, 69, 147–150. [CrossRef]
10. Andujar, F.S.; Rodriguez-Cunill, I.; Cabeza-Lainez, J.M. The Problem of Lighting in Underground Domes, Vaults, and Tunnel-Like
Structures of Antiquity; An Application to the Sustainability of Prominent Asian Heritage (India, Korea, China). Sustainability
2019, 11, 5865. [CrossRef]
11. Doganoff, I. Berechnung von Kugelschalen über Rechteckigem Grundriß. Mit Berechnungsdiagrammen; Mitteilungen aus dem Institut
für Massivbau Hannover: Düsseldorf, Germany, 1962.
12. Almodovar-Melendo, J.-M.; Cabeza-Lainez, J.-M.; Rodriguez-Cunill, I. Lighting Features in Historical Buildings: Scientific
Analysis of the Church of Saint Louis of the Frenchmen in Sevilla. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3352. [CrossRef]
13. Ramswamy, S.G. Design and Construction of Concrete Shell Roofs; CBS Publishers & Distributors Private Limited: Delhi, India, 2004.
14. Doganoff, I.; Hoffmann, C.; Rühle, H. Shell and Fold Structure Roofs Out of Precast, Pre-Stressed Reinforced Concrete Elements; Institute
Eduardo Torroja: Madrid, Spain, 1964.
15. Sahoo, S. Dynamic Characters of Stiffened Composite Conoidal Shell Roofs with Cutouts: Design Aids and Selection Guidelines.
J. Eng. 2013, 2013, 230120. [CrossRef]
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Reinf. Plast. Compos. 2007, 26, 1793–1819. [CrossRef]
17. Cabeza-Lainez, J.; López-de-Asiain-y-Martín, J.; Moreno-Jiménez, V. Rehabilitación del pabellón Plaza de América de la Exposición
Universal de 1992. Rev. Edificación Ecoconstrucción 1997, 27. Available online: https://hdl.handle.net/10171/16978 (accessed
on 1 May 2021).
18. Chaubey, A.; Kumar, A.; Fic, S.; Barnat-Hunek, D.; Sadowska-Buraczewska, B. Hygrothermal Analysis of Laminated Composite
Skew Conoids. Materials 2019, 12, 225. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
19. Dzwierzynska, J.; Prokopska, A. Pre-Rationalized Parametric Designing of Roof Shells Formed by Repetitive Modules of Catalan
Surfaces. Symmetry 2018, 10, 105. [CrossRef]
20. Cross, H. The Column Analogy; University of Illinois: Urbana, IL, USA, 1930; Volume 28, Available online: https://www.ideals.
illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/4229/engineeringexperv00000i00215.pdf?sequence=3 (accessed on 20 September 2021).
21. Cabeza-Lainez, J.M.; Verdejo, J.R.J.; Macias, B.S.-M.; Calero, J.I.P. The Key-role of Eladio Dieste, Spain and the Americas in the
Evolution from Brickwork to Architectural Form. J. Asian Archit. Build. Eng. 2009, 8, 355–362. [CrossRef]
22. Cabeza-Lainez, J.; Almodovar-Melendo, J.-M.; Dominguez, I. Daylight and Architectural Simulation of the Egebjerg School
(Denmark): Sustainable Features of a New Type of Skylight. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5878. [CrossRef]

56
 buildings
Article
Application of Glass Structures in Architectural Shaping of
All-Glass Pavilions, Extensions, and Links
Anna Jóźwik

Department of Structural Design, Construction and Technical Infrastructure, Faculty of Architecture,

Warsaw University of Technology, 55 Koszykowa Street, 00-659 Warsaw, Poland; [email protected]

Abstract: This article covers the issues of applying structural glass in shaping all-glass architectural
objects. Glass, as a transparent material, is a source of inspiration for new architectural solutions.
With the development of technology and the increasing knowledge of glass’s mechanical and strength
properties, the possibility of using the material for construction purposes has also been acknowledged.
Structural elements and building envelope elements can create a uniform material structure of all-
glass objects. This observation contributed to the analysis presented in the article. The research was
mainly aimed at investigating the architectural and structural-related conditions in shaping all-glass
structures in buildings. In this paper, we specify criteria and typology in terms of the applied design
solutions. The criteria investigated in the study included functional-spatial aspects, the form, and the
structure. All-glass objects were divided into pavilions, extensions, and links in terms of functional
and spatial aspects. Architectural forms were specified and characterised as cubic, cuboid, cylindrical,
and free-forms. Regarding structural solutions, frames, grillages, beam-wall, and plate-wall systems
were indicated as the main load-bearing structures implemented in the buildings under study. The
results have been obtained to describe the architectural and structural shaping of all-glass objects. One
of the main results of the work is the indication between functional-spatial aspects, the form, and the
structure. This correlation confirms the close relationship in architecture between art and engineering.
Citation: Jóźwik, A. Application of
Glass Structures in Architectural Keywords: glass; glass structures; structural glass; glass pavilions; glass extensions; glass links
Shaping of All-Glass Pavilions,
Extensions, and Links. Buildings 2022,
12, 1254. https://doi.org/10.3390/
buildings12081254 1. Introduction
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński, Glass is a significant material in contemporary architecture. Transparency is its main
Agata Bonenberg, Wojciech advantage, as the material allows daylight into the interior. The rich history of glass dates
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini back to 5000 BC, but it was not until its use in coloured stained-glass windows of Gothic
churches and cathedrals that the material was applied in architecture. It allowed the light
Received: 30 June 2022
into the interior and was closely related to the aesthetic perception, as the colour was seen
Accepted: 12 August 2022
as a source of beauty [1] (p. 125).
Published: 16 August 2022
Several centuries had passed from the Middle Ages before the widespread use of
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral glass in construction was established. Significant changes occurred during the industrial
with regard to jurisdictional claims in revolution in the 19th century when new technologies for the production of glass panes
published maps and institutional affil- were first introduced [2]. The erection of the Crystal Palace in London in 1851 may be seen
iations. as a turning point for architectural development. The building, erected for the Great World
Exhibition, was made of glass used on an unprecedented scale. A building, with transparent
walls and a roof, was created among the brick buildings of Victorian London. Transparency
allowed for the dematerialisation of the border between the inside and the outside. In the
Copyright: © 2022 by the author.
first decades of the 20th century, the era of glass in architecture began, and projects that
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
influenced the development of contemporary architecture were initiated [3] (pp. 10–13).
distributed under the terms and
Significant buildings of that time include the glass pavilion designed by Bruno Taut [4]
conditions of the Creative Commons for the Werkbund exhibition in Cologne in 1914 (Figure 1). The building implemented
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// the vision of a world filled with buildings of coloured glass, with glass ceilings and stairs.
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ Bruno Taut was inspired by the literary works of Paul Scheerbart and his words, “Glass
4.0/). heralds a new age/The culture of brick brings only sorrow” [5].

Buildings 2022, 12, 1254. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081254 57 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

Figure 1. The Glass Pavilion, designed by Bruno Taut, Cologne Werkbund Exhibition, 1914 (pub-
lic domain).

Glass is equated with modernity. The development in glass technology exerts a signifi-
cant influence in this respect. However, its transparency is of significance as well [6,7], as it
provides a source of inspiration for various architectural works. Hence, art and engineering
merge, thus providing a constant challenge to artists involved in forming contemporary
architecture. This is especially visible since glass no longer serves only as an enclosure
material but is increasingly used as a construction material. Hence, as a result of the
intensive development of glass technology, the concept of engineered transparency [8,9]
(p. 57), ref. [10] has emerged in recent years. The meaning of this term is rightly defined
by Peter Rice, who described “the role of the engineer working with glass as someone
who transformed the simple architectural statement into an essay on the nature of trans-
parency and how to use the physical properties of glass to convey fully the concept of
transparency” [8] (p. 58).
Therefore, introducing the engineering transparency concept confirms the interpene-
tration of art and engineering. Reflection of this approach in design may be found while
designing all-glass structures, such as pavilions, extensions, or links. Glasbau-Hahn ex-
hibition hall in Frankfurt by the Main, erected in the 1950s, was among the first objects
designed exclusively of glass [11,12]. It was constructed by a company that produced glass
display cases. The use of glass as a structural material was an innovative solution at that
time. Currently, the use of glass structures offers new design possibilities, not only for
engineering but also for integrating the whole construction. Thus, glass solutions provide a
source of creative inspiration in architecture. This change results from developing knowl-
edge and research on its mechanical and strength properties. The potential for using glass
as a structural material was well ahead of regulations in the form of adequate harmonised
guidelines and standards [13,14]. Over time, national normative documents began to be
introduced, and the experience gained in the design of structural glass contributed to the
development of a European standard for the design of glass structures, Eurocode 10, which
is due to be published at the end of 2024 [14–16].
The lack of applicable design guidelines has given rise to a number of design problem-
solving research [17]. An issue that emerges from the possible use of structural glass is
related to the design of all-glass structures. The issue is not a new one and has been
undertaken by researchers: Herman [18], Teixidor [19], and Weiler [20]. As the topic is
valid, suggestions and analyses of experimental projects are being made [21–23]. However,

58
Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

despite ongoing research, this subject is not fully recognised. There is a lack of broad
recognition of what lies behind the term all-glass structure, and importantly, how such a
structure can be applied to architecture. These studies focus on single solutions or case
studies. There is no generalised recognition and characterisation of these solutions and no
indication of their possibilities and limitations. Therefore, the topic of an all-glass structure
is addressed in this work.

2. Materials and Methods

The main research goal was to investigate the architectural and construction conditions
in shaping all-glass objects provided. These objects have been defined as buildings or parts
thereof, with glass used as the enclosure and structural element material. This approach is
related to the development of contemporary technologies and the increase in knowledge
concerning the mechanical and strength properties of glass, as well as the development of
rules for structural glass design. The research scope covers the last twenty-five years, in
which a significant increase has occurred in the implementation of buildings using glass
structural elements.
The research consisted of several stages:
1. State-of-the-art literature review
The initial stage involved the source literature review concerning the conducted
research, i.e., scientific articles, books, reports, guidelines and standards, and internet
sources on the topic. In this regard, publications on the following issues can be indicated:
• current glass technologies in terms of their application in architecture;
• physical properties of glass used in glass envelopes;
• structural glass in terms of mechanical and strength properties;
• structural glass in the view of recent design guidelines and standards, as well as issues
relating to its structural design principles;
• the possibility to apply structural glass in architecture, including case studies;
• theoretical considerations related to the issue of transparency and the use of glass
in architecture.
Based on the conducted source literature analysis, the main research problem was
defined concerning the use of structural glass in terms of integrating architectural and
construction issues. Hence, attention was paid to the issues concerning the design of
all-glass objects.
2. Selection of examples for the research to be conducted and the preparation of materials
The second research stage selected a group of objects that met the adopted research
assumptions. Over 40 buildings were selected (Table 1) in which all-glass structures were
implemented, with the use of glass in an exterior enclosure and the load-bearing elements.
The scope of literature-based research was narrowed down at this stage, while the studies
on the examined buildings were expanded. Both published and unpublished materials
obtained from the designers of these buildings were used, as well as the on-site observations
by the author.
3. Analysis of the main research task
The systematics of all-glass objects was conducted as part of the main research task.
According to the classic tripartite division into function, form, and structure, basic divisions
and characteristics have been developed. However, due to the research subject, the concept
of function refers to functional and spatial conditions. By introducing the systematics, it
was possible to determine the architectural and structural conditions that affect the design
of all-glass structures. The following research methods were used in this part: the source
literature analysis, comparative analysis, case study, logical interpretation, descriptive
analysis, and in situ studies [24].
4. Results and conclusions

59
Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

The final stage involved developing the results and conclusions. Particular attention
was paid to the interrelationships between the functional-spatial aspects, the form, and
the structure. The results were presented regarding architectural concepts in which a load-
bearing structure with structural glass can be implemented instead of typical solutions with
steel, aluminium, or wooden structures. The conclusion section presents the possibilities
and limitations related to the use of glass structures.

Table 1. Chronological list of analysed all-glass objects.

Architect/Glass The Function of Type of Structural

Name of Building City Construction Year
Engineer Glass Object System
Design
Extension—
Kingswinford Antenna/Dewhurst
Glass Museum 1994 entrance to the frames
(GB) Macfarlane and
museum
Partners
Kraaijvanger-
link between two glass beams,
Footbridge Rotterdam (NL) 1994 Urbis/Rob
buildings plate–wall system
Nijsee
Architects Tillner &
Kubus Export Wien (AT) 2001 exhibition pavilion frames
Willinger
Norwich Castle
Norwich (GB) 2001 Purcell lift frames
Lift
Glass Cube sculptor Jochen
Mannheim (DE) 2003 sculpture/installation plate–wall system
Memorial Kitzbihler
Paul Archer
House at King extension—dining
London (GB) 2003 Design/Fluid beam–wall system
Henry’s Road room
Structures
Jamieson
Roel Farm Glass Gloucestershire Associates/Marl link between two
2004 grillage system
Cube (GB) Lovell Design buildings
Engineers
Bohlin Cywinski pavilion—
Apple Store Fifth
New York (USA) 2006/2011 Jackson/Eckersley entrance to the grillage system
Avenue
O’Callaghan store
ARE Grazioli,
pavilion—
Krischnzitz/Ernst
Rietberg Museum Zurich (CH) 2006 entrance to frames
Basler + Partner AG,
museum
Ludwig + Weller
Bohlin Cywinski
Apple Store
Sydney (AU) 2007 Jackson/Eckersley extension—facade frames
367 George Street
O’Callaghan
Foreign Office link—footbridge
John Lewis
Leicester (GB) 2008 Architects between two beam–wall system
Department Store
FOA/AKT-II buildings
American JVC
glass link between glass beams, steel
Academy of Arts New York (USA) 2009 Architect/Robert
two buildings frames in walls
and Letters Silman Associates
extension—
House at
London (GB) 2009 Platform 5 Architects kitchen/dining plate–wall system
Mapledene Road
room

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

Table 1. Cont.

Architect/Glass The Function of Type of Structural

Name of Building City Construction Year
Engineer Glass Object System
Blum und Schultze
Leibniz Institute
Architekten/GSK—
for Solid State and
Dresden (DE) 2009 Glas Statik exhibition pavilion frames
Material Research
Konstruktionen
pavilion
GmbH
Bohlin Cywinski pavilion—
Apple Store grillage system,
Shanghai (CN) 2010 Jackson/Eckersley entrance to the
Pudong glass frames
O’Callaghan store
Kelly Maiello
Philadelphia
President’s House 2010 Architects/Rydal exhibition pavilion grillage system
(USA)
Engineering
link between
The Park Hotel Hyderabad (IN) 2010 SOM/SOM frames
buildings
Costa Coffee extension—
London (GB) 2011 Dyer/IQ Project frames
Tower Vaults tearoom
DOS
House at Souldern extension—living
London (GB) 2011 Architects/Firman frames
Road room
Glass
Architectural Group
pavilion—
New Headquarters and partners
Tbilisi (GE) 2011 entrance to the grillage system
Bank of Georgia (AG&P)/Verroplan
office
GmbH
extension—
60 Victoria
London (GB) 2012 TP Bennett/OAG entrance to frames
Embankment
office
Brooks/Murray extension—dining
Coach Restaurant Hatfield (GB) 2012 frames
Architects/ room
Kraaijvanger pavilion—
Architects/ABT– entrance to glass fins and steel
Glass Cube Haarlem (NL) 2012
Rob underground car cables
Nijsse parking
extension—
Glass House
Winchester (GB) 2012 AR Design Studio kitchen/dining frames
Milnthorpe Corner
room
House at RRA extension—living
London (GB) 2012 beam–wall system
Castelnau Architects/Culmax room
link—footbridge
Westfield John Wardle
Sydney (AU) 2012 between two frames
Shopping Center Architects
buildings
Bauconzept/GSK—
Glas Statik link between
Castle Grimma Grimma (DE) 2013 frames
Konstruktionen buildings
GmbH
Perkins &
Pavilion—
Daman Building Dubai (UAE) 2013 Will/Malishev grillage system
entrance
Engineers
pavilions—
Kieran Timber-
Philadelphia entrance to
Dilworth Park 2014 lake/Eckersley plate–wall system
(USA) underground
O’Callaghan
station

61
Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

Table 1. Cont.

Architect/Glass The Function of Type of Structural

Name of Building City Construction Year
Engineer Glass Object System
Salvation Army Sunbury Court extension—dining
2014 Dyer frames
Conference Center (GB) room
C. F.
Pavilion—
Bestseller Building Aarhus (DK) 2015 Møller/Skandinaviska grillage system
entrance
Glasssystem
Bodelwyddan Bodelwyddan PWP Architects/O J hotel/restaurant
2015 frames
Castle near Rhyl (GB) Taffinder Ltd. entrance
Borgos extension—
Spencer Park
London (GB) 2015 Pieper/Eckersley living/dining beam–wall system
House
O’Callaghan room
link—footbridge
Centraal Museum Utrecht (NL) 2016 SODA/ABT between two plate–wall system
buildings
O’LearyGoss
extension—tea
Pier Visitor Center Clevedon (GB) 2016 Architects/Glass frames
room
Solution
The Liberty pavilions—
Square/The ASPA Pracownia entrance to
Wroclaw (PL) 2016 grillage system
National Forum of Projektowa underground
Music parking
Chaix & Morel et
Associés;
House of European frames, grillage
Brussels (BE) 2017 JSWD upper extension
History system
Architects/Werner
Sobek
House Mc2design/Markam extension—living
London (GB) 2009/2017 beam–wall system
Christchurch Associates room
Tottenham Court pavilions—
Road Stanton entrance to glass frames with
London (GB) 2017
Underground Williams/Seele underground steel inserts
Station station
Foster + pavilion—
Apple Piazza
Milan (IT) 2018 Partners/Eckersley entrance to the plate–wall system
Liberty
O’Callaghan store
James Bell link between two
Burford Lane Farm Burford (GB) 2018 frames
Architecture buildings
pavilion—
entrance to
Lahti Travel Center Lahti (FI) 2018 JKMM grillage system
underground
station
Restaurant
Claire Braun/Karner pavilion—dining
pavilion Graz (AT) 2018 grillage system
Consulting pavilion
Wienerwirt
Paul Vick/Malishev link between two glass frames,
Office in Chiswick London (GB) 2019
Engineers buildings plate–wall system

62
Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

Table 1. Cont.

Architect/Glass The Function of Type of Structural

Name of Building City Construction Year
Engineer Glass Object System
extension—
Residential at
London (GB) 2020 Shape Architecture living/dining plate–wall system
Woodsford Square
room
Jürgen
Tourist pavilion—inside
Glurns (IT) 2020 Wallnöfer/GBD frames
information point building
Group
Saville Jones
The old vicarage, extension—dining
Worthing (GB) 2021 Architects/Glass frames
Ambrose Place room
Structures Limited
The Craiova Art glass wall systems
Craiova (RO) 2022 Dorin Stefan/GSK exhibition pavilion
Museum with glass fins

3. Results
The investigated all-glass objects were characterised by a different spectrum of ar-
chitectural and construction solutions resulting from their location, including orientation,
climatic conditions, function, and scale. A common feature of these structures is the use of
glass in both the envelope and the structural elements. However, a distinction can be made
between the characteristics of glass for use in façades and roofs and the mechanical and
strength characteristics relevant to load-bearing elements (Figure 2).

Figure 2. General characteristics of glass used in all-glass pavilions, extensions, and links (figure by
the author).

The performance of partitions is quite important due to the occupancy of people

in the interiors. Various test methods are being developed to assess the comfort of the
built environment. One of them was developed by ABSIC (Advanced Building Systems
Integration Consortium at Carnegie Mellon University in the USA) and indicates building
quality criteria: space quality, thermal comfort, air quality, acoustic quality, and optical
quality [25]. It can be noted that indirectly, these criteria can be related to façade parameters.
In the studied objects, the properties of glass elements in the enclosure create the comfort

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of the internal environment by providing light to their interiors, protection against heat
loss, protection against overheating of glazed spaces, and protection against noise when
glass with acoustic parameters is used.
The glass parameters used in transparent building envelopes are related, among other
things, to spectrophotometric properties [26], which quantify the contribution of light
transmission, reflection, and absorption by the glass pane (Figure 3). The aim is to obtain
as much daylight as possible to be transmitted into the building. The LT factor determines
the direct visible light transmission. Along with daylight, solar energy is transmitted into
the interior, characterised by the total solar energy transmittance factor g. Solar energy
causes thermal discomfort for building users. A favourable solution to reconcile these
two spectrophotometric aspects is to use highly selective glass, i.e., glass with a high
selectivity coefficient. The selectivity coefficient is defined as the ratio of the direct visible
light transmittance LT to the total solar energy transmittance g. A selectivity coefficient
can characterise modern generations of glass within the range of 2.0, e.g., LT = 70% and
g = 35%. For cases where greater solar protection is desirable, products dedicated to this
purpose can be used, i.e., glass with a reduced total solar energy transmittance g, for
example, with parameters LT/g = 50/25. The highest direct daylight transmittance LT
occurs with extra-clear (low iron) glass, i.e., with reduced iron dioxide content, and such
glass, in addition to its aesthetic value, can also be utilized for passive solutions [26].

Figure 3. Schematic of the transmission of visible light and solar energy through glass panes (figure
by the author).

In terms of thermal protection, using low-emissivity glass, i.e., coatings that effectively
reduce radiant heat loss, significantly improves performance. Another solution concerns
the arrangement of the panes themselves. Double or triple-glazed units are filled with
air, argon, xenon, or aerogel [27]. This gas filling reduces heat loss through a convention.
The so-called warm frames connecting individual glass panes are additionally applied.
Currently, the most advanced solutions are characterised by the heat transfer coefficient
U significantly below 1.0 W/m2 K. Triple-glazed panes with low-emission coatings and
filled with xenon have particularly favourable parameters. In the buildings surveyed, the
thermal protection requirements of the glazed spaces can be seen to vary. Some spaces are
not heated and do not require the design of partitions to protect against heat loss.
Due to the use of glass as a structural material, its mechanical and strength properties
are important. Glass is a brittle material compared to other construction materials such
as steel or wood. The general physical and mechanical properties of basic lime silicate
glass are shown in Table 2. The strength of annealed float glass is 45 MPa. This value is
determined according to standard EN-572 [28] for bending tension. In order to increase
the strength of the glass, thermal modification is used to obtain thermally strengthened
glass with a strength of 70 MPa [29] and toughened thermally glass with a strength of
120 MPa [30]. These are the characteristic bending strength values of prestressed basic
soda lime silicate glass. The design value of glass is also determined for the design of
structural components [14].

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Table 2. General physical and mechanical properties of basic soda lime silicate glass [28].

Type of Properties Value

Modulus of elastisity E = 70,000 MPa
Poisson’s ratio v = 0.23
Coefficient of linear thermal expansion αt = 9 × 10−6 L/K
Glass density ρ = 2500 kg/m3

The thermal modification of the glass also has an impact on the crack pattern/type of
grid. When cracked, annealed float glass is characterised by large fragments with sharp
edges, whereas thermally toughened glass has a fine crack grid with small fragments,
which reduces the risk of injury. An intermediate condition in terms of the size of the
fragments in the fracture grid is found in heat-strengthened glass [14,31].
Laminated glass is used to increase the safety level of glass structures. This type
of glass consists of two or more glass panes connected by adhesive layers susceptible to
rheological phenomena. The strength of laminated glass is, therefore, the same as that
of the glass layers used in laminated glass (annealed float glass, semi-tempered glass,
toughened glass). Polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), and thermoplastic
polyurethane (TPU) [32], formerly resin, are used to bond the glass layers. Their mechanical
properties significantly depend on the temperature and duration of loads [14,33]. PVB film
with a thickness of 0.38, 0.76, or 1.52 mm is most commonly used to bond glass sheets. There
are numerous PVB interlayers used for different solutions (acoustic, structural, solar) [33].
In the case of structural elements, special-purpose materials such as extra stiff PVB or
the SentryGlas ionomer [34] are increasingly being introduced. Especially the SentryGlas
ionomer is characterised by better strength parameters, including high tensile strength
and five-times-greater tear strength than the conventional PVB. Apart from being used for
glass–glass connections, SentryGlas ionomer also enables the use of glass–steel connections
in glass structures [35].
The basic method for verifying structural glass in the European standards currently
being developed is the limit state method [Jóźwik]. This design concept is also included
in EN 16612 [36] for lateral load resistances of linearly supported glaze used as infill
panels and consists of checking two main conditions. According to the ultimate limit
state (ULS), the maximum normal stress σmax is calculated for the most unfavourable
combinations of loads. This stress σmax must not exceed the design value of the bending
strength fg,d . However, for serviceability limit state (SLS) requirements, the maximum
design value of deflection wmax is determined for the most unfavourable load combinations
in relation to the design value of deflection wd . The European standard Eurocode 10
for the design of glass structures under development assumes that glass structures shall
be designed in accordance with the general rules given in EN 1990, such as resistance,
serviceability, durability, and robustness [37]. Due to the brittle nature of glass, a glass
component should be designed for the following limit states: the serviceability limit state
(SLS), the ultimate limit state (ULS), the fracture limit state (FLS), and the post-fracture
limit state (PFLS) [14,16].
The use of glass as a brittle material introduces significant limitations to the use
of all-glass solutions in seismically active areas. However, most of the facilities studied
(Table 1) are located in areas where earthquakes do not occur. Authors of publications
in this area, Stepinac [13], Bedon [38], Santarsieroa [39], and Stepinac [13], point to the
insufficient investigation of glass solutions in earthquakes and the lack of relevant standard
regulations. Eurocode 8 [40] does not consider glass elements as structural elements.
However, current research indicates that properly modelled glass elements can exhibit
some dissipation capacity and show signs of ductility in the case of in-plane lateral loads.
Santarsieroa studied glass frames [39], and Stepanic and his team studied timber–structural
glass composites [13].

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3.1. Typology and Functional-Spatial Analysis of All-Glass Objects

The function provides a key term in architecture. It is most commonly understood as
a synonym for a purpose [41] (p. 3). Such a definition of the function concept allows for
an unequivocal determination of the building’s purpose related to its use. It should also
be noted that function and purpose can be used unequivocally or distinguished, mainly
depending on the context [41] (p. 23). The function of all-glass objects may vary partly
due to their location context and partly due to their arrangement and organisation. For the
analyses regarding the use of structural glass in all-glass objects, it seems more advisable to
focus on the functional-spatial layout and how functions are organised [42,43]; therefore,
the following were distinguished in this context (Figure 4):
• pavilions,
• extensions,
• links.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 4. Typology of the all-glass structure by functional-spatial aspects: (a) pavilions; (b) extensions;
and (c) links (figures by the author).

3.1.1. Glass Pavilions

The first group includes pavilions, including the free-standing ones. Due to the
material and structural solutions, these objects are not large-sized. Therefore, they are
characterised by limited usable areas. All-glass pavilions have an exhibition function, such
as the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Material Research in Dresden or the Kubus
Export in Wien. Another common function performed by the glazed pavilions is the
building entrances. This space is deliberately designed as transparent, which emphasises
its openness.
Additionally, the entrance can be accentuated with a contrasting architectural form [26]
(p. 37). The Apple Cube, located on Fifth Avenue in New York, may be an example of this
design approach. The pavilion is an entrance to the underground retail space under the
square in front of the General Motors building. This object was situated symmetrically on
the square axis, becoming its main compositional element (Figure 5). A glass cube with a
visible grillage serves as a skylight above the trade display from the inside. Spiral glass
stairs arranged around a cylinder placed in the centre of the cube’s floor plan lead from the
square to the underground salesroom. Therefore, it seems that in the case of this design,
the external and internal worlds are mutually exclusive, both in perceptual and practical
terms, as stated by Arnheim [44] (p. 102). A visually attractive form is noticed from the
outside, encouraging the recipient to enter the interior; the inside has an entirely different
utility function.

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Figure 5. Glass entrance pavilion to the Apple Retail Store, Fifth Avenue in New York (© Foster + Partners).

3.1.2. Glass Extensions

In the examined buildings, all-glass structures were often designed as extensions.
This building development form tends to be integrated into the existing building. This
form of development is most often incorporated into an existing building, which is usu-
ally in connection with its modernisation or the addition of a new function. The use
of all-glass structures seems significant in this respect, as it may be associated with the
quality improvement of the existing functional solutions. The addition of glass building
development creates a new space. However, the material solutions used also affect the
functional features, such as better interior lighting with daylight. Due to its transparency,
the glazed construction allows the external and internal spaces [45] to interpenetrate, which
predisposes to specific material solutions. This visual connection between the building’s
interior and external surroundings is often crucial in design decisions. Moreover, it can
be assumed that large transparent openings to the outside space from the inside of the
building act as screens behind which the external landscape is exposed, e.g., a garden,
greenery enclaves, a specific fragment of a neighbouring building development, etc. [46]
(pp. 14–15) [47]. Moreover, the intertwining of the cognition of the natural environment and
spatial, experiential perceptions can create phenomenological architectural experiences [48].
These advantages result from the interpenetration of internal and external space. They can
often be applied in residential buildings with the use of glass extensions.
The extension form in residential development is particularly popular in the UK. The
terraced houses with a front close to the street and a garden at the back of the plot have
become widespread since the industrial revolution [49]. This development is still in use,
while older houses are undergoing upgrades to make them more comfortable to live in.
One of the elements added to existing housing is the glazed extension, often inspired by
greenhouses [50]. This is, therefore, not a new design solution, except that the contemporary
use function of these glass structures has changed. The glass extension is now no longer
used for growing plants, but is rather a part of a building with a specific utility function
tailored to the needs of the building, such as a living room, kitchen, or dining room.
With the development of glass technology, material solutions are changing. Increas-
ingly, glass extensions are being realised that are homogeneous in terms of material,
i.e., with glass facades and roofs, but also structural elements made of glass. For the
design of an all-glass extension, its layout on the plan of the existing building is important.
Therefore, the all-glass objects in Table 1 were analysed concerning the arrangement of
extensions in the building plan, and three main arrangements were distinguished (Figure 6):
• extension placed outside the building floorplan contour, e.g., Spencer Park House in
London, Castelnau House in London, and House Salvation Army Conference Center
in Sunbury Court;

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• extension placed inside the building floorplan, enclosing the building floorplan contour,
e.g., Milnthorpe Corner House in Winchester and Mapledene Road House in London;
• extension placed in the corner, e.g., Souldern Road House in London and Ambrose
Place House in Worthing.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 6. Extension in houses: (a) placed outside the building floorplan contour; (b) placed inside the
building floorplan; and (c) placed in the corner (figure by the author).

Depending on the floor area, aspect ratio, and height of extensions, different design
and material solutions are used, including those using glass exclusively.
Another important aspect of glass extension is the possibility of using this glass
structure as a sunspace, i.e., an element of passive architecture [51,52]. On a sunny day,
thanks to the large transparent surfaces on the side, spaces located on the south (south-west
or south-east) collect sunlight and collect it in a thermal mass on the walls or floor [36].
There are several types of sunspaces, depending on how solar energy is collected in the
building structure and transferred to neighbouring rooms. One of their distinguishing
features is the type of partition separating the sunspace from the rest of the rooms [53,54].
With large glazed areas, overheating can occur during the summer. It is, therefore,
advisable to use other solutions in facades with appropriately selected glass, such as a
shading element, effective ventilation, and sufficient thermal insulation to make the internal
environment comfortable [55].
Among the buildings analysed, the glazed extension solution was used in a residential
house at Castelnau in Barnes, in the Richmond upon Thames area of south-west London.
The central section of Castelnau contains numbers 85–125, which are listed as Grade 2 [56].
The building development in this street area is characterised by the semi-detached villas
erected by Major Boileau in 1842. The two-story houses come with a basement. The
building is located away from the street line, and gardens are behind it. The houses are
of restrained classical style, with each house framed by two full-height decorative lonick
plasters in stucco. Many pairs of houses were connected by garages (formerly coach houses)
adjacent to the sidewalls and adjusted to the scale of the main building.
In one of the houses at Castelnau, an internal renovation was conducted, and an
all-glass garden room was implemented. With respect to the historic building development,
a simple form with a uniform material structure was deliberately selected, with glass
frames as the load-bearing structure (Figure 7a). Glass proved to be a neutral material for
historical building development. This solution identifies contemporary architecture and
distinguishes it from a 19th-century building. The transparent enclosure of the garden room
also has a great utilitarian advantage, as it lets daylight into the building and improves its

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daylight illumination. Moreover, the adopted solution creates a visual and functional link
between the building’s interior and the garden by introducing the garden room.

(a) (b)

Figure 7. Extension in houses: (a) house at Castelnau in London (developed by the author based on
the architect’s drawings); (b) house at Milnthorpe Corner in Winchester (developed by the author
based on the architect’s drawings).

In the Manor House at Milnthorpe Corner, Winchester, a similar solution to the one
in the villa on Castelnau was used (Figure 7b). The building, erected in 1852, underwent
refurbishment and extension. A glazed extension that opens onto the garden at the back
of the property was implemented. It contains an open-plan kitchen, lounge, and dining
area. Therefore, an element of modern architecture was introduced into the historic house
building. The load-bearing structure of the glass extension is a system of frames with a
pronounced roof slope. This way, a space connecting the interior with the garden was
created. However, this space also integrates the function layout inside the house itself, both
horizontally and vertically.
Due to its location on the southeast side, the glass extension can be a passive element
in energy extraction. The newly created space is separated from the rest of the building
mainly by a masonry wall with glazed doors. This wall can act as an element to accumulate
heat from the sunlight penetrating through the glazed partitions of the extension.

3.1.3. Glass Links

Among the examined buildings with glass enclosures and glass structural elements,
design solutions can be indicated in the links between the buildings. This group creates
glass structures to obtain communication connections between two identical or different
utility functions. Such a design solution is often aimed at improving the existing functional
solution. The links can be located on the ground floor or higher stories. These elements are
most commonly characterised by a linear form and an organisation [42,43] whose function
is related to communication.
The linear layout is visible in the 13th-century Grimma Castle. The historic castle
complex was renovated, reconstructed, and commissioned in 2013. The Grimma Castle
became the seat of the court and the prosecutor’s office. Three new glass structures were
added as part of the utility function transformation. These included a glass corridor along
the wall to connect the castle to the tower ruins and the entrance rooms. The link was
almost 25 m long (Figure 8), and its structure was made of glass frames with a span of
2.5 m, spaced every 1.5 m. The link, perceived as neutral, was led along the northern wall
of the castle [57,58].

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

Figure 8. Glass link in the Grimma Castle plan (figure by the author).

Footbridges with a glass enclosure constitute a special example of glass link group
solutions. Depending on the distance between the connected buildings, various load-
bearing structures are applied, usually designed as steel structures. However, certain
examples of searching for steel and glass structural solutions can be indicated [59]. At
short spans, glass structures can be used in the housing and platform structures [60].
However, with larger spans of such footbridges, glass structures are used only as enclosure
elements. One such example is the footbridge at the John Lewis Department Store, Leicester
(Figure 9a). The structure was designed as an integral part of the entire complex. It connects
the shopping mall building with the multi-story car park above the six-lane Vaughan Way
bypass. The distance between the connected buildings equals 36 m; the footbridge width in
the middle of its span is about 4 m [61].

(a) (b)

Figure 9. The footbridge at the John Lewis Department Store in Leicester: (a) view of the footbridge
from the Vaughan Way, (© Satoru Mishima); (b) section through building John Lewis Department
Store and Parking, (© AZMPL).

Another issue concerned the integrity of the entire complex in terms of aesthetic
solutions. Hence, it was decided that the connection between the parking lot and the
shopping centre building, whose characteristic glass facade was decorated with an orna-

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mental print, would be implemented with a glass housing. Due to the significant distance
between the connected buildings, it was necessary to shape the footbridge structure to
avoid intermediate support. To eliminate the need to introduce additional support in the
Vaughan Way bypass and simultaneously reduce the footbridge span, a cantilever truss was
designed to be anchored in the reinforced concrete frame of the shopping centre building
(Figure 9b). The funnel-shaped truss was introduced into the building body. This solution
allowed for a smooth connection between the footbridge and the shopping mall in terms
of functionality. The effect of the applied solution is also visible on the facade of the John
Lewis Department Store.
On the other hand, the footbridge was designed with an extended pier whose interior
extends from the side of the car park. From the outside, its end corresponds with the glass
facades of the car park. The self-supporting glass structure of the footbridge housing con-
sists of glass beams that transfer loads to the walls of its housing; the structure cooperates
with a steel railing mounted in the footbridge structure.

3.2. Typology and Form Analyses of All-Glass Structures

Glass pavilions, extensions, and links can be shaped in various geometrical forms.
When designing them, archetypal architectural forms are often used. One example is the
Louvre museum’s entrance pavilion, designed by Ieoh Ming Pei. The form of a glass
pyramid directly references the Egyptian pyramids. The solid is one of the five platonic
solids, described by Plato as “beautiful forms”, as they are based on the principles of
logic and mathematics [62] (pp. 55–60). The shape of the sphere can be seen as another
archetypal form. The sphere belongs to the basic solids, but its geometrical specificity is
not commonly implemented in architecture [63]. However, it is difficult not to refer to the
domes envisioned in Buckminster Fuller’s designs that still offer inspiration for subsequent
glass structure designs.
However, in the case of all-glass objects, the scope of the applied forms is significantly
narrowed. The cube or cuboid form is dominant, which results from the architectural speci-
ficity of these objects, including the context of the building development or its functions.
However, the way glass structures are shaped regarding their construction exerts the most
significant influence in this respect.
Based on the conducted analysis, with the account of the geometric form criterion
applied in pavilions, extensions, and links, the following were distinguished (Figure 10):
• cubes,
• cuboids,
• cylinders, and
• free-forms.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 10. Typology of glass form: (a) cubes; (b) cuboids; (c) cylinders; and (d) free-forms (figures by
the author).

3.2.1. Cubes
It is worth emphasising that Le Corbusier considered the cube, the cone, the sphere,
and the pyramid to be the most beautiful solids with which to shape architecture [64] (p. 80).

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When combined with a transparent material, one of the abovementioned forms, the cube,
allows the design of objects characterised by form purity and distinguishable in space. The
cube’s dimensions are of great importance to obtain a transparent form. Depending on the
solid’s dimensions, the planes of the sides are divided, with the account for the current
technological possibilities of the glass material. The cube’s dimensions also determine the
design solutions applied to these objects. Grillage systems are mostly implemented in the
case of cubes.
The construction possibilities of glass limit the scale of these objects. Nevertheless,
they prove quite significant for creating meaningful place-making [65,66]. The Glass Cube
Memorial in Mannheim may be seen as an example of this approach. The object was erected
in the public space as a monumental sculpture to commemorate the inhabitants of Jewish
origin murdered during World War II. The tilted cube, 3 × 3 × 3 m in dimension, was
designed by Jochen Kitzbihler. The object’s scale meant it could be constructed with no
additional divisions of the glass walls. It is necessary to take the plane divisions on the
sides of the cube into account for larger dimensions.
The Fifth Avenue Apple in New York is the most representative example of a glass
cube (Figure 11). The adopted spatial solution was inspired by the glass pyramid being
the entrance to the Louvre museum [67], as well as the fact that Steve Jobs [68] (p. 117)
indicated the cube as the “purest form”. The first variant of the glass cube was erected in
2006. At that time, the technological possibilities allowed for the production and lamination
of glass panes with dimensions of 3.0 × 6.2 m. This fact had a decisive impact on the
pavilion’s form [69]. Its walls were divided into eighteen parts, whereas the roof was made
up of thirty-six parts (Figure 12a). However, intensive development of glass technology
followed, which contributed to the rapid progress and offered the possibility of producing
much larger glass panes. Hence, the decision was made to redesign the pavilion, which
led to its current visual perception. In the second form erected in 2011, glass panels with
a width of 2.295 m reaching up to the cube’s height (10.3 m) were used, which reduced
the number of wall divisions to twelve only, whereas the roof was made up of three panes
in total (Figure 12b) [70]. The material solutions were also modified. The laminated glass
walls in the new pavilion were designed of three layers of toughened float glass, 12 mm
thick, glued with the SentryGlas ionomer. In the original version of the cube, the glass
panels were laminated of three layers of heat-strength glass, 10 mm thick.

Figure 11. The Fifth Avenue Glass Apple Cube in New York (© Aaron Hargreaves/Foster + Partners).

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

(a) (b)

Figure 12. Glass Apple Fifth Avenue Cube: (a) 2006 version; (b) 2011 version (figures by the author).

The redesign of the cube also involved significant modifications to the main structural
element solutions. Reducing the number of glass elements impacted the reduction in the
number of joints and enhanced the structure’s uniformity [71] (p. 132). Therefore, greater
transparency of the pavilion was also achieved, whereas the form became more uniform.
It should be noted, however, that glass sheets with dimensions larger than the standard,
i.e., 3.0 × 6.2 m, are not a typical solution due to their cost [72].
A similar solution, where the pavilion serves as the entrance to the underground parts,
was applied in other projects, such as Glas Kubus in Haarlem. In this project, a glass cube
with a side of almost 7 m serves as the underground car park entrance [73]. In Lahti, on
the other hand, the glass cube was designed as an entrance to the underground floor at
the Travel Centre. The facility is a new transport junction erected in the city centre, next to
the historic railway station. A similar functional solution with a glass cube was applied at
the headquarters of the National Bank in Tbilisi. The object is located in a former building
of the Ministry of Highway Construction of the Georgian SSR. It was completed in 1975
in a brutalist style. A glass cube, whose side measures 12 m, serves as an entrance and
consists of a simple solid that differs from the existing buildings in terms of material and
form solutions. Depending on the cube’s dimensions and the design solution adopted, it is
necessary to introduce the divisions of the cube sides.

3.2.2. Cuboids
Apart from the cube, the cuboid is the most commonly implemented form of all-glass
objects. Its floor plan is a rectangle. The geometric harmony of the form can be achieved
if appropriate proportions are maintained as indicated by, e.g., Palladio [74]. This fact is
significant for outside–inside objects, in which the interior intertwines with the external
environment. The dimensions of the glass solid affect its visual perception, both inside and
outside the object. The cuboid proportions are important in this sort of object. Palladio and
Alberti recommend that the lengths of rooms should be either the harmonic, geometric, or
arithmetic means of the heights, lengths, and breadths. Alberti provided the shapes of the
floor plan based on a shape close to a square, a rectangle, and an elongated rectangle in
addition to defining the proportions for cuboidal rooms as 2:3:4, 3:4:6, 2:3:6, and 2:4:6 [75]
(pp. 224–226). Similarly, Palladio recommended the plan shapes for rooms [75] (p. 244), as
well as indicated the cuboid proportions to obtain geometric harmony as 1:1:1, 1:1:2, 1:2:3,
2:2:3, 2:3:4, and 3:4:6 [75] (p. 226).
A few examples of glass pavilions, extensions, and links can be analysed when consid-
ering geometric canons. The Export Pavilion in Vienna (Figure 13a) is a cuboid object. It
was designed as a pavilion for the presentation of art and performances. A fairly simple
and transparent form characterises it. The frame-structure pavilion was placed under the
railway viaduct. Its floorplan measures 5.5 × 8.2 m (Figure 13b); thus, its proportion is 2:3.

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Palladio indicated this proportion as one of the seven ideal plan shapes for the room. The
pavilion’s height is 3.2 m. The proportions are close to 2:1:3 considering the entire block.

(a) (b)

Figure 13. Export Pavilion in Wien: (a) view of the pavilion (© Rupert Steiner); (b) floor plan of the
pavilion (© Architects Tillner & Willinger).

The building’s geometry, including its proportions, can provide a source of canonical
beauty in architecture. When designing free-standing pavilions, the projection dimensions
and heights can be selected in such a way as to obtain any selected proportions, in addition
to the canonic ones. However, it is not always achievable in the case of all-glass objects
located in closed spaces. This situation is evidenced by the extension (Figure 14a) in a five-
story house on Christchurch Street in Chelsea, London. During the recent refurbishment,
fundamental changes were introduced to its three-story spatial arrangement. The extension
at the back of the house was also enlarged. It was intended for the living room space.
Compact development and its geometry significantly limited the design freedom in room
plans. Its floorplan measures 4 × 4.65 m, and its height is 2.45 m (Figure 14b), meaning the
entire solid proportion is close to 2:1:2.

(a) (b)

Figure 14. House at Christchurch in London: (a) ground plan; (b) longitudinal section (figures
developed by the author based on the architect’s drawings).

As mentioned above, the cuboid form is most commonly used in all-glass objects.
The form itself can shape the architecture of pavilions, extensions, and links. It can also
be implemented as an element that creates a form of larger buildings. At the House
of European History headquarters in Brussels (Figure 15a), glass cubes were applied to
obtain a new building form during its modernisation. The most remarkable modification
was made visible by adding the superstructure of two stories. The glazed superstructure

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contrasts with the stone facade of the George Eastman building from 1935 (Figure 15b).
The fairly simple, cuboid-shaped form provides a characteristic feature of the new part
of the building. Extra-clear glass with a low iron oxide content with vertical print was
used to dematerialise the form. The structural elements were also designed as glass frames,
grillages, and fins to obtain a uniform structure in the facades of the upper extension and
the roof part [76].

(a) (b)

Figure 15. House of European History in Brussels: (a) glass upper extension (© Christian Fabris);
(b) eastern façade (© Chaix & Morel et Associés/JSWD).

3.2.3. Cylinders
Cylindrical solids are characterised by a circle-shaped floor plan, the geometry of
which is described by a radius. These forms are rarely implemented in all-glass buildings.
A small number of solutions of this type may be observed in the non-orthogonal geometry
and curved glass shapes. However, technological progress and the increasing possibilities
of obtaining and modifying bent glass geometry will reduce the limitations of designing
curved-shaped objects. Solutions in which curved glass is applied are increasingly common
in the exterior enclosure of free-form buildings using steel or wooden structures [77].
Curved glass can be made using hot and cold bending [78]. However, the geometric
determinants of the glass pane are of crucial significance [79]. The glass may be bent along
one plane, i.e., single curved, or in two planes, i.e., double curved [80]. The range of shapes
used in bent glass is also on the increase, and so are their dimensions [81].
Among the analysed objects, the entrance pavilion to the Apple Store in Shanghai
Pudong (Figure 16a) may be analysed as an exemplary use of a cylinder solid. The design
concept resembles that of the Apple Cube in New York, in which an attractive glass form
is implemented as an entrance pavilion placed on the square. A similar solution was
introduced in Shanghai, where the glazed cylindrical pavilion provides an entrance to the
underground part. A spiral glass staircase leads to the underground commercial space.
The pavilion is 13 m high, whereas a 5-m radius defines its floor plan. The object was
implemented with innovative solutions, one of which is the use of curved glass panes with
dimensions that had not been produced before [82]. The pavilion is covered with 12 panels
whose dimensions equal 12.5 × 2.6 m; its radius equals 5 m (Figure 16b,c). It is made of
laminated glass composed of three layers of panes.

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 16. The Apple Retail Store in Shanghai Pudong: (a) view of the transparent pavilion
(WikimediaCommons/Kallera/CC-BY-S-4.0); (b) roof plan (figure by the author); (c) shape of the
glass pane (figure by the author).

3.2.4. Free-Forms
The last group of solutions includes free-form solids characterised by irregular shapes.
Due to the specificity of the examined objects, the term “free-form” does not refer to
parametric forms, such as buildings with steel structures and glass enclosures [83]. This
term rather results from modifying the form concerning the shapes of solids classified
as cubic, rectangular, and cylindrical. These geometric modifications aim to adjust to
the existing building development or arrive at an original building form. It should be
emphasised that free-form solids are often perceived as dynamic forms [44].
Two entrance pavilions to Tottenham Court Road Station, placed in the square in
front of Center Point in London, provide examples of a free-form facility (Figure 17a). The
two crystal-like entrance structures above the ground attract attention. Both pavilions
are geometrically diverse. The larger of the two has a floorplan shaped like an irregular
tetrahedron, i.e., its sides are not parallel. The floor plan’s dimensions are 11 × 22 m, with
a height of 14 m of the pavilion considering its longest sides. The irregularity of the form
results in the spacing of the main structural elements, i.e., glass frames. In the southern
pavilion, the structural span equals 11 m. The frames are not placed parallel to each other
due to the floor plan’s irregularity. A significant slope in the longitudinal and transverse
directions [84,85] provides the architectural form with a dynamic perception. The geometric
irregularity of the form and the resulting structural element spacing also contribute to the
irregular grid by which the façade divisions and the roof are delineated. Each glass pane
has a different shape and dimensions (Figure 17b).

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

(a) (b)

Figure 17. The Tottenham Court Road Station in London: (a) view from inside (photo by the author);
(b) western facades of pavilions from Charing Cross Road (figure by the author).

The classification adopted for the typology of all-glass structures is based on simple
forms. These forms, as consolidated forms, are also more favourable in terms of the energy
efficiency of the building. One of the main parameters in this respect is the form factor,
i.e., A/V [86], which describes the ratio of the external surface area A to the internal volume
V [87]. The building should be as compact as possible, i.e., as close as possible to a cube,
cuboid or sphere. Then the building has a smaller A/V ratio value and consequently less
heat loss. More fragmented/extended forms may increase heat energy consumption [88].
When considering the influence of the A/V ratio on the shape of the all-glass objects
analysed, it should be taken into account that not all objects are heated, which results from
their function. However, considering the geometry of these objects, it is easy to show how
the building shape index is subject to a strong scale effect. Increasing the dimensions of the
building leads to a significant reduction in the A/V ratio. Proof of this statement can be
seen, for example, in the comparison of the cubic forms analysed in this article, although
with the same assumption on the partition parameters and heating conditions. For a 3-m
cube factor, A/V is 2.0; for a 7-m cube factor, A/V is 0.86; for a 10-m cube factor, AV is 0.6;
and for a 12-m cube factor, A/V is 0.5.
It can therefore be seen that the manipulation of the shape of a building can change its
energy consumption value, even though the physical properties of the envelope remain
unchanged. This conclusion applies not only to the scale of the building but also to
its shape [89,90].

3.3. Topology and Structural Analysis of All-Glass Objects

While considering the possibilities for all-glass object design, both material conditions
and structural-spatial solutions should be accounted for. Such features influence the choice
of the load-bearing structure as the object’s geometry.
Based on the analyses, the following load-bearing structures used in pavilions, exten-
sions, and links were distinguished (Figure 18):
• frames,
• grillages,
• beam-wall systems,
• plate-wall systems.

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(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 18. Typology of glass structural systems used in all-glass objects: (a) frames; (b) grillages;
(c) beam-wall systems; and (d) plate-wall systems (figures by the author).

3.3.1. Frames
Glass frames are the most frequently used load-bearing structures in shaping all-glass
objects. These bar-shaped structural elements consist of horizontal rafters and vertical glass
columns. Portal frames and half-frames (frames with one column) can be distinguished.
The frames are spaced at a distance of 1 to 3 m (Table 3). Most often, the frame spacing is
not wide for safety reasons. When designing glass load-bearing structures, the possible
damage to one of the structural elements is often considered. In such a case, the loads are
borne by the adjacent frames. The frame spacing is also correlated with the dimensions of
the glass panes used in the external enclosure, both walls and roof.

Table 3. Analysis of the geometrical condition of the glass frames.

Distance Cross- Cross-

Name of Types of Span of the Height of Section of Ratio Section of Ratio
Building, Glass between Frame/Rafter Column the Rafter hrafter hcolumn
Frames S the Column
City Frames L H hrafter × b
L
hcolumn × b
H

[m] [m] [m] [mm] [mm]

Glass Museum,
half 300 × 33.00 200 × 33.00
Kingswinford
frame
1.10 5.70 3.50 300
5700 ≈ 1
20
200
3500 ≈ 1
18
(GB)
Rietberg portal
Museum, 1.80 4.40 6.48 350 × 26.28 350
≈ 1 350 × 42.00 350
≈ 1
Zürich (CH) frame 4400 13 6480 19

Leibniz Institute
for Solid State portal
and Material 1.90 4.40 2.77 250 × 36.00 250
≈ 1 250 × 36.00 250
≈ 1
Research, frame 4400 17 2770 11

Dresden (DE)
Costa Coffee half
Tower Vaults, 1.50 4.50 2.70 300 × 44.50 300
≈ 1 200 × 44.50 200
≈ 1
ondon (GB) frame 4500 15 2700 14

Souldern Road
half 270 × 39.00 250 × 39.00
House, frame
1.00 3.10 2.40 270
3100 ≈ 1
12
250
2400 ≈ 1
10
London (GB)
Bank JP Morgan, half 2.90 7.90 7.20 700 × 57.10 700
≈ 1 600 × 57.10 600
≈ 1
London (GB) frame 7900 12 7200 12

Castle Grimma, half 300 × 45.30 300 × 45.30

Grimma (DE) frame
1.50 2.50 2.20 300
2500 ≈ 1
8
300
2200 ≈ 1
7

Pier Visitor portal

Center, 1.50 3.94 2.19 250 × 39.00 250
≈ 1 250 × 39.00 250
≈ 1
Clevedon (GB) frame 3940 16 2193 8

House of
European half
History, 1.65 1.60 ÷ 5.60 3.00 ÷ 14.00 350 × 80.00 350
≈ 1 350 × 80.00 350
≈ 1
frame 5600 16 14000 40
Brussels (B)

The structural span of glass frames usually equals 3 to 6 m, sometimes slightly more
(Table 3). As it stems from the conducted analysis, it is even possible to shape elements
at a span of over 10 m. In comparison, steel portal frames are used with spans of 10 to

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60 m [91] (p. 79). The glass element spans are significantly smaller than similar steel
structure solutions. However, these values allow eliminating other structural materials and
obtaining uniform structures, which constitutes a significant advantage over such solutions.
Steel inserts can be introduced to obtain larger spans between the frames, especially in
the tension zones of the cross-sections. This solution was used at Tottenham Court Road
Station (Figure 17a). The cross-section is a four-ply laminated safety glass element with
stainless steel sections on the top and bottom [84,85].
The frame cross-sections are shaped using laminated glass. As with other structural
elements, a minimum of three layers of glass bonded with PVB film or SentryGlas is
used. The dimensions of the cross-section depend on many factors, including geometrical
conditions. Table 3 presents this analysis. One of them is the dependence of the height of the
frame rafter cross-section hrafter on its span L. In the investigated buildings, this dependence
was determined as 1/8 to 1/20, which gives a rather large discrepancy. However, taking
into account the frame spacing of about 1.5 m, it can be determined that the height of the
frame rafter cross-section hrafter in relation to its span L is 1/15. In a steel portal frame, by
comparison, this relationship is 1/33; for a 10 m span frame, the rafter height is 300 mm [91]
(p. 79). However, in steel frames, much larger cross-sections occur at the nodes connecting
the rafter to the column (haunch).
It should also be emphasised that in the glass frame rafter cross-section, the width
dimension is much smaller than its height hrafter . Due to the proportions of the cross-section
in bending elements such as rafters, lateral-torsional buckling must be considered [92,93].
The rafter’s cross-section is determined by its span; likewise, its height is of key impor-
tance in the columns. The frame height and the column heights often result from the object’s
utility function or the building development context. Columns are elements designed to
sustain compressive and buckling forces. In Table 3, an analysis of the relationship between
the cross-section height of the hcolumn and the Hcolumn common height is presented. The
obtained relationships are similar to those determined in the rafter case.
While shaping the glass frames, the connections between the rafter and the column are
crucial. According to the assumptions, the frame connection should be rigid, which is the
case in steel structures as well. However, a semi-rigid [94] combination is required in the
case of glass structures. The rafter and the column are most commonly connected by [95,96]:
• UV-curable adhesives or
• bolted connection.
Due to the transparency effect, combinations with a limited number of steel elements
seem more advantageous. In this respect, connecting the elements with UV-curable adhe-
sives is a good solution. However, it should be remembered that these connections suffer
from limitations related to their load-bearing capacity, hence the requirement that such a
connection should be tested in laboratory conditions [97]. Such laboratory tests confirm the
operation of the transparent connection. This design solution is evidenced by using such
elements in the pavilion in Dresden [98] or the Castle in Grimma [99].
Different layer arrangement is applied in the connections between the rafter and
the column [100]. Figure 19 shows the four layering options for four-layered laminated
structural glass elements. The first option consists of a tongue-and-groove joint, with a
tongue in the rafter part and a groove in the column (Figure 19a). In the second type
of tongue-and-groove joint, the groove is in the rafter part, whereas the tongue is in the
column (Figure 19b). In the connections between the rafter and the column, it is possible
to use a lap connection (Figure 19c) and a connection with cover layers (Figure 19d). The
tongue-and-groove connections joined with UV-curable adhesives are the most commonly
used system of layers.

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(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 19. The types of connection glass layers in frames nodes: (a) tongue and groove; (b) tongue
and groove; (c) single lap; and (d) cover layers (developed by the author based on the [99]).

The examined pavilions using glass frames include the Costa Coffee pavilion (Figure 20a),
located adjacent to the historic Tower Hill in London. The main argument in favour of the
use of glass was to improve the views of the neighbouring historic buildings. The pavilion
was integrated into the existing Tower Vaults building. The facility is open on three sides
through glass walls and a partially glazed roof. The construction was also designed with
glass as a construction material to unify this part of the pavilion’s structure. The main
load-bearing elements come in the form of frames with a span of 4.50 m and a spacing of
1.5 m. The frames are supported by a column on one side and a rafter on a steel beam on the
other side (Figure 20b); hence, they are known as half-frames in contrast to a typical portal
frame. The cross-sections in the structural elements were shaped using laminated glass
made of four layers of heat-strengthened float glass, 10 mm thick, glued with SentryGlas
Plus ionomer, 1.52 mm thick; the total cross-sectional width of the element equals 44.50 mm
(4 × 10 mm heat-strengthened low-iron glass + 3 × 1.52 mm SGP). The height of the rafter
cross-section equals 300 mm, and the column is 200 mm. The connection between the rafter
and the column has been designed using bolted connections.

(a) (b)

Figure 20. The Costa Coffee London: (a) view inside the glass pavilion (photo by the author); (b) glass
frame geometry (figure by the author).

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1254

The glass frames were also applied while designing to form the tea room pavilion at
the New Visitor Center in Clevedon (Figure 21a,b). The design assumptions comprised
creating a building, almost invisible from the road, that would not obstruct the view along
the pier. The existing ramp along the road to the pier descends over its entire length by over
three meters. A new visitors’ building is integrated into this three-meter slope, minimising
access from the road to the pier.

(b)

(a) (c)

Figure 21. The Clevedon Pier Visitor Center: (a) view of the tearoom pavilion (© Fotohaus); (b) view
inside the pavilion (© Fotohaus); and (c) glass frame geometry (figure by the author).

The tearoom pavilion constitutes a transparent part of the New Visitor Center complex
with terraced building development. It was designed using glass frames (Figure 21c),
glass walls, and a glass roof. The portal frames span almost 4.0 m and are spaced at a
1.5 m distance. The column heights vary due to the ramp slope. The cross-sections of the
structural elements equal 250 mm high and 39 mm wide (3 × 12 mm thermally toughened
safety glass + 2 × 1.52 mm PVB). A bolt connection was applied between the rafter and
the column.
The analysed objects include the entrance pavilion to the bank headquarters at 60 Vic-
toria Embankment, London (Figure 22a). In the indicated location, two objects compose
the building development, i.e., the historical building of the former day school for boys,
City of London School, from 1880 on Victoria Embankment, and a 1980 office building,
the main entrance to which is located at John Carpenter Street. Recently, the complex has
been thoroughly modernised, aiming to adapt the object to the current requirements for an
office building. Another reason was to increase the representative function of the bank’s
headquarters. The design and construction work comprised the main entrance located
at John Carpenter Street. The previous entrance pavilion had been erected in the early
1990s in the postmodern style. The reconstruction project included the demolition of the
existing pavilion, whose stone, partially glazed façade was demanding in reception. In
its place, a completely glazed building was designed. The resulting pavilion links the
historic City of London School and office buildings. The new entrance structure consists of
a system of two-story half-frames with a span of 7.90 m (Figure 22b). The cross-sections of
the structural elements were formed with laminated glass composed of five layers of heat-

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strengthened float glass, 10 mm thick, glued with a double layer of SentryGlas ionomer,
2 × 0.89 mm thick, the total section width of which equalled 57.10 mm. The height of the
rafter cross-section varies from 650–700 mm, and the column’s height is 600 mm.

(a) (b)

Figure 22. The 60 Victoria Embankment in London: (a) view from John Carpenter Street (photo by
the author); (b) geometry of glass frame (figure by the author).

3.3.2. Grillage Structures

The choice of a frame or grillage largely depends on the geometrical conditions. In
this case, the analogy to the static work of the panels [101] (p. 56) may be applied. Namely,
with the floor plan ratio defined as b/a ≥ 2.0 (b should be taken as the long dimension
and a should be taken as the short dimension), the structures work in one direction, in
which case the use of frames is a more practical solution. However, when the ratio equals
b/a < 2.0, i.e., when the floor plan assumes a square shape or is close to it, grillages are
applied in all-glass objects. The hierarchy of beams in the entire system is important if
the grillages are used (Figure 23a). Main beams work in one of the directions, while the
cross beam is used in the opposite direction [102]. In such a case, the system of intersecting
beams creates a netting with meshes in the glass grillages, whose range equals from 1.5 to
4 m. The cross-section is shaped according to the single-span beam principles. However,
the method used for joining the beams in the grate nodes is crucial. Such a connection can
be formed through steel elements using metal sheets, covers, clamps, and screws. Due to
the different thermal expansion values of materials, the connecting steel elements in glass
structures are distanced from the direct point of contact with the glass element through
purpose-built spacers. The connection solution itself is custom designed.

(a) (b)

Figure 23. Arrangement of beams in the grillage: (a) hierarchy of beams; (b) lamellar system (figures
by the author).

Due to the cross-section shape, the grillage systems are used in objects such as pavilions
with cube-shaped forms. Such a solution was implemented in the original variant of the

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Apple Cube in New York. At the time of its construction, the grid was divided into thirty-six
meshes. Then, a beam system called the lamellar structure was applied, which the Chinese
previously used in the ancient roof (Figure 23b) [103]. This solution eliminated the necessity
of point connections through the glass element to achieve longer spans with shorter beams.
The roof beams measure 35 cm high in cross-section and are composed of five layers of heat
strengthened float glass, 12 mm thick.
Along with redesigning the pavilion, the geometry of the grillage was modified. The
grid is now divided into nine meshes. In the current version, a simple 10-m spanning beam
is braced laterally at the third point with a cross glass beam [70].
The grillage structural system was also implemented in Brussels’s House of European
History. A grid determines its geometry with a mesh size of 1.65 m (Figure 24a,b). The
grillage was designed with a hierarchy of beams. Continuous beams are used in the main
direction, and cross beams connect them perpendicularly (Figure 24c).

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 24. The House of European History in Brussels: (a) view of the grillage in the corner of the
upper extension (© Christian Richters); (b) elements of the glass enclosure (© Chaix & Morel et
Associés/JSWD); (c) arrangement of glass structural elements in the corner (© Chaix & Morel et
Associés/JSWD).

The beam connections in the grid are designed using inside stainless steel clamps
inserted into the multi-layer cross-section of the beams and fixed by the bolted connection.
The cross-section height of the hgrillage beams equals 350 mm, which is 1/16 of the span
L. The beam cross-section consists of six layers of thermally toughened float glass, 12 mm
thick, connected with a 1.52 mm SentryGlas ionomer; the total value equals 80 mm. The
static calculations assumed that the total load would be transferred even in the case of
damage to one of the toughened glass layers in the cross-section [104].

3.3.3. Beam-Walls Structural Structures

In shaping all-glass objects with small spans, the system of glass beams transferring
loads to shear walls may be applied. In shaping glass structures, the basic principles
characteristic of designing glass structures are applied. The glass behaviour upon breakage
is fundamental [105,106]. The issue is essential for the safety of the structure. Therefore, the
beam cross-sections are shaped as multi-layer glued structures made of several glass panes.

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The cross-section itself has the dimension b × hbeam , with b being much smaller than hbeam .
The height of the cross-section of a simply supported glass beam can be determined from
the proportion as approximately 1/17 of the span L, whereas the height of the beam should
measure at least 200 mm [67]. The beam spacing is 1 to 2 m and, most often, results from
the geometry of the glass panels used in the roof.
An important issue remains the support of the beams on the shear walls, which
work as a pin. Loads from the roof panels are transferred to the beams and then to the
walls. Beam supports are most commonly used with stainless steel connectors. The aim
is to reduce the steel elements’ size, as seen in the footbridge project at the John Lewis
Department Store in Leicester or the Spencer Park House in London.
Of all the analysed buildings, the solution of beams based on load-bearing glass walls
was implemented in the glass extension at House at King Henry’s Road in London [107]
(Figure 25a). A room was added to the existing house. The aim was to achieve the effect
of being outside as much as possible while still being inside. This explains the reasons for
applying glass both as the material in the enclosure of the new structure and the structural
elements. The roof’s structure consists of laminated beams composed of three layers of
thermally toughened float glass, 12 mm thick, glued with resin, 2 mm thick. A single pane,
4700 × 2440 mm, made of laminated glass with two layers of thermally toughened float
glass, 8 mm thick, glued with 2-mm-thick resin, was implemented on the roof. The beams
are supported against the glass walls with 10-mm stainless steel connections (Figure 25b).
The connections are attached with a 12-mm diameter point fixing. The extension walls
were made of laminated panes, which were made of two layers of thermally toughened
float glass, 12 mm thick, glued with 2-mm-thick resin.

(a) (b)

Figure 25. House at King Henry’s Road in London: (a) cross-section and longitudinal section through
extension; (b) detail of supported glass beam in the shear wall (figures by the author).

3.3.4. Plate-Wall Structural Systems

The development of silicone-bonding technology and the technology for manufac-
turing glass panes has contributed to the possibility of forming all-glass buildings using
only panels in the roof and shear walls and without additional structural elements such
as beams, fins, or frames. Technological possibilities allow obtaining larger glass pane
dimensions and reducing the number of divisions and connections, which is extremely
beneficial to obtaining a uniform architectural form. Both slabs and shear walls constitute

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surface elements. However, loads are borne in various ways. In the case of panes, loads
are applied to their surface, while in shear walls, loads are transferred to edges. The panes
serve as structural elements in bending, while shear walls are used as compressive elements,
with buckling and shearing, which impacts their design [108,109]. The support method
of these elements is another important issue. Shear walls can be supported pointwise or
linearly. In the case of wall–pane systems, linear support is most common [110]. The basic
assumption is that the roof should connect all glass panels and act as a stiff diaphragm.
The next assumption concerns global stability, which bonding glass panels can provide
with structural silicone at the vertical joint [108].
In terms of shaping the cross-section, multi-layer laminated panes were the basic
principle. As a rule, the thickness of the plates or shear walls is achieved by laminating a
minimum of four glass sheets. Each additional glass pane increases the section thickness of
the structural element, including the effective thickness considered while designing the
laminated structural elements [111].
The plate–wall system was applied in the entrance pavilions at the Dilworth Park
underground station, Philadelphia, of all the analysed all-glass structures. These structures
were integrated into the square in front of Philadelphia City Hall, which provided the
determinant for obtaining the form of the glass structure. The tip of the mast at the top
of the western façade of the building serves as a starting point to the arch shaping the
pavilion’s form (Figure 26a). The design assumption was to emphasize the monumental
complex as a whole, despite the minimal presence of the pavilions themselves.

(a) (b)

Figure 26. The underground station Dilworth Park in Philadelphia: (a) form of pavilions (© Kieran-
Timberlake), (b) detail of roof plate–wall connection (developed by the author based on [112]).

The construction is based solely on glass panes, which, in static terms, work as a plate
on the roof and shear walls in the vertical elements. Its geometry is significant, as the
pavilion is approximately 6 m high at its highest point and over 5 m wide. Due to the
pavilion’s dimensions and the lack of stiffeners, the board and the disc were shaped so as
to ensure adequate stiffness of the entire structure. A laminated glass pane was used in
the roof, 5130 × 1390 mm, consisting of seven layers of 10-mm-thick heat-strengthened
float glass connected with the SentryGlas ionomer. In the case of the plate, laminated glass
with five layers of heat-strengthened float glass, 10 mm thick, was used. The glass walls
are fixed within a stainless-steel shoe and cantilever up from ground level. Connections
between wall and roof panels have silicone joints with backer rods [112]. The connection
detail is shown in Figure 26b.
The plate–wall system was also used in the pavilion located at Liberty Square in
Milan (Figure 27a). The glass cuboid is the main composition element of the square; it

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towers over the underground Apple Retail Store. The wholly glazed pavilion was designed
as the coping of the amphitheatre that descends to 3.2 m below the street level. Inside,
stairs leading to the store were built. In plan, the pavilion is 2.5 × 12 m and 8 m high.
All elements that form the cuboid’s planes are structural elements and were designed as
four-layer laminated panels made of 12-mm-thick glass glued with 1.52 mm SentryGlas
ionomer (Figure 27b). The connections of the roof panel and shear walls were made with the
use of structural silicone. In the corners, diagonal joints were introduced, which required
appropriate cutting of the glass sheets [113]. Shear walls, 12 m long, are sealed in steel
shoes with the use of silicone connections. Narrower walls, including the entrance wall,
are mechanically fixed at their base.

(a) (b)

Figure 27. The Apple Retail Store in Milan: (a) axonometry with marked silicone joints; (b) detail of
the connection of glass panes in the wall and the pavilion’s corner (developed by the author based
on the [113]).

4. Discussion
The all-glass building concept was born at the beginning of the 20th century. However,
the implementation became possible only towards the end of the 20th century. The advance-
ments in glass technology and the increasing knowledge of its mechanical and strength
properties made the use of glass structures feasible. As shown by the results presented
above, the scope of structural glass application is significantly extended in architecture.
The work presented here addresses the use of structural glass in all-glass buildings.
A typology was made as an element of recognition and to answer the question of where
such solutions can be used. One criterion was the functional and spatial aspects. Hence, it
was determined that these were pavilions, extensions, and connectors. Another typology
had to do with spatial form, and here the following were distinguished: cubes, cuboids,
cylinders, and free forms. A typology of load-bearing structures was also introduced. It
was pointed out that all-glass buildings use load-bearing elements in the form of frames,
grates, beam-wall, and plate-wall systems.
The results presented in the above article showed the mutual dependencies between
the functional-spatial aspects, the form, and the structure in all-glass object design. Geomet-
ric conditions significantly impact the use of glass structures, which is strongly related to
the object’s form; the form may be determined by functional and spatial aspects (Figure 28).
The indicated dependencies are present in many of the examined buildings. The
Apple Cube on Fifth Avenue, New York, is one of the most representative examples. All
three determinants were closely interconnected in the design process of this glass pavilion.
However, it should be emphasized that the glass engineering issues proved the most
significant. This aspect applies to the technology and the possibility of obtaining larger glass

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panes to design all-glass enclosures, including glass structures. The redesign of the glass
building shortly after its erection resulted from the dynamic changes in glass engineering.

Figure 28. A diagram of the relationship between function and space, form, and structure (figure by
the author).

The results presented in this article also concern the determination of structural sys-
tems implemented in all-glass objects. Earlier studies on the issue lacked a comprehensive
approach to identifying feasible structures in pavilions, extensions, and links. As estab-
lished above, the selection and shaping of the structural system in all-glass buildings is
conditioned by the functional-spatial aspects and the architectural form. Table 4 defines the
relationship between the choice of a given structural system and the form implemented in
pavilions, extensions, and links and the function of these objects. These relationships were
defined as: strong (•••), medium (••), weak (•), possible but not present at the studied
objects (), and unlikely to occur (-). The results in Table 4 indicate that in the case of
pavilions, cubic all-glass objects are most commonly designed, whereas their structural
systems are shaped as grillages and as cuboid forms in which frames are used. The table
below clearly shows the significant role of glass frames as load-bearing systems in the
design of all-glass buildings. At the same time, it should be emphasised that further devel-
opment of solutions based on glass panels and shear walls is to be expected. This situation
is supported by developments in glass technology, connections, and research to determine
the load-bearing capacity of glass shear walls [109,114].
It is worth emphasizing that the spans in the range of 10–12 m are currently the largest
dimensions in glass cubes and cuboid design, in which glass load-bearing structures can be
implemented. More extensive facilities require steel structures integrated with the glass
facades and the roof. The Glass Cube in Madrid, designed by Alfonso Millanes, may be
provided as an example of such a building [115]. The pavilion has a square projection
of 30 × 30 m, and its height is 21.4 m. This building implemented stainless steel tensile
rods of 30 mm diameter to obtain the greatest transparency. The structural elements are
arranged with panes of 2.5 × 2.5 m.
The structural system’s geometry (structural element spacing, structural element
grid, etc.) of all-glass pavilions, extensions, and links remains closely related to the divisions
of their cladding elements in the roof and walls. If the glass is used both in the enclosure
and structural elements, a uniform structure emerges that strongly influences the visual
perception of the building. The research shows that transparency and striving to obtain
the most transparent form remain the key values. High transparency is ensured by neutral
glass, i.e., glass with a reduced iron oxide content. While using glass structures, larger glass
panes may be implemented in order to obtain greater transparency, while fewer structural

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elements and connections may be applied. Moreover, SentryGlas as an intermediate layer

may be applied to connect individual glass panes [116].

Table 4. Relationship between the structural systems and the functional-spatial, the forms, and the
function aspects.

Structures
Functional-Spatial Types Forms
of All-Glass Object Frames Grillage Beam-Wall Plate-Wall
System System System System
Cubic  •••  •
Cuboid ••• •• •• •
Pavilions
Cylinder  ••  
Free-form •••   •
Cubic    
Cuboid •••  •• ••
Extensions
Cylinder - - - -
Free-form •  • 
Cubic    
Cuboid •••  •• ••
Links
Cylinder - - - -
Free-form    

Glass structures in all-glass buildings offer a spectrum of new possibilities in archi-

tectural design. The use of glass as a structural material also presents certain limitations.
One of them is the small span of structural elements compared to other construction mate-
rials. Glass is a brittle material that can spontaneously break. It should also be noted that
solutions using glass as a brittle material are not suitable for implementation in seismically
active areas or other situations where dynamic loads may occur.

5. Conclusions
The research determined the possibilities and limitations of using structural glass in all-
glass object design. The use of glass as a building envelope material in the walls, roof, and
load-bearing structures may be seen as advantageous. In this case, a homogeneous structure
in terms of material emerges, which impacts the aesthetic value of the designed solution.
The share of transparent elements increases, whereas their neutral visual perception is
greatly advantageous.
Several limitations result from the use of glass structures in all-glass objects. These
undoubtedly include a smaller construction span than other construction material solutions.
Therefore, all-glass objects are characterized by smaller dimensions, including usable areas,
or must be combined with other structures, such as in the case of extensions added to the
existing structures.
Due to the need to maintain the structure’s safety, laminated glass is used both in
structural and cladding elements. As a rule, cladding elements stiffen the entire structure
spatially. Cross-sections in structural elements are multi-layered with at least three ther-
mally strengthened or toughened float glass layers. In construction solutions, stiff PVB
films or SentryGlas ionomers are used to connect glass panes.
The method of joining and fixing glass elements is crucial in the design of all-glass
structures. In this matter, technological progress is important, as it makes it possible to
reduce the proportion of metal connections significantly. This aspect is also significant from
the point of view of aesthetics and striving for the highest possible transparency of the
entire facility.
As indicated by the analysis of the examined objects, their design is largely influenced
by the progress in glass technology and glass connection methods. Notably, the existing

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solutions are constantly being improved and modified; new advanced solutions are also
being introduced. This phenomenon is known as “engineered transparency”.
The use of glass as a structural material in all-glass facilities offers new design pos-
sibilities characterised by substantial aesthetic values resulting from glass transparency.
The glass as a material, on the boundary between existence and non-existence, provides
a separation of spaces. At the same time, it allows the interpenetration of the inside and
the outside. This feature of glass remains its main advantage and inspires creative and
engineering searches in architecture.

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: The author would like to thank the architects and designers: AR Design Studio,
AZMPL, Borgos Pieper, Foster + Partners, John Wardle Architects, JSWD Architects, Kieran Timber-
lake, Kraaijvanger Architects, O’LearyGoss Architects, RRA Architects, Architects Tillner & Willinger
for providing materials useful in the preparation of the article.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

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109. Bedon, C.; Amadio, C. The Role of Restraints on the Buckling of Glass Shear Walls. In Challenging Glass 5—Conference on
Architectural and Structural Applications of Glass; Belis, J., Bos, F., Louter, C., Eds.; Ghent University: Ghent, Belgium, 2016;
pp. 567–580.
110. Mocibob, D. Glass Panel under Shear Loading—Use of Glass Envelopes in Building Stabilization. Ph.D. Thesis, École Polytech-
nique Fédérale De Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, 24 March 2008.
111. Galuppi, L.; Royer-Carfagni, G. The effective thickness of laminated glass: Inconsistency of the formulation in proposal of
EN-standards. Compos. Part B 2013, 55, 109–118. [CrossRef]
112. Mara, F. Skill: Cladding. Architectural Review. Available online: https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/skill-cladding
(accessed on 25 October 2021).
113. Teich, M.; Bauchinger, C. Aktuelle Entwicklungen und Konstruktionstechniken für Glasfassaden. Bautechnik 2020, 97, 338–343.
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114. Dubois, M. Glass bearing walls—A case study. In Proceedings of the Glass Performance Days 2007, Tampere, Finland, 15–18 June 2007.
115. Eekhout, M.; Weber, L. Transparent Cubical Glass Building in Madrid. In Challenging Glass 2—Conference on Architectural and
Structural Applications of Glass; Bos, F., Louter, C., Veer, F., Eds.; TU Delf: Delf, The Netherlands, 2010; pp. 187–194.
116. Pariafsai, F. A review of design considerations in glass buildings. Front. Archit. Res. 2016, 5, 171–193. [CrossRef]

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 buildings
Article
The Third Solar Decathlon China Buildings for Achieving
Carbon Neutrality
Bin Li 1,2,† , Weihong Guo 1,3,4 , Xiao Liu 1,3,4,5, *,† , Yuqing Zhang 1,2,3 and Luca Caneparo 2

1 School of Architecture, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China;

[email protected] (B.L.); [email protected] (W.G.); [email protected] (Y.Z.)
2 Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino, 10125 Torino, Italy; [email protected]
3 State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology,
Guangzhou 510641, China
4 Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., South China University of Technology,
Guangzhou 510641, China
5 Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong 999077, China
* Correspondence: [email protected]
† These authors contributed equally to this study and shared the first authorship.

Abstract: This research explored buildings for carbon neutrality to solve the global warming problem
in the Third Solar Decathlon China (SDC). The methods were derived from subjective and objective
evaluation aspects based on the competition rules. Then, the results of the concepts, technologies,
and prospects of 15 buildings were output. The conclusion was summarized after a discussion as
follows: (1) Solving global warming through carbon neutrality is widely required and research into
this issue is required now. (2) Research methods were determined via five subjective and five objective
contests with multiple sub-contests. (3) Fifteen buildings’ concepts, technologies, and prospects were
Citation: Li, B.; Guo, W.; Liu, X.; determined regarding the carbon neutrality aspect. (4) A good architectural design concept was
Zhang, Y.; Caneparo, L. The Third needed before building for carbon neutrality. (5) This research summarized the current development
Solar Decathlon China Buildings for of architecture concepts and technologies in academia and industry. (6) Thirty-five kinds of active
Achieving Carbon Neutrality. and passive technologies were determined, where PV as an active method and modular assembly
Buildings 2022, 12, 1094. https://
as a passive method were the most used in this competition. (7) The technologies used with a low
doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081094
frequency, such as wind turbine, Stirling engine, hydrogen fuel cell, UHPC, PCM, and SST walls
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński, technologies, also need further attention. (8) The prospect of carbon neutrality, especially for energy
Agata Bonenberg, production in residential buildings, may shift people’s passive acceptance of carbon neutrality to
Wojciech Bonenberg and active energy production. (9) Using ANP to produce the SDC ranking may be considered for more
Marco Lucchini scientific investigations to demonstrate the carbon neutrality effect. (10) The limitations will continue
Received: 17 June 2022 to be researched in the future. Finally, this research aimed to make a contribution to solving the global
Accepted: 22 July 2022 warming for sustainable development.
Published: 26 July 2022
Keywords: global warming; carbon neutrality; architectural design; energy use; sustainable develop-
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
ment; Solar Decathlon China
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.

1. Introduction
1.1. Background
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Global warming has been a global problem for a long time. At least from the 19th cen-
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. tury, scientists began to recognize the involvement of carbon dioxide in global warming [1].
This article is an open access article From 1950 to 1971, more and more researchers solidified the hypothesis of anthropogenic
distributed under the terms and
global warming [2,3]. Although there also exist some queries about man-made global
conditions of the Creative Commons
warming, the conclusion that global warming is man-made is generally considered to be
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
common sense given the abundance of research evidence [4]. In 1972, a series of interna-
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
tional policies on global warming began to develop. The United Nations Conference on the
4.0/).

Buildings 2022, 12, 1094. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081094 93 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 1094

Human Environment (UNCHE) in Stockholm roused international concern about global

warming [5]. In 1987, Our Common Future was published by the World Commission on En-
vironment and Development (WCED) to define a consensus-based concept of sustainability
for global development. The book explained that the amount of carbon dioxide should be
reduced, as it leads to global warming [6]. In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Envi-
ronment and Development (UNCED), also called an Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro,
resulted in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, as well as Agenda 21,
and introduced the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for achieving
sustainable development through specific actions, including carbon reduction [7]. In 1997,
the Kyoto Protocol was issued, which was the first quantified legal document under the
UNFCCC to promote global energy conservation and emissions reduction for sustainable
development [8]. In 2009, the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in
Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss the global emissions reduction agreement from 2012 to
2020 after the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expired. Unfortunately,
at that time, no agreement on a new legal document was reached. A second commitment
period was agreed to in 2012 to extend the agreement to 2020 [9]. In 2015, the 21st United
Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Paris, France. Negotiations resulted in the
adoption of the Paris Agreement, which has governed climate change reduction measures
since 2020. The first evaluation based on this quantified legal document will be in 2023.
One of the aims is to keep the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 ◦ C
above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 ◦ C
above pre-industrial levels [10]. Therefore, carbon neutrality is more and more important
for attenuating global warming to achieve sustainable development.

1.2. Literature Review

Carbon neutrality refers to offsetting the generated carbon dioxide (CO2 ) through
carbon capture, storage, and conversion within a certain period to achieve “zero emis-
sion” of greenhouse gases [11]. This concept was accepted worldwide after the Danish
government initiated a competition to find a model for a carbon-neutral community. In the
1990s, Denmark’s Minister for the Environment, Svend Auken, returned from the Kyoto
Climate talks enthusiastic about his country reducing its carbon emissions. In 1997, he
announced this competition, and the winner was Samsø, which became the world’s first
100% renewable-energy-powered island in 2005 [12–14]. In the same year, Future Forests
used the term “carbon neutral” in their business plan and founded a company in London,
which was later rebranded as The Carbon Neutral Company [15,16]. In 2006, the New
Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year was “Carbon Neutral” [17]. Although such
terms alternate between “neutrality” and “neutral”, more and more academic and research
institutions use “carbon neutrality” nowadays. In 2018, the glossary in the Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Working Group Report used “carbon neutrality”,
defining it as “net zero CO2 emissions”, which means that anthropogenic CO2 emissions
are balanced globally by anthropogenic CO2 removals over a specified period [18].
Regarding carbon neutrality development in China, in 2014, the country proposed
its intention to achieve its carbon peak around 2030 [19,20]. In 2020, Chinese President Xi
Jinping pledged to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality
before 2060 at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly. This is China’s first
long-term climate goal, which requires China to rein in CO2 and probably other greenhouse
gas emissions to net zero [21]. Recently, at the 2021 World Economic Forum, President Xi
Jinping advocated for international cooperation on climate change in the context of carbon
neutrality to achieve the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [22].
Based on China’s current national conditions, the goal of carbon neutrality for sustainable
development will be achieved mainly from the research and design application of green
buildings, smart technologies, healthy living spaces, renewable energy, building materials
and structures, urban renewal, rural revitalization, and other aspects. In this research, the
Third SDC buildings are researched for carbon neutrality.

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1094

1.3. Research Significance

To solve the global warming problem, carbon neutrality needs to be achieved from the
international to country levels. This research focused on carbon neutrality through a Third
SDC buildings analysis with the aim to contribute to solving the global warming problem.
Based on the architecture concepts, technologies, and prospects, this research produced a
significant contribution toward achieving carbon neutrality for sustainable development.

2. Research Objects
2.1. The Third SDC Buildings
The Third SDC buildings were constructed in Desheng village, Zhangbei county,
Zhangjiakou city, China, in 2021 for an international collegiate science and technology
competition for solar-powered buildings. This competition was introduced by the Solar
Decathlon (SD) of the United States Department of Energy with the aim to create a fully
functional, comfortable, livable, and sustainable living space by freshly integrating clean
energy, energy conservation, and environmental protection into the architectural design [23];
this was hailed as the Solar Olympics and the Green Building Expo.
In the Third SDC competition, 15 demonstration buildings were built by 15 teams
from 29 universities globally. Information on the 15 buildings and the teams is shown in
Table 1. The site construction progress from July to September 2021 is shown in Figure 1,
and photos of the building sites are shown in Figure 2.

Table 1. Information regarding the 15 competition buildings and teams.

No. Teams Projects Universities Countries

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University China
1 Y-Team Y-Project Zhejiang University/University of Illinois
China
at Urbana-Champaign Institute
Thomas Jefferson University USA
2 DUT and Associates 24 × 35 Housing Home Dalian University of Technology China
Modular Sustainable
3 HIT+ Harbin Institute of Technology China
Cube
Technical University of Denmark Denmark
4 DTU-SUDA Aurora
Soochow University China
5 THU The Steppe Ark Tsinghua University China
Hefei University of Technology China
6 HUI HUI House
University of Lille France
Shenzhen University China
7 SRF Pixel House
RMIT University Australia
China University of Mining and Technology China
8 CUMT&AGH&HSP T&A House
AGH University of Science and Technology Poland
Tianjin University China
9 Tianjin U+ R-CELLS The Oslo School of Architecture and Design Norway
Tianjin Chengjian University China
10 XJTU+ SMART Xi’an Jiaotong University China
11 CCMH Pitched House Chongqing University China
Beijing Jiaotong University China
12 BJTU+ BBBC
Loughborough University UK
Southeast University China
13 Solar Ark Solar Ark 3.0 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Switzerland
Zurich
Sanming University China

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Table 1. Cont.

No. Teams Projects Universities Countries

Zhejiang Normal University China
Hope Land-Natural
14 Hope Land Shenyang Jianzhu University China
Courtyard
Chemnitz University of Technology Germany
Xi’an University of Architecture and
China
15 Qiju 3.0 Qiju 3.0 Technology
Southwest Minzu University China

Foundation construction Building assembly Building completion

Figure 1. The Third SDC construction progress.

No. 1: Y-Project No. 2: 24 × 35 Housing Home No. 3: Modular Sustainable Cube

No. 4: Aurora No. 5: The Steppe Ark No. 6: HUI House

No. 7: Pixel House No. 8: T&A House No. 9: R-CELLS

Figure 2. Cont.

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1094

No. 10: SMART No. 11: Pitched House No. 12: BBBC

No. 13: Solar Ark 3.0 No. 14: Hope Land-Natural Courtyard No. 15: Qiju 3.0

Figure 2. Buildings site photos.

2.2. Research Framework

The theme of the Third SDC was sustainable development, smart connection, and
human health. Even though the theme of each session changes with the times, the Third
SDC presented a significant contribution to the attainment of carbon neutrality, both in
practice and academia. Thus, this research on carbon neutrality based on the Third SDC
buildings aimed to investigate useful ways to avoid global warming to some extent.
Following the introduction of this paper, based on the background of global warming
and a literature review of carbon neutrality, the SDC buildings are discussed as research
objects.
The research framework discussed in the next section focuses on the analysis methods
based on the competition rules, including subjective and objective evaluations. Then, the
research results were determined from the Third SDC buildings. The discussion section
discusses carbon neutrality in building concepts, technologies, and prospects. Finally, the
conclusions are presented.

3. Methods
3.1. Competition Rules
The methods were based on the competition rules. The SD competition had 10
separately scored contest rules (hence the term decathlon), and some contests contained
one or more sub-contests [24]. The competition rules of the Third SDC mainly focused
on architecture, engineering and construction, energy, communications, market potential,
indoor environment, renewable heating and cooling, home life, interactive experience, and
energy self-sufficiency aspects. Each contest had a maximum value of 100 points. The
final ranking of the SDC was based on 1000 total points. These 10 contests were divided
into subjective and objective evaluation methods. The SDC buildings aimed to satisfy
the requirements with different methods, especially for carbon neutrality. The Third SDC
contests are shown in Table 2.

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1094

Table 2. The Third SDC contests.

Contest Name Available Points Sub-Contest Name Available Points Contest or Sub-Contest Type
Architecture 100 n/a n/a Juried
Engineering and construction 100 n/a n/a Juried
Energy 100 n/a n/a Juried
Communications 100 n/a n/a Juried
Market potential 100 n/a n/a Juried
Humidity 25 Measured/monitored
CO2 level 25 Measured/monitored
Indoor environment 100
PM2.5 level 25 Measured/monitored
Lighting 25 Measured/task
Renewable heating and Space 60 Measured/monitored
100
cooling Hot water 40 Measured/task
Refrigerator 15 Measured/monitored
Freezer 15 Measured/monitored
Clothes washer 20 Measured/task
Home life 100
Clothes drying 20 Measured/task
Dinner party 20 Juried/task
Movie night 10 Juried/task
Media 25 Measured/task
Theme day 25 Measured/task
Interactive experience 100
In the SDC house 25 Measured/task
In the SDC
25 Measured/task
community
Net-zero 50 Measured/monitored
Energy self-sufficiency 100
Off-grid 50 Measured/monitored

3.2. Subjective Evaluation

The subjective evaluation included architecture, engineering and construction, energy,
communications, and market potentials aspect. For the architecture aspect, the evaluation
mainly focused on the architectural design in terms of the concept, aesthetics, and function.
For the engineering and construction aspect, the main focus was on engineering systems
that were energy efficient and energy producing, and the construction aspect concerned
resource recycling. The energy aspect was primarily judged in terms of energy production,
efficiency, management, and safety. For the communications aspect, aside from communi-
cation efficiency during teamwork, the new technologies for better communication, such
as a VR display and online activities, were also considered. As for the market potential,
this contest mainly evaluated the project’s potential contribution to the local and regional
market with target clients. Subjective evaluation from the human sensation side was based
on the quality of the building, construction process, future development, etc.

3.3. Objective Evaluation

The objective evaluation was based on quantitative indicators regarding the indoor
environment, renewable heating and cooling, home life, interactive experience, and energy
self-sufficiency.
For the indoor environment evaluation, the humidity, CO2 level, PM2.5 level, and
lighting were used for the review. The time-averaged interior humidity was suitable when
it was between 40% and 60%. As for the CO2 level, it was considered better when below
1000 ppm indoors. Moreover, the PM2.5 level needed to be below 35 μg/m3 . For the
lighting, the required illuminations in different function zones are shown in Table 3.

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Table 3. Lighting environment evaluation.

Function Zone Specific Space Strength of Illumination

Normal activity 100 lx (0.75 m upper floor)
Living room
Reading and writing 300 lx (0.75 m upper floor)
Normal activity 75 lx (0.75 m upper floor)
Bedroom
Reading and writing 150 lx (0.75 m upper floor)
Dining room Normal activity 150 lx (table surface level)
Normal activity 100 lx (0.75 m upper floor)
Kitchen
Cooking 150 lx (working surface level)
Bathroom Normal activity 100 lx (0.75 m upper floor)
Walkway Normal activity 75 lx (0.75 m upper floor)

For the renewable heating and cooling evaluation, each space’s dry-bulb temperature
needed to be between 22 ◦ C and 25 ◦ C. Furthermore, this also required providing water of
at least 40 ◦ C before an average of 500 mL of water had passed through each sink faucet
under normal operation.
For the home life evaluation, six aspects were evaluated: refrigerator, freezer, washing
clothes, drying clothes, dinner party, and movie night. For the refrigerator evaluation, the
time-averaged interior temperature of a minimum 170 L volume between 1 ◦ C and 4 ◦ C
was favorable. For the freezer evaluation, a time-averaged interior temperature between
−30 ◦ C and −15 ◦ C was required. The freezer volume needed to be a minimum of 57 L. For
the washing clothes and drying clothes evaluations, the normal washing machine functions
were required to be completed. As for the dinner party and movie night sub-contests,
they were quantitative assessments of social activities in the building. Here, we do not go
into detail on these two aspects—only building studies related to carbon neutrality were
focused on in this research.
For the interactive experience evaluation, the media, theme day, in the SDC house,
and in the SDC community aspects comprised the evaluation content. Although all of these
used data as quantitative indicators, the aim was to display and publicize buildings in the
form of voting. Here, no further concern was given in the main body of the research.
For the energy self-sufficiency evaluation, the net-zero and off-grid were the review
contents. For net-zero, all available points were earned at the evaluation period for a net
electrical energy balance of at least 0 kWh. For off-grid, each building was required to
maintain normal functioning for at least two days (48 h). Normal functioning included a
comfortable indoor environment, a fire protection system, living activities, and others.
The Third SDC competition rules included 10 contests with several sub-contests, which
were evaluated using five subjective and five objective evaluation methods. Even though
the final review of the competition has not yet finished, the designers of each building tried
their best to meet the requirements of the competition. In this study, the results based on
the aspects of the buildings related to carbon neutrality were researched.

4. Results
4.1. Y-Project
The first project, namely, the Y-Project, used a Y-shaped roof, hence the name “Y”.
The “Y” also references the Chinese character for “people (人)”. The design concept was
based on the human living environment and incorporated solar heating, daylight, and
agricultural production to achieve carbon neutrality [25]. The structural system used bio-
based materials to provide long-term carbon storage, wherein bamboo and straw were
joined together to develop a new structural system (Figure 3a). The building envelope used
adaptive outer films of ETFE and perovskite photovoltaic (PV) cells, which supplied almost
100% of the building energy. The ETFE membrane mixed the thermal response, natural
ventilation, and daylight functions. It could also protect the plant walls during the cold
period for carbon neutrality (Figure 3b). The plant walls and natural materials guaranteed
better air quality (CO2 absorption, oxygen release, no VOC emission) (Figure 3c). A

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greywater reclamation system was selected to recycle and reuse greywater in the household
for non-potable purposes. Water from bathtubs, showers, kitchens, and washing machines
were treated and reused for toilet-flushing purposes (dual supply) and landscape irrigation,
significantly reducing the reliance on water (Figure 3d) [26,27].

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 3. Main results of the Y-Project. (a) Bio-based structural system. (b) ETFE envelope. (c) Plant
walls. (d) Greywater reclamation system.

4.2. 24 × 35 Housing Home

The 24 × 35 Housing Home refers to 24 h-a-day living and 35-year residential life
through the changeable design of the space to meet the users’ varying functional needs
in the full life span of the house to achieve sustainable development, especially carbon
neutrality [28]. The architectural design concept combined changeable space for different
needs, especially for epidemic patients who do not need to quarantine in a hospital, making
the design suitable for low-carbon living to some extent (Figure 4a). The structure adopted
a three-stage component assembly strategy, which included the framework, structural
insulated panel systems (SIPS), and related decoration. The module size was designed
to meet the capacity of a 1AAA 40-foot-high container to facilitate transportation for low-
carbon development (Figure 4b). The renewable energy system used the PV effect of
solar cell semiconductor material to convert solar radiation into electric energy. Then, the
electric energy through the controller charged the battery or supplied the load using the
accumulator when the sunlight was insufficient (Figure 4c) [29].

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(a) (b) (c)

Figure 4. Main results of the 24 × 35 Housing Home. (a) Flexible space. (b) Transportation module.
(c) Renewable energy system.

4.3. Modular Sustainable Cube

The Modular Sustainable Cube used straw bale modules to build a house to achieve
carbon neutrality (Figure 5a). The modular straw bale wall enclosure structure was simpli-
fied into five modules and was prefabricated in the factory to avoid unnecessary carbon
emissions at the construction site using the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC)
model [30] (Figure 5b). The combination of each module ensured the diversity of architec-
tural space and architectural form. It also focused on energy production through the roof’s
colorful light-transmitting PV panels to maximize the utilization of natural resources [31]
(Figure 5c).

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 5. Main results of the Modular Sustainable Cube. (a) Straw bale modules. (b) Prefabricated
materials. (c) PV panels.

4.4. Aurora
Aurora means dawn, and dawn is a part of the natural cycle of light. This courtyard
building focused on human health, with the aim to combine natural resources to achieve
low-carbon living. The Aurora’s solar roof was an important part of the design. It not only
provided energy but also created a feature of the overall environment and architecture.
It provided a place for solar panels and supported a zero-energy house (Figure 6a). The
building also adopted underfloor heating/cooling to provide more efficient and well-
distributed space conditioning. The system consisted of two water tanks and one heat
pump, which alternated according to the water condition in the tank and the season
(Figure 6b) [32]. The building material comprised bamboo for the structures, external
cladding, and interior design. Bamboo is a sustainable and local material that contributes to
a low carbon footprint. In this building, cross-laminated bamboo and bamboo sticks were
used (Figure 6c). In the construction, mixed reality (MR) technology was used for guiding

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the roof truss and bamboo brick installation. It was easier to install by direct sight without
drawings, which not only decreased the construction difficulty but also saved paper in
pursuit of the low carbon demand (Figure 6d).

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 6. Main results of the Aurora. (a) Solar roof. (b) Underfloor heating/cooling. (c) Bamboo brick
wall. (d) MR for construction.

4.5. The Steppe Ark

The Steppe Ark focused on the nomadic living characteristics in the competition site of
Zhangjiakou city. Zhangjiakou is the connection between agricultural societies in the south
and nomadic societies in the north. It is grassland that was once used by nomadic residents
to live. This building focused on prefabricated modules, where the designers tried to
achieve a shared low-carbon house. It was certified as an active house [33–35]. The Steppe
Ark used the modern method of trying to quickly build a new yurt using box structure
assembly (Figure 7a). Ten lightweight prefabricated modules were factory-made in advance.
The size of the modules was suitable for transportation, and these modules were assembled
on site by crane, reducing the carbon footprint during the construction period. For the
development use of The Steppe Ark, the sharing concept was also considered, especially
for tourism rentals. Shared living not only makes it easy for tourists to experience the
nomadic life but is also good for homeowners to earn some money and thus achieve a
win-win low-carbon lifestyle (Figure 7b). This building design also fully considered the
technologies for carbon neutrality. Indoor light was provided by skylights, side window
lighting, and indoor lighting to achieve an energy-saving environment. The air conditioner
utilized ground radiation and a convection system to form an efficient and adjustable
indoor temperature. Insulated walls used a phase change material (PCM) to passively
save energy (Figure 7c). The imitation aluminum PV panels on the roof formed building-
integrated PV (BIPV), with a Stirling engine generating renewable energy to offset carbon
emissions. The rainwater recycling system ensured the efficient use of water resources
(Figure 7d) [36,37].

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1094

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 7. Main results of The Steppe Ark. (a) Modern yurt. (b) Shared low-carbon life. (c) PCM wall.
(d) PV panels and Stirling engine.

4.6. HUI House

The HUI House was based on Huizhou-style architecture, which is the famous ar-
chitectural style in China. The building aimed to adopt traditional Huizhou architecture
and transform and utilize it in the new era, especially for rural revitalization. The HUI
House focused on carbon neutrality by using green building technologies to try to solve the
common problems of low quality in traditional Huizhou architecture (Figure 8a). A flexible
thin-film solar chip was precisely encapsulated in the glass with highlight transmittance
through the laminated packaging process of inner and outer layers. It converted solar
energy into electric energy and renewed the traditional tiles with a new aesthetic. With the
evaporator installation, the working temperature of the PV cell decreased, which could
maintain the photoelectric conversion efficiency (Figure 8b) [38]. A multifunctional supply-
ing system combined the solar-assisted heat pump with power heating and cooling. The
heating was not only used for hot water but also for radiant floor heating. The generated
electricity also drove the operation of the fresh air equipment to realize fresh air effectively.
Moreover, an underground duct system was used to adjust the supply air temperature to
form a passive and active carbon neutrality system (Figure 8c) [39]. As for rainwater use,
an artificial wetland was planned to be built for rainwater purification using the anaerobic
pool, hypoxia regulation, and aerobic pool (Figure 8d) [40].

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(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 8. Main results of the HUI House. (a) Modern Huizhou architecture. (b) Solar chips. (c) Multi-
functional supplying system. (d) Rainwater use system.

4.7. Pixel House

The Pixel House, which was named based on its changeable and flexible spaces,
met multiple needs and achieved energy saving and carbon neutrality goals. The indoor
movable modules could create multiple spaces for different uses. The functions of this
building not only formed various living spaces for various family members with the
changeable modules but could also change according to the needs of certain activities.
This was beneficial for meeting the changing needs of occupants and reducing carbon
emissions to a certain extent (Figure 9a). This building used passive priority and active
combination technologies to achieve carbon neutrality. For passive technology, the Trombe
wall system was used to save the energy of the thermal environment. The active technology
mainly used the BIPV technology on the roof to generate electric energy. Solar bricks
and lamps were used in the courtyard. The fence also used PV panels to increase the
energy production area (Figure 9b) [41]. The structure of the building was based on
prefabricated wooden beams and columns to facilitate quick installation, which decreased
the construction carbon emissions, and the wooden material was recyclable and acted as a
carbon sink (Figure 9c) [42].

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 9. Main results of the Pixel House. (a) Changeable modules. (b) BIPV and PV fence. (c) Pre-
fabricated wooden structure.

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4.8. T&A House

The T&A House was named for the participating universities of CUMT and AGH.
The building concept, which was based on traditional Chinese quadrangle dwellings, was
used with the aim to construct a carbon-neutral, zero-energy house. Considering the
prefabricated construction, the building was divided into four kinds of modules and then
assembled on site (Figure 10a) [43,44]. Passive technologies were used, including a selective
sunlight tunnel (SST) wall, a skylight over the courtyard, a sunroom, and a self-shading
corridor. The SST wall used compound parabolic concentrators in the wall to optimize the
spotlight effect to adjust the indoor thermal environment, whether in summer or winter
(Figure 10b) [45,46]. Active technologies were also considered. The PV components were
not only used on the roof but also installed on the western wall to maximize solar energy
(Figure 10c). Among all the participants, the ground source heat pump system was used
by only this team. This solar system had the role of cooling the roof in the summer and
heating the floor in the winter (Figure 10d) [47].

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 10. Main results of the T&A House. (a) Assembled T&A House. (b) SST wall. (c) PV used.
(d) Ground source heat pump system.

4.9. R-CELLS
R-CELLS stands for renewable, recyclable, reconfigurable, resilient with customiza-
tion, energy surplus, life cycle, livability, and smart. The designers intended to produce
low-carbon and self-organizing cells. This building aimed to achieve a solar house pro-
totype with positive energy, full recycling, smart use, and zero emissions by adopting a
close-to-nature design, prefabricated modules, intelligent systems, and energy integration
technologies. For a close-to-nature design, positive architectural design methods were
considered. The building drew on traditional Chinese architecture, namely, “anti-universal
to the sun”, to form an asymmetric V-shaped roof for the maximum use of the south-facing
natural lighting and to increase the solar gain on the north-sloping roof at the site in north-
ern China. The main building material used was wood, which is recyclable, reconfigurable,

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and resilient (Figure 11a). For prefabricated modules, five customized modules divided
into 15 parts for this building were used to decrease the transportation emissions and the
life-cycle emissions based on the users’ needs (Figure 11b). For intelligent systems, based
on the building information model, the integrated and efficient design model was created
in the design phase. The energy management, environmental regulation, smart home
scenarios, and voice interactive and smart housekeeper systems were used in the physical
building, giving users a comfortable, low-carbon life (Figure 11c). For building energy
integration technologies, thin-film PV and solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) modules
were installed on the roof. Five vertical axis wind turbines were also used at this windy
competition site. The battery stored and supplied power. Photovoltaic, energy storage, di-
rect current, and flexibility load (PEDF) technologies were used in this building. Moreover,
the rainwater collection from the roof through grey water treatment formed complementary
utilization of multiple energy sources (Figure 11d) [48].

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 11. Main results of R-CELLS. (a) Close-to-nature design. (b) Prefabricated modules. (c) Intelli-
gent systems. (d) Energy integration technologies.

4.10. SMART
SMART is an acronym for sustainable, modularized, alterable, residential, and techno-
logical. The concept was based on the northern China rural building with an aim toward
prefabricated assembly with a changeable plan to achieve sustainable development using
relevant technologies. This building was divided into five modules for prefabrication in the
factory in advance so that the carbon footprint of this building was decreased compared
with construction on site (Figure 12a). To make it alterable, the building’s designers con-
sidered the residents’ development so that new modules could be added on the second
floor to construct a larger house. It was easier to achieve carbon reduction based on the

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prefabricated characteristic (Figure 12b). The technologies in this building focused on solar
energy and hydrogen fuel cell technology. The BIPV system was used on the roof for solar
energy generation. A hydrogen fuel cell was used for electricity production and hot water
(Figure 12c). After a certain period, it will achieve carbon neutrality due to the renewable
resources that can even be sold to the public grid [49].

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 12. Main results of SMART. (a) Modularized modules. (b) Alterable model. (c) Energy
systems.

4.11. Pitched House

The Pitched House was named for the architectural model, where the roof was inclined
at 45 degrees. It aimed to be a multi-function house for living, entertainment, and work
to achieve carbon neutrality. The building has two floors to use PV panels on the roof as
much as possible. The panels installed on the 45-degree south-sloping roof not only maxi-
mized the use of sunlight to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible but also formed
attractive architectural shapes (Figure 13a). The whole building incorporated a smart
energy management system that used the automatic windows on the second floor to regu-
late indoor temperatures throughout the year (Figure 13b) [50]. Along with photoelectric
conversion, photothermal conversion was also used for hot water (Figure 13c) [51].

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 13. Main results of the Pitched House. (a) PV panels on the roof. (b) Automatic windows.
(c) Energy systems.

4.12. BBBC
BBBC is an acronym for bag, box, building, and cloud. The architecture concept
was aimed toward post-disaster reconstruction; therefore, prefabrication and energy self-
sufficiency were the most important aspects. Regarding prefabrication, more than 80% of
the building design utilized recyclable material, such as aluminum profiles, mineral water
bottles, recycled wood, and scaffolding (Figure 14a). The materials can be reused in the
future, which is good for decreasing the carbon emissions at the building material level.
Concerning energy self-sufficiency, the whole building combined bioenergy, wind energy,
solar energy, and kinetic energy to supply electricity for the building (Figure 14b). The
building can achieve carbon neutrality and even be carbon negative with time. Overall, this

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building contributed to carbon neutrality by using prefabricated construction and being

lightweight, recyclable, energy-efficient, and so on [52] (Figure 14c).

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 14. Main results of the BBBC. (a) Recyclable materials. (b) Energy self-sufficiency. (c) BBBC
building.

4.13. Solar Ark 3.0

The Solar Ark 3.0 is the third generation to participate in SDC’s architectural works,
where it pursued the application of new technology and new energy [53]. The Solar Ark
represents the continuous exploration of a better future for human life and environmental
sustainability. Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) was used by parametric design
according to graphic statics to achieve UHPC hyperboloid shells, which were prefabricated
in the factory in advance. The whole building consisted of 20 shells, but all the shells were
generated using only one mold. This was very helpful for carbon reduction. In addition to
applying this high-strength UHPC, it saved nearly two-thirds of the concrete consumption
compared with the traditional frame structure under the same building scale (Figure 15a).
As for the building energy, 68 solar panels were installed on the building to maximize
the use of solar energy. The special feature was that the solar panels were installed in the
east–west direction, which could increase the production capacity by 10% compared with
the north–south direction when using the same area, and at the same time, adapt to the
law of indoor electricity consumption. In addition to solar energy utilization, wind energy
was also used in the building to achieve multi-energy complementarity. A vertical wind
turbine was installed in the site’s northeast corner to generate electricity 24 h a day. An
air source heat pump was also used in the building. The total calculated annual electricity
generation was 5.2 times the electricity consumption (Figure 15b) [54]. This building could
achieve carbon neutrality after 9 years of operation [55]. Passive technologies were also
used for carbon reduction. Two skylights on the roof greatly improved the indoor natural
lighting and ventilation situation (Figure 15c) [56]. The doors and windows had a thermal
conductivity of 1.1 W/m2 ·K and a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.7 to achieve high efficiency
and energy savings [57]. Along with the prefabrication, energy complementation, and
passive technologies, a variable layout according to the user’s needs, rainwater recycling,
bamboo furniture, and other aspects were achieved in the building for carbon neutrality.

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(a) (b) (c)

Figure 15. Main results of the Solar Ark 3.0. (a) UHPC prefabrication. (b) Energy production and
consumption. (c) Skylight.

4.14. Hope Land-Natural Courtyard

In the design of the Hope Land-Natural Courtyard, the architecture concept came
from traditional Chinese quadrangle dwellings. Four prefabricated building modules sat
around the courtyard (Figure 16a). The building was dedicated to rural revitalization to
solve problems such as low energy quality and environmental pollution. The PV panels on
the three roofs maximized solar energy. These PV panels were combined with the courtyard
to form an air conditioning mechanism. PV panels are not efficient at high temperatures,
but the combination with the air layer could effectively reduce the surface temperature of
the PV panels and maintain their production performance (Figure 16b) [58]. The interior of
the building was mainly made of wood, supplemented by wooden furniture, which could
effectively sequester carbon, save energy, and protect the environment (Figure 16c). Fur-
thermore, the smart control system, reclaimed water purification system, indoor greening,
and others were also used in this building for carbon neutrality.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 16. Main results of the Hope Land-Natural Courtyard. (a) Hope Land-Natural Courtyard.
(b) PV air conditioning mechanism. (c) Wood use.

4.15. Qiju 3.0

Qiju 3.0 was the third generation of the Qiju Decathlon building. In some sense,
Qiju refers to a good living environment, which was realized through rapid assembly and
independent production capacity. This building used C-shaped steel to make the framework
of the lightweight and high-strength modules, which could be constructed quickly and
reused in the future (Figure 17a). These modules could be freely combined according to the
needs of the users, which was conducive to energy saving and environmental protection
and could be set on demand without losing the required ductility (Figure 17b). Qiju 3.0
was a two-story residence. In addition to passively adjusting the indoor temperature in a
circle of sunrooms on the sunny side, it also supported low-carbon living with effective
ventilation, garden planting, and efficient water purification through an indoor atrium
(Figure 17c) [59]. Moreover, active technologies, such as BIPV, an air source heat pump,

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a fresh air system, a radiant pipe, a smart management system, and a water purification
system, were also considered for carbon neutrality (Figure 17d) [60].

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 17. Main results of the Qiju 3.0. (a) Prefabricated building. (b) Changeable modules. (c) Indoor
atrium. (d) Water purification system.

5. Discussion
5.1. Summary
Starting from the problem of global warming, this research focused on carbon neutral-
ity and aimed to discover a sustainable method to solve this problem. Based on the rules
of the Third SDC competition, five subjective and five objective evaluation methods were
explained. After analyzing 15 competition buildings in terms of the concepts, technologies,
and prospects for carbon neutrality, a summary can be discussed.
Each building had its method of pursuing carbon neutrality. For the architecture
concepts, some buildings were more inclined to only focus on the competition theme of
sustainable development on a technical level. Some architectural concepts started from
practical issues and were committed to rural revitalization, post-disaster reconstruction,
grassland features, traditional revival, future development, and more. The competition had
a set mission, but each building’s solution differed. Architectural design is a complex issue
that should consider a building’s meaning, technology, future utilization, and more. The
concepts are generally devised prior to a building’s implementation. With a good concept,
the implementation is only a matter of technology.
The technologies used in these buildings are summarized in terms of the different
concepts in Table 4. Fifteen buildings started from different architectural design concepts
and were then built with multiple technologies for carbon neutrality. Although the design
concept may have multiple meanings and the technologies were hard to generalize, from
the carbon neutrality aspect, the 15 buildings demonstrated advanced concepts and tech-

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nologies at home and abroad. This showed the current state of development in architecture,
not only in academia but also in the industry [61,62].

Table 4. Main concepts and technologies of the Third SDC buildings for carbon neutrality.

No. Projects Main Concepts Main Technologies for Carbon Neutrality

PV, bamboo material, ETFE, plant wall,
1 Y-Team “Y” for human
greywater reclamation system
24 h-a-day living and 35-year
2 24 × 35 Housing Home PV, changeable space, assembly modular, SIPS
residential life
3 Modular Sustainable Cube Straw modular modern house PV, straw brick, assembly modular, EPC
PV, heating/cooling radiation system, bamboo
4 Aurora Solar courtyard building
material, MR
PV, assembly modular, sharing living, skylight,
5 The Steppe Ark Steppe modern yurt heating/cooling radiation system, PCM, Stirling
engine, rainwater recycling system
PV, heating/cooling radiation system, rainwater
6 HUI House Modern Huizhou building
recycling system
PV, changeable space, assembly modular,
7 Pixel House Changeable modular building Trombe wall, solar bricks and lamps, wood
structure
PV, assembly modular, SST wall, skylight, sun
8 T&A House Modern quadrangle dwelling room, ground source heat pump system,
self-shading
PV, assembly modular, self-shading, wood
Low-carbon and
9 R-CELLS structure, smart system, wind turbine, PEDF,
self-organizing cells
greywater reclamation system
PV, assembly modular, changeable space,
10 SMART Changeable rural residential
hydrogen fuel cell
PV, assembly modular, changeable space, smart
11 Pitched House Multi-function house
system, automatic windows, solar water heater
PV, assembly modular, rainwater recycling
12 BBBC Post-disaster reconstruction
system
PV, UHPC material, wind turbine, air source
13 Solar Ark 3.0 UHPC modular building heat pump, skylight, changeable space, assembly
modular
Hope Land-Natural PV, assembly modular, wood furniture, smart
14 Modern quadrangle dwelling
Courtyard system, air layer
PV, assembly modular, C-shaped steel,
15 Qiju 3.0 Assembly modular building changeable space, sun room, plant wall,
rainwater recycling system, air source heat pump

For further discussion, these technologies could be divided into active technology and
passive technology. There were at least 35 kinds of technologies used in this competition.
Based on statistical frequency analysis, a Sankey diagram was generated for the technology
ratios (TRs) in Figure 18. This showed the frequency of use of the technologies in these
15 buildings. PV (100%) and modular assembly (80%) were the most used technologies
for pursuing carbon neutrality. Almost every building examined here actively used solar
energy to achieve carbon neutrality and combined prefabrication in a passive way to
reduce carbon. Thus, to achieve carbon neutrality to solve global warming, using PV
panels to generate electricity and fabricating the building modules in a factory in advance
represented a consensus in this advanced competition [63].

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Figure 18. Summary of carbon neutrality technologies in the Third SDC.

Except for the PV technology used in these buildings, wind turbine, air source heat
pump, Stirling engine, ground source heat pump system, and hydrogen fuel cell technolo-
gies were also used for clean energy generation and consumption. More attention should
be paid to these active technologies. As for the passive technologies, the low frequency of
use does not mean they are unimportant. In contrast, they may be innovative, cutting-edge
technologies [64]. An example was the UHPC, which saved more concrete for better qual-
ity; this material may thus be produced more to reduce costs and promote applications to
achieve carbon reduction for sustainable development. Additionally, PCM and SST walls
were also advanced passive technologies that were used [24].

5.2. Critical Thinking

From the participating buildings of the Third SDC, in striving to meet a carbon-neutral
target, some prospects were concluded. Architecture is an ancient subject that has pursued
aesthetics for a long time. Nowadays, beginning with modernist architecture, architecture
is more focused on technology. Given the issue of global warming, the entire industry has
recently started to focus on carbon neutrality. In practice, however, this idea has not taken
root in the hearts of all people, but residential buildings could generate power with the
above-discussed technologies. From then on, a building can convert input into output,
and can not only be energy self-sufficient but can even sell the surplus energy generated
from solar, wind, water, and other sources to the public and achieve a carbon-negative
status [65]. Residential buildings are the largest building type in the world. Importantly,
this will effectively increase individuals’ motivation to reduce carbon. Finally, the global
warming problem will be proactively solved by everyone [66,67].
Moreover, due to COVID-19, the final review of SDC cannot start yet; thus, objective
data are lacking. However, analytic network process (ANP) analysis could be used to
simulate the ranking to compare with the present methods [68]. Here, only three projects
were chosen for ranking due to the enormous calculation load. The names of these three
projects have been hidden to avoid any conflicts. Based on these buildings’ technology
applications, 17 different technologies were counted. From the design concepts, implemen-
tation technologies, and application scenarios, three clusters were established to determine

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the priorities of these projects. The Super Decisions software showed that the ideals of
Project C scored 1, which was better than Project B (0.85) and Project A (0.75), which meant
that Project C was the best one of these three (Figure 19). This part of the research was just
for showing the method of ANP that may be applied for SDC ranking based on the present
ranking rules of 1000 points in total without violating the 10 contests of the SDC. In fact,
different contests or sub-contests should be affected by each other with multiple weights.
More scientific results lead to better carbon neutrality demonstrations.

Figure 19. Critical thinking of the ANP ranking method.

5.3. Limitations
However, this research did not focus on the competition ranking but tried to analyze
the individual buildings to reach universal conclusions regarding carbon neutrality for
solving the problem of global warming. Moreover, with the development of the competition,
this research may not be comprehensive. This research only represented the views of the
authors. More research on overcoming issues and developing prospects will be done in the
future.

6. Conclusions
This study researched buildings that participated in the Third SDC competition to
find methods to achieve carbon neutrality to overcome global warming challenges. Some
certain contributions were achieved. (1) The global warming background and literature
review on carbon neutrality were analyzed. Solving global warming through carbon
neutrality is widely required and research in this area needs to be done now. (2) Based on
the competition rules, the methods of five subjective and five objective contests with several
sub-contests were determined. (3) The results of 15 buildings in terms of the concepts,
technologies, and prospects of carbon neutrality were determined. (4) Regarding the aspect
of the architectural concepts, a good concept for carbon neutrality to achieve sustainable
development was important and prior. (5) A summary of the Third SDC buildings’ concepts
and technologies was analyzed. This showed the advanced development of architecture in
academia and industry worldwide. (6) Thirty-five kinds of active and passive technologies
used in this competition were determined. A total of 100% of the designs used the active
technology PV and 80% used the passive technology modular assembly, which provided a
consensus for carbon neutrality in this competition. (7) As for the technologies used with
a low frequency in the Third SDC, this does not mean that they are unimportant. The
wind turbine, air source heat pump, Stirling engine, ground source heat pump system, and
hydrogen fuel cell technologies used in an active way and UHPC, PCM, and SST used in a
passive way should have more attention paid to them. (8) For the prospects of realizing
carbon neutrality, energy-producing buildings, especially residential buildings, may shift
people’s passive acceptance of carbon neutrality to active energy production to achieve a

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carbon-negative status. (9) The ranking method of SDC could consider ANP due to the
interaction of contests and sub-contests to obtain more scientific results without violating
the 10 contests of the SDC and offer better carbon neutrality demonstrations. (10) The
limitations of this research will be considered and overcome in future research.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, B.L. and X.L.; methodology, X.L.; software, B.L. and Y.Z.;
validation, X.L., W.G. and L.C.; formal analysis, X.L.; investigation, B.L. and Y.Z.; resources, B.L.; data
curation, B.L.; writing—original draft preparation, B.L., X.L. and Y.Z.; writing—review and editing,
B.L., X.L. and Y.Z.; visualization, B.L. and Y.Z.; supervision, W.G. and L.C.; funding acquisition, X.L.
All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no.
52108011); National Key R&D Program of China (grant nos. 2021YFC2009400 and 2021YFC2009401);
Guangzhou Philosophy and Social Science Planning 2022 Annual Project (grant no. 2022GZQN14);
Department of Housing and Urban–Rural Development of Guangdong Province (grant no. 2021-K2-
305243); Department of Education of Guangdong Province (grant no. 2021KTSCX004); Science and
Technology Program of Guangzhou, China (grant no. 202102020302); China Postdoctoral Science
Foundation (grant no. 2021M701249); and State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science,
South China University of Technology (grant nos. 2021ZB16 and 2022ZA01).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Tables 1 and 3 were created by Bin Li when working at the SDC. Table 2
was created by Bin Li when working at the SDC based on the SDC rules. Table 4 was created by Bin
Li. Figures 1 and 2 were shot by Bin Li with the SDC Organizing Committee when working at the
SDC. Figure 3a,b were modified from the public published reference [27], while Figure 3c,d were
taken from the public published reference [27]. Figure 4a–c were modified from the public published
reference [29]. Figure 5a was taken from the public published reference [31], while Figure 5b,c were
shot by Bin Li on site. Figure 6a was taken from the public published reference [32], Figure 6b was
modified from the public published reference [32], Figure 6c was shot by Bin Li on site, and Figure 6d
was modified according to the Aurora public presentation on 14 September 2021. Figure 7a was shot
by Bin Li on site, Figure 7b,c were modified according to The Steppe Ark public presentation on 16
September 2021, and Figure 7d was modified from the public published reference [37]. Figure 8a,b
were modified from the public published reference [38], Figure 8c was taken from the public published
reference [39], and Figure 8d was taken from the public published reference [40]. Figure 9a was
modified from the public published reference [41], Figure 9b was shot by Bin Li on site, and Figure 9c
was taken from the public published reference [42]. Figure 10a was taken from the public published
reference [43], Figure 10b was taken from the public published reference [46], and Figure 10c,d
were modified from the public published reference [47]. Figure 11a,c,d were taken from the public
published reference [48], while Figure 11b was shot by Bin Li on site. Figure 12a–c were taken from
the public published reference [49]. Figure 13a was shot by Bin Li on site, Figure 13b was taken
from the public published reference [50], and Figure 13c was modified from the public published
reference [51]. Figure 14a,b were modified from the public published reference [52], while Figure 14c
was shot by Bin Li on site. Figure 15a was shot by Bin Li on site, Figure 15b was taken from the
public published reference [54], and Figure 15c was taken from the public published reference [56].
Figure 16a,c were shot by Bin Li on site, while Figure 16b was taken from the public published
reference [58]. Figure 17a was shot by Bin Li on site, Figure 17c was taken from the public published
reference [59], and Figure 17b,d were taken from the public published reference [60]. Figure 18 was
drawn by Bin Li. Figure 19 was drawn by Bin Li and Yuqing Zhang.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to the SDC Organizing Committee and all participating friends for their
strong support. This work was also supported in part by the scholarship from the China Scholarship
Council (CSC) under the CSC grant nos. 202006150053 and 202106150080.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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 buildings
Article
A Simple Framework for the Cost–Benefit Analysis of
Single-Task Construction Robots Based on a Case Study of a
Cable-Driven Facade Installation Robot
Rongbo Hu 1, *, Kepa Iturralde 1 , Thomas Linner 1 , Charlie Zhao 1 , Wen Pan 1 , Alessandro Pracucci 2 and
Thomas Bock 1

1 Chair of Building Realization and Robotics, Department of Architecture, Technical University of Munich,
8033 Munich, Germany; [email protected] (K.I.); [email protected] (T.L.);
[email protected] (C.Z.); [email protected] (W.P.); [email protected] (T.B.)
2 Innovation Department, Focchi S.p.A., 47824 Poggio Torriana, Italy; [email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: Single-task construction robots (STCRs) have become a popular research topic for decades.
However, there is still a gap in the ubiquitous application of STCRs for onsite construction due
to various reasons, such as cost concerns. Therefore, cost–benefit analysis (CBA) can be used to
measure the net economic benefit of the STCRs, compared to traditional construction methods, in
order to boost the implementation of STCRs. This paper presents a simple and practical framework
for the economic evaluation of STCRs and conducts a case study of a cable-driven facade installation
robot to verify the method. The results show that the cable-driven robot for facade installation
is worth investing in in the UK, as well as in the majority of G20 countries. Furthermore, other
socioenvironmental implications of STCRs and the limitations of the study are also discussed. In
conclusion, the proposed method is highly adaptable and reproducible. Therefore, researchers,
engineers, investors, and policy makers can easily follow and customize this method to assess the
Citation: Hu, R.; Iturralde, K.; Linner,
economic advantages of any STCR systems, compared to traditional construction technologies.
T.; Zhao, C.; Pan, W.; Pracucci, A.;
Bock, T. A Simple Framework for the
Cost–Benefit Analysis of Single-Task
Keywords: cable-driven parallel robot; construction robot; cost–benefit analysis; curtain wall mod-
Construction Robots Based on a Case ules; economic evaluation; facade installation
Study of a Cable-Driven Facade
Installation Robot. Buildings 2021, 11,
8. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/
buildings11010008 1. Introduction
Ever since the first debut in the 1970s in Japan, single-task construction robots (STCRs)
Received: 1 December 2020 have become a worldwide research and development topic. They are robots or automated
Accepted: 21 December 2020 devices that are developed primarily for tasks on the construction sites [1]. It is a highly
Published: 24 December 2020
cross-disciplinary field which requires an integration of a variety of knowledge and exper-
tise such as civil engineering, architecture, industrial design, construction management,
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
robotics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and informatics. Today, the ap-
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
plication fields of STCRs continue to expand. For instance, Bock and Linner summarized
published maps and institutional
200 existing STCR systems into 24 categories based on their functions [2]. However, cur-
affiliations.
rently, there is still a gap in the ubiquitous application of STCRs for onsite construction
due to various reasons, such as insufficient proof of net economic benefits, lack of mod-
ularity in building components, lack of skilled labor for operation, incompatibility with
Copyright: © 2020 by the authors. other construction tasks, and time-consuming onsite setup [2]. Therefore, more research
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. evidence is needed to prove the net economic benefit of the STCRs, compared to traditional
This article is an open access article construction methods, in order to boost the speed and breadth of the implementation of
distributed under the terms and STCRs. Cost–benefit analysis (CBA) is oftentimes considered as one of the most important
conditions of the Creative Commons problem-solving tools in decision-making processes, yet there is a lack of research on the
Attribution (CC BY) license ( quantitative evaluation of STCR systems to study their economic implications for key
https://creativecommons.org/
stakeholders. This paper aims to propose a simple methodological framework for the
licenses/by/4.0/).

Buildings 2021, 11, 8. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/buildings11010008 119 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2021, 11, 8

cost–benefit analysis of STCRs based on the case study of the onsite cable-driven facade
installation robot developed in the EU research project named Hephaestus.
Cost–benefit analysis (CBA) is commonly used for economic evaluation of a project
or policy. It can be dated back to the mid-19th century by French engineer and economist
Jules Dupuit [3]. It is a policy assessment tool that monetizes all impacts of a project or
policy to all relevant stakeholders in society [4]. According to Munger, CBA is considered
as the “single most important problem-solving tool in policy work” [5]. The CBA usually
can be divided into several major steps in order to make the process more manageable.
The steps can usually be described as follows [4].
• Specify the set of alternatives projects.
• Decide who will be the key stakeholder for the benefits and costs.
• List impacts and determine ways to measure them.
• Predict impacts quantitatively over the life of the project.
• Monetize every impact.
• Discount benefits and costs to obtain present values.
• Calculate the net present value of each alternative.
• Perform sensitivity analysis.
• Make a recommendation.
Like every assessment tool, CBA has certain limitations, such as its imperfect pro-
cess, its monetization of non-market articles, the openness of the results, the thorough
examination by the public, its dependence on correctness and completeness, the difficulty
of being understood, its ethics, and its neglect of long-term environmental impacts [4].
Nevertheless, considering its wide usage in the policy-making activities, it is naturally
reasonable to apply CBA as a tool to evaluate the economic benefits of STCR systems.

2. Literature Review
With regard to the construction industry, there have been several instances of CBA
research available to the public. In particular, Shen et al. compared the costs and benefits of
prefabricated public housing projects and traditional housing projects based on survey and
field research [6]. The research reported an analysis of construction costs and environmental
benefits of prefabricated housing, largely based on collected questionnaires from more
than 50 managers, which takes a great amount of efforts. Li and Mandanu proposed an
uncertainty-based methodology for the life-cycle CBA of highway projects that handles
certainty, risk, and uncertainty [7], which requires accessing a large amount of historical
data. In addition, Medici and Lorenzini proposed a mathematical model for optimizing
energy-saving measures on the building envelope, which reveals the relationship between
energy benefit and the related cost [8]. With regard to construction automation, Jang and
Skibniewski conducted a CBA of an embedded sensing system for construction material
tracking, compared to manual materials tracking, method based on interviewing the
experts regarding labor productivity [9]. Another interesting research by García de Soto
et al. compared the productivity of robot fabrication to that of manual technique in building
complex concrete walls [10], but, strictly speaking, it is a cost and time analysis rather than a
comprehensive CBA. Furthermore, Kim et al. developed an assessment tool to evaluate the
economic efficiency of an integrated automated onsite construction system [11], focusing
on assessing an integrated automated construction system rather than a specific STCR.
These precedents provide insightful knowledge of economic evaluation for the con-
struction sector. However, few of these methods are specifically designed for conducting
the CBA of STCR systems, due to the lack of accumulated information in practical applica-
tions of construction robots, even though the research field of STCR systems is becoming
more popular in recent years.
Therefore, developing a practical method of CBA for evaluating STCR systems would
be beneficial to both academia and industry. The goal of this research is to explore a simple
framework for the cost–benefit analysis of STCRs, compared to conventional methods,
which can be quickly adapted and used for evaluating other STCR systems. The framework

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will be verified in the case study of onsite facade installation performed by the cable-driven
robot developed in the Hephaestus project. The results of the case study can help determine
whether the Hephaestus robot is worth investing in for construction companies. More
importantly, this framework can be easily adapted to evaluate other STCR systems in
various contexts. Furthermore, the results can provide evidence for the policy makers to
decide how many resources shall be allocated or invested to the research and development
of automated construction technologies.

3. Methods
As mentioned above, this research aims at proposing a simplified method for per-
forming the economic evaluation for construction robots. In this section, the analytical
framework and cashflow analysis table for calculation are proposed in general, which, later,
is applied to the case study thereafter.

3.1. Analytical Framework for the CBA

In order to compare the STCR solutions to the conventional construction methods, the
following simple and practical analytical framework for CBA is proposed (see Figure 1).
The CBA in this article will follow this analytical framework.

Figure 1. The analytical framework of cost–benefit analysis (CBA) applied in this research.

3.2. Cashflow Analysis Table

In the calculation process of the CBA, all relevant factors that affect the main stake-
holder need to be considered. Normally, the cashflow analyses for CBA range from at least
three (small-scale projects) to more than ten years (e.g., large-scale public projects) [7,12,13].
The five-year calculation period here is mainly because the engineering partners in the
project estimate that the lifecycle of such types of construction robots will likely be approxi-
mately five years. More importantly, for individual companies as the key beneficiaries, the
investment will not be attractive for them if the payback period is longer than five years
(e.g., 10 years or above). Therefore, five years is a reasonable time horizon for economic
evaluations of STCRs. As a result, a comparison table between conventional methods and
STCR solutions is designed which takes every factor during the onsite construction task
into consideration in a five-year period (see Figure 2).

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Buildings 2021, 11, 8

Figure 2. Template of the cashflow analysis.

In this template, the light grey cells indicate the cost and saving aspects that need to
be taken into consideration, whereas the white cells are used to input values for each cost
and saving aspect in the respective year. Each line of item is followed by an “explanation
and remarks” cell to describe the respective item in detail (e.g., explanation, calculation,
additional information, etc.)
In particular, in the cash outflow category, the “central” rows indicate the indirect
costs that a construction company needs to bear in their headquarters in order to run each
robot system for a specific task each year, whereas “per robot costs” rows indicate the direct
costs of each robot system each year. The “savings” rows indicate the costs of conventional
construction method to conduct the same task each year. The “explanations and remarks”
row can be used to explain how each row is calculated. If by, or before, year 5 the net
cumulative cashflow turns from negative to positive, it suggests that the STCR system is
likely to be worth investing in. Furthermore, based on the result of this table, key financial
indicators can be calculated accordingly.
In the next section, a case study of an STCR project for facade installation is conducted,
and a CBA of the STCR system is performed, based on the proposed framework, in order
to verify the method.

4. Case Study
After the comparison framework is defined, a case study comparing the conventional
curtain wall installation method and the alternative Hephaestus cable-robot solution is
conducted, as follows.

4.1. Curtain Wall Installation Process

A curtain wall is an exterior envelope of the building that does not carry any vertical
loads of the roof or floor. It supports its own weight as well as other imposed loads, such
as wind, and transfers these forces to the building structure. It provides benefits such as
daylight shading, insulation, and weight reduction [14]. Normally there are two types

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of curtain wall installations: (1) the stick system, where the assembly of the curtain wall
components such as frames and glass panes, takes place on site; (2) the unitized modular
system, where the prefabricated curtain wall modules (CWMs) are installed onsite. Due to
the scope of this research, only the unitized prefabricated module system is considered. The
standard CWM installation consists of four main steps, which are (1) bracket installation,
(2) lifting the CWM, (3) CWM installation with position adjustment, and (4) CWM unit
fixation (see Figure 3) [15].

Figure 3. Four main steps in the curtain wall module (CWM) installation.

4.2. Conventional CWM Installation

In the first step of installation, the brackets will be manually installed to the building
floors. There are two main techniques for bracket installation: the cast-in channel technique
and the drilling technique. In the cast-in channel technique, the channels are welded onto
the rebars of the framework before pouring the concrete, whereas the drilling technique
requires drilling holes based on pre-measured drilling points which avoid rebars under-
neath. In the context of this research, only the drilling technique is involved. During the
bracket installation process, the position of the CWM will be checked and controlled by
using measurement systems such as a total station. The placement of the brackets is critical
and will likely not be readjusted later. In the meantime, the modules will be transported to
the construction site and stored after being unpacked and assembled. In the second step,
the CWM will be lifted by the crane to the working floor (or, alternatively, in some cases,
be elevated to the working floor through an elevator if possible). In the third step, while
the crane holds the weight of the CWM, workers on the working floor minutely adjust the
position of the CWM to ensure its installation to the brackets. Finally, after the position of
the CWM is correctly confirmed, workers on the working floor fix the unit and the next
CWM installation starts (see Figure 4) [15].

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Buildings 2021, 11, 8

Figure 4. Schematic diagram of a typical bracket on the concrete building floor and its connection
with a CWM module (the drilling technique).

Therefore, in the conventional CWM installation process, all the four steps are done
manually by workers with the help of certain machines. The installation of brackets is
completed by workers one by one manually, which is highly time-consuming. As demon-
strated in Figure 5, the manual method normally involves several workers to work together
at height, creating high labor costs and potential danger for these workers (e.g., injuries
caused by machinery, back injuries from heavy lifting, falls from height, hearing loss from
long-term exposure to loud machinery, etc.). In addition, workers on the ground, for
component handling, and a tower crane, for CWM positioning, are necessary as well.

Figure 5. Several workers working at height during the CWM installation process (facade installation
in Solar Carve Tower, New York. Facade engineered and manufactured by Focchi Group; photo by
Timothy Schenck).

4.3. Automated CWM Installation

There are several existing instances of automated curtain wall installation. For exam-
ple, a patented method developed by Brunkeberg Systems AB uses a dedicated railing
system to automatically install specially-designed CWMs from the outside of a build-

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Buildings 2021, 11, 8

ing [16]. However, the railing installation process is manual, and might not apply to certain
types of buildings. Other researchers reported a mobile robot that can perform facade
installation from the inside of the building, but it only managed to automate the third step,
which is positioning the CWM. Činkelj et al. developed a hydraulic telescopic system that
installs facade panels to the building from the outside. However, this semi-automated,
tele-operated system is specialized for handling facade panels rather than CWMs, and
there is also a height limitation due to the use of a telescopic handler [17]. In addition,
researchers also proposed other novel solutions for the automatic installation of the facade,
but many are still at conceptual level [18–21].
Therefore, the Hephaestus cable-driven robot was primarily developed for the CWM
installation task, although various functions can be achieved by reprogramming the robot
and replacing the end-effector. It is arguably the first cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) in
the world that is designed, built, and deployed specifically for curtain wall installation.
The CWM installation, as explained above, consists of four main steps: bracket
installation, panel lifting, position adjusting, and panel fixation, which are the main tasks
of the Hephaestus robot. The advantages of the robot are the large range of workspace,
high payloads, reconfigurability, and modularity, making the system easily transportable
and highly adjustable to adapt to various situations.
In terms of geometry, a CDPR is a configuration of cables with variable lengths
connecting a drawing point attached to the base frame, and a fixing point attached to the
mobile platform. The geometrical design of the CDPR can be defined by the following
parameters: (1) number of cables, (2) geometry of the structure, (3) geometry of the
platform, and (4) cable configurations. Previous studies indicate that CDPR driven by eight
cables will have appropriate performance, thus the number of cables was chosen [22]. The
geometries of the structure and platform were determined by the positions of the drawing
points and attachment points, respectively.
The Hephaestus CDPR consists of seven subassemblies. There are two drawing point
assemblies on the top of the building, and four on the bottom, controlling the lengths of the
cables (see Figure 6a). In the center is the working platform subassembly, featuring eight
fixing points, as well as the power system and various tools for the modular end-effector.
In the Hephaestus project, two major tasks need to be performed: (1) the fixation of the
bracket onto the concrete slab, which is performed by the robotic arm (see Figure 7), and (2)
the placement of the CWMs onto the brackets by a vacuum system attached to the bottom
of the CDPR platform (see Figure 6b). In addition, a linear system with vacuum cups
serving as a stabilizer is also integrated in the platform in order to stabilize the working
platform subassembly (see Figure 8) [23].
In addition, the CDPR features a control room (i.e., a small movable container
equipped with computers and other relevant devices) which serves as the “brain” of
the system. Currently, the CDPR (prototype) does not directly integrate advanced digital
construction technologies. The main tasks, such as bracket installation and CWM position-
ing, are preprogrammed based on traditional CAD drawings. However, since the CDPR is
equipped with adequate hardware and software capabilities, it certainly has the potential
to integrate digital construction technologies, such as building information modeling (BIM)
and digital twin, in future iterations in order to enhance its speed and performance.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 8

(a) (b)

Figure 6. (a) Design of the Hephaestus cable-driven parallel robot (CDPR) prototype; (b) detailed depiction of the modular
end-effector of the CDPR system.

Figure 7. Robotic arm and its tools for bracket installation protected by weatherproof covers (photo:
José David Jiménez-Vicaría).

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Buildings 2021, 11, 8

Figure 8. Stabilizer attaching the robot platform to the concrete slab (photo: José David Jiménez-Vicaría).

4.4. Determining the Scenario for Evaluation

Based on discussions and communications with partners of the Hephaestus project,
a presumptive scenario for comparison can be proposed, as below (see Table 1). In this
scenario, it is assumed that the facade installation company (i.e., Focchi Group UK) owns
the robot during its lifecycle, because the company generated 133.90 million US dollars
in revenue in 2019, which is large enough to fully employ more than one Hephaestus
robot system.
In the case of curtain wall installation, the service charge is highly case-dependent
(i.e., not only decided by the working area, but also by the form and shape of facade, type
of CWM, etc.) and thus not easy to determine broadly. Usually, the representatives at the
construction company carefully evaluate the building and requirements and provide an
offer to the client thereafter. Therefore, a situation is assumed where the two scenarios
execute exactly the same amount of workload (thus yielding the same revenue) based on
the productivity of one robot system. In this way, many uncertainties can be avoided in
determining the revenue that the company can make in the two scenarios. Similar to the
concept of a controlled experiment in biology, in this research the variable “revenue” is
controlled. Then, the costs of adopting the robot system and the benefits of saving money
by avoiding the conventional method are compared. In other words, the costs here equal
the money spent to operate the robot system, and the benefits equal the money saved by
not using the conventional CWM installation method.

Table 1. Conventional and alternative scenarios defined for the comparison.

Category Scenario 1 Scenario 2

Name Hephaestus cable-driven robot Conventional facade installation
Key beneficiary Facade installation company (Focchi Group UK)
Business model Owning the robot Paid based on working area, etc.
Primary location for calculation United Kingdom
Investment period 5 years (the assumed lifecycle of the robot according to the engineering partners in the project)
Main equipment required 1 cable-driven robot 1 crane for positioning
Estimated average area per job 540 m2 (L30 m × H18 m; 1.5 m × 3 m per panel)

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4.5. Gathering Data and Proposing Assumptions for Calculating the Costs of the Conventional and
Alternative Scenarios
The data needed for the calculation in the cashflow analysis table are collected by
various means such as market research, online meetings, calls, and emails with key stake-
holders (e.g., the facade installation partner, the robot developing partner). Based on the
data-gathering activities, the following information, which is crucial to the calculation, is
demonstrated in Table 2.

Table 2. Data collected for the cashflow analysis of the two scenarios.

Category Scenario 1 Scenario 2

Name Hephaestus cable-driven robot Conventional facade installation
• 3 workers for system setup and
• 1 for crane operation; 5 for curtain
Number of workers disassembly; 1 worker for robot
wall module handling
operation
• ~15 min for one bracket installation
Speed/performance • ~30 min/m2
• ~15 min for one CWM installation
• 123 h in total:
• 55 h setup • 270 h
Total time needed per job
• 60 h curtain wall installation
• 8 h disassembly
Productivity weight coefficient 1 2.20
Jobs finished per year 14 6.36
Downtime per year (e.g., holidays,
8 weeks
operational, extreme weather, etc.)
Median wage of construction worker in
15.47 € (14.05 GBP) per hour
the UK
Annual wage increase 3% (commonly applied in the construction sector)
Discount rate 0.1% (in the UK as of October 2020)
Annual equipment maintenance costs 10%

Note: In addition, detailed explanations of Table 2 are listed as follows.

1. The main financial beneficiary is a curtain wall installation company operating in the
UK, because the main market of facade installation for the key beneficiary is in the
UK.
2. For the simplification of calculation, the table uses the median hourly rate of construc-
tion workers to calculate all the inputs related to labor costs.
3. The estimated cost of the robot system includes manufacturing cost, logistics, admin-
istrative cost, and profit.
4. The robot system does not cause extra administrative costs, compared to the conven-
tional method.
5. A one-month training cost of 12,000 € (3000 €/person) is added, to train four workers
for operating the robot system during the downtime of the first year. During the
training month, these workers’ salary needs to be covered by the company as well
(9900 €). After the training, one worker will become a highly-skilled operator, thus
earning 30% more salary than the average worker.
6. The annual total saving outputs equal the annual saving inputs multiplied by a
productivity weight coefficient of 2.2, which means that the alternative robot system
is 2.2 times as productive as the conventional method. Therefore, the productivity
weight coefficient needs to be considered in the conventional method to keep up with
the productivity of the alternative robot system in order to achieve the same gross
revenue for fair comparison.

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7. Regarding the central cost for the company, this robot system does not require addi-
tional special managerial efforts, compared to the conventional scenario. Therefore,
central costs are not calculated in both scenarios.

5. Results
Based on the proposed comparison scenario and collected data in the case study, the
following results can be presented, including cashflow analysis, key financial indicators,
sensitivity analysis, and recommendations. According to the comparison of the conven-
tional method and cable-driven robot method for facade installation, the cashflow analysis
table can be filled in detail with corresponding numbers, as below (see Figure 9).

Figure 9. Cashflow analysis of the proposed robot system based on the UK market.

5.1. Key Financial Indicators of the Hephaestus Cable Robot

As mentioned above, the key financial indicators relevant in this evaluation can be
calculated based on the results of the cashflow analysis (Figure 9), including benefit–cost
ratio (BCR), return on investment (ROI), payback period (PBP), initial investment value
(IIV), and net present value (NPV) [4]. The key financial indicators are calculated based on
the following equations:

BCR = (|present value of benefits|)/(|present value of costs|) (1)

ROI = (total cost savings − total outflows)/(|total outflows|) (2)

PBP = n + (|net accumulative cashflow of year n|)/(net annual cashflow of year n + 1),
(3)
n represents the number of the final year with negative net accumulative cashflow.
IIV = (initial hardware cost) + (initial deployment cost) (4)
Years in the future
NPV = (net annual cashflow)/(1 + cost of money) (5)

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As a result, the key financial indicators of the Hephaestus cable-driven robot for
curtain wall installation are calculated, as below (see Table 3).

Table 3. Key financial indicators of the proposed robot system when operating in the UK.

Key Financial Indicator Value

Benefit–Cost Ratio (BCR) 1.95
Return on Investment (ROI) 95.26%
Payback Period (PBP) 21.21 months
Initial Investment Value (IIV) 747,726.86 €
Net Present Value (NPV) 1,205,040.19 €

Note: The definitions of the key financial indicators are listed as follows:
1. BCR indicates the overall relationship between the relative benefits and costs of a
proposed project. In this case study, benefits refer to the money saved by not using
the conventional facade installation method, and costs refer to the money spent to
operate the robot system. If the value is larger than 1.0, the project is expected to
deliver economic satisfaction to its investors.
2. ROI is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment.
3. PBP is the period of time required to recover the cost of an investment.
4. IIV is defined here as the amount of money needed for the total capital expenditures
in the first year.
5. NPV is the current value of a future stream payments. Here it refers to the present
value of the total net accumulative cash flow.

5.2. Sensitivity Analysis

Sensitivity analysis, also known as what-if analysis, is a financial tool which deter-
mines how target outputs are affected based on changes in input variables. This model
is used to predict the result of a decision, given a certain set of variables. There are a
wide range of uses of sensitivity analysis, which can be categorized into four main aspects:
decision-making support, communication, increasing understanding of the system, and
model development [24]. Based on this tool, the analyst will be able to understand which
input variable is more consequential, and which one is less.
Therefore, a simple sensitivity analysis is conducted, regarding several major variables
in the cashflow analysis. By adjusting each input variable 10% better and 10% worse, the
total accumulative cashflow by the end of the five-year period will also change accordingly.
Thus, the increase and decrease of total accumulative cashflow, compared to the original
estimation, can be calculated. In this case, five main input variables, including annual wage
increase, labor cost (hourly rate), robot system cost, crane renting cost, and productivity
coefficient weight, are evaluated. The result is shown in Figure 10.
From the sensitivity analysis, it can be concluded that the outcome is most sensitive
to the weight coefficient of productivity, followed by labor hourly rate, robot system cost,
crane renting cost, and last, but not least, the annual wage increase. Other variables, such
as utility cost and training cost, are not listed here due to their relative insignificance to
the outcome of the analysis. The sensitivity analysis is especially important and insightful
because many data acquired in this study are only rough estimations. It indicates that
the most efficient way to improve profitability or benefits of the alternative system is to
further improve the productivity and efficiency of the robot, although this objective might
be difficult to achieve.

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Figure 10. Sensitivity analysis of the CBA.

5.3. Recommendations
As mentioned in the beginning of this paper, the last part of CBA, usually, is to make a
recommendation on whether the alternative option is worth considering. The results of key
financial indicators indicate that the BCR is 1.95, which exceeds 1. Therefore, the investment
of the Hephaestus cable-driven robot for CWM installation, based on the UK market, is
projected to be economically acceptable and efficient. In particular, the investment of one
Hephaestus cable-driven robot system could pay for itself in only 21.21 months when
operated in the UK.
In accounting, the break-even point (BEP) refers to the point at which the total cost
and total revenue are equal [25]. When adjusting the net cumulative cashflow to near zero
in year 5, by adjusting the construction worker salary while keeping any other variables
the same, it can be inferred that the investment of the Hephaestus cable-driven robot
system will be worthwhile, in theory, if the local hourly wage for workers is higher than
approximately 3.45 €/h. In other words, the proposed robot system for curtain wall
installation task will be financially competitive in countries or regions where the median
salary for a construction worker is above 3.45 €/h as of 2020, which is the BEP.
Furthermore, Table 4 demonstrates whether the Hephaestus cable-driven robot system
is competitive in the G20 countries/regions (different currencies are converted to euros
based on the exchange rates on 13 October 2020, according to Google). In this research, if
the local median wage of construction workers is more than double the BEP, the investment
will be defined as highly competitive; if the local median wage of construction workers is
more than the BEP but less than double the BEP, it will be defined as competitive; otherwise,
it will be considered as uncompetitive. Therefore, the table shows that the proposed system
would currently be highly competitive, compared to the conventional method in most
developed countries in the world, and it would be relatively competitive in many emerging
economies as well, with a few exceptions such as Argentina, Brazil, China (mainland),
India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey (according to www.salaryexpert.com as of
October, 2020). However, as the economy continues to expand in these emerging markets
and their average income of workers increases, it is predictable that the proposed system
will become competitive in these countries as well in the near future.

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Table 4. Median hourly rate of construction workers in G20 countries/regions, and indications on
whether the robot is competitive in the respective country.

G20 Country or Region Median Hourly Rate (in €) Recommendation

Argentina 2.19 (198.68 ARS) Uncompetitive
Australia 18.23 (29.93 AUD) Highly competitive
Brazil 3.18 (21.07 BRL) Uncompetitive
Canada 14.93 (23.23 CAD) Highly competitive
China (mainland) 3.41 (27.25 CNY) Uncompetitive
China (Hong Kong) 13.01 (118.60 HKD) Highly competitive
France 14.15 Highly competitive
Germany 17.18 Highly competitive
India 1.15 (99.17 INR) Uncompetitive
Indonesia 3.59 (62053.86 IDR) Competitive
Italy 13.08 Highly competitive
Japan 14.66 (1826.55 JPY) Highly competitive
Mexico 2.41 (60.66 MXN) Uncompetitive
Russia 2.11 (192.16 RUB) Uncompetitive
Saudi Arabia 8.69 (38.24 SAR) Highly competitive
South Africa 3.12 (60.99 ZAR) Uncompetitive
South Korea 10.18 (13,790.48 KRW) Highly competitive
Turkey 2.51 (23,41 TRY) Uncompetitive
United Kingdom 15.47 (14.05 GBP) Highly competitive
United States 17.28 (20.29 USD) Highly competitive

The results are important indicators for companies and policy makers in different
countries and regions to decide whether the investment of the Hephaestus cable-driven
robot is worth considering. Furthermore, as the manufacturing costs of the robot system
drop and the global labor costs increase over time, it is foreseeable that the robot system
will be competitive in even more countries worldwide.

6. Discussion
This research introduces a simple framework for economically evaluating single-task
construction robots, based on a case study of a cable-driven curtain wall installation robot.
The results indicate that the CDPR system in the case study is financially competitive in
the UK, as well as in most developed countries or regions. The advantages and future
validation of the methods, as well as the additional socioenvironmental implications,
limitations, adaptability, and reproducibility, are further discussed in the sections below.

6.1. Advantages and Future Validation of the Methods

This paper mainly discusses the direct economic implications of STCR, using the
proposed cable-driven robot for curtain wall installation as a case study. It will be one of
the first CBA research instances focusing on STCRs, setting a valuable precedent for the
field of construction robots.
The methodology is practical and helpful for the key beneficiary (e.g., the construction
company) to make decisions about whether to invest in construction robots without ac-
quiring large amounts of data. The calculation method is specifically designed to estimate
the costs and benefits of an advanced solution for a specific task in a short amount of time.

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Therefore, it does not require a large amount of time and effort of the key beneficiary, such
as historical data collection and opinion survey.
Further, the proposed framework, as well as the results, can be further validated by the
key beneficiary through a real-world pilot project in which the key performance indicators
(KPIs) of the conventional and alternative scenarios (e.g., speed, performance, cost, etc.)
can be more accurately measured.

6.2. Further Socioenvironmental Implications

The proposed methods mainly address the direct microeconomic evaluation of an
STCR, compared to the traditional technique, through a simplified analyzing framework.
However, more indirect socioenvironmental implications, other than productivity increase,
are also worth noting. For instance, the STCR approach enhances labor safety. According
to Eurostat, there were 3552 fatal accidents at work in EU-28 states during 2017, of which
one fifth happened in the construction sector [26]. In other words, more than 700 acci-
dental deaths took place within the construction industry in EU countries just in 2017.
The reduction in the number of onsite construction workers at height, through applying
construction robots, can substantially reduce the chance of fatal accidents and other injuries
on the construction sites. Furthermore, the application of STCRs has a positive impact on
construction quality through precise control and real-time monitoring, which potentially
benefits the reputation and profitability of the relevant construction companies. Meanwhile,
it also has a positive impact on resource consumption due to the precise automatic control
system [2]. Moreover, the vacancy rate in the construction sector (excluding the real estate
subsector) in the EU28 increased by 1.7% from 2010 to 2018, indicating growing labor
shortages in the business. In particular, Germany observed 121,736 unfilled positions in
the construction sector in 2018, compared to only 51,892 in 2010 [27]. The implementation
of robots can help alleviate the growing labor shortages in the construction business. These
aspects obviously make an even stronger case in favor of construction robots, although
these additional socioenvironmental benefits are more difficult to monetize.

6.3. Limitations
Just like any other economic models, this initial CBA is by no means an impeccable
process. The results reported in this section have certain limitations, summarized as follows.
1. The usability of the alternative scenario, currently based on a prototype, needs to be
further tested and validated in real-world practice.
2. Many data for calculation are only rough estimations, and more accurate data might
be possible in the future.
3. The manufacturing cost of the robot is only calculated based on prototyping cost in
the EU market, thus cheaper alternatives, such as outsourcing, are not considered,
and future mass production might be substantially lower.
4. Many long-term indirect socioenvironmental benefits are difficult to quantify and
monetize. Also, the primary beneficiary in the case study is defined as the facade
installation company. Therefore, the indirect socioenvironmental benefits are not
included directly in the case study.

6.4. Adaptability and Reproducibility

As shown in previous sections, the case study provides a simple, but useful, tool to
assess the benefit and cost of any given STCR system, which fills the gap in the economic
evaluation of construction robots. The demonstrated process of CBA for STCR is highly
adaptable and reproducible. Therefore, researchers, engineers, investors, and policy makers
can easily follow and customize this method to assess the economic advantages of any
STCR system, compared to traditional construction techniques and methods.

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Author Contributions: Conceptualization, R.H., K.I., T.L., W.P. and T.B.; methodology, R.H., K.I.,
T.L. and C.Z.; formal analysis, R.H.; investigation, R.H., K.I. and T.B.; data curation, R.H., K.I. and
A.P.; writing—original draft preparation, R.H.; writing—review and editing, R.H., T.L. and C.Z.;
visualization, R.H. and K.I.; supervision, T.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 732513.
Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the
corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to confidentiality.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design
of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or
in the decision to publish the results.

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 buildings
Article
Digital Simulation for Buildings’ Outdoor Thermal Comfort in
Urban Neighborhoods
Yingyi Zhang 1, * and Chang Liu 2

1 School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture,
Beijing 100044, China
2 Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China;
[email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: Buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort influences environment quality and human behavior
in urban neighborhoods. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) has been broadly applied to
the study of buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort in urban areas. However, complex environmental
conditions in climate-sensitive urban areas can make UTCI assessment complicated and ineffective.
This paper introduces digital techniques into buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort analysis for the
improvement of the urban habitant environment. A digital simulation system is generated to facilitate
the analysis procedure for buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort assessment in urban neighborhoods.
The analysis addresses the research question: “Can digital simulation techniques provide a modeling
system to assess buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort continuously and effectively?” Methods include
a case study of neighborhoods in Beijing, qualitative and quantitative analysis based on digital
Citation: Zhang, Y.; Liu, C. Digital
processes, and parametric modeling. The results indicate that digital simulation techniques and
Simulation for Buildings’ Outdoor tools have the capability to support the analysis of buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort by providing
Thermal Comfort in Urban three-dimensional models, algorithm-based analysis, and visual simulation. The findings include a
Neighborhoods. Buildings 2021, 11, critique of digital simulation as applied to architecture study and insights on potentially improving
541. https://doi.org/10.3390/ buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort through human–computer interactions.
buildings11110541
Keywords: digital simulation; buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort; urban neighborhoods; UTCI
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński,
Agata Bonenberg,
Wojciech Bonenberg and
Marco Lucchini 1. Introduction
Thermal comfort is the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal
Received: 11 October 2021
Accepted: 10 November 2021
environment [1]. In urban areas, people can experience outdoor thermal sensation in
Published: 15 November 2021
outdoor areas of buildings, such as public gardens, streets, and markets. Buildings’ outdoor
thermal comfort analysis in urban space contributes significantly to human health [2]. The
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
thermal complex is relevant to human health because of a close relationship between the
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
thermoregulatory mechanisms and the circulatory system [3]. The assessment of outdoor
published maps and institutional affil- thermal comfort has played an active role in promoting buildings’ outdoor environments
iations. and public life, especially in intensive urban neighborhoods. Digital simulation has proved
its efficiency in architecture and civil engineering industries [4]. Hence, this paper scopes
the possibility of improving the approach of buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort assessment
by digital simulation techniques.
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
Early study on outdoor thermal comfort began with the analysis of British mines in
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
the 20th century, and approaches have since developed over the decades. Developments in
This article is an open access article
physics have resulted in a variety of approaches to the assessment of buildings’ outdoor
distributed under the terms and thermal comfort. A widespread consensus holds that direct sun falling on a person can
conditions of the Creative Commons substantially affect buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort [5–8]. Nowadays, the differing
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// models of outdoor thermal comfort assessment can be broadly delineated by two categories:
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ thermal safety and thermal balance. Thermal safety models evaluate the safety of work
4.0/). environments. Variables include the physical index, air quality and subjective experiences.

Buildings 2021, 11, 541. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110541 137 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2021, 11, 541

The application of the thermal safety model began with endeavors to understand the indoor
and outdoor thermal environments of office buildings—particularly those in tropical and
subtropical zones. In 1919, the American Society of Heating and Ventilation Engineers
first analyzed the influence of thermal comfort on human sensation and health. After
that, Corrected Effective Temperature (CET) was created in 1930s to assess thermal safety
using globe thermometer temperature instead of dry bulb temperature in those cases
where the reading of the globe thermometer was higher than the dry bulb temperature [9].
With increasing demand for outdoor thermal comfort analysis, the use of Web Bulb Globe
Temperature (WBGT) began in order to prevent thermal injury accidents in military training.
In 1984, Steadman indicated that the equivalent Apparent Temperature (AT) could measure
a building’s outdoor temperature as perceived by humans by considering temperature,
relative humidity, and wind speed [10]. The US National Weather Service simplified
and converted AT into a multivariate statistical regression model and renamed it Heat
Index (HI). HI indicates that a sustained wet bulb temperature of about 35 ◦ C can be
fatal to healthy people; at this temperature, our bodies switch from shedding heat to the
environment to gaining heat from it [11]. WBGT, AT, and HI have been used evaluate
human safety in harsh environments.
In contrast to the thermal safety model, the thermal balance model believes that
physical human comfort is based on biological heat exchange mechanisms. Although
sunlight has a greater impact than either wind or humidity on thermal comfort [12–14],
thermal comfort also encompasses buildings’ external environmental situation, breathing
heat dissipation, and the thermal resistance of clothing. In 1970, Predicted Mean Vote
(PMV) was developed by Fanger as an empirical measure of the human sensation of
thermal comfort [15]. PMV uses a thermal sensation score to describe the vote of multiple
participants. However, buildings’ outdoor thermal environment is far more complex than
an indoor one. The diversity of activities and increased metabolic levels complicate the
measurement of outdoor thermal comfort. Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET)
was generated to specifically analyze outdoor thermal comfort. PET reflects a situation
in which human skin and internal body temperatures are balanced with air temperature
within a specific environment. As Matzarakis and Amelung stated, PET could measure
how changes in the thermal environment can affect human well-being [3]. These well-
documented thermal indices have varying foci but are essentially different combinations of
the same set of important meteorological and thermophysiological parameters [16]. The
International Society of Biometeorology recently proposed the Universal Thermal Climate
Index (UTCI) meets the requirements for analyzing human biometeorology, individual
characteristics, and valid evaluation procedures in all climates, seasons, and scales [17].
The UTCI is primarily concerned with balancing the temperature of human bodies [18,19]
and generates objective thermal models which are applicable to architecture and urban
design [20–22].
The urban neighborhood environment is currently more climate-sensitive than ever
before. The assessment of the thermal environment is one of the main issues in climatic
research, and more than 100 simple climatic indices have been developed to facilitate it thus
far [17]. Increasing population, building density, and automobiles have created sensitive
and fragile living habitats for humans. Inhabitants of urban areas witness air pollution,
global warming, and flood disasters. The UTCI processes become complicated in the face
of increasingly complex climate situations and sensitive living environments. Multiple
factors, including air temperature, water vapor pressure, humidity, and wind speed, work
together to calculate the UTCI value of a specified area. The resulting value represents a
fixed instant that fails to represent the thermal situation over a continuous period of time.
Moreover, current UTCI calculation results are presented as two-dimensional data. They
do not intuitively indicate the outcome of multiple calculations.
This paper introduces the use of digital simulation technology to support buildings’
outdoor thermal comfort analysis. Digital simulation utilizes computer-aided tools to
redefine the relationship between building geometries and outdoor environments by

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considering variables as dynamic and mutable elements. Data calculations of UTCI are
extended and presented as a year-round outdoor thermal comfort simulation with three-
dimensional models. Parametric manners help to effectively evaluate buildings’ outdoor
thermal comfort with UTCI processes. The research question can be described as: Can
digital simulation techniques provide a modeling system to assess buildings’ outdoor
thermal comfort continuously and effectively?

2. Methods
In order to address the research question, two urban neighborhoods of Beijing, China
were selected as study samples. A method framework was built. It consisted of two
parts. Firstly, data collection and UTCI calculation approach worked to understand the
outdoor thermal comfort condition of the nominated neighborhoods. Methods included
field study as well as qualitative and quantitative analysis. It tended to calculate buildings’
outdoor thermal comfort stress as the standard that the UTCI indicates. Secondly, digital
simulation worked to analyze and assess buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort by providing
three-dimensional models, algorithm-based analysis, and visual simulation. Rhinoceros 3D
and Grasshopper 3D software (with plug-in Ladybug) were employed as digital simulation
tools. Figure 1 presents the methodology framework.

Figure 1. Research methodology framework.

The assumptions were that (1) UTCI calculation can work to analyze buildings’ out-
door thermal comfort in the nominated neighborhoods in Beijing; (2) digital manners can
provide a continuous and effective approach to analyze buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort
by embedding UTCI calculation into digital modeling platform. Part 1 of the methodology
framework (Figure 1) targeted a response to the first assumption. Part 2 targeted a response
to the second assumption.

2.1. Data Collection and UTCI Calculation

Two typical neighborhoods in Beijing were nominated for use as experimental cases.
Beijing, the capital of China, has developed quickly in the last few decades. The increasing
density of population and buildings make the city one of the greatest metropolises of the
world. The nominated neighborhoods are located at Sanlihe East Road and Nanshagou
Road, Haidian District. Both contain dense residential buildings and variously scaled street
stores. The choice of these neighborhoods was two-fold: They are similar in location, building
density and climate sensitivity. The two nominated neighborhoods were close to each other
in location. The Sanlile neighborhood is located at 39.9065◦ N, 116.3305◦ E. The Nanshagou
neighborhood is located at 39.9169◦ N, 116.3265◦ E. The similarity of the geographical
location means they have similar humidity, climate situation, and wind condition in the
semi-humid and semi-arid monsoon zone. Building functions, materials, and the age of the
nominated neighborhoods are also similar. Most buildings in the Sanlihe and Nanshagou
neighborhoods are both intended for residences, with brick–concrete building structures.
The two neighborhoods were both constructed in the 1980s–1990s. The difference between

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them is the layout of building clusters. In the Sanlihe neighborhood, building cluster
is presented as a mix of enclosure-type and line-type. In the Nanshagou neighborhood,
building cluster is presented as a line-type. It is of benefit to control variables when
assessing buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort between different building cluster forms.
Additionally, the chosen neighborhoods share spatial characteristics of residential areas
in old city of Beijing. Experimental results can provide references for community and
neighborhood renewal in similar areas.
In order to understand buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort condition, data collection
in the neighborhoods encompassed three types: average temperature, humidity, and wind
speed. A thermohygrometer (type: ADT7461ARMZ-R7) worked to collect the temperatures
and humidity data multiple times, then achieved average values. An anemograph (type:
TSI9535) worked to measure wind speeds.
UTCI calculation was the foundational method used. Standard UTCI analyzed the
sensible temperature of a human body with ideal conditions—where the wind speed was
0.5 m/s, the mean radiation temperature was equivalent to the air temperature, and the
relative humidity was 50.0%. The experimental participant had specific physical features:
they weighed 73.5 kg and had a body fat content of 14.0%. The conceptual equation of
UTCI was presented as Formula (1). Basing on the Commission for Thermal Physiology of
the International Union of Physiological Sciences, UTCI assessment has multiple categories
ranging from extreme heat stress to extreme cold stress [23].

UTCI = Ta + offset (Ta ; Tmrt ; Va ; RH) (1)

where Ta = average temperature (◦ C), Tmrt = mean radiant temperature (Kelvin), Va = average
wind speed (m/s), RH = relative humidity (%). Va value is limited between 0.5 and 17 m/s.
According to the UTCI assessment scale and the collected data, the conditions of
buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort of the neighborhoods could be calculated.

2.2. Digital Simulation

Digital simulation was used as a novel method for the facilitation of buildings’ out-
door thermal comfort analysis. It is rooted in digital animation techniques, and the latest
refinements are based on advanced parametric design systems and scripting methods [24].
This paper used Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper 3D software (Robert McNeel and As-
sociates. Seattle, WA, USA) to edit scripts and geometry constraints and to build digital
models. Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper 3D rely on algorithm logic to create geometry
with a visual programming language interface [25]. An algorithm is expressed within
a finite amount of space and time and in well-defined formal language to calculate a
function in mathematics and computer science [26]. It starts with an initial state and input
then describes a computation that, when executed, proceeds through a finite number of
well-defined successive states, eventually producing the output, then terminating [27].
The digital simulation procedure contained two aspects: input parameters and output
models with quantified outdoor thermal comfort measurements. The input parameters
included location, dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, direct normal radiation, diffuse
horizontal radiation, horizontal infrared radiation, season, and solar-adjusted mean radia-
tion temperature. These variables were embedded into the constraint script of Grasshopper
3D. The script contained three sections. The first step was to input parameters of physical
built environment, such as neighborhoods’ coordinates and building locations. The second
step contained the input of thermal-related parameters, such as dry bulb temperatures, rel-
ative humidity and direct normal radiation. The third step was to input season parameters,
such as a typical summer week. A typical summer week means the week containing the
day of the summer solstice. Through automatic calculation with the parametric software,
three-dimensional models of outdoor thermal comfort performance could be directly pre-
sented in Rhinoceros 3D. Ladybug, a plug-in of Grasshopper 3D, inputs climate data into
the digital simulation system. The required input climate data, such as historic average
temperature and mean radiant temperature, could be captured with open access of the

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China Standard Weather Database. This procedure enables an outdoor thermal comfort
analysis over a continuous one-year period. The scope of the digital simulation system
includes a rational insight into how people of a building cluster can access and use outdoor
space comfortably. It helps urban planners, architects, and civil engineering analysts to
quantify thermal measurement and improve the planning and design process with due
consideration to sustainability.
Digital tools helped to provide simulation results of buildings’ outdoor thermal
comfort of the nominated neighborhoods. Figure 2 presents the foundational climate
situation over a one-year period (8760 h) in Beijing, as generated in Grasshopper 3D and its
plug-in, Ladybug. Briefly, the simulation indicated that warmer months are between June
to August and cold months fall between December and February in Beijing. Summer and
winter are relatively longer than spring and autumn; sunlight and wind affect the sensible
temperature. Different sunlight and wind climates create a curve fluctuation, and sunny
days without wind result in a relatively comfortable outdoor thermal situation in spring
and autumn.

Figure 2. Examples of outdoor thermal comfort situations across one year in Beijing.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Buildings’ Outdoor Thermal Comfort Simulation Results
In the nominated neighborhoods, building heights are multiple. In the Sanlihe neigh-
borhood, the tall buildings have 12 floors with an approximate height of 36 m. They are
located in the northern, middle, and eastern areas of this neighborhood. Medium tall
buildings have six floors, with an approximate height of 18 m. They are located in eastern
and western areas. Low buildings have two to three floors with approximate heights of 6
to 9 m. They are located in the southern area. In the Nanshagou neighborhood, buildings
have four to seven levels, with heights of 12 to 21 m, approximately. The distance between
buildings is not a necessary parameter in Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper 3D. As coor-
dinates of the neighborhoods are provided, the software can automatically calculate the
coordinates of each building. Grasshopper 3D uses the geographic coordinates to directly
analyze the solar radiation situation rather than the distances. Typical days of each season
represent the outdoor thermal comfort situation. A typical spring means the day of the
spring equinox. A typical summer means the day of the summer solstice. A typical autumn
is the day of the autumnal equinox. A typical winter is the day of the winter solstice. The
Sanlihe neighborhood (39.9065◦ N, 116.3305◦ E) is a relatively complex residential area with
multi-height buildings. Building layouts can significantly impact outdoor thermal comfort
in terms of access to sunlight and experiences of wind speed. In this case, the tall buildings
cluster in the middle, eastern and northern areas. The simulation result of the Sanlihe
neighborhoods is shown in Figure 3. Presented in Rhinoceros 3D, the simulation indicates
that outdoor thermal comfort varies across a one-year period. In spring, the perceived

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outdoor temperature ranges between 2 ◦ C and 7 ◦ C. Most open spaces are at relatively
comfortable temperatures, excluding those areas shadowed by tall buildings. People can
do outdoor activities such as strolling between buildings of western and southern areas as
well as in courtyards. In summer, the perceived outdoor temperature is between 23 ◦ C and
27 ◦ C. Shadow areas are larger than in spring. People tend to use the shadows, especially
in southern areas, for outdoor activities to avoid direct sunlight. In autumn, the perceived
outdoor temperature is between 9 ◦ C and 14 ◦ C and the temperature of outdoor spaces
is relatively balanced. Outdoor thermal comfort displays a mild feature with a mean
temperature of 11 ◦ C. In winter, the shadow areas become much larger. The perceived
outdoor temperature falls to −5 ◦ C to −10 ◦ C. Outdoor activities and movement become
uncomfortable. Only the southern and western parts of the neighborhood enjoy a relatively
warm atmosphere.

Figure 3. Digital simulation results of Sanlihe neighborhood.

Digital simulation also represents buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort conditions of

the Nanshagou neighborhood (39.9169◦ N, 116.3265◦ E). Building arrangement forms a
regular matrix. Figure 4 presents the simulation results. In spring, the perceived outdoor
temperature is between 2 ◦ C and 7 ◦ C. Open space areas in the southern and northern
parts of the neighborhood are of relatively comfortable temperatures. Shadows occur in the
northern parts of buildings, creating relatively cool sensations. In summer, the perceived
outdoor temperature ranges between 23 ◦ C and 27 ◦ C. Outdoor thermal environments
become warmer. Most areas are too warm for long periods of outdoor activity. People tend
to stay in the shadows around buildings. In autumn, the perceived outdoor temperature is
between 9 ◦ C and 14 ◦ C. The floor areas of warm and cold spaces are on a similar scale,
with the southern region being relatively warmer than other zones. In winter, the perceived
outdoor temperature falls to −5 ◦ C to −10 ◦ C, so the cold area grows. Solar radiation is an
important factor affecting outdoor thermal comfort. Direct sunlight provides the southern
area with a relatively warm atmosphere.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 541

Figure 4. Digital simulation results of Nanshagou neighborhood.

The nominated neighborhoods of Beijing provide two types of residential layout for
testing the digital simulation system. Digital simulation results in Figures 3 and 4 can
reflect different building cluster types that affect buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort. For
example, it would be warmer both around the outside and inside (south-west area) of the
Sanlihe neighborhood in spring. However, it would be warmer between buildings and
outside (north and south area) of the Nanshagou neighborhood in the same season. The
results demonstrate that UTCI calculation can work to analyze buildings’ outdoor thermal
comfort in the nominated neighborhoods in Beijing. Additionally, building geometries,
locations, and cluster types can affect outdoor thermal comfort. Tall buildings lead to low
perceived outdoor temperatures, considering the factors of solar radiation, wind speed
and relative humidity. Areas outside the building clusters present warmer temperatures
than areas between buildings. Enclosed building layouts form inner yards. Inner yards
may create a cool atmosphere on summer days with favorable thermal conditions. The
higher the distance between buildings, the warmer the emerging nodes. Residents desire
intense sunlight and high temperatures in winter, but shadows and lower temperatures
in summer.

3.2. A Digital Simulation System for Analyzing Building’s Outdoor Thermal Comfort
Conventional approaches of analyzing buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort rely on
two-dimensional data calculations. It reflects outdoor thermal comfort conditions at specific
points in time with temperature values. The present in situ results of buildings’ outdoor
thermal comfort analysis can be presented as numbers and brief text-based descriptions.
No direct three-dimensional simulation or visual performance is presented. That makes
the analysis results too abstract to guide real building projects. For architects and civil
engineering researchers to appreciate thermal comfort over a continuous time period,
a volume of climate data must be collected and calculated multiple times. The process

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requires a significant investment of time and human resources. Table 1 shows examples of
thermal comfort condition descriptions.

Table 1. Outdoor thermal comfort description of the neighborhoods (April 2021, Beijng).

Average Average
Neighborhood Data Record Relative
Temperature Tmrt Wind Speed UTCI Stress Category
Name No. Humidity (%)
(◦ C) (m/s)
Sanlihe 1 23 0 38 15 8.7 Slight cold stress
neighborhood
(39.9065◦ N, 2 18 0 24 19 −6.3 Moderate cold stress
116.3305◦ E) 3 14 0 20 24 7.2 Slight cold stress
Nanshagou 1 24 0 39 16 9.7 No thermal stress
neighborhood
(39.9169◦ N, 2 15 0 25 20 −12.7 Moderate cold stress
116.3265◦ E) 3 18 0 21 24 2.5 Slight cold stress

Based on data collection and UTCI stress category, the nominated neighborhoods
have outdoor thermal comfort conditions of moderate cold stress, slight cold stress, and no
thermal tress. General outdoor activities would be suitable in most public spaces outside
buildings. Data were collected manually the Sanlihe and Nanshagou neighborhoods.
Temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed were measured using a thermohygrometer
(type: ADT7461ARMZ-R7) and anemograph (type: TSI9535) in the morning (8:00 a.m.),
evening (6:00 p.m.), and at noon time (12:00 p.m.) the spring season (10 April 2021). The
measurement is instantaneous by manual instruments. The height of temperature records
is approximately 1.7 m. Average temperature, relative humidity, and average wind speed
come from the mean value of the three records from morning to evening. Putting data
into Equation (1), calculation results show in column UTCI of Table 1. They are examples
of traditional UTCI manners that analyze buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort. The more
accurate the UTCI calculation result is, the more data should be collected. According to the
Commission for Thermal Physiology of the International Union of Physiological Sciences,
the thermal comfort situation is described briefly, such as slight cold stress or moderate cold
stress. UTCI calculation can only reflect the thermal characteristics but no corresponding
physical edge.
However, digital simulation results are more dynamic and accurate than traditional
ones. As Figures 3 and 4 indicate, three-dimensional models contain more information
regarding building environment, accurate construction edges, and thermal comfort rates
of each coordinate point. For example, in the typical spring simulation of Figure 3, the
UTCI calculation results by Grasshopper 3D range from 2.00 to 7.00. It means the buildings’
outdoor thermal comfort has the characteristic of slight cold stress. The data come from
a year-round database of the China Standard Weather Database. Digital tools operate
big data instead of manual work. Digital simulation methods are used to improve the
calculation approach by generating three-dimensional models. These models can reflect
exact physical edges that show where thermal comfort zones are and where not. Model-
based results have the capability to guide real-life construction practice in architecture and
civil engineering.
This paper introduces digital manners to thermal comfort calculation and generates a
digital simulation system to improve methods of buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort anal-
ysis. Human–computer interaction tools provide a process for combining algorithms with
UTCI analysis. Grasshopper 3D and Rhinoceros 3D work as digital tools for translating a
variety of parameters, such as wind speed and relative humidity, into visibly demonstrable
command components. Digital techniques simulate buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort.
The simulation presents algorithm-based three-dimensional models. Thermal comfort is
shown as chromatography based on the three-dimensional models. Clear building clusters
and outdoor thermal comfort edges are shown in direct visualized models. The results
indicate that digital manners can provide a continuous and effective approach to analyze

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buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort through embedding UTCI calculation into the digital
modeling platform of Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper 3D. Additionally, urban alterna-
tives may be simultaneously generated at a low computational cost and may be easily
formulated within existing building and zoning boundaries [28].
Although parametric techniques can support procedures of buildings’ outdoor thermal
comfort analysis, they are not a panacea resolving all issues pertaining to evaluating bodily
sensations of temperature. This paper uses digital operations to chromatographically
depict thermal comfort conditions. All results are based on limited parameters related to
physical sensations of temperature. However, many more factors may impact buildings’
outdoor thermal comfort and human sensations of temperature. These may include the
geographic situation, the landscape, and individual differences between human beings.
Additionally, subjective sensations have not been factored into the digital simulation
system. Overemphasizing digital techniques in physical environments may limit the
success of addressing urban challenges. The digital simulation proposed in this paper can
thus provide references for buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort evaluation, rather than a
complete picture.

4. Conclusions
This paper experimentally generates a digital simulation system for analyzing and
improving buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort in urban neighborhoods. Two neighbor-
hoods of Beijing were nominated as research areas. Conventional UTCI measurements can
reflect buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort situations by manual calculations and text-based
descriptions. It calculates outdoor thermal comfort at a specific time point. Digital simu-
lation uses more parameters to compute a volume of data (for example, climate records
of one year-round period) to reflect a more accurate thermal comfort analysis. In this
paper, conventional UTCI measurements and digital simulation both work on the nomi-
nated neighborhoods. The UTCI calculation results of the two approaches tend to be in
accordance, while digital simulation provides a more visualized, effective, and continuous
manner. Simulation experiments demonstrate the feasible application of that technology to
support buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort calculation for achieving sustainable climate-
sensitive territories. It proves simulation techniques that can provide a modeling system
to assess buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort continuously and effectively. Conventional
thermal comfort analysis procedures largely rely on a plethora of climate information and
complex calculation with two-dimensional data. Digital techniques have the capability to
present quantified thermal comfort operation results over a 12-month period. They also
provide an alternative method that simulates buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort in an
automatic and effective manner. Digital tools, Grasshopper 3D and Rhinoceros 3D, are used
to create scripts and three-dimensional models. The results indicate that digital techniques
can provide a three-dimensional modeling system to analyze buildings’ outdoor thermal
comfort continuously and effectively. They do not necessarily result in a complete analysis
of outdoor thermal comfort; however, the results work well as a reference for the study of
outdoor thermal comfort. Longer-term, digital techniques have the potential to support
architectural analysis and civil engineering study. They are convenient and effective meth-
ods for supporting the study of climate-sensitive communities and neighborhoods. Further
research on digital simulation facilitating buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort analysis
is indicated.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, Y.Z. and C.L.; methodology, C.L.; software, Y.Z.; vali-
dation, Y.Z. and C.L.; formal analysis, Y.Z.; investigation, Y.Z.; resources, C.L.; data curation, Y.Z.;
writing—original draft preparation, Y.Z.; writing—review and editing, C.L.; visualization, Y.Z.;
supervision, Y.Z.; project administration, Y.Z.; funding acquisition, Y.Z. All authors have read and
agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, grant number
KM202110016017. Soft Science Research Project of Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Develop-
ment of the People’s Republic of China, grant number R20200287.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 541

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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 buildings
Article
Design of Islamic Parametric Elevation for Interior, Enclosed
Corridors to Optimize Daylighting and Solar Radiation
Exposure in a Desert Climate: A Case Study of the University of
Sharjah, UAE
Aref Maksoud 1, *, Emad Mushtaha 1 , Zaid Al-Sadoon 2 , Hala Sahall 1 and Ahmed Toutou 3

1 Department of Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah,

Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates; [email protected] (E.M.); [email protected] (H.S.)
2 Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Sharjah,
Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates; [email protected]
3 Department of Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, Alexandria University,
Alexandria 21544, Egypt; [email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: This study used innovative computational design tools to improve a corridor’s visual
and environmental conditions, such as solar radiation exposure and optimal daylighting, at the
University of Sharjah’s (UoS) campus in the United Arab Emirates. The research methodology
used computational design software to develop two sets of codes. The first set was dedicated to
conducting environmental study simulations that assessed the corridor’s performance and classified
Citation: Maksoud, A.; Mushtaha, E.;
site-dependent parameters such as sun path analysis and wind rose diagrams, and pattern-dependent
Al-Sadoon, Z.; Sahall, H.; Toutou, A.
parameters such as solar radiation analysis and shadow study diagrams. The second code set
Design of Islamic Parametric
generated Islamic geometric patterns, following the design scheme of the University. Varying
Elevation for Interior, Enclosed
typologies were produced using the two parameters to change the pattern’s porous size, shape,
Corridors to Optimize Daylighting
and Solar Radiation Exposure in a
and gradient.
Desert Climate: A Case Study of the
University of Sharjah, UAE. Buildings Keywords: computational design; corridors; energy performance; environmental behavior; grasshopper;
2022, 12, 161. https://doi.org/ Islamic pattern; parametric design; University of Sharjah; visual comfort
10.3390/buildings12020161

Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński,

Agata Bonenberg, Wojciech
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini
1. Introduction
Over the years, designers have had different opinions on corridors and their impor-
Received: 8 December 2021
tance in a building regarding their functionality and aesthetics. Historically, when corridors
Accepted: 25 January 2022
were not yet typical features in architectural designs, people moved from one room by
Published: 2 February 2022
crossing through adjoining rooms, which could be disruptive and intrusive.
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral When corridors were introduced towards the end of the 17th century, their use was
with regard to jurisdictional claims in heavily influenced by socioeconomic factors, and they were often used to ensure that
published maps and institutional affil- people from different socioeconomic classes did not have to cross paths. However, modern
iations. corridors are considered a key feature in building design, both for their function and
aesthetic contribution [1]. Although corridors serve similar purposes, they should be
tailored to fit specific standards based on a building’s size and function.
Two main features define the function and design of a corridor. The first feature concerns
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
the entrance or the opening, which has different types including: (1) unshaded, open exterior
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
corridors; (2) shaded, semi-open exterior corridors, and (3) closed interior corridors.
This article is an open access article
The second category concerns access points and their distribution in a corridor,
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
such as: (1) a connector corridor with no access points; (2) a single-loaded corridor with
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
access points along one side, and (3) a double-loaded corridor with access points along
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ both sides [2]).
4.0/).

Buildings 2022, 12, 161. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12020161 147 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 161

Energy performance, solar radiation, and daylight are crucial environmental factors in
a desert climate, and they present design challenges in terms of environmental comfort and
air flow when including open and semi-open corridors. Much of the United Arab Emirates
is characterized by a hot and humid climate, so architectural design that provides both
aesthetic appeal as well as adaptable thermal control and environmental comfort has been
a significant challenge [3].
In educational facilities, especially at universities, corridors influence the productivity
and behavior of students, educators and staff. At institutions of higher education, corridors
are typically one the most active spaces at different times of day, as they connect multiple
rooms or buildings; therefore, an efficient, practical layout for aesthetic and thermal comfort
is essential [4].
At the University of Sharjah, the semi-open corridors require climate-responsive
screens that can take advantage of available natural light throughout the day while main-
taining energy efficiency and thermal comfort according to programmed parameters. This
study employed parametric modeling to investigate these goals and ensure that the uni-
versity’s corridors are comfortable and can attract more foot-traffic than alternative routes
between buildings and rooms. Improvements in the energy performance were verified by
the Estidama Pearl Building Rating System.

2. Research Background
Given the University of Sharjah’s location and challenges due to harsh climate con-
ditions, achieving optimum energy performance is crucial. For example, natural lighting
including direct sunlight can affect visual comfort due to glare, shadows, dramatic changes
in light levels, and reflections. These factors may cause headaches, fatigue, and nausea,
as well as itchy and watery eyes. Without adequate environmental awareness and controls
in “daylighting” designs, interior temperatures may increase or decrease too quickly and
result in discomfort for the building occupants [5].
The use of specific parametric designs can help with thermal control and the impact of
daylight on a building’s interior temperatures. Parametric designs using dynamic façades
that respond to the sun’s movement and weather employ dynamic screens that control
the amount of natural light admitted throughout the day. These screens could be applied
to windows or as shading in semi-open corridors [6]. Any design considerations and
improvements should be compared against the existing thermal strategies and outcomes as
well as validated according to the standards set by the Estidama rating system.

2.1. Case Study: The University of Sharjah

The University of Sharjah is one of the largest universities in the United Arab Emirates,
with 14 colleges offering different academic degree programs, of which 55 are bachelor’s
degrees, 17 are master of science degrees, and four doctoral degrees. The university
currently has 16,982 students enrolled in the various academic programs. All the colleges
have been accredited by multiple national and international accreditation boards and have
been holistically accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the United Arab Emirates [7]). The
university compound consists of four campuses: a female campus and a male campus,
where each provides access to different colleges, as described in the site plan in Figure 1.
The existing corridors were categorized into two types: single-loaded corridors with
an approximate length of 55 m, and double-loaded closed corridors with an approximate
length of 30 m. The university has connected the buildings by enclosing all the single-
loaded corridors from the male to the female campus (Figure 2). Accordingly, the corridor
connecting the three engineering buildings (M8, M9, and M10) on the male campus was
taken as a reference for the study due to its close location to the College of Engineering,
one of the busiest corridors at the university. This corridor is approximately 45 m in length
by 4.5 m in width, and it provides access between M8 and M10, where temporary facilities
and kiosks are most likely to be located (Figure 3). Given these circumstances and the fact

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that this was one of the most active corridors on campus, it was essential to improve the
environmental performance of this corridor, along with other corridors at the university,
to create a walkable campus [8].

Source: Google Earth

Figure 1. The University of Sharjah site plan (Source: Authors).

2.2. Parametric Design

The term “parametric design” refers to the practice of digitally modeling a series
of design variants whose relationships to each other are defined through one or several
mathematical relationships (i.e., parameters) to form a parametric space that may comprise
dozens or thousands of related but distinct factors [9].
Rhinoceros 3D (version 6 and 7, Robert McNeel & Associates, Seattle, WA, USA) is
a robust modeling software platform produced by McNeil, which can produce geometries
based on lines. Rhinoceros 3D provides accurate performance due to its mathematical
definition of lines, as compared to other 3-D modeling software such as Autodesk’s 3ds
Max (Max version 2021) [10].
Grasshopper is a script-based modeling algorithm that offers designers a novel way
of specifying their design and controls the design process and automation by defining
geometry through mathematical functions. Parametric model generation allows rapid,
significant changes to be made to the initial model and to quickly obtain complex shapes
through geometrical iterations [10].

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(a) The Corridor from M8 to M10 (Source: Authors)

(b) Site Plan

Figure 2. The selected single-loaded corridor from M8 to M10 and the site plan (Source: Authors).

Figure 3. The selected single-loaded corridor section through the M8 building (Source: Authors).

2.3. Environmental Specifications

To achieve ideal energy performance and design, and an energy-efficient parametric
screen, multiple codes were written to assess variable environmental factors such as sun
path, shadows, solar radiation, and wind direction.
The sun is the most significant source of daylight; therefore, it was necessary to
understand its movement and positions in the sky as well as its influence on thermal

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conditions in the corridor. The sun path is a diagram that indicates the sun’s position as it
rises and sets throughout the day, providing an estimate of how much daylight a location
receives as the earth orbits around the sun [11].
The sun path diagram in Figure 4 was obtained via the azimuth and altitude lines that
provided an approximation of the sun’s exact location. The annual sun path diagram offers
an approximation of the sun’s position throughout the year; therefore, it indicates the peak
summer months for which a design should account [12] (Muneer, 2004).

Figure 4. Sun path diagram.

Sun radiation (Figure 5) combines electromagnetic waves varying from infrared radia-
tion to ultraviolet radiation. Within this spectrum are the wavelengths referred to as “visible
light”. The sun radiation diagrams provided an estimation of the amount of daylight the
studied space received. As previously mentioned, the sun is the most significant light
source, so it is crucial to understand how to optimize its benefits while minimizing its
negative impacts [13].

Figure 5. Sun radiation diagram.

The wind analysis diagram in Figure 6 displays wind speeds and directions at a given
time [13]. In the United Arab Emirates, the prevailing winds have a northwest orientation.

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In this study, the selected corridor is at a 35◦ counterclockwise tilt from the north, which is
advantageous in terms of wind direction. In order to ensure an optimal design, the openings
on the façade were strategically sized to improve the energy performance, solar radiation
impact, and daylight exposure of the corridor [8].

Figure 6. Wind rose diagram.

3. Research Methodology
By analyzing the key factors in parametric and computational design, the environmen-
tal performance of the chosen corridor and its compliance with Estidama regulations could
be assessed to achieve optimal performance.
First, we connected Rhinoceros 3D and its Grasshopper plug-in with another tool,
Ladybug for Grasshopper, that analyzed weather files and generated specific environmen-
tal diagrams. The Ladybug tool consists of Dragonfly, Butterfly, Honeybee, and Ladybug.
Each specializes in a particular field and analyzes certain factors. For example, the Drag-
onfly tool analyzes large-scale factors such as climate change parameters and performs
further analysis through other Ladybug tools. The Butterfly tool performs advanced fluid-
dynamics simulations, while the Honeybee tool analyzes daylighting and thermodynamics
through EnergyPlus and other environmental design engines [14]. Moreover, the Ladybug
tool is a comprehensive tool used to validate simulation engines and translate them into
computer-aided design interfaces. Using this interactive plug-in for Grasshopper allows
the user to visualize slight variable changes and to make instant modifications at any stage
of a design based on the feedback of Rhinoceros 3D [15]).
For our study, Ladybug also provided climatic graphs of the path of the sun, solar
radiation, the shadow studies, and the wind diagrams, which indicated the energy per-
formance of the screen. Figure 7 shows the software workflow when using Ladybug for
Grasshopper [15]. Once the coding was written, the energy performance of the screen was
demonstrated by diagrams obtained through Ladybug and showcased in Rhinoceros 3D.
These data were either direct outcomes or required calculation methods to reach specific
outcomes. The sun path and wind rose diagrams, for example, illustrated direct outcomes

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that did not require further calculations. As for the shadow study and solar radiation
diagrams, the results required additional calculations to obtain possible estimations [15].

Figure 7. Software workflow.

4. Preparing Parametric Design Model with Parametric Logics

Since this study focused on the visual and thermal comfort of the corridors at the
University of Sharjah, multiple parameters were tested to achieve an ideal design in terms of
energy efficiency. A set of codes was written to evaluate the corridor’s performance due to
various environmental factors. These environmental specifications fell under two categories:
(1) site-dependent parameters such as the annual sun path and the wind direction that
were static factors including the site location and building orientation [13], and (2) pattern-
dependent parameters that varied with each generated pattern, which included the shadow
study and the solar radiation analysis [16].

4.1. Site-Dependent Parameters

The annual sun path diagram allowed us to identify the sun’s position during the
hottest months of the year, namely June to August, during which summer courses were
offered. In addition, we could track the sun position throughout the year, including the
fall semester (i.e., September to December) and the spring semester (i.e., January to May).
This developed our understanding of how much shading of the corridor would be required
to ensure thermal comfort, along with the shadow study, which was a pattern-dependent
parameter. The direction of the openings would be determined based on the shading
coefficient provided by the screen [15]).
Wind analysis indicated both the wind speed and the wind direction. It was necessary
to consider these, as they play a significant role in improving the environmental conditions
in the corridor. This diagram identified potential opportunities for cool breezes, resulting
from the pattern of the prevailing winds throughout the year, specifically during the hot
summer months. Considering these factors, the positions of varying opening sizes were
determined to maximize airflow and bolster the stack effect [13].

4.2. Pattern-Dependent Parameters

The pattern-dependent parameters are environmental factors that are influenced by
the geometric pattern on the façade. These parameters include the shadow study and the
sun radiation analysis.

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The shadow study provided explicit assumptions based on the analysis of the visual
performance of the corridor. The second pattern-dependent parameter was the sun radi-
ation analysis that evaluated how much exposure to daylight the corridor received. The
solar radiation analysis was a core specification as it estimated the amount of artificial
lighting that would be essential in the corridor, and the cooling load that would be required
to compensate for the additional heat gain. Along with the shadow study, it suggested
a preliminary number of openings with varying sizes for the screen [17].

4.3. Data Inputs and Analysis

For the generated codes to function, specific parameters were fed into Grasshopper
to perform the simulations. The aforementioned environmental specifications had similar
inputs, in addition to a few varying inputs, that allowed the program to predict potential
values and indicate the energy performance, precipitation, solar radiation, sun path, and the
building orientation impact. The varying inputs impacted the time duration of specific
simulations, whether it was the peak hours of certain days, a specific week, or a range of
months in a year.
The annual sun path diagram code (Figures 8 and 9) was written to demonstrate
the path in which the sun orbits around the earth on a given day, highlighting the sun’s
position during varying hours, starting at sunrise and ending at sunset. The simulation
exhibited the sun’s position and its path on the 21st days of June, September, and December.
These three months specifically mark the start of the summer, fall, and winter seasons,
respectively. In June, the sun path started from sunrise at 6:00 a.m., when the sun offered
less heat, as compared to that of sunset at 7:00 p.m. However, in September, when the
transition between summer and winter occurred, the morning temperatures were cooler. In
December, the sun was hot at noon and started to cool at 3:00 p.m. Although the sun in
December was fairly hot through noon, it was still cooler when compared to other days of
the year. This indicated that the screen should consider the radiation during the months
June to September, in which the sun was at a higher angle and extra shading would be
required to protect against excess heat gain.

Figure 8. Annual sun path code.

Wind analysis codes (Figure 10) were written to generate a wind rose diagram that
indicated the direction and speed of the wind during a specific period. During the fall
semester, the wind blew southwardly 8% of the time at a minimum speed of 3.9 m/s and
a maximum speed of 8.01 m/s, as illustrated in Figure 11. The wind blew eastwardly
approximately 6.4% of the time with a minimum speed of 4.27 m/s and a maximum of
6.86 m/s. The wind blew northwestwardly 4% of the time, at a minimum of 4.43 m/s
and a maximum speed of 4.56 m/s. For the spring semester, the wind was more likely
to blow westwardly with an 8% probability with a minimum wind speed of 5.8 m/s and
a maximum speed of 8.26 m/s. The wind blew southwardly with a 7.2% chance with
a minimum wind speed of 4.55 m/s and a maximum of 7.86 m/s, as illustrated in Figure 12.
The lowest wind direction frequency was towards the north-northwest with a possibility of
4% and a maximum wind speed of 4.63 m/s.

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Figure 9. Annual sun path diagram.

Figure 10. Wind analysis code.

Figure 11. Wind rose for fall semester (1 September–25 December).

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Figure 12. Wind rose for spring semester (25 January–25 May).

The codes written to run the wind analysis simulations highlighted the peak months
in which higher cooling loads were required. In the fall semester, the months of September
to November were considered when testing the performance of the parametric screen. In
the spring semester, the month of May was when temperatures began to rise; therefore,
the screen’s performance was assessed during this month. As for the peak summer months
of June to August, the screen was designed to specifically improve the thermal conditions
of the corridor in response to the drastic increases in temperatures and compensate for the
decreases in wind frequency and speed.
The shadow study codes were written (Figures 13 and 14) to estimate the brightness
levels and the shadows cast on the corridor due to neighboring buildings. It illustrated
the number of hours during which the corridors and their surroundings were exposed to
daylight. As shown in Figure 14, yellow indicates the longest period of 13 h, and blue the
lowest with no hours of sunlight.

Figure 13. Shadow study code.

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Corridor top view

3D View of the Corridor

Figure 14. Shadow study analysis.

This environmental specification was a pattern-dependent parameter, meaning that its

performance would be influenced by the screen design. As stated by Estidama regulations,
the corridor should be shaded for a minimum of 75% during the daytime, which was at least
10 h. This had to be considered when designing the screen to ensure an energy-efficient
performing corridor.
The second specification influenced by the pattern design was the solar radiation
analysis. A set of codes was written to illustrate the radiation analysis at a given time,
the annual radiation analysis, and the cumulative radiation analysis.
The first code, as in Figure 15, was written to demonstrate the radiation analysis
between June and September during the peak summer months. It illustrated the diffuse
radiation, direct radiation, and total radiation in kWh/m2 . For this specification, the north
direction and space were the input values to generate the radiation analysis, as shown in
Figure 16. During the hot months of the summer and given that the United Arab Emirates
has a desert climate, most of the direct solar radiation reached more than 1100 kWh/m2 in
the southeast and southwest directions, as illustrated in Figure 17. There was not much
overcast solar radiation.
The second set of codes illustrated in Figure 18 was the total radiation depending on
the building orientation. As illustrated in Figure 17, the north direction received adequate
radiation levels of approximately 340 kWh/m2 ; for the south direction, where the sun was
perpendicular to the ground at noon during peak summer months, there was an estimated
level of 1134 kWh/m2 .

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Figure 15. Solar radiation analysis code (June–September).

Figure 16. Solar radiation analysis (June–September).

Figure 17. Total annual solar radiation analysis.

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Figure 18. Total annual solar radiation analysis code.

The final set of codes, Figure 19, demonstrated the cumulative solar analysis radiation
with the average daylight received annually. The colors in Figure 20 show much light the
corridor received from the sun, with red being the highest and blue being the lowest. Cer-
tain parts of the corridor received sufficient daylight, compared to surroundings. Therefore,
the screen would be designed to improve the visual performance of the corridor and the
conditions influenced by the high solar radiation received.

Figure 19. Cumulative solar radiation analysis codes.

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Figure 20. Cumulative solar radiation analysis.

5. Screen Design
In addition to these results, a screen was designed for implementation at the University
of Sharjah, being the “cultural capital” of the United Arab Emirates, with architectural iden-
tity leaning more towards oriental and Islamic designs to create an aesthetically pleasing
addition and to blend in with the existing architecture.
The following section discusses design philosophy and how Rhinoceros 3D and
Grasshopper were utilized to achieve the desired model, as well as the analysis of the gen-
erated patterns’ thermal and visual performance according to environmental specifications.

5.1. Phase 1: Screen Design Concept

Geometric patterns are a significant characteristic of Islamic architecture typically
found in countries such as Spain, Iran, Morocco, and Turkey. These ornate patterns, as
shown in Figure 21, can be defined as triangular-based polygons that often occur as star
shapes and are often engraved on building facades or assembled from latticework and
terracotta tiles. This style is referred to as “zellij” [18].
There is no historical evidence as to how these patterns were designed. Given that
Islamic scholars had mastered mathematics and had an exceptional understanding of
geometry, these patterns may be formulaic in design. With technological advancements
and programs dedicated to mathematical formulation, it was practical to utilize these
resources to generate further formulas developed by the Islamic scholars to provide the
desired ornate star-shaped geometric patterns [18].
The University of Sharjah employs arcs, domes, and geometric patterns as part of
its design scheme, as shown in Figure 22. These geometric patterns are typically found
as engravings on walls, shading screens covering windows, or as outdoor shading ele-
ments [19]. This categorization sets clear benchmarks for the design approach and concept
when designing the shading screen.

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Figure 21. Islamic patterns.

Figure 22. Islamic pattern in the UoS Campus.

The basic shape of the pattern was chosen to match the current design and appearance
of the university building. The script was designed in Grasshopper as a parametric design
with the chosen pattern that would maintain daylighting performance in this corridor. In
order to achieve sufficient comfort levels, these patterns were designed in varying shapes,
sizes, and distributions according to the basic understanding of thermal sciences.
The script shown in Figure 23 can generate an infinite number of alternatives based
on the same basic shape of the main pattern. This shape was differentiated based on
two parameters. The first was the porous percentage to be detailed in phase 2. The second
parameter was the gradient range that would control the porous arrangement in the pattern
to be detailed in phase 3.

Figure 23. The designed set of codes to generate the performative pattern.

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5.2. Phase 2: Generating Performative Patterns of the Façade Design

A code set was written to generate different pattern typologies that had various porous
sizes and followed a vertical gradient. Figure 24 shows the codes, as written on Grasshopper,
where specific parameters were input, creating different design options. The first parameter
required the façade’s height and length. The second parameter controlled the gradient span,
which determined the number of times the porous size transitioned and reoccurred. The
second parameter influenced the porous size scale, which was influenced by the gradient
span. These factors resulted in a change of the porous size vertically along the screen. Lastly,
a thickness was an input factor for screen depth depending on the material used, which
allowed for accurate assumptions when analyzing the pattern’s energy performance.

Figure 24. Generated patterns using the set of codes.

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Twelve pattern generations, divided into three similar sections, were created based
on a porous percentage from approximately 49.6% to 2.6%, according to the shape of
the corridor. Only one section was tested to reduce the computational time and effort of
modeling and simulation.

5.3. Phase 3: Analyzing the Performance of Generated Patterns

The third phase was focused on the environmental performance of the generated screen
and to analyze its influence on the visual and environmental conditions of the corridor.
For comparison, and to ensure optimal environmental performance, the corridor and
its surroundings were modeled in Rhinoceros 3D. The initial environmental performance
of the corridor was then assessed through the environmental specification codes, as shown
in Figure 25.

Figure 25. Daylight and radiation analysis of the current status of the corridor.

Based on the annual sun path diagram, we concluded that the screen should consider
the solar radiation exposure of the corridor during the peak summer months of June to
August. The wind rose diagram demonstrated that the temperatures rose in May, while the
wind speed decreased, peaking in June to August. The screen was designed to utilize the
prevailing winds during the summer months.
The Rhinoceros 3D model was defined in the Grasshopper code to run the solar
radiation analysis regarding the pattern-dependent parameters.
In this phase, the current generations of the pattern were assessed based on the two in-
dicators, daylight and solar radiation, to optimize the corridor’s performance concerning
visual and solar radiation and thermal comfort.

5.3.1. Daylight Analysis

Daylighting performance analysis was based on the useful daylight illumination
(UDLI) indicator, which referred to the percentage of time during the active occupancy
hours that the test point received daylight illumination. As per a previous classification [20],
the illuminance in the study was classified as the following:
• Daylight illuminance below 100 lux (i.e., E < 100 lux) was considered inadequate as
either the only lighting source or as a remarkable contribution to artificial lighting.
• Daylight illuminance between 100 and 500 lux (i.e., 100 < E < 500 lux) was considered
as efficient lighting levels that may still require additional artificial lighting sources.
• Daylight illuminance between 500 and 2000 lux (i.e., 500 < E < 2000 lux) was perceived
as either advisable or at least acceptable.
• Daylight illuminance of more than 2000 lux (i.e., E > 2000 lux) was considered as
causing both visual and thermal discomfort.

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The illuminance levels between 100 and 2000 lux could be merged into one layer as
acceptable and advisable illuminance levels to be utilized in the space.
The main advantage of this indicator was the division into three layers. The first layer
was UDLI < 100 lux. This layer was below the required illumination levels, which needed
to be minimized; however, its effect could be eliminated by providing artificial lighting. The
second layer was UDLI = 100–2000 lux. The second layer was the target for the daylighting
analysis, which needed to be maximized to optimize the visual comfort in the corridor. The
third layer was UDLI > 2000 lux. The third layer was the required illumination level, which
increased the glare levels and needed to be minimized, and it was the most critical part as
it could not be maintained in the same generation.

Daylighting Analysis for the Current Status

By conducting the daylighting simulation for the current condition of the corridor,
we found that the useful daylight illumination levels were very low. As seen in Figure 25,
UDLI 100–2000 lux was only 0.46% while UDLI > 2000 lux was 92.74%, and UDLI < 100 lux
was only 6.79%. That indicated that the corridor occupants would experience an uncomfort-
able glare until later in the day, when the lighting levels had to maintained using artificial
sources. This result showed that the corridor could be enhanced with shading devices that
could reduce the potential glare without increasing the insufficient daylight levels. When
the designed patterns were tested, there was no way to minimize UDLI < 100 lux below
6.79% except with material reflection or artificial lighting.

Daylighting Analysis for Pattern Generation

The generated pattern number 1, as shown in Figure 26, had a porous percentage of
49.57% and showed some improvement at the UDLI (100–2000) levels, compared to the
current evaluation of the corridor. UDLI (100–2000) was increased from 11% to 11.47%,
UDLI (<100) value was the same by 6.28%, but UDLI (>2000) was reduced by 10% to
reach 82.25%.
Generation numbers 2–9 listed in Table 1 revealed that the porous percentage was
reduced gradually from 45.63% to 16.46%. This reduction caused a gradual optimization
in UDLI (100–2000) from 13.45% in generation 2 to 54.2% in generation 9. Meanwhile,
the UDLI (<100) maintained the same value in all generations by 6.28%, while UDLI (>2000)
continuously decreased from 80.37% in generation 2 until it reached 39.52% in generation 9.

Table 1. Values of UDLI based on the porous percentage.

Generation/UDLI Gen1 Gen2 Gen3 Gen4 Gen5 Gen6 Gen7 Gen8 Gen9 Gen10 Gen11 Gen12
Porous % 49.56 45.63 42.15 40.85 37.87 33.5 29.05 23.93 16.46 3.24 2.94 2.59
UDLI (>2000)% 82.25 80.37 78.48 76.72 73.08 67.13 60.67 53.2 39.52 16.14 16.07 16.03
UDLI (100–2000)% 11.47 13.45 15.42 17.00 20.65 26.59 33.05 40.52 54.20 55.04 54.78 54.19
UDLI (<100)% 6.28 6.28 6.28 6.28 6.28 6.28 6.28 6.28 6.28 28.31 29.14 29.77

In generation 10, the porous percentage was 3.24%, which affected the UDLI (100–2000)
(55.04%), the peak value in all the generated patterns, while it had a major increase on
UDLI (<100) , which reached 28.31%. The UDLI (>2000) was reduced to 16.14%.
In generations 11 and 12, the porous percentages had lower values of 2.94% and
2.54%, respectively. The UDLI (100–2000) was gradually reduced to 54.78% and 54.19%,
respectively. While UDLI (>2000) continued to decrease, the UDLI (<100) continued to
increase, each reaching 29.14% and 29.77%, respectively.

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Figure 26. Daylighting analysis of the pattern generations.

5.3.2. Solar Radiation Analysis

In this analysis, two types of radiation analysis were considered. All patterns were
assessed based on the radiation exposure of the corridor flooring. Afterward, the vertical
radiation was estimated using a vertical test plan located in the corridor center. The
horizontal and vertical radiation served as indicators for the thermal comfort of the corridor
resulting from radiation. The less radiation received on the horizontal and vertical tested
surfaces, the more assured the thermal comfort would be. It was considered thermally
comfortable if the humidity and wind speed factors were fixed.

Radiation Analysis for the Current Status

The radiation analysis shown in Figure 26 indicated high levels of radiation exposure
both horizontally and vertically. The horizontal radiation exposure was 15,071 kWh/m2 ,
while the vertical radiation was 22,206 kWh/m2 . These values suggested that shading

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devices were needed to disrupt the high rate of radiation exposure, which negatively
affected thermal comfort in the corridor.

Radiation Analysis of the Pattern Generations

Generated pattern 1, as shown in Figure 27, was installed in the corridor, which
reduced the horizontal radiation exposure, where the horizontal radiation showed a sharp
decrease to 5254 kWh/m2 . Similarly, the vertical radiation also received less radiation and
decreased to 12,864 kWh/m2

Figure 27. Radiation analysis of the pattern generations.

Patterns 2–9 showed a gradual reduction in horizontal and vertical radiation values,
as seen in Table 2. The horizontal radiation in pattern 2 was 5035 kWh/m2 , and grad-
ually decreased to 2504 kWh/m2 in pattern 9. Similarly, the vertical radiation was
12,429 kWh/m2 in pattern 2, and then declined until reaching 6603 kWh/m2 in pattern 9.

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Afterward, a significant drop in pattern 10 showed that the horizontal and vertical radiation
exposure levels were 864 kWh/m2 and 3960 kWh/m2 , respectively.

Table 2. Values of vertical and horizontal radiation based on the porous percentage.

Generation/
Gen1 Gen2 Gen3 Gen4 Gen5 Gen6 Gen7 Gen8 Gen9 Gen10 Gen11 Gen12
UDLI
Porous % 49.56 45.63 42.15 40.85 37.87 33.5 29.05 23.93 16.46 3.24 2.94 2.59
Vertical
Radiation 5254 5035 4859 4700 4533 4289 3919 3427 2504 864 848 843
“kWh/m2”
Horizontal
Radiation 12,864 12,429 11,852 11,339 10,632 9765 8813 7852 6603 3966 3934 3885
“kWh/m2 ”

In patterns 11 and 12, there were no significant achievements in the radiation results;
horizontal radiation was 848 kWh/m2 and 843 kWh/m2 , but the vertical radiation was
3934 kWh/m2 and 3885 kWh/m2 , respectively.

5.3.3. Porous Gradient Parameter

As an outcome of the previous analysis and results, different alternatives were ranked
to obtain the best generation. Patterns 10, 11, and 12 were found to have the best UDLI
results. At the same time, the three options received a low radiation rate in the horizontal
and vertical analysis. The computational process was used to change the porous gradient
and test it for all options. The porous gradient for the three top-ranked patterns was
changed to examine the extent of the enhancement in the alternatives’ performances.
Two different patterns were generated from each one of these three patterns and classified
as two versions, “a” and “b”, with different porous gradients.
All versions were assessed for their performance in daylighting and radiation, as shown
in Figure 28. Versions of “a”, shown on the left side of the figure, scored lower results of
approximately 42% in UDLI (100–2000), while versions of “b”, on the right side, showed
remarkable achievements in the daylighting performance, exceeding an 18% improvement
and reaching around 70% in the UDLI (100–2000).

Figure 28. Analysis of the porous gradient-based patterns.

The daylighting values of the three “b” alternatives were similar as they varied be-
tween 18.6% and 21.8% for UDLI (>2000) and between 8.3% and 11.4% for UDLI (<100).
They achieved values between 69.9% and 70.4% for UDLI (100–2000). Generation 12-b

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was considered as the optimum performance for daylighting and radiation together, as
shown in Figure 29. However, the UDLI (100–2000) of pattern 12-b was lower than 11-b
by 0.5%, and the potential glare value of pattern 12-b was smaller by 1%. In addition, the
vertical and horizontal radiation values were smaller than pattern 11-b by 356 kWh/m2
and 49 kWh/m2 , respectively.

Figure 29. Best-case pattern parameters and analysis (G12-b).

6. Results and Discussion

Environmental specification simulations were conducted using the Ladybug tool,
a plug-in for Grasshopper, in which the weather of the United Arab Emirates was studied
to provide an estimation of the modeled corridor’s performance. This section discusses
significant findings regarding the influence of the generated patterns on the corridor
performance, in which the screens demonstrated a wide range of results that improved,
stabilized, and exacerbated the corridor’s visual and environmental conditions.
The baseline corridor performance was assessed and compared to the performance
of all trial screens. These screens were designed following an Islamic traditional geo-
metric pattern, reflecting the design scheme of the University of Sharjah. Specific pa-
rameters were coded and analyzed using the Ladybug tool to provide an estimation of
the screens’ performance and impact on the chosen corridor’s visual, solar radiation,
and daylight conditions.
Particular environmental parameters, such as the sun path and wind rose diagrams,
were evaluated to demonstrate the peak summer months where the solar heat gain would
be at its peak, and the wind speed would be the lowest. This allowed us to define the study
period according to the harshest conditions in an effort to design a screen model that would
account for the most crucial period in the year.
The Ladybug tool analyzed the screens’ performance in terms of solar radiation analy-
sis diagrams, and estimated solar heat gain and produced shadow study diagrams. The
diagrams obtained through Grasshopper’s plug-in Ladybug, and further illustrated in
Rhinoceros 3D, showcased the potential influence of the screen on the corridor’s perfor-
mance. Assessment of the solar radiation performance of the screen occurred during
two phases. The first phase consisted of changing the porous size of the pattern and gener-
ated in 12 different patterns. These patterns were assessed for daylighting and radiation
performance to identify the best three patterns. In the second phase, the porous gradient of
these three patterns was adjusted to study the performance when changing the gradients.
Furthermore, a significant improvement in UDLI (100–2000) was found, as compared
to the current status of the corridor, with an increase in excess of 54% being reported, while
there was a significant decrease in vertical and horizontal radiation exposure.

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Buildings 2022, 12, 161

In phase 2, there was a reasonable increase in the UDLI (100–2000) by more than 18%,
as compared to the first phase. In addition, there was an effective reduction in the potential
glare at UDLI (>2000), which minimized the potential glare by more than 9%.

7. Conclusions
An Islamic geometric patterned screen that matched the design scheme of the Univer-
sity of Sharjah was designed and modeled to improve the visual and thermal conditions of
a selected corridor on campus. The parametric design of the screen generated several alter-
natives. The first phase of the study involved generating 12 different design options based
on the change in porous size percentage for all screen designs. Daylighting and radiation
analysis were simulated to classify the generations and to choose the best three. The top
three alternatives were gen10, gen11, and gen12, with UDLI (100–2000) values of 55.04%,
54.78%, and 54.19%, respectively, and horizontal radiation exposures of 864 kWh/m2 ,
848 kWh/m2 , and 843 kWh/m2 , respectively. In the second phase, each of the three chosen
patterns generated two different patterns based on the different porous gradients. All the
generated patterns were simulated and classified to identify the optimum screen design,
which was gen12-b. This showed a significant development in daylighting performance,
as the UDLI (100–2000) increased by 69.52% compared to the current design of the corridor
and showed a significant reduction in radiation values as the horizontal radiation was
minimized by 13,954 kWh/m2 . This research showed that the generated screens 10-b, 11-b,
and 12-b were potentially successful and reliable.
The same approach could be generalized in the other corridors in the UoS and in many
different screen designs for corridors with similar climates and functions.

8. Future Studies
The appropriate selection of screen materials for the fabrication process could be stud-
ied further, particularly in terms of thickness, strength, and thermal properties. In addition,
virtual reality and mixed-reality techniques aided by artificial intelligence software and
strategies could be applied for optimum screen design, and as an important part of the
digital fabrication process.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, A.M. and E.M.; methodology, A.M. and E.M.; software,
A.M.; validation, A.M., E.M. and A.T.; formal analysis, A.T.; investigation, A.M., E.M. and A.T.;
resources, A.M., A.T. and H.S.; data curation, A.T. and A.M.; writing—original draft preparation, A.M.
and H.S.; writing—review and editing, A.M., A.T., E.M. and Z.A.-S.; visualization, A.M.; supervision,
A.M. and E.M.; project administration, A.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Building Services for Future, Hong Kong, China, 25 November 2014; pp. 1–13.
3. Attia, S. A Tool for Design Decision Making: Zero Energy Residential Buildings in Hot Humid Climates; Presses Universitaires de
Louvain: Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 2012.
4. Pauley, S. Lighting for the human circadian clock: Recent research indicates that lighting has become a public health issue.
Med. Hypotheses 2004, 63, 588–596. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
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climates. J. Build. Eng. 2015, 3, 155–170. [CrossRef]
6. Eltaweel, A.; SU, Y. Parametric design and daylighting: A literature review. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2017, 73, 1086–1103. [CrossRef]

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7. Mushtaha, E.S.; Munadhil, B.; Awni, A.; Munadhil, F. Analysis of daylighting in the University of Sharjah’s walkways. In Proceedings
of the 2019 Advances in Science and Engineering Technology International Conferences (ASET), Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
26 March–10 April 2019; pp. 1–6. [CrossRef]
8. Böer, B. An introduction to the climate of the United Arab Emirates. J. Arid Environ. 1997, 35, 3–16. [CrossRef]
9. Lagios, K.; Niemasz, J.; Reinhart, C.F. Animated Building Performance Simulation (Abps)—Linking Rhinoceros/Grasshopper
with Radiance/Daysim. In Proceedings of the Fourth National Conference of IBPSA, New York, NY, USA, 11–13 August 2010;
pp. 321–327. Available online: http://www.ibpsa.us/pub/simbuild2010/papers/SB10-DOC-TS06A-03-Lagios.pdf (accessed on
23 November 2021).
10. Lee, D.K. High Energy Efficient Building Envelope Design with Integrated Workflow in Multidisciplinary Performance Criteria; Georgia
Institute of Technology: Atlanta, GA, USA, 2013.
11. Williams, D.E. Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture and Planning; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2007.
12. Muneer, T. Solar Radiation and Daylight Models, 2nd ed.; Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2004.
13. Sataloff, R.T.; Johns, M.M.; Kost, K.M. Site Annalysis: A contextual Approach to Sustainable Land Planning and Site Design; John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2008.
14. Maksoud, A.; Adel, M.; Majdi, A.; El-Mahdy, D. Generating Optimum Form for Vertical Farms Skyscrapers in UAE. Int. J. Eng.
Res. Technol. 2021, 10, 689–700.
15. Roudsari, M.S.; Pak, M. Ladybug: A Parametric Environmental Plugin for Grasshopper to Help Designers Create
an Environmentally-Conscious Design. In Proceedings of the 13th Conference of International Building Performance
Simulation Association, Chambéry, France, 26–28 August 2013; pp. 3129–3135. Available online: http://www.ibpsa.org/
proceedings/bs2013/p_2499.pdf (accessed on 25 November 2021).
16. Maksoud, A.; Sahall, H.; Massarweh, M.; Taher, D.; Nahlawi, M.; Maher, L.; Khaled, A.; Auday, A. Parametric -Nature Obsession.
Int. J. Adv. Sci. Technol. 2020, 29, 2091–2095.
17. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. The Pearl Rating System for Estidama—Villa Rating System: Design & Construction (Version 1.0);
Estidama: Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2010. Available online: https://www.upc.gov.ae/en/-/media/files/estidama/docs/
pcrs-version-10.ashx?la=en&hash=5ED1ADE46EA26CF0E589E7EF0A621B85528EB0C6 (accessed on 30 November 2021).
18. El Ouaazizi, A.; Nasri, A.; Benslimane, R. A rotation symmetry group detection technique for the characterization of Islamic
Rosette Patterns. Pattern Recognit. Lett. 2015, 68, 111–117. [CrossRef]
19. Mushtaha, E.S. Status of international sustainable campuses improvement of walkability as a prerequisite for sustainability at
University of Sharjah. In Proceedings of the Quality Assurance in Engineering Education Conference, University of Sharjah,
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 17–19 March 2015.
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 buildings
Review
The Decline of Architects: Can a Computer Design Fine
Architecture without Human Input?
Joanna Kołata and Piotr Zierke *

Faculty of Architecture, Poznan University of Technology, 61-131 Poznan, Poland; [email protected]

* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: Architects are required to have knowledge of current legislation, ergonomics, and the latest
technical solutions. In addition, the design process necessitates an appreciation of the quality of
the space and a high degree of creativity. However, it is a profession that has undergone significant
changes in recent years due to the pressure exerted by the development of information technology.
The designs generated by computer algorithms are becoming such a serious part of designers’ work
that some are beginning to question whether they are more the work of computers than humans.
There are also increasing suggestions that software development will eventually lead to a situation
where humans in the profession will become redundant. This review article aims to present the
currently used, implemented, and planned computer technologies employed in the design and
consider how they affect and will affect the work of architects in the future. It includes opinions of a
wide range of experts on the possibility of computer algorithms replacing architects. The ultimate goal
of the article is an attempt to answer the question: will computers eliminate the human factor in the
design of the future? It also considers the artificial intelligence or communication skills that computer
algorithms would require to achieve this goal. The answers to these questions will contribute
not only to determining the future of architecture but will also indicate the current condition of
Citation: Kołata, J.; Zierke, P. The
the profession. They will also help us to understand the technologies that are making computers
Decline of Architects: Can a
capable of increasingly replacing human professions. Despite differing opinions on the possibility of
Computer Design Fine Architecture
computer algorithms replacing architects, the conclusions indicate that, currently, computers do not
without Human Input? Buildings 2021,
have capabilities and skills to achieve this goal. The speed of technological development, especially
11, 338. https://doi.org/10.3390/
buildings11080338 such technologies as artificial superintelligence, artificial brains, or quantum computers allows us to
predict that the replacement of the architect by machines will be unrealistic in coming decades.
Academic Editor:
Derek Clements-Croome Keywords: decline of architects; future of designing; computers control; algorithms; artificial intelligence

Received: 16 June 2021

Accepted: 4 August 2021
Published: 6 August 2021 1. Introduction
The architectural profession combines science, engineering, and art. It is an occupation
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
that requires knowledge of current legislation, ergonomics, or the latest technical solutions
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
and the need to assess the quality of space and creativity. However “the profession of the
published maps and institutional affil-
architect has never been stable” [1] (p. 8). The role of architects has evolved over the years
iations.
and while they are still responsible for the quality and shaping of the space and “for the
visual appearance of buildings and structures” [2], “demiurges [ . . . ] controlling the whole
creative processes, consistently seeking to achieve a goal” [3] (p. 35), this profession can be
also “characterised by a continuous transformation of its conditions and characteristics” [1]
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. (p. 8). Architects are right now “the so-called mediators between different professions
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
and they have to monitor the progress of the project from its initial stages onwards” [4]
This article is an open access article
(p. 41). Over past few years they are also “challenged to take a public role, share their
distributed under the terms and
knowledge of space, their imagination of possible futures, and their intuition to grasp
conditions of the Creative Commons
and affect a specific site or condition. The architect not only draws the lines and limits of
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
space but also deals with the world and the people in it.” Recently “new techniques of
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
communication and modeling [ . . . ] extensively affect the architect’s work” [1] (p. 7). This
4.0/).

Buildings 2021, 11, 338. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080338 171 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2021, 11, 338

is caused, among other things, by the development of information technology, especially

BIM (building information modeling), BLCM (building life cycle modeling), parametric
design, or AR (augmented reality). By offering architects new design possibilities, they
influence space. At the same time, they make work faster and easier in many aspects.
However, questions arise as to whether computer algorithms are not starting to interfere
too much in the creative process of architects and whether projects created as a result of
this cooperation are not becoming more works of computers than humans. At the same
time, there are concerns that the trend of computer programs taking over architects’ work
will continue and, eventually, a human being will become redundant in this profession.
This is a scoping review article. It aims to present current, implemented, and planned
computer technologies used in the design and discuss how they affect and will affect archi-
tects’ work in the future. Due to the nature of this article, a research query was conducted
on the opinions of a wide range of experts. The selection of statements was based on the
occupational criteria of the commentators. These include architects, scientists, developers
of computer aided design software, but also writers, journalists, and even philosophers.
The authors wanted to select opinions that represent different approaches to the possibility
of replacing architects by computer algorithms. These comments, due to their different
attitudes towards the aforementioned possibility are presented in the “Yes” and “No” sub-
sections of this paper. The selection of opinions was also based on the different reasons that
guided the commentators in forming their judgements, e.g., the development of particular
technologies or limitations affecting computers and algorithms. The selection was not lim-
ited to the most recent commentaries, but the older ones from early computer development
were also cited. The selection of opinion makers was focused on their experience and pres-
tige. As a result, among representatives of scientists dealing with the described problem in
their research work, opinions of professors predominate. Architects are mostly represented
by a group of recognised and awarded designers, including those from well-known design
studios. Design aid software manufacturers are dominated by representatives of leading
companies from all over the world. This manuscript also contains statements of less known
professionals. However, in the opinion of the authors, they contain important information
on the described subject, which shows other, sometimes not obvious, points of view and
enables a look at the described topic from a different perspective.
In the following part of the article, the obtained data are synthesised and an attempt is
made to identify the patterns appearing in them. This will help to define the skills that com-
puter algorithms would need to acquire in order to theoretically be able to replace architects.
The ultimate goal of the manuscript is an attempt to answer the question: will com-
puters eliminate the human factor in the design of the future?
The answers to questions posed in this manuscript will contribute not only to de-
termining the future of architecture but will also indicate the current condition of the
profession. They will also help us to understand the technologies that are making comput-
ers capable of increasingly replacing human professions. Therefore, the problem described
is multifaceted, and its complex character touches upon IT issues and sociological and even
philosophical matters presented in this article.

2. Current Capabilities of Computers in Architectural Design

The initial use of the computer in architectural design was limited to replacing the
drawing board, as exemplified by the widely used AutoCAD software. Dedicated CAD
(computer-aided design) software was undoubtedly a great improvement on tedious
manual work. Nowadays, there are more advanced programs such as ArchiCAD, which
allow block design using predefined building components such as walls and ceilings.
The design software continues to improve. Autodesk’s Dreamcatcher is supposed to
be the next generation of CAD. It is “a generative design system that enables designers
to craft a definition of their design problem through goals and constraints. The system
generates thousands of design options that meet specified goals, allowing designers to
explore trade-offs between many alternative approaches and select design solutions for

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manufacture” [5]. The MaRS Innovation District office and research building in Toronto
was designed using Dreamcatcher software. The design of the building was generated
based on the needs and wishes of future users. “Software made it possible to take all
of these factors into consideration to find a set of optimal options that satisfied as many
criteria as possible” [5]. The benefits of generative design and examples of building forms
created with this technology in Kiruna, Sweden, were presented among others by Jani
Mukkavaara and Marcus Sandberg [6] (pp. 8–16).
System extensions and the introduction of the third dimension into CAD software
have made it possible to integrate the various elements of a project into one thing. In
recent years, BIM software, which uses “a modelling technology and associated set of
processes to produce, communicate and analyse building models” [7] (p. 13) have been
gaining popularity. Denis Neely noted that “design professionals are moving to BIM three
times faster than the transition from hand drawing to CAD” [8], and in 2011 “BIM use
reached the 50% mark among design professionals” [9] (p. 6) These programs significantly
improve the work of architects, but professors Wojciech Bonenberg and Oleg Kaplinski
also noted that BIM unexpectedly raises an architect’s professional prestige [10] (p. 9).
For instance, “the Sichuan Provincial Architectural Design and Research Institute used
AECOsim Building Designer’s BIM advancements to enhance information exchange among
disciplines and ensure timely collection, update, management, and data application. The
software enabled the institute to shorten the project period by 60%, reduced design errors
by 80%, and increased design depth by 50%” [5]. Professors Oleg Kapliński and Wojciech
Bonenberg consider the implementation of BIM technology (especially BIM as a process)
and integrated project delivery (IPD) as “important elements conducive to the integration
of architectural and engineering activities” [11] (p. 5), fundamentally affecting the work of
architects in the future.
At the same time, parametric design programs are appearing, which enable the cre-
ation of ready-made structures based on parameters proposed by architects. They treat “the
geometric properties of the design as variables”, resulting in a design that consists of “rela-
tionships that are maintained between the various elements of the composition” [12] (p. 1).
“By far the most widely used parametric design software is “Grasshopper” developed
by the David Rutten for Robert McNeel Associates and first released in 2008” [12] (p. 5).
Grasshopper is a platform closely integrated with Rhinoceros—McNeel’s 3-D modeling
tool, “to deal with this generative algorithms and associative modelling” [13] (p. 4). It also
enables integration with sensors and software based on machine learning and artificial
intelligence technologies. [14] (pp. 6–7). Therefore, it should come as no surprise that an
increasing number of projects are based on this technology, which can be seen, for example,
in the design of offices by Frank O. Gehry or Zaha Hadid. In 2021, a building design was
presented by a Japanese architectural studio called Laboratory for Explorative Architecture
and Design (LEAD) that was entirely generated by a computer program based on an
algorithm prepared by the studio [15]. In addition to improving the work of designers and
facilitating the design of complex, sculptural building forms, parametric design has had a
significant impact on the architecture of cities such as Dubai, Doha, and Bilbao.
Currently, the most hopeful developments in computer-aided design are in “the fields
related to machine learning (ML), including data mining, machine vision, computational
statistics and other sub-fields of artificial intelligence (AI)” [16] (p. 14) as well as mobile
robotics and computerisation in manual tasks. Frey and Osborne note that “machine
learning algorithms running on computers are now, in many cases, better able to detect
patterns in big data than humans” [16] (p. 16), which is exemplified by the aforementioned
generative design technology, but they then admit, that “robots are still unable to match
the depth and breadth of human perception” [16] (p. 24). Besides, as Yaser S. Abu-Mostafa
notes, “Machine learning does not create information; it gets the information from the data.
Without enough training data that contain proper information machine learning will not
work” [17] (p. 81).

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Buildings 2021, 11, 338

When it comes to AI, “in 2016, Google in the US developed the artificial intelligence
(AI) applied in the field of graphic design” [18] (p. 2) called Alpha GD, which Wu Shan
perceives as “a great threat to people engaged in graphic design” [18] (p. 2). Professor
Duc Truong Pham notes “that there is a wide range of techniques which are capable of
enhancing traditional CAD systems with advanced reasoning abilities thus increasing
their prospect of being tools for intelligent design” [19] (p. 24). These include, among
others: deep knowledge, non-monotonic, qualitative and geometric reasoning, uncertainty
handling, and object-oriented representation [19] (pp. 15–24). Despite the increasing use
of artificial intelligence in the construction industry [20,21] and design, as well as the
aforementioned concerns about the future role of AI programs in design process, so far
“it can only imitate the existing board, but cannot achieve independent innovation.” [18]
(p. 2).
In summary, computers and computer programs are increasingly influencing the work
of architects. Increasingly sophisticated algorithms are being developed which can generate
the forms of buildings or help to make decisions about, for example, their functional scheme
or construction. However, these technologies are still not able to replace architects. One
could even say that they are nowhere near it. This is supported by Frey and Osborne, who
find that the level of complex perception and manipulation skills, creativity, and social
intelligence necessary to design buildings [16] (p. 27) are tasks beyond the capacity of
current computers. But will they be able to replace architects in the future?

3. Will Computers Replace Architects?

Eight years have passed since Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne estimated
the probability of the architectural profession being replaced by computers in the next few
decades at only 1.8% [16] (p. 58). In the past, however, different points of view have clashed,
assuming, on the one hand, the ‘death’ of the architectural profession, and on the other,
the impossibility of its replacement by machines. Let us consider how others—architects,
planners, sociologists, philosophers, architectural software developers, architecture critics,
or visionaries—view this issue.

3.1. No
It appears that among predictions concerning the possibility of computers replacing
humans, skeptical opinions prevail when it comes to architectural design. The concerns
are related primarily to the lack of perception and feeling of the world through the senses,
which those expressing them believe are an indispensable element of design. The famous
Swiss architect Peter Zumthor believes that: “The strength of good design lies in ourselves
and in our ability to perceive the world with both emotion and reason. A good architectural
design is sensuous. A good architectural design is intelligent” [22] (p. 65). In his essays on
architecture, he points out that design is constant cooperation between feelings and reason.
Each design is an expression of fleeting feelings, longing, desires to which the architect
is subject and which are only creatively transformed by reason. Design, therefore, stems
from inspiration but is also subject to change at every stage and as a result of each line
drawn. The perception of the design and consequently the project itself changes as a result
of the design process. It causes joy and excitement but is also the result of these feelings,
which he compared to the effects of a drug [22] (p. 21). A similar opinion is expressed by
Finnish architect Juhani Pallasma, who unambiguously claims that the lack of feelings,
the inability to guess human emotions, or the possibility to create is the obstacle that will
prevent architecture from ever being fully automated. Interestingly, he considers the perfect
and repetitive execution of tasks by computers to be the biggest drawback in this respect.
He believes that “creative work needs space to move. Too much precision is not good for
creativity” [23]. This obstacle to designing is also noted by Andy Smith, Director, Product
Management, Building Solutions, Bentley Systems, who “believes that computers are very
good at solving specific tasks, such as engineering calculations, and can even make some
quality assessments. But in the near future, computers will not be able to combine the

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five human senses and really understand the poetry of emotion that is a building” [5].
Interestingly, Andy Smith’s opinion is quite common among representatives of design
aid software producers. British Autodesk vice president Pete Baxter responsible for its
architecture, engineering and construction operations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East
believes that “technology won’t destroy the profession, but it will, democratise it. There’s
a paradigm shift now: the one-man architect working from home with a bright idea now
has access to an infinite amount of computing power in the cloud. That means a one-man
designer, a graduate designer, can get access to the same amount of computing power as
these big multinational companies. So suddenly there’s a different competitive landscape.
[ . . . ] The architectural profession absolutely will still exist. [ . . . ] I think what’s happening
is we’re getting a more collaborative approach. But ultimately somebody still makes the
decision” [24]. Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost, adds that “Each era of automation, from
the first industrial revolution through the present digital era, has created more jobs, not
less. Why should we assume the new machine age—the new era of automation—will be
any different?” [25].
The Australian philosopher Elizabeth Grosz also draws attention to another charac-
teristic that an architect should have, that is the capacity “for exploration and invention,
in recognition of the roles of architecture and knowledge as experimental practices” [26]
(p. 171). It is a capacity in which the architects, looking at the world, “try to enhance what
seems to be valuable, to correct what is disturbing, and to create anew what we feel is
missing” [22] (p. 24). Thus, they react to the constant changes of the context, trying to
capture the beneficial elements from it and constantly correcting those that are unfavorable.
It appears that design, which to such a large extent is the result of feelings that hinder
the designer and influence the shape of the building, is an insurmountable obstacle for
machines. What is more, it seems to be an extremely difficult, although possibly simpler,
task to react to changes in the context or design trends.
Artificial intelligence is a technology whose future development and refinement make
it possible to consider the actual replacement of architects by computers. However, it is
worth noting the opinions that “computers don’t come up with innovations. People do.
Even the computer itself is a human innovation. [ . . . ] A.I. facilitates the idea. It makes
the idea possible. However, it doesn’t come up with the idea in the first place. [ . . . ] The
artificial intelligence itself cannot exist without the ingenuity of the people that created it.
A.I. needs maintenance and updates, otherwise, it becomes outdated in its own time” [27].
The current quality of artificial intelligence, as well as the readiness of computers to perform
very complex tasks related both to the design itself and to relating the designed buildings
to the surrounding context, causes many people to doubt the possibility of developing it
in such a way that it would be able to replace humans in particularly complex fields such
as architecture. Polish architect Aleksandra Wasilkowska shared the following excerpt
from her conversation with the so-called Cleverbot—an intelligent computer program that
passed the Turing test:
“– What is the architecture of the 21st century?
– People are close to revolt.
– What can it be?
– The song of angry men.
– What will it be?
– I don’t know, because I won’t be alive then” [28] (p. 356).
The answers are perhaps disturbing in the context of the social role of architecture.
However, they may just as well sound rather random and, in this case, indicate that the
intelligence of modern computers still has a long way to go before they can not only
design a building but create architecture. It is now more akin to the cryptic words spoken
in ancient Greece by Pythia, which were ambiguous, confusing, and unclear, and the
priests had to give them the correct interpretation. Overstating the role of design software
while downplaying the role of architects is pointed out by Reinier de Graaf, an architect,
architectural theorist, urbanist, and writer, who states that “computer programs have

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been developed that allow you to design boxes in an increasingly sophisticated way:
Microstation, AutoCAD, Rhino, Revit, BIM [ . . . ] However, the final form is still given to
the box in Excel” [29] (p. 84).
The growing role of artificial intelligence is also noted by the authors of the “Technol-
ogy and Innovation Report 2021” who believe that this technology “can also use modelling
and a lot of data to make predictions that mimic human intelligence. This alters the nature
of jobs by increasing or reducing the number of tasks. Some jobs will disappear, but others
will emerge—such as those requiring empathy, inventiveness and ethical judgements that
need to be made by humans” [30] S. 38. It seems, therefore, that according to the authors
of the report, the profession of architect, which requires creativity and ingenuity, is not
threatened, at least for now. Currently, technology has a great influence on tools used by
architects and thus indirectly influences architecture, and although many contemporary
design solutions are possible due to technological progress, “technology doesn’t have an
impact on thoughts, ideas or decisions” [31] (p. 194). This stance is echoed by Reinier de
Graaf, who believes that “the information revolution—the turning point of our time—has
not changed buildings, only the way we use them, so its impact on architecture is limited.
By breaking the link between buildings and what happens in them, digital technologies
[ . . . ] do not elevate the status of architecture; they actually lower it” [29] (p. 81).
Another problem that currently prevents computers from taking over the tasks of
an architect is the poor relationship between computers and humans and the lack of
interaction. This seems to be confirmed by the words of German architect Walther Gropius,
who already in the 1940s said that “architecture requires strong convictions and leadership
skills. Its form cannot be determined by clients or opinion polls. The results most often
boil down to a desire to preserve what everyone already knows very well” [32] (p. 128).
Gropius himself, moreover, believed that “the artist is the prototype of the ‘complete’ man;
his freedom and independence are relatively intact. Intuitive sensing should be the antidote
to mechanisation gone too far, ideally working to bring life back into balance and give
a human dimension to machine influences [ . . . ] The contribution of the creative artist,
whose art can more fully express the visual as well as the human appeal of planning, is
essential” [32] (pp. 218–219).
People who express their opinions on the future of the architectural profession are
undoubtedly aware of the continuous and unstoppable development of computer tech-
nologies, which will have an increasing impact on the design process. At the same time,
they very often exclude the complete takeover of the architect’s tasks, postulating that
computers will be an increasingly effective complement to the architect’s skills, allowing
for more efficient, faster, and more accurate work. Dale Sinclair, Director, Architecture,
Technical Practice, AECOM, agrees that “by automating aspects of the design process, such
as creating multidisciplinary digital libraries that contain fabrication-ready information,
more time can be spent on the design effort that makes a building unique in response to
the client’s brief and relevant to its environment” [5]. He compares the art of design to
music, in which “musicians have embraced new instruments from the electric guitar to
synthesisers and onwards to automated composing tools, as delivery of their outputs has
shifted from albums to streaming. Yet the role of the composer remains unaltered” [5].
There are also claims that despite the significant developments in computer technology
and artificial intelligence, “it doesn’t have to mean that it causes job losses. As with any
new technology, it’s likely that A.I. will create just as many jobs as it displaces” [27].
There is another indication that the rise of computer technology will not result in the
end of the architectural profession. As reported in the National Council of Architectural
Registration Boards’ annual survey, the number of licensed architects has grown in the USA
by 1% from 2018 and by 10% from 2010 [33]. “While the number of architects licensed in the
United States has risen over 13% in the last decade, the total U.S. population has risen just
7%, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau” [34]. There is even more significant
growth in the number of architects in Europe. Between 2008 and 2018 “the total number
of architects has grown by 24%” and “reached in 2018 the number of 562,000” [35] (p. 4).

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Although the above data does not cover the whole world, it shows that in highly developed
countries, where e.g., the use of BIM technology is mandatory in a large proportion of
projects and the percentage of construction companies that use BIM ranges from 20%
(Austria) to 73% (United Kingdom) [36], the number of architects is increasing. This is
despite the fact that in recent years there has been a rapid development of design support
technologies like BIM [37], which originated in the 1980s [36].

3.2. Yes
Despite the prevailing view that the computer will not—at least for the time being—be
able to replace people in the field of architecture, there are, however, also those who predict
a more or less imminent end to the architectural profession. As early as 1943, Walter
Gropius noted that “more than 80% of all American buildings are erected without the
involvement of an architect” [32] (p. 112). Therefore, in theory, an architect is not needed
to design buildings or even fine architecture. Many famous designers never received an
architectural education. These include Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Louis Sullivan,
Peter Zumthor, Luis Barragán, Buckminster Fuller [38], and Tadao Ando [39] (p. 131).
Moreover, in some countries, e.g., Ireland, the opening of an architectural design studio
depends on the payment of appropriate insurance, not on the possession of an architect’s
diploma. De Graaf also cites the example of the automated architecture of housing estates
in the GDR, where “architecture ceased to be a matter of individual talent (and thus the
exclusive preserve of the lucky few blessed with this gift), it came down to the mastery
of certain know-how, from an innate skill to an acquired one. [ . . . ] East Germany [ . . . ]
eliminated the need for the architect as a great builder and turned the entire surface of
the country into a great exhibition of achievements made possible by his absence” [29]
(pp. 61–62).
Despite the turbulent history of building design, the architectural profession continues
to exist and, despite the onslaught of information technology, it seems safe for the time
being. Nevertheless, some architects like Krzysztof Ingarden believe that “further techno-
logical development, in particular the automation of design and construction processes,
may go so far that it will be possible in the near future to replace man by machines, both at
the design and construction stage” [40] (p. 23).
Ian Keough, CEO of HYPAR in his foreword to Randy Deutsch’s book Superusers:
Design Technology Specialists and the Future of Practice links the future of the architecture
profession to so-called superusers, who believe that “much of what we do in architectural
practice can and should be automated, but they work in a profession which has its roots in
an artistic tradition spanning hundreds of years. This tradition assumes [ . . . ] erroneously,
that the act of ‘design’ is irreducibly human” [41] (pp. xi–xii). Admittedly, Keough does
not say that computers will be able to completely replace humans, but he doesn’t rule it
out either. Randy Deutsch agrees with him and says “that the architecture profession and
design industry will look radically different by 2030; and design technology specialists—a
particular high-performing, high-functioning, highly connected, and highly motivated
vocal minority here called Superusers—represent the near future of our industry” [41]
(pp. xix–xx).
The greatest hopes for the development of design capabilities by computers are related
to the evolution of artificial intelligence, especially the emergence of strong AI, also called
artificial general intelligence (AGI), which, according to some researchers, will lead to
the creation of the so-called artificial superintelligence. “As estimated by recognised AI
scientists such as Kurzweil and McCarthy, once the strong AI is achieved, it will not take a
long time for them to surpass human intelligence. The key point of strong AI is that it will
be able to learn by itself, and therefore upgrade itself on its own, without any instructions
from human agency” [42] (p. 18). Computers would then gain something akin to a human
brain, although currently, the human organ is still full of mysteries. A better understanding
of its properties may in the future be used to create computer programs that not only work
on algorithms prepared by humans but also create them themselves. Wasilkowska gives

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the example of work on the BMI (brain–machine interface) and suggests that “if we perfect
the method of a more precise mapping of our thoughts on the basis of brain activity, we
will be able to transfer this information to the receptors of mechanised and intelligent
architecture. Maybe knowledge about our state of consciousness combined with robotics
could in the future allow for a wider definition of architecture” [28] (p. 357).
It seems that without achieving the advances in the development of computer al-
gorithms described above, it will be impossible to eliminate the work of architects even
though technologies are now emerging that allow the computer to perform some of the
architect’s tasks. They are becoming increasingly visible in reading the context for future
buildings and suggesting very preliminary blocks, devoid of actual architectural expression,
which nevertheless meet spatial and legal requirements. Their further processing remains
the domain of architects. Nevertheless, there are claims that “applied mathematics can
decipher the architectural context of space” [43] (p. 88).
Describing the latest technologies designed to make architects’ work easier and faster,
it is worth mentioning that the company Flux has prepared a modeling tool in which para-
metric buildings are automatically adjusted to the site constraints and official requirements
resulting from the spatial context. This creates design “‘building seeds’ which generate
different buildings in various contexts” [44]. “In the software they managed to automate
the import of building and urban codes, therefore on the basis of contextual information the
application is also able to generate ‘buildable envelopes on the site’” [45] (p. 113). Although
the object generated in this way fits in with the surroundings in terms of scale and mass, it
still cannot be said that the program has succeeded in shaping architecture. Dana Nidal
believes “that AI will be less likely to replace architect, and in terms of architecture practice
it will provide new methods that adopt to future demands of people” [46] (p. 2).
Certainly, the growing computational possibilities in the future will make it possible
to adjust the urban planning parameters so that they meet one of the most important
criteria for the client, i.e., maximum return on investment. Mechanisms of learning or
remembering may consequently allow for a preliminary rejection of such solutions, which
are currently considered ‘pathological’ despite meeting formal requirements. This means
that computer programs could make it possible to create better architecture coherent with
the environment, independent of human weaknesses and temptations, e.g., financial ones.
The preliminary building forms created in this way could also become the basis for further
design processes that would be performed by computer software, especially for parametric
or generative design. After all, it is already possible to create multiple variant concepts
by generating sequential spatial sequences without requiring hours of work by a team of
people. Nevertheless, the final decision as to the choice of the final version of the building’s
architecture that best meets the requirements of the spatial order, as well as the expectations
of the client and the users, is up to the architect at the moment.
However, developments in AI may change the situation described above. Some
architects and architecture critics believe that parametric design already takes away part
of the creative process from the architect, sometimes leaving the human only to choose
the best option proposed by the algorithm. Reinier de Graaf mentions this when he says
that “by partially ceding the creation of form to computers, the antibox has elevated the
production of extravagant shapes beyond any imaginable limits. What was still a conscious
reflection on the concept of form in the early boxes has turned into a lottery. The question
of authorship has become relative—since creation has been taken over by algorithms, the
main joy offered by the antibox is the surprise it gives its designers” [29] (pp. 94–95). If he is
right, then we are closer to replacing architects with computers than many pessimists think.
This point of view is moreover echoed by Randy Deutsch AIA, LEED AP, Associate Director,
Graduate Studies, School of Architecture, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who
notes that current “generative design has its own aesthetic, and for many it’s is an acquired
taste [ . . . ] Here, there is nothing for us humans to do but to accept the aesthetic of
optimisation (however defined by those providing the computer input) because ostensibly

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what the machine generates is perfect—and it is up to us humans to allow the aesthetic to

grow on us” [5].
The ease with which algorithms can generate further variants can be alongside or
completely outside of the usual patterns to which the machine is not attached in any
way. Thus, the probability of an original result is increased, at least early in the computer-
designer’s career. The competition and the number of objects created so far in each of the
considered architectural scales are so large that it is difficult for the author to create original
solutions all the time, which is currently a prerequisite for success in this industry. The
computer can help solve this problem, but in some cities, the extravagance level of modern
buildings is often so high that architecture hitherto perceived as ‘boxy’ becomes, according
to De Graaf’s aforementioned ‘antibox’ claim, a form of denial of previous achievements.
Computers that will be deciding on architectural forms in given locations in the future
will have to know the difference between acceptable and sometimes desirable originality
of form and a block that does not fit into the context and introduces spatial chaos. Legal
issues also remain, and who would actually have the copyright to the computer-generated
designs—the owner of the software license, its manufacturer, or the software itself.
For now, it seems that the acceptable participation of the computer in the design
process concerns automated processes that merely assist the architect but leave the architect
with the final decision on the architecture. Allowing algorithms to be more intrusive in
the design process will require a change in people’s mindsets and readiness to accept such
generated architecture. However, we cannot fool ourselves into thinking that architects
these days only create good designs. Reinier De Graaf gives a very harsh assessment of
the quality of most buildings currently under construction. He notes that “most of the
buildings being erected today are stunning in their indescribable ugliness. They make
up an endless collection of cheaply made buildings, harnessed to an endless bloodless
competition to earn the highest possible return on the lowest possible budget” [29] (p. 25).
It is possible that the acceptance of the new, computerised aesthetics will not be such a big
problem for human buyers, especially since the final approval of the design, at least for
now, is made by people—the investor and officials.

4. Theoretical Requirements for Computers to Replace Architects

According to Frey and Osborne, computers that are to replace humans in the future
must be able to perform tasks that include simulating human perceptivity, human move-
ments (manipulation tasks), must be able to handle creative intelligence tasks and social
intelligence tasks [16] (pp. 24–26). While the ability to simulate human movements is not
necessary to replace architects in design, the other skills seem essential. The senses enable
architects to feel their surroundings. Without the senses, the concept of genius loci would
not exist, i.e., the idea of the spirit of a place, which is expressed by “giving individual
quality to particular places—objects, houses and complexes, cities, gardens and whole
landscapes” [47] (p. 228). The senses are also essential to be able to experience beauty
which is an indispensable component of architecture. Computers, that have no senses,
could be capable of designing buildings but it is unlikely that they would ever be able to
consciously design works of architecture.
Technologies that deal with computer perception have been under development for
many years and, as a result, there are algorithms created that enable facial and voice
recognition or that make it possible, still in a limited way, to communicate with devices.
The latter group includes i.e., the so-called virtual assistants such as Siri developed by
Google, Alexa by Amazon, Cortana by Microsoft, S Voice by Samsung and Google Assistant.
In the field of architecture and urban planning, algorithms are now becoming better at
dealing with such tasks as object recognition and categorisation, 2-D and 3-D modeling, or
tracking and visual servoing. There still remains a challenge to properly understand the
spatial context and draw conclusions to be able to create a design. It seems that improving
the ability to recognise and characterise the environment is not a big difficulty at this
point, as it most likely only requires improving the existing algorithms, increasing the

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power of processors and the amount of memory to collect enough spatial data. The real
issue, still unsolved, remains the lack of sensitivity of computers to beauty. The above is a
complicated task as the concept eludes measurable criteria and, at this stage, there is no
mathematical formula that could be used to enable the computers to take over.
Another necessary requirement that would enable replacing architects with computer
algorithms is to design creative intelligence to translate sensations and experiences into
the language of architecture. Designing is, after all, an act of creation. While one can
see increasing progress made in the field of artificial intelligence in such areas of art
as literature, painting, and music [48]. “AARON, a drawing program, has generated
thousands of stylistically-similar line-drawings, which have been exhibited in galleries
worldwide. Furthermore, David Cope’s EMI software composes music in many different
styles, reminiscent of specific human composers” [16] (p. 26). It is still rather a collaboration
between a machine and a human being than independent action. John Spacey believes that
to end this dependence in the future, it will be necessary to develop a superintelligence
with elements of consciousness such as intentionality, which theoretically can be developed
with the use of recursive, self-improving program [49]. Self-adaptive systems will likely do
very well in the field of architecture because they are inherently creative, their adaptations
are unique and useful because of the unique situation to which they respond [50] (p. 10).
Superintelligence is “foreseen as the last step of AI technology, it is considered as the
milestone of the technological singularity in the future. At these further steps, it might be
possible for artificial intelligence to develop an advanced form of artistic creativity” [42]
(p. 77). However, Frey and Osborne find that “generating novelty is not particularly
difficult. Instead, the principal obstacle to computerising creativity is stating our creative
values sufficiently clearly that they can be encoded in a program [ . . . ] Moreover, human
values change over time and vary across cultures [ . . . ] Thus, even if we could identify and
encode our creative values, to enable the computer to inform and monitor its own activities
accordingly, there would still be disagreement about whether the computer appeared to be
creative” [16] (p. 26).
This also raises the question, which coincides with the concerns of architects Peter
Zumthor or Juhani Pallasma, expressed in previous chapters, that “if there is no initial
intention to express a feeling, an aesthetical point of view, or any personal statement per se,
can we still mention the existence of an artistic creativity” [42] (p. 72)? This is an important
question, because even when computers will be able to design buildings on their own, there
may be voices saying that this is still not architecture, since it was created without emotions.
However, Deniz E. Kurt believes that “despite the absence of an initiative emotional
expression of the maker, the flow of affect will occur through a bottom-up perspective, and
the ‘feeling’ of an artwork will be shaped through the emotional attachment of the human
spectator” [42] (p. 73). Thus, in such a case, “AI is the actor who generates the artworks
by using its own interpretation” [42] (p. 74). “Hence, for AI artworks to be recognised as
artistically creative, they should correspond to the human taste of aesthetics and human
emotions. The absence of human emotions in a machine is an intrinsic feature that gives
the aura to the artwork of that machine” [42] (pp. 75–76).
Questions also arise about the copyright of designs created by computer programs [42]
(p. 58). However, it must be acknowledged, that controversy is also associated with projects
created by people. Peggy Deamer in her works points out many problems concerning
employment in architectural firms. She also notes that architects are responsible for an
important, but limited, part of a building’s design. “In architecture, unlike the other arts
no one person actually makes the object. Not only is there the significant distinction
between designer and builder, or the multi-layered group of designers in an office, but the
designers/manufacturers of the myriad of products used for a project bring the history
of their own making with them” [51] (p. 17). Another issue is the multi-discipline nature
of building design, where only part of the process falls to architects, but there are also
structural engineers, installation designers, road engineers, etc. This contributes to the
complexity of design and makes it difficult for computer algorithms to take over all of their

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skills. Nevertheless, design is a process that requires social intelligence. In this case, it is
used, among other things, during the usually lengthy arrangements and negotiations with
the client. They take place not only before the design work begins. Instruction changes
occur even at an advanced design stage and are often necessary even during construction.
Assuming that a computer algorithm would be responsible for the entire design process,
which would eliminate the experts, technologists, and collaborators working with architects,
social intelligence would still be indispensable for the reasons above. This view is supported
by Frey and Osborne, who noted that computers that would design buildings must be
able to talk to clients, have negotiation skills, and perhaps manage human resources [16]
(p. 27). Andy Smith, Director of Product Management, Building Solutions, Bentley Systems,
agrees with this sentiment, saying that the architect, after all, “needs to communicate the
design intent to the client, explain why he or she chose certain things, and then evaluate
the responses of the client’s emotions and business sense to the design. That is a human
interaction that needs to happen” [5]. In addition to negotiation skills, human social
intelligence includes skills such as persuasion and caring [16] (p. 26). While computers
“can now reproduce some aspects of human social interaction, the real-time recognition
of natural human emotion remains a challenging problem, and the ability to respond
intelligently to such inputs is even more difficult. Even simplified versions of typical social
tasks prove difficult for computers” [16] (pp. 26–27).
At this point the problem of ethics also arises, which means the ability to take actions
focused not only on a specific goal, such as making money or completing a project at any
cost, but also responsibility for the users of the designed building and its impact on the
environment. Benjamin Kuipers believes that “artificially intelligent creatures (AIs) [ . . . ]
may increasingly participate in our society over the coming years. In effect, they may
become members of our society” [52] (p. 98). Ronald C. Arkin and Alan R. Wagner make
this eventuality contingent on robots recognising such moral emotions as dignity, guilt,
trust, or even the ability to deceive. [53] (pp. 1–46). And although the basic laws of robotics
were defined by Isaac Asimov as early as 1950. [54], and work on so called roboethics is
now being undertaken by research institutions [55,56], robots and computer programs that
control them are still unprepared to function in society. Kuipers believes that “the problem
of providing robots with morality and ethics [ . . . ] draws on many different research
threads in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and robotics. These and other problems
to be solved are difficult, but they do not appear [ . . . ] to be unsolvable. In the visible
future, robots and other AIs are likely to have sufficiently useful capabilities to become
essentially members of our society” [52] (p. 103).
As with creative intelligence, the greatest hopes for developing this technology are
specifically related to the development of artificial intelligence. However, current estimates
suggest that full human brain emulations should be possible before mid-century [57] (p. 81).
The development of computer-aided design tools, as well as technologies that are likely to
be developed in the future, are shown in Table 1.

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Table 1. Development of software and technology for computer design.

Timeline Type of Software/Technology Software/Technology Capabilities

Past 2D Designing Software drafting software to replace freehand drawing
software enabling the creation of spatial structures used to
3D Designing Software
generate particular parts of a design study
designing 3D structures and patterns following given
Present Parametric Design
parameters
Generative Design results-oriented design
3d modeling related to building model production,
Building Information Modeling
communication and analysis kit
Building Life Cycling Modeling modelling various aspects related to the life cycle of a building
Augmented Reality transferring virtual projects into real space using dedicated tools
Neural Networks forecasting phenomena based on initial data
Machine Learning (ML) collecting data and learning to use it under human supervision
advanced machines and software based on neural networks
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
and machine learning capable of solving complex problems
Future Active Augmented Reality real-time creation of spatial models in augmented reality
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)/ advanced machines and software based on neural networks
Strong Artificial Intelligence (SAI) and machine learning capable of solving complex problems
highest form of computer intelligence that will enable the
Artificial Super Intelligence
replacement of humans by machines, including architecture

5. Conclusions
The material presented in this manuscript shows recent developments in computer
technology and their impact on the work of architects. It also provides deliberations of a
wide group of experts on the future of that profession. It represents a rare group of papers
that collects and interprets information about the impact of a wide range of technologies
on the work of architects, and attempts to predict how this development will affect the
profession in the future. Its novelty also lies in its effort to define requirements that could
theoretically contribute to the elimination of architects’ work. Although this paper is about
the future, and thus cannot provide definite answers, it allows us to extract information
that is certain and that may help us understand the future of this problem. A summary of
this information is presented in the following items.
(a) The architectural profession, unlike some other occupations now being displaced by
computer algorithms, requires wide-ranging competencies and skills, such as creative
and social intelligence. Currently, computers do not have such capabilities, and thus
do not have the potential to replace the work of architects.
(b) The future will see further development of computers and technologies such as
machine learning, artificial intelligence, superintelligence and most likely others as
yet undefined.
(c) The current development of computer technologies is not aimed at replacing architects,
but at supporting, facilitating and speeding up their work. Therefore, it is difficult to
expect that technologies which could replace architects’ work will appear in the near
future.
(d) People who accept the possibility of computers replacing the work of architects in
the future, associate this eventuality with the development of such technologies
as artificial superintelligence. It may be that the introduction of fully self-learning
software will come closest to the goal discussed above, but it may also simply bring
further, even more advanced improvements to the work of architects that will continue
to be controlled by humans.

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(e) Currently, it seems that occupations requiring creativity and social skills could be
eliminated only as a consequence of creating an artificial brain with capabilities not
inferior to the human organ.
(f) Although research on the human brain is now extensive, and we have increasing
information about how it works, a complete understanding of its capabilities and
limitations is beyond the reach of modern scientists. Without learning these principles
and translating them into the language of computers, it is difficult to think of replacing
architects with machines. Computers lacking the aforementioned skills or the ability
to interpret information generated by the senses would, therefore, perhaps be capable
of designing buildings but it is unlikely that they would ever be able to consciously
design works of architecture.
(g) In view of the above considerations, it seems that the replacement of the architect by
machines will be unrealistic in coming decades.
It seems that opinions coinciding with the above observation prevail among those
presented in this paper. While usually more definitive, the no votes are nevertheless partly
expressed by people who have never used computers, if only because of the times in which
they lived. Individuals who are professionally involved in information technology are
more likely to express the opinion that, however, in the future, algorithms will be refined
enough to be able to replace humans in the design process. They see this opportunity
primarily in the development of technologies such as machine learning and artificial
intelligence. Computers that base their architecture on living matter, such as DNA or
quantum computers, will get completely new capabilities. In 2009, In a Scientific American
article, Martin Campbell-Kelly wrote that “no one knows what the computers of 50 years
hence will look like. Perhaps their abilities will surpass even the powers of the minds
that created them” [58] (p. 8). Such a scenario cannot be ruled out especially since
“the pace of change seems likely to accelerate as a result of digitalisation and advances
in ’frontier technologies’ such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, biotechnology, and
nanotechnology (SDGs)” [30] (p. 3). However, even if computers do, in fact, eliminate
architects in the future, it is still worth listening to the voices of the present and past
skeptics. Sometimes, they also express concerns about the future of the human race in
the clash with the growing role of computers or even about losing control over our lives.
Those involved in computer technology should also take these voices into account and
program computers with humility in such a way that they are a help to people, not a threat.
It seems that due to the complex and multi-criteria nature of the architectural profession,
replacing humans with machines will not be possible in the coming decades. However, it
is likely that, eventually, technological developments will allow it. Until then, they should
complement their work, which—at least for the time being—accelerates it and achieves
greater and sometimes also innovative design capabilities.

Author Contributions: Conceptualisation, J.K. and P.Z.; methodology, J.K. and P.Z.; software, J.K.
and P.Z.; validation, J.K. and P.Z.; investigation, P.Z.; resources, P.Z.; data curation, P.Z.; writing—
original draft preparation, J.K. and P.Z.; writing—review and editing, J.K. and P.Z.; visualisation, P.Z.;
supervision, P.Z.; project administration, P.Z.; funding acquisition, J.K. and P.Z. All authors have read
and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded from statutory funds of the Poznan University of Technology,
Faculty of Architecture. Funds number: 0111/SBAD/0407.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Data sharing not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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 buildings
Article
Contemporary Odeon Buildings as a Sustainable Environment
for Culture
Kazimierz Leonard Butelski

Department of Architecture, CUT, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 30-233 Cracow, Poland;
[email protected]

Abstract: The subject of this study is contemporary odeons in Poland, where 11 covered amphithe-
aters (odeons) have been built since 2005. The odeons were selected from a wider collection of
57 functioning amphitheaters. The study collected data on location, form, function, and construction.
The data sources included the literature, archival research, design documentation, and competition
entries. Descriptive and graphical comparative analyses of the phenomena, based on the statistics for
completed structures and on design experiments in the case of unbuilt structures, were the two main
research methods used in this study. The emergence and development directions of the typology of
open cultural spaces from amphitheaters to odeons are presented in a global and regional context.
Their interrelationships, affecting form and function, were also analyzed. The influence of high-end
materials that were used to create these complex, large-scale spatial structures, and their impact on
the environment, has been presented. The contemporary roofs covering the entertainment and stage
complex were analyzed in relation to environmental factors, determining the location of the odeons.
The functional aspects of these buildings and their cultural significance on a local, regional and global
scale were discussed. The odeon in Biała Podlaska, built in 2019, was chosen as a case study to show,
in detail, the complexity of the formation of contemporary odeons. In the discussion on the direction
Citation: Butelski, K.L. Contemporary
of the further evolution of open spaces for culture, an example of an unrealized competition design
Odeon Buildings as a Sustainable
proposal of mobile roofing forms for the eighteenth-century amphitheater in the Royal Baths Park in
Environment for Culture. Buildings
Warsaw, Poland, was presented. The conclusions emphasize the environmental, spatial, functional,
2021, 11, 308. https://doi.org/
social and economic values of the establishment and functioning of contemporary odeons as open
10.3390/buildings11070308
spaces of culture that are compliant with the principles of sustainable development.
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński,
Agata Bonenberg, Wojciech Keywords: odeons; buildings; membranes; canopies; sustainable environment; open culture; spaces;
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini evolution; adaptation; acoustics

Received: 8 June 2021

Accepted: 13 July 2021
Published: 16 July 2021 1. Introduction
Odeons appeared as public buildings in ancient times, as a part of an evolution in
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
the typology of amphitheaters. This evolution consisted of covering the audience and
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
the stage of the amphitheater with a roof. Their creation was closely related to Greek,
published maps and institutional affil-
and, later, Hellenistic and Roman culture. Most researchers define the original function of
iations.
odeons as that of a musical theater. Some also believed that they could have served as a
place for meetings of city councils in those cities that had no bouleuterions [1]. Thus, they
were buildings that were associated with culture and democratic power. In the historical
process from antiquity to modern times, the disappearance of political and administration
Copyright: © 2021 by the author. functions in favor of those related to culture can be observed. However, contrary to the
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
democratic genesis in antiquity, in the 1930s in Germany, amphitheaters were used for
This article is an open access article
totalitarian Nazi propaganda. As part of the Thingplatz program, 1200 such venues were
distributed under the terms and
planned, of which 45 were built; the first was built in Halle in 1934 [2].
conditions of the Creative Commons
The siting of amphitheaters and odeons was most often connected with spatial pretexts,
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
resulting from natural landscape features. One example of this is the ruins of Pericles’
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
odeons from 442 BC and those of Herod from 115 AD on the slopes of the Athenian Capitol,
4.0/).

Buildings 2021, 11, 308. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11070308 187 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2021, 11, 308

and Agrippa’s odeon from 15 BC on the Athenian Agora. The forms of odeons were
based on the assumptions of open amphitheaters, and they differed from amphitheaters by
covering the stage and the audience with a roof. In the conditions of the Mediterranean
culture, with a mild climate, the reason for covering amphitheaters with roofs was mainly
the acoustics [3].
As the typology of public buildings, such as amphitheaters, spread to other regions of
the world, with less favorable climates, roofs became a necessity. Roofs made it possible
to disregard rainfall and to use the space offered by the amphitheaters for longer. To be
independent of temperature, walls also appeared, and the process of making buildings
independent of the external conditions was completed. In this way, new typologies of
cultural buildings were created, such as theaters, opera houses, concert halls, multifunc-
tional halls, conference centers, and cinemas (in some countries of Western Europe and
in the USA, nowadays called ODEONs). All of these public buildings that are dedicated
to culture are among the most specialized structures that people create. The costs of their
production and functioning are exceedingly high, hence they appear in the most developed
and rich societies. The functional offering of these closed spaces of culture is varied and
addressed, both to a narrow group of recipients and to the mass audience. In the latter
case, the function of the events of culture and sport interpenetrates, hence the creation of,
for example, multifunctional halls that are not infrequently intended for 20,000 visitors [4].
At the same time, however, one of the important values of odeons, which is contact with
the natural environment, has been lost.
Today, amphitheaters and odeons, as open landscape spaces of culture, coexist with
these highly specialized public buildings that are dedicated to culture.
The next stage in the development of open cultural spaces in the twentieth century
was music festivals and religious events on a massive scale. During these events, the
relationship between the audience and the stage, or multiple stages, benefited from the
spatial experience of historic amphitheater systems supported by sound systems. Only
temporarily built portable stages are covered with roofs. Events of this type generate the
creation of ephemeral forms that exist for only for a few days. Due to the scale of these
events, no odeons are built, because it is not possible to cover the audience dedicated
to such a large number of people (mass cultural events in recent decades are as follows:
400 thousand people attended the rock festival at Woodstock in the 1960s, and in recent
years in Poland (Kostrzyn and Odra) ˛ 650 thousand spectators [5]. Six million pilgrims
were in Manila, Philippines in 2015 [6], during the papal visit, and 2.5 million in Poland in
Krakow in 2002).
The number of participants at such events many times exceeds the number of seats
that were provided in all 57 of the amphitheaters analyzed in this study, which totals
114,816 spectators. These data indicate a significant relationship between the scope of the
functional program and the sustainability of the form over time. Therefore, this paper
omits large outdoor concerts and religious meetings, the spatial analysis of which requires
a separate study because it does not correspond both functionally and spatially to the
analyzed structures of cultural spaces, such as amphitheaters, and their final form of
evolution—odeons.
Over the last 15 years, 11 odeons in the classical sense of this typology—i.e., in the form
a stage and an auditorium covered by a roof or several roofs—have been built in Poland.
The importance of odeons as open cultural spaces for sustainable cultural development
in Poland is the subject of this paper. This work is holistic in nature, and deals with the
environment in cultural, technical, and landscape aspects.

2. Materials and Research Methods

The main research material consisted of 57 amphitheaters built in Poland, from which
a group of 11 odeons was selected. This selection was based on the definition of an odeon
as an amphitheater in which the stage and auditorium are covered with a roof. Therefore,
buildings with a covered stage, but no covered auditorium, or with an auditorium only

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Buildings 2021, 11, 308

partially covered were rejected. This was based on a review of the literature, in situ studies
of completed buildings and projects. To show the delayed genesis of this spatial form, the
historical development of open cultural spaces in Poland, starting from democratic political
meetings to elect the king, was discussed. Relevant geographical conditions specific to the
study area in relation to the creation of odeons have also been presented. A descriptive and
graphical comparative analysis of phenomena for completed buildings based on statistics
and an analysis based on design experiments in the case of unbuilt buildings are the two
main research methods used in this study.
On the basis of the case study of the completed odeon in Biała Podlaska Figure 1,
the paper presents the characteristic elements related to the complex approach to the
construction of this type of object. A discussion based on unbuilt competition designs
was also undertaken about contemporary trends on the example of transforming the
oldest eighteenth century amphitheater in Poland into an odeon. On the basis of the
materials gathered in this way and the research methods applied in their preparation,
final conclusions were formulated in the aspect of the odeon as a contemporary example
of a cultural open space created in conditions of sustainable development. This study
focuses on the period after 1989 because it was a turning point in modern Polish history,
which gave input for the creation of many open cultural spaces, such as amphitheaters
and odeons.

Figure 1. Cultural environment of the odeon in Biała Podlaska, aerial view. Photo: Stanisław
Butelski 2019.

2.1. Historical Analysis of the Development of Amphitheaters and Odeons on the Territory
of Poland
Cultural diversity in a globalized world is a value, worth of preservation. The culture,
geography, and history of Poland are fundamentally different from those of Greece, where
the odeons originally arose. The contemporary forms of odeons in Poland are therefore
the result of a long evolution and a process of architectural enculturation. Odeons were
popularized by Roman culture, especially in the Western Empire. This phenomenon
is well illustrated by Figure 2, which shows the distribution of amphitheaters in the
Roman Empire [7]. Poland was never part of the Roman Empire, and the appearance of
amphitheaters and odeons on its territory was significantly delayed relative to their time
of origin. We can look for the first odeon-like buildings in connection with the political
system. The origins of the Polish state date to the tenth century AD and are associated with
the adoption of Christianity from the west. From the sixteenth to the end of the eighteenth
century, Poland, through a personal union with Lithuania, was a European power. The
state system was democratic, and the monarch was elected.

189
Buildings 2021, 11, 308


Figure 2. Distribution of amphitheaters in the Roman Empire. Adapted from ref. [8].

The election of regional representatives in individual provinces took place in churches

(as public places were likely to gather the largest number of people), while the king was
chosen in the electoral field. The electoral field, together with its associated temporary
buildings, can be considered as one of the prototypes of modern odeons corresponding
to the function of ancient buleuterions. The number of voters taking part in the election
ranged from 12,000 to 50,000, so spatial organization was crucial in those times to hold a
smooth presentation of issues, debate, and vote, as shown in Figure 3.
If we are talking about buildings for cultural purposes, then the Operalnia is consid-
ered to be the first permanent theater facility built specifically for this purpose in Poland. It
was built in 1725 (the Operalnia building existed from 1725 to 1772 in Warsaw on Królewska
Street) in Warsaw [9] on the initiative of King Augustus II the Strong of the House of Wettin.
The author of the Operalnia building remains anonymous.
The first and most famous amphitheater in Poland, as presented in Figure 4, was
opened in 1791 and is located in Warsaw in the park called the Royal Baths. The Royal
Baths Park was created in 1764 on the initiative of King Stanislaus August Poniatowski as
the surroundings of the royal summer residence, the so-called Palace on the Isle, and was
an exemplification of the modernizing and modern concepts advocated by the last Polish
king. The author of the amphitheater design was Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer, who had been
born in Dresden. This building, which was a part of the park layout, in its architecture,
referred to the ruins of Herculaneum and the Roman Forum [10]. One characteristic feature
of this Romantic and Classicist complex was the location of the stage on an island, thanks
to which the water separated it from the audience and constituted a background for the
stage. Poland lost its independence at the end of the eighteenth century and remained
partitioned throughout the nineteenth century. As a result of the First World War, Poland
regained its independence. After the Second World War, it fell under Soviet occupation and
lost its independence and territory in the east and reclaimed territories in the west. Several
amphitheaters from the German Thingplatz program have been preserved in this western
part, e.g., one of the largest for 20,000 spectators on St. Anne’s Mountain. The totalitarian
system came to an end in 1989 and since 2004, Poland has been a member of the European

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Buildings 2021, 11, 308

Union. The year 2005 can be considered the cut-off date for the increase in the number
of amphitheaters and odeons in Poland. There are currently 954 cities in Poland, 60% of
the country’s population lives in cities, and the population density is 125 people/km2. As
many as 556 cities are under 10,000 population. The largest city is Warsaw (population:
1,790,658) and the smallest is Opatowiec (population: 338) [11].

Figure 3. The author’s graphics—the electoral field with a temporary building for senators called “The Shed”, based on
the painting The electoral field of 1764 Author Jean-Pierre Norblin de La Gourdaine. Adapted from ref. [12]. Adapted from
ref. [13].

Figure 4. Amphitheatre in the Royal Baths Park. Jan Piotr Norblin, watercolor, 1789–1791. Reprinted from ref. [10].

191
Buildings 2021, 11, 308

2.2. Directions of Typological Evolution, from the Amphitheater to the Odeon

The group of open cultural spaces such as amphitheaters and odeons can be divided
into the following:
a. The simplest buildings, with an uncovered auditorium and stage;
b. Of medium complexity, where only the stage was covered;
c. Highly complex, i.e., odeons, in which both the audience and the stage are roofed.
Originally, 57 amphitheaters were listed in Table 1. The amphitheaters and odeons
were selected and compared with respect to certain features for the analysis of form, func-
tion, and construction and the mutual relationship between these elements to determine the
relationship with the sustainable development of open cultural spaces in Poland. Moreover,
in the urban and cultural scope, the size of the towns in which these objects were built,
the date of construction or reconstruction, and the authors of the objects were determined.
From a group of 57 objects of open cultural spaces in Poland, 11 odeons were distinguished,
in which both the auditorium and stage are covered with a roof, supplementing the fol-
lowing tabular research data: the number of inhabitants of the locality where the object is
located, the surface of the roof, the type of roofing, the typology of the construction of the
form, the symmetry and asymmetry of the form, the graphic illustration of the location, the
construction system used.

Table 1. Fifty-seven amphitheaters in Poland ordered by number of spectators. Number 1 in the cell means that the
described factor exists. Author’s research. Amphitheaters are shown on the map in Figure 5 following the numbers in
column one.
Maximum Roof Span

Roof only over Stage

Roof over Audience
Image of the Object
Spectators

Typology
and stage

Location
Roofless
Name

Place

Year
No.

The Concert
1. Jelenia 100 2008 1
Shell Jelenia Góra Park Amphitheatre
Góra

Amphitheatre
2. Opera Nova Bydgoszcz 200 2006 1 Opera Amphitheatre
Bydgoszcz

Amphitheatre
3. Michałów 210 2008 1 Lake Amphitheatre
Michałów

Forest
amphitheater Bielsko
4. 216 2021 1 Forest Amphitheatre
in Lipnik near Biała
Bielsko Biała

Amphitheatre City center,

5. Wałbrzych 216 2010 1 Amphitheatre
Wałbrzych Theater

Summer
6. Amphitheatre Tarnów 275 2018 1 City center Amphitheatre
Tarnów

192
Buildings 2021, 11, 308

Table 1. Cont.

Maximum Roof Span

Roof only over Stage

Roof over Audience
Image of the Object
Spectators

Typology
and stage

Location
Roofless
Name

Place

Year
No.

Amphitheatre Konstancin 306

7. Konstancin Jeziorna 2009 1 Park Amphitheatre
Jeziorna

Amusement
8. Coloseo Zator Zator 360 2014 1 Park Amphitheatre

Amphitheatre
9. Bochnia 380 1 Park Amphitheatre
Bochnia

Amphitheatre
10. Wilkasy Giżycko 400 1 Lake Amphitheatre
Giżycko

Amphitheatre
11. Cekcyn 400 2012 1 Lake Amphitheatre
Cekcyn

Amphitheatre
12. Bolesławiec 400 2017 1 Park Amphitheatre
Bolesławiec

13. Amphitheatre Stary 432 2010 1

Dwór Lake Amphitheatre
at Stary Dwór

Amphitheatre
14. Garedja 450 2012 1 Lake Amphitheatre
Gardeja

Amphitheatre
15. Tuchów 480 2013 1 Park Amphitheatre
Tuchów

Amphitheatre
Zubrzyca Open–Air
16. Zubrzyca 500 1 Museum Amphitheatre
Górna
Górna

Amphitheatre
in Wygi˛ezłów
17. Wygi˛ezłów 500 2011 1 Park Amphitheatre
Ethnographic
Park

Amphitheatre
Podlasie Opera
18. and Białystok 550 2012 1 Opera Amphitheatre
Philharmonic
Białystok

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Buildings 2021, 11, 308

Table 1. Cont.

Amphitheatre
19. Park Zadole Katowice 800 2005 1 Park Amphitheatre
Katowice

Amphitheatre Piotrków
20. Piotrków Try- 800 2014 1 Park Amphitheatre
Trybunalski bunalski

Amphitheatre
21. Wabrzeźno
˛ 840 2018 1 Lake Amphitheatre
Wabrzeźno
˛

Amphitheatre Siemianowice900
22. Siemianowice 1 Park Amphitheatre
Ślaskie
˛
Ślaskie
˛

Amphitheatre
23. Czeladź 900 2019 1 Park Amphitheatre
Czeladź

Amphitheatre Ustronie
24. Ustronie Morskie 900 1 Park Amphitheatre
Morskie

Amphitheatre
Park, Pond,
25. in Łazienki Warszawa 950 1791 1 Island, Amphitheatre
Królewskie- Palace
Warsaw

Michel Jackson
26. Amphitheatre Warszawa 960 2008 60 1 Park Odeon
Bemowo
Warsaw

Amphitheatre Biała Park, Palace,

27. Pod- 1000 2019 45 1 Odeon
Biała Podlaska laska Fortress

28. Amphitheatre Zamość 1000 2012 1 Fortress

Zamość Amphitheatre

Amphitheatre
29. Hajnówka 1000 2015 1 Park Semi Odeon
Hajnówka

Amphitheatre
30. Szczyrk 1000 2012 1 Ski jump Amphitheatre
Szczyrk

Amphitheatre
Władysła- Amusement
31. Władysła- 1100 1 Park Amphitheatre
wowo
wowo

The concert
32. shell in the Lublin 1155 2019 1 Park Amphitheatre
Saxon Garden
Lublin

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Table 1. Cont.

Proszowice Proszo-
33. Town wice 1200 2020 1 City Centre Amphitheatre
Amphitheatre

Czesław
Niemen
34. Amphitheatre Olsztyn 1250 1 City, Castle Amphitheatre
Olsztyn

Amphitheatre
35. shell Sosnowiec 1700 2020 1 Park Amphitheatre
Sosnowiec

36. Amphitheatre Augustów 1714 2013 1 Lake Amphitheatre

Augustów

Amphitheatre
37. Wejherowo 1800 1 Park Amphitheatre
Wejherowo

Amphitheatre
of the Wolski
Cultural
38. Centre in Warszawa 2000 2019 70 1 Park Odeon
Sowińskiego
Park in
Warsaw
Amphitheatre
of the Virgin
Mary, Star of
39. the New Toruń 2000 2016 1 Church, Amphitheatre
Evangelization river
and Saint John
Paul II in
Toruń

Amphitheatre
40. Świecie 2000 1 City Centre Amphitheatre
Świecie

Amphitheatre
41. Ostróda 2500 2012 78 1 Lake Odeon
Ostróda

Stanisław
Hadyna
42. Wisła 2500 2009 58 1 Park Odeon
Amphitheatre
Wisła

43. Amphitheatre Ustroń 2500 2008 55 1 Park Odeon

in Ustroniu

Marek
Grechuta
44. Amphitheatre Świnoujście 2700 2010 58 1 Park Odeon
Świnoujście

Open Air
45. Auditorium Malbork 2880 2010 1 Castle Amphitheatre
Malbork

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Table 1. Cont.

Amphitheatre
46. in Boyen Giżycko 3200 2018 1 Fortress Amphitheatre
Fortress
Giżycko

Amphitheatre
47. Płock 3500 2008 63 1 River Odeon
Płock

Millennium
48. Amphitheatre 3800 2011 1 River, Island,
Opole Semi Odeon
castle
Opole

Ignacy Jan
49. Paderewski 4500 1976 106 1
Amphitheatre Koszalin Valley, Park Odeon
Koszalin

Helena
Majdaniec Semi Odeon /
50. Summer Szczecin 4500 2021 1 Park, pond
Theatre Odeon
Szczecin

Amphitheatre
51. Kołobrzeg 4500 1968 1 Fortress Odeon
Kołobrzeg

Anna German
Amphitheatre Zielona Amphitheatre
52. 5000 1970 1 City centre
Góra out of service
Zielona Góra

53. Forest Opera Sopot 5047 2012 107 1

Sopot Valley, Forest Odeon

Amphitheatre
54. on Lake Czos Mragowo
˛ 5280 2012 1 Lake Amphitheatre
Mragowo
˛

Amphitheatre
55. 5500 2010 90 1 Quarry,
Kadzielnia Kielce Forest Odeon
Kielce

Amphitheatre
56. in Dolina Słupsk 10,000 2007 1 Valley, lake Amphitheatre
Charlotty

Monument
and Góra
57. amphitheater Świ˛etej 20,000 1934 1 Quarry, Ruin
on Mount Anny Forest
Saint Anne

Odeons are the most typologically advanced among amphitheaters and are charac-
terized by covering both the stage and the audience. In addition, an intermediate group
can be distinguished, in which the entire stage and part of the audience is covered. One of
their noticeable and characteristic features is the lack of buildings with only the auditorium
covered. The evolution from simple open structures through medium complexity to the
final form of odeons, where the auditorium and the stage are covered with a roof, is a
clearly observable evolution trajectory. There have been many iterations of this process,

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during which, as spatial complexity increased, the existing elements of the auditorium and
stage were adjusted and sometimes completely remodeled when the roof was built. In the
case of the two largest Polish odeons in Koszalin and Sopot, the existing roof covering was
also remodeled. The reconstruction of a previously functioning large amphitheater into a
completely enclosed building, an example of which is the intention to build a concert and
conference hall for about 1800 people in Zielona Góra, is an extreme case.

Figure 5. (Left): location of 57 amphitheaters and odeons in Poland (number following Table 1, odeons marked red).
(Right): location of 11 odeons (numbers follow Table 2). Original research.

All the odeons analyzed are characterized by being outside city centers in relation to
the landscape. We can compare their functioning with concert halls located within the city
structure. In concert halls, we can often notice a strong relation between the space of the
concert hall foyer and its foreground, which extends the influence of such buildings beyond
their physical boundaries. In the case of odeons, there is no foyer, whose function is taken
over by the open landscape, leading to a strong integration of these structures with the
surrounding nature. Just as concert halls and their forecourts are often part of city space, in
the case of odeons they are part of the surrounding landscape. In this arrangement, the
canopies of the odeons are merely the culmination of the performance space. Transport
service in odeons is connected with this issue. The access to odeon facilities has therefore
a different landscape character than in the case of concert halls, and parking spaces for
odeons are a part of parking spaces dedicated to a larger area, e.g., a park, and not for a
single facility, similarly to public transport services. As a consequence, we have to deal
with the dispersion of traffic streams over a considerable area, helping to discharge them
without culmination, in short intervals of time.

2.3. Aspects of Odeon Siting

Poland is located in the moderate climate zone, with influences of air masses from
the Baltic Sea stabilizing the temperature. Terrain is flat except for the mountains in the
south, on the border with the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the western part, the
climate is slightly warmer, with Atlantic influences, and in the east, it is colder and more
continental. The climatic differences between Greece, where odeons originated, and Poland
are important from the point of view of the subject under discussion. In a preliminary
study, the possible length of use of amphitheaters was determined considering average
monthly temperature. Assuming a minimum temperature of 18 ◦ C, the season for outdoor
performances in Greece lasts for 8 months from April to November, and in Poland for

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5 months from May to September. This data should be contrasted with rainfall data. The
amount of rainfall in Greece is high at the beginning and the end of the outdoor season,
but in the middle of the season it almost disappears. In Poland, on the other hand, the
amount of rainfall at the beginning and the end of the shorter 5-month season is high, but
in contrast to Greece it increases and reaches its absolute maximum in the middle of the
outdoor season. Therefore, roofing outdoor stages and auditoriums in Poland is a necessity
if they are to function during the season without getting wet.
Even the territorial distribution of amphitheaters is shown on the map of Poland
in Figure 5; even the territorial distribution of amphitheaters indicates that there are no
regional differences in the occurrence of this function. Among the localization factors,
there are various spatial pretexts, both natural and cultural. Natural pretexts include, e.g.,
the geomorphology of the terrain in the form of valleys, mountains, lakes, forests, rivers,
islands, and lagoons. The cultural pretexts for locating amphitheaters and odeons include
city centers, fortifications, quarries, churches, opera houses, palaces, parks, castles, but also
such structures as ski jumping platforms—see Table 1.
The location is always accompanied by at least one of the indicated factors, often there
are several of them, which increases the attractiveness of the objects. An example of such
a location with multiple pretexts is the oldest known Polish amphitheater in the Royal
Baths Park in Warsaw, located in the park near the palace on the island and the lagoon. The
most common pretext for siting amphitheaters is in parks, which was the case in 24 of the
surveyed cases, and by lakes or rivers in 15 cases. Contact with nature and making use of
its values is therefore one of the basic values when making a siting decision about building
an amphitheater or odeon.
In terms of detailed analysis in relation to odeon locations, their orientation in relation
to the direction of the world was also studied Figure 6. As a result of this research, it was
found that there is no uniform rule in this regard. In the case of the Forest Opera in Sopot,
the stage is on the north side of the odeon, in Koszalin, on the southeast side, in Ostróda
on the west side, in Płock on the south side. The direction the stage faces in relation to the
cardinal direction is determined by the shape and attractiveness of the surroundings and
not by its location in relation to the cardinal directions. Additionally, it should be noted
that the roofing function can be used to correct lighting conditions, especially regarding
the glare resulting from the unfavorable position of the audience in relation to the sun.
Moreover, some of the activities hosted by odeons occur after dark, so this issue does
not arise.
The distribution of odeons in Poland concerns cities of different size—as demonstrated
in Table 2—such as Kielce with a population of almost 200,000, Płock with about 100,000,
and Koszalin with about 60,000, and 30,000 in Biała Podlaska, Ostróda, Sopot, Świnoujście,
or small ones with populations between 16,000 to 11,000 such as Ustroń and Wisła. The
exceptions are those located in Warsaw’s districts of Bemowo and Wola. However, if we
compare the number of inhabitants of districts such as Bemowo and Wola, it turns out
that they are similar to the number of inhabitants of Płock or Koszalin, oscillating around
100,000. In this context, the largest city in which an odeon is located is Kielce with its nearly
200,000 inhabitants, and the smallest is Wisła with its 11,000 inhabitants. There is no direct
relation between the number of spectators in an odeon and the size of the city, although the
biggest odeon for 5500 spectators is in the biggest city, at the same time in the smallest city
we have an odeon for 2500 spectators. Thus, other factors determine the size of the odeon.
Apart from Warsaw, there are no odeons in cities where there are a number of facilities
intended for participation in culture, such as concert halls, congress halls, theaters, or
multifunctional rooms. This indicates an important role to be played by odeons in smaller
peripheral centers, where there are no cultural facilities in the form of professional concert
halls. On the other hand, on the scale of a large city or agglomeration, these facilities help
in providing equal access to cultural events to the inhabitants of peripheral districts or
parts of the agglomeration, as exemplified by Sopot and Warsaw. Summary of findings: a
roof is a necessity in Polish odeons due to the weather; there are no regional differences

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in the distribution of amphitheaters and odeons; odeons are sited in the landscape taking
advantage of its quality; the orientation of odeons is not related to the directions of the
world; contact with nature is the greatest value; odeons played an important cultural role
in peripheral centers and districts of large agglomerations.

Figure 6. Form of odeons in Poland. Author’s collection based on Google Earth. All pictures are presented to the same
scale, with the north direction being the top of the page. Numbers follow Table 2.

2.4. Odeon Roof, Form, Construction, and Materials

Due to the geometric construction of the form, it is possible to distinguish categories
of canopies with respect to the preservation of the axis of symmetry. Out of the 11 ana-
lyzed odeons, 2 are symmetric (Koszalin, Świnoujście), 8 are semisymmetric (assuming
a difference of approximately 10 m in the length of the main structural arches of the roof
is negligible for this qualification), because they keep symmetry along only one axis, and
only 1 odeon does not keep symmetry with respect to any axis (Biała Podlaska).
In terms of surface typology, we can divide the roof forms into the following two
groups: anticlastic and synclastic—see Table 2—nine of the eleven amphitheaters analyzed
use the former typology, and only two in Świnoujście and Giżycko are synclastic. One
important formal issue related to the functioning of canopies is the size of the division of
the surface folds (foliation).

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Table 2. Contemporary odeons in Poland, ordered by number of spectators. Original research. The odeons are shown on
the map in Figure 5, following the Roman numbers in column one.

Roof over Stage or Mezzanine

Anticlastic or Synclastic Form

Cone, Arch, Hiperbolic, Logic

Material of Roof Covering
Name, Place, and Author

Maximum Roof Span

Picture Presentation
Total Roof Surface
No. Table 1 | No.

City Inhabitants

Roof Surface
Spectators

Location
Year

Michel
Jackson
Amphitheatre
in Warszawa
Bemowo,
I. 26. TiMRynek 125,119 960 2008 60 1700 0 1700 Mambrane Park
and Studio
Architekt
Juliusz
Marcinowski

Membrane
Precontrain
Amphitheatre 1002 Serge Park,
II. in Biała Ferrari Fr, Castle,
27. 59,280 1000 2019 45 1790 0 1790 Mehler
Podlaska, BP Fortifi-
PROJEKT Texnologies cation
Valmex
Mehatop

Amphitheatre
of the Wolski
Cultural Membrane
III. Centre in 141,407 2000 2019 70 3100 0 3100
38. Sowińskiego Canobbio, Park
Ps
Park in
Warszawa
Wola, NN

Amphitheater
in Ostróda,
IV. Autorska
41. 33,191 2500 2012 78 1880 359 2239 Wood Lake
Pracownia
Architektury
CAD

Stanisław
Hadyna
Amphitheatre
in Wisła,
V. 42. Pracownia 11,132 2500 2009 58 1890 0 1890 Membrane Park
Inżynierska
PROJEKT s.c.
Kr˛ezel
Marian,
Kr˛ezel Marta

Amphitheater
in Ustroń,
Andrzej
VI. Gałkowski, Membrane
43. Marcin 16,073 2500 2008 55 1700 0 1700 Hp Gasser Park
Gałkowski, A.G. Sui
współpraca
Piotr
Średniawa

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Table 2. Cont.

Roof over Stage or Mezzanine

Anticlastic or Synclastic Form

Cone, Arch, Hiperbolic, Logic

Material of Roof Covering
Name, Place, and Author

Maximum Roof Span

Picture Presentation
Total Roof Surface
No. Table 1 | No.

City Inhabitants

Roof Surface
Spectators

Location
Year

Marek Membrane
Grechuta Mehler
VII. Amphitheatre 41,516 2700 2010 58 2900 0 2900 Texnologies,
44. in Park
Świnoujście, Valmex
NN Mehatop F

Amphitheatre
in Płock,
Czesława
Korgul
(główny
architekt),
VIII. Ignacy
47. 120,338 3500 2008 63 2770 0 2770 Membrane River
Bladowski,
Wojciech
Ryżyński,
Henryk
Nowacki,
Henryk
S˛eczykowski

Amfiteatr im.
Ignacego Jana
Paderewskiego
in Koszalin, Trapezoidal
IX.
49. Marian 106,097 4500 1976 102 4500 0 4500 metal sheet/ Valley
Czerner, Membrane
Andrzej
Katzer, Jan
Filipkowski

Forest Opera
in Sopot, Paul
X. Walther- Mambrne Valley,
Schaffer Paul 37,089 5047 2012 103 3520 1040 4560
53. Tayio Forest
Püchmüller,
Janusz
Kowalski

Kadzielnia
Amphitheatre Membrane
in Kielce, over
Witold audience—
Gilewicz, Removable
XI. Andrzej 195,942 5500 2010 90 2500 1500 4000 in winter, Query
55. Mehler
Lipski, Marek
Borkowski, Texnologies.
Wiesław Valmex
Michałek, Mehatop F
Adam Kluza

TOTAL 887,184 32,707 782 28,250 31,149

AVERAGE 80,653 2 973 71 2568 2 pnm
m 832

Related to this is the important issue of drainage of water from large surfaces at the
lowest points of the canopy. In the case of homogeneous surfaces with a low degree of
folding, there is a minimum number of drainage points. As a result, the highest accumu-
lation of water per time unit occurs here, which requires an appropriate solution for its
drainage without detriment to the structure and operation of the superstructure. In the
analyzed examples, the smallest number of such points ranges from 2 in Szczecin to 38 in
Biała Podlaska, where the roof surface is the most fragmented.

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One important part of the membrane roof construction is the tendons and cables,
which must meet the highest standards for strength, corrosion resistance, and fire protection.
Foundations are an invisible part of membrane roof construction. Many times, they carry
heavy loads with only a few points of support for the entire structure. For example, in the
odeon in Koszalin, the main support is located at two points called abutments on the roof
with an area of almost 4000 m2 . Two load-bearing arches of the roof are supported at their
ends through spherical joints, by reinforced concrete abutments, which are monolithically
connected to a reinforced concrete slab resting on 44 Franki piles [14]. In the Forest Opera in
Sopot Figure 7, the main structure consists of two steel arches with a circular cross-section
and a diameter of 1.3 m with lengths of 102.96 m and 93.20 m, respectively, founded on
12 m deep foundation blocks; additionally, 230 piles with lengths ranging from 12 to 12.5 m
were made for the perimeter tension of the membrane. Membranes are the main material
used for modern odeon roofs in Poland. Out of the 11 analyzed odeons, only two are not
covered with membranes. Among the membranes used in the projects, there are French,
Japanese, German, Swiss and Italian products (Canobbio IT, HP Gasser A.G. SUI, Mehler
Texnologies DE, Serge Ferrari FR, Tayio JP). Each time an individual membrane assembly
design is prepared together with a structural analysis of the stresses that occur during
construction work. Membranes are not only a covering element, but also a structural
element of roofs.

Figure 7. The scale of the main foundations of the load-bearing arch structure Forest Opera House in Sopot cross-section.
https://inzynierbudownictwa.pl/stalowa-konstrukcja-z-motylim-dachem/10.05.2021 (accessed on 16 July 2021).

To shape the form of membrane roofs, the following two basic methods are used:
• The application and tensioning of the membrane on internal structural members in
the form of arches, frames, or columns;
• Suspension and tensioning of the membrane on the overhanging structural elements
of columns and pylons by means of cables and lashings.
The third method is a hybrid solution that combines those above. The use of mem-
branes makes it possible to form geometrically complicated roof shapes on multicurve
surfaces. In these systems, the steel structure is integrated with the membrane to form a
complex structure.
In Europe, the development of tensile membrane structures is most often associated
with the name of German architect Frei Otto and his most popular work, the 1972 Munich
Olympic Stadium. This stadium, as well as the Millennium Dome built in London in
the twenty-first century, has influenced many solutions in membrane roofing. Krzysztof
Gerlic wrote [15] about the perception of these technologies on Polish territory, pointing
to the freedom of shaping the architectural form inherent in this material. As a result,
each of the 11 completed Odeon projects, 10 of which use membranes, have their own

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original architectural and engineering solutions. The oldest odeon in Koszalin was built
when membrane technologies were not yet common in Poland. This structure refers to the
famous sports hall in Raleigh, in the USA, from 1952, designed by Maciej Nowicki [16]. It
was one of the first projects in which the structural and formal logic of modern architecture
was materialized by showing the possibilities of membrane tensile structures. Currently
in Koszalin the existing steel sheeting is being replaced with membrane roofing. The
original construction was created by a special patent of prestressing the structure, and the
covering created an anticlastic surface similar to a parabolic hyperboloid. In addition to
the strength and durability, the ability of light to penetrate without creating additional
illuminating elements is an important feature of the membranes. This property ensures
good uniform daylighting over the entire auditorium. This property can also be used at
night for multimedia projections, integrating the events taking place inside the Odeon with
the surrounding environment. The membranes make it possible to regulate the inflow of
light to individual Odeon elements. In the case of stage roofing, it is possible, for example,
to use membranes with reduced light penetration or those that are completely opaque. A
temporary folding roof occurs only in the case of one odeon in Kielce and applies to the
part above the audience. The membrane over the stage is fixed permanently, and over the
audience it is mechanically stretched during summer thanks to a special construction, and
it is retracted over the stage portal for winter.
Summary of findings: the forms of most odeons are semi-symmetrical; from a typo-
logical point of view anticlassical solutions prevail; the size of the division of the fold of the
roof surface is an important issue from the point of view of water drainage; membranes
are the most commonly used roofing and construction material of odeons; two basic meth-
ods are used to shape the membrane roof; permanent membrane solutions prevail, but
temporary projects are also possible.

2.5. Audience Form, Design, and Materials

The form of the auditorium in each of the analyzed cases relates to historical solutions
and is a section of a circle approximated by a regular polygon—as displayed in Figure 8.
The auditoriums in most of the analyzed cases were within the angle of 180 degrees that is
characteristic for classical Greek amphitheaters, only in one odeon in Biała Podlaska is this
angle greater. As a result, the visibility curves intersect in the center of the figures forming
the audience at the place where the stage is located. Consequently, one-way shows are
most often realized in odeons. Comparing the auditoriums for about 5000 spectators of
the two largest Polish odeons in Sopot and Kielce, the audience plan curve is significantly
higher in the former. The same is true for the two smallest odeons for 1000 spectators in
Biała Podlaska, where the curve of the audience plan is greater than in Warsaw–Bemowo.
As a consequence of the greater curvature, the stage is closer to the audience and partially
surrounded by it. Solutions in which the curvature of the auditorium is greater, result
in an increase in the size of the roofed area for a comparable number of spectators. A
pairwise comparison of the roofing areas of the odeons in Sopot and Kielce, and Biała
Podlaska and Warsaw–Bemowo illustrates this principle, and amounts to 4560 m2 /4000 m2
and 1790 m2 /1700 m2 , respectively. Increasing the curvature of the audience angle allows
for greater integration of the stage and audience, and consequently for building stronger
relationships of audience participation in the performance.
The odeon stands are most often made of reinforced concrete and are used as an
auxiliary element for the foundation of the structure. Often there are also mixed cold-
reinforced concrete structures, which create a more harmonious relationship between
the object and the environment in which it is located. In the case of an odeon, e.g., in
Płock, the construction of the audience was the element of a wider project concerning the
strengthening of Vistula escarpment [17].
The primary difference in audience typology relates to the terrain on which the odeon
is located. In flat terrain, grandstands are self-contained structures, as, for example, in
Ostróda. In areas with varied terrain, grandstands are often a component of the terrain,

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taking advantage of the natural lay of the land, such as in Płock or Kielce. In these examples,
the filling of the auditorium occurs at two levels, i.e., at the crown of the auditorium and the
level of the stage, regardless of whether the terrain is naturally formed, or the auditorium is
a purpose-built facility. Audience seating is fixed, unlike indoor concerts and multipurpose
halls and is made of wood or plastic in the form of individual or continuous elements
on which the audience sits. There are also many cases where the stage is below terrain
level and consequently so is the auditorium. In such cases, the filling of the auditorium
is also done from the middle of the level. Differences in audience height affect acoustics,
visibility, and communication and evacuation issues. Auditoriums in amphitheaters at
the stage or upper bypass level usually have special seats for the disabled. In one of the
unusual amphitheaters in Malbork, intended for staging knightly tournaments, there is a
possibility of doubling the capacity of the audience by means of moving tribunes. This idea
of temporarily setting up a second mobile auditorium on a street parallel to the permanent
one was not realized.

Figure 8. Plans of auditorium and stage in odeons: (1) Warsaw–Bemowo, (2) Kielce, (3) Płock. Original illustrations.

Summary of findings: the form of the auditorium refers to historical solutions in

odeons; most often one-way shows are realized solutions in which the curvature of the
auditorium is greater, causing an increase in the roofed area; increasing the curvature of
the angle of the auditorium allows greater integration of the stage and the auditorium; the
auditoriums are most often made of reinforced concrete; the basic difference in the typology
of the auditorium is related to the shape of the land on which the odeon is located.

2.6. Stage form Construction and Materials

The scenes can be divided into two main groups with respect to the environment in
which the odeon is located. The first group includes open landscape scenes, for which
the background is an open landscape. The second group includes closed scenes, which
create their own artificial in relation to the natural landscape background for the realization
of the event. Examples of open scenes are odeons in Kielce and Ostróda. In the first
χcase, the background is the remains of a quarry, and in the second it is the surface of a
lake. In both examples, such background is the only a possibility because many times
during the performance’s decorations are introduced to the stage, blocking the view. In
the other 9 cases, the odeons of the scene are closed, blocking views of the landscape
despite its attractive nature. In the case of these formations, they are used for better
propagation of sound by means of properly directing it to the walls and ceiling. Therefore,
the materials used for stage construction are related to this requirement. Concrete and
ceramic materials, traditional or thin-layer plaster, are the most commonly used materials
for scenes enclosed by the landscape. Odeon stages, as opposed to canopies, are built using
traditional (excluding the floor, which is most often wooden. This floor can be permanent
or temporary variable depending on the type of show being performed) materials. During
their operation, the acoustic conditions can change dynamically both due to the introduced
scenery and decorations, but also depending on the number of performing artists and
their placement.

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One frequent reason for the construction of indoor stages is the functional need to
create backstage facilities for artists. Therefore, in the functional program here, you can
find dressing rooms and restrooms. In addition, the program can be complemented by
storage spaces and workshops for the preparation of decorations. The size of the stage
does not deviate from the standards in closed buildings of contemporary opera houses,
theaters, and concert halls and is close to about 200 m2 . This size allows the placement
of a large symphonic orchestra on the stage, and thanks to the deχorations, adjust the
stage to a chamber orchestra, if necessary. A typical stage box in the case of opera is a
module of 15 m × 15 m × 15 m, which gives an idea of the minimum size of the stage
needed for the arrangement of a dynamic show such as a group dance. In the case of
concert halls today, we usually speak of the following two typologies of halls: the box
hall and the vineyard layout hall [18,19]. In the first case, the stage and the audience are
on opposite sides of the premise, and in the second case the stage is surrounded by the
audience. In the vineyard layout, the stage within the projection of an elliptical or near
polygonal auditorium is located asymmetrically close to one of the foci of the ellipse. One
example of this solution is the Philharmonic Hall in Berlin, which is still a model of this
type of concert hall. These halls are characterized by the omnidirectionality of sound
propagation and multidirectionality of the show because the viewer looks not only at the
artists, but also at other spectators.
In the case of odeons, vineyard layouts are absent, and a box-like layout predominates.
In this system, both sound and visibility propagation are unidirectional. This situation
occurs in the case of stages, where the curvature of the audience projection is small and
the distance between the stage and the audience is insignificant. In a few cases (Sopot,
Biała Podlaska), when the audience has a larger curvature, an evolution towards a partially
omnidirectional show can be observed. When the stage is partially surrounded by the
auditorium, greater visual attractiveness of the show is achieved, analogous to concert
halls in a vineyard layout.
Summary of findings: the stages can be divided into two main groups, open landscape
stages and closed stages with artificial backdrops; the size of the stage does not deviate
from the standards and is 200 m2 ; in the case of odeons there are no vineyard layouts and a
box layout predominates; the stage is partially surrounded by the audience, has a greater
visual appeal of the show; the materials used for the construction of the stage are related to
sound propagation.

2.7. Relationship of Roof Form to the Stage and Odeon Audience

The key issue concerning the architectural quality of odeons related to their roofing, is
acoustics. Forms of roofs with predominantly asymmetrical solutions are mainly linked to
their relation to the audience and the stage. The forms of the canopies follow the forms of
the auditorium and the stage in asymmetric solutions, while in the case of symmetric roofs
there is a discrepancy in the relation between the symmetry of the roof and the asymmetry
of the stage and auditorium complex. Because of this contradiction, symmetrical solutions
of odeon canopies deteriorate the architectural quality in terms of acoustics. Although it
is possible to correct the acoustics with specialized designs, the relationship between the
form of the roof and its material is decisive for this issue.
Because of the uniqueness and individuality of the solutions in the analyzed examples
of odeon facilities, these issues should be analyzed separately on a case-by-case basis. Roofs,
auditorium, and stage are the only elements that shape the space and at the same time
serve to control the acoustic quality inside the odeon. Hence, excessively large openings
between the auditorium and the canopy, and between the auditorium and the stage result
in uncontrolled zones through which sound “escapes”, which can cause unfavorable vocal
phenomena. At the same time, however, these openings help in the spatial integration
of the structure and the landscape. Therefore, a balance between these two contradictory
aspects should be maintained in the design of odeons.

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When discussing the size of odeons, we have to refer to two interdependent parame-
ters, i.e., the size of the audience and the maximum size of the canopy. In the two largest
odeons in terms of structural span, it is about 107 m; however, the size of the audience is
different. The largest Polish odeon in terms of spectators is the one in Kielce, which has
an audience of about 5500 with a maximum structure span of about 90 m. The smallest
of the analyzed odeons are located in Biała Podlaska and in Warsaw in Bemowo, and are
designed for about 1000 spectators. In Biała Podlaska the maximum structure span is 45
m and in Warsaw–Bemowo it is 60 m. The average size of the audience in the analyzed
odeons is about 2500 spectators with an average span of about 70 m.
Finding’s summary results: the architectural quality of odeons is related to their
roofing and acoustics; the preferred form of roofing referring to the form of audience and
stage offers asymmetric solutions; symmetric solutions of odeons roofing deteriorate the
architectural quality in terms of acoustics; roofs, audience and stage are the only elements
controlling acoustic quality inside odeons; audience size and maximum size of roofing are
interdependent parameters.

2.8. Contemporary Functions of Odeons

On the basis of the analysis of the 11 existing odeons, including the odeon in Koszalin,
which is being remodeled, it is possible to indicate the most frequently held events, which
include the following: popular music concerts, cabaret performances, and classical music
concerts. This type of activity is hosted in all mentioned odeons. These events are listed in
order of occurrence. In some odeons there are also such events as the following: annual
music festivals, theater performances, conferences, workshops for children and young
people, meetings with artists, and special events. Annual music festivals of international
scope are held today in the Odeon in Sopot. They have a long tradition of organization
dating to the 1970s, during the communist period in Poland. At that time, apart from Sopot,
there were also 3 such festivals held in Kołobrzeg, Opole and Zielona Góra (a competition
for a concert hall at the site of Zielona Gora’s amphitheater was decided in 2020). The
festival in Opole is still taking place. It occurs in a facility that typologically is not an odeon,
because apart from the stage it has only a roofed part over the audience. The other two
festivals no longer occur; the amphitheaters have become decapitalized and have not been
transformed into odeons. This shows a tendency for large artistic events to function only
in amphitheaters converted into odeons or the disappearance of this function. In Sopot,
where the variety of performances is the greatest, theatrical performances are also held,
which distinguishes it from other odeons.
One interesting functional pretext for special events is the annual agricultural harvest
festivals. They occur in many of the analyzed 57 amphitheaters, but they were also the
reason for creating an odeon in Koszalin in the 1970s, and for its innovative roofing. Other
special events that take place in odeons include fashion shows, and national and regional
beauty pageants.
As the analysis of the event calendar indicates, concerts and cabarets as the most
popular events occur in odeons between May and September, i.e., 5 months a year. The
odeons’ functioning outside the schedule of organized events creates a possibility of their
use as a roofed place of year-round recreation and activities of inhabitants, i.e., organizing
ad hoc events and nonprofessional performances. This is due to the fact that they are part of
larger complexes, usually parks, and provide good conditions for both artistic presentation
and expression as well as for viewing. Interesting data on the functions of odeons expected
by the users are provided by a survey in Figure 9, conducted among the inhabitants of
Koszalin in 2020 in connection with the odeon remodeling project currently being carried
out [20].
It confirms the consistency of the data resulting from the aforementioned comparison
of the activities of the currently operating odeons with the expectations of the audience. It
also shows the proportion of expectations between great events of supra-local character
and the opportunity to show the achievements of the local community of children, youth,

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and seniors. The size of the audience of odeons is related to the scale of influence of a given
structure. The impact of the smallest odeons is mainly on a local scale and concerns the
city and region, e.g., Biała Podlaska, or a district in the case of large cities, e.g., the odeon
in Warsaw’s Bemowo. The impact of the largest odeons goes beyond the local scale and
is often associated with cyclical thematic festival events, such as the Sopot International
Song Festival.

Figure 9. Survey on the expected functions of the new Odeon in Koszalin. Original chart based
on [20].

Summary of findings: in odeons the most frequent events are pop music concerts,
cabaret performances and classical music concerts; events occur between May and Septem-
ber; the functioning of odeons outside the schedule of organized events creates an opportu-
nity to use them as a roofed place of year-round recreation and activity of the inhabitants;
small odeons up to 2000 spectators have a local impact; the biggest odeons for 5000 specta-
tors go beyond the local scale and are often connected with cyclic thematic festivals.

3. Case Study: Odeon in Biała Podlaska

To show, in detail, the complexity of the above-mentioned conditions, let us follow
the case study of the odeon in Biała Podlaska.

3.1. Odeon and the Environment

The Park and palace complex of the Radziwill family is located close to the city center.
It is a part of the estate of the famous Radziwiłł magnate family. The surviving earthen,
fortifications and moat are dated to the seventeenth century, and were used to defend
the palace, which has not survived, and the only remains of it are ancillary buildings.
The surviving elements of the historical complex include the entrance gate, the entrance
tower, three outbuildings, an eastern turret, the castle chapel of St. Josaphat, and earthen
fortifications, which encircle the amphitheater. The entire complex features tall greenery
that has the character of a park, yet has become overgrown over the past 400 years. The
complex, after being adapted and remodeled, is now used as a cultural and community
center by the city, which is located near the eastern border of contemporary Poland and
inhabited by around 60,000 people. The complex features a city park, a Southern Podlachia
Museum, a Public Library, a Musical School, the Biała Podlaska Culture Center, a Deux-
Serves French Facility, the Biała Podlaska Chamber of Commerce, as well as an office
of the National Health Fund, and a Psychological and Pedagogical Facility. The odeon
was commissioned by the municipal authorities of Biała Podlaska. The historical Park
Radziwiłłowski, which has been revitalized in recent years, has been enriched by it to
include the odeon’s contemporary form, and thus enhanced its functional offering.

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The adaptation of the amphitheater into the odeon will allow the extension of the
cultural season in Biała Podlaska, which is of fundamental significance to the city, as it is
the largest building of its type in the surrounding region.

3.2. Development of Amphitheater Concept from 1950

The amphitheater is in the western section of the seventeenth-century earthen for-
tifications, on a site previously occupied by the first amphitheater, for an audience of
several hundred that was built in the 1950s and gradually became completely decapitalized.
It had been designed by Professor Gerard Ciołek, the founder of the Krakow school of
landscape architecture.
The conceptual proposal of the extant amphitheater was selected through an archi-
tectural competition in 1993 (the author of the winning design was architect Kazimierz
Butelski). In the years 1996–1997, a technical design was prepared, and in 2003, the am-
phitheater was opened. The key element of the conceptual proposal from the 1990s was the
highly defined geometry of the earthen fortifications and the conservation requirements
concerning the preservation of their geometry. To meet these requirements, the main focus
was placed on solutions within the interior area of the fortification’s sections, leaving their
outline undisturbed. This solution allowed the construction of a theatre with a properly
scaled stage covered with a triangular roof, with an ancillary building. The essence of the
design proposal was changes to the geometry inside the bastion, together with lowering the
terrain to build the audience and stage, enclosing the bastion with a stage building located
at the border between the elevation differences and covering the stage with a triangular
roof. The building was retained within the geometry of the fortifications, which was around
146 m above sea level, on the top of the embankment. It abutted the stage on one side, at
an elevation of 141 m above sea level, and the entrance square from the side of the park, at
an elevation of 143 m above sea level. The only element that protruded above the ordinate
of the top of the embankment was the stage roof and its associated lighting bridge, whose
ordinates did not exceed 150.5 m above sea level. The maximum height of the internal space
was thus around 9.5 m, counting from the level of the stage to that of the roof, while the
maximum span of the lighting bridge was around 52 m. The stage was placed on one of the
axes of symmetry of the bastion, and the ancillary building was oriented perpendicularly
to it. The entirety of the composition was contrasted with the east–west axis, which was
accentuated by the form of the lighting bridge—as presented in Figure 10. The lighting
bridge defined two curvatures of the audience, with 1000 seats inside the bastion, which
was the diameter of one of them. This spatial concept was supported by material solutions
that contrasted the soft plant materials of the external fortifications, and with the hard
materials of the interior. The official opening occurred in 2003.

3.3. Design Idea Behind the Odeon

The design of the odeon from 2017 was a development of one of three conceptual
proposals of roofing that had been presented to the developer. The conservation principles
that were defined in the original design of the extant amphitheater, remained unchanged.
As a result Figure 11, the conceptual proposal of a cable and membrane structure was de-
veloped, while respecting the principle of protecting the geometry, assuming the following
three actions:
• The construction of a delicate steel open-work support structure at the top of the
embankment, with the smallest possible height that would allow circulation in every
direction and the drainage of stormwater from the roof;
• The construction of a cable structure between this support structure and the existing
structure of the amphitheater, after its reinforcement;
• Construction of the membrane and tensing the entire structure.

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Figure 10. Geometrical concept of the amphitheater in Biała Podlaska. Source: BP Projekt.

Figure 11. Stages of the conversion of the amphitheater into the odeon in Biała Podlaska. (1) Existing amphitheater with
roof over the stage. (2) New steel space truss on the crown of the fortification ramparts. (3) New membrane roof with
tensioned surface forming cables. Author graphics based on source BP Projekt.

3.4. Roof Design

Work on the form of the roof was conducted following the parametric design approach—
as presented in Figure 12A. To find the optimal tensile distribution for the roof, the density
of the structure, associated with the number of cables, its height, the cross-sections of
structural elements, and the joints, were analyzed. The analysis also covered parameters

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such as the distancing of supports relative to the existing entrances to the audience, the
height of the upper ring, and the distancing between the triangle bases that conditioned
the possibility of freely passing between the spatial structure and the elevation of the wind
cable fastening point that affected the roof pitch, and the stormwater drainage affected
the ergonomics of the use of the solutions that were adopted. The main element of the
design, which was the roof, was designed to feature cable and membrane technology—as
seen in Figure 12B. The form of the roof is multi-ridged and has a delicate layout, which
allows the drainage of stormwater along the external outline of the audience stands at
the top of the embankment. The form of the roof reflects the geometric layout of the
existing audience stands of the amphitheater. It is comprised of two parts that form a
coherent whole, a part based on a semicircle and a side section in a layout similar to a
rectangle—as depicted in Figure 12C. The roof has a peripheral structure, comprised of
steel pipes that run along the top of the embankment and follow its shape. The spatial
structure, to limit interference with the historical embankment top, has a pile foundation
in the form of reinforced concrete piles. A section of the roofing, based on a semicircular
shape, has a central layout that focuses on a steel ring that is fastened to the reinforced
structure of the existing reinforced lighting bridge, to which the cables that tense the PVC
membrane surface are anchored. The side part of the roofing is anchored perpendicularly
to the bracing beam located at the southern side of the triangular-reinforced structure of the
existing roof, to which PVC membrane tensing cables of this part of the roof are anchored.
The steel peripheral space frame is made from pipes with a diameter of fi 159.0 mm and a
thickness of 17.5 mm, from S355J2 steel, with horizontal braces with a diameter of 16 mm in
the form of rods. In the semicircle, the first row of the structure’s space supports is located
flush with the last row of the concrete audience stand of the amphitheater, and its elements
are spaced every 250 cm. There are 28 of such elements. The second row of space supports
is located at a distance of 328 cm from the first row, in a running pattern relative to the
first row, and features 28 elements that are spaced 287 cm apart. In the side section, the
first row of space supports of the structure is placed flush, relative to the last row of the
concrete amphitheater audience stand, and features 7 elements that are spaced 263.5 cm
apart. The second row of space supports is located at a distance of 328 cm from the first
row, in a running pattern relative to the first row, and features 6 elements that are spaced
284.5 cm apart.
The upper ring that tenses the structure is located at a distance of 150 cm horizontally,
relative to the first row of supports, at a height of 401 cm relative to the floor of the upper
walkway of the audience stands.
The spatial structure allows free circulation at the level of the upper peripheral walk-
way. All the structure’s elements, except for the upper ring, are connected using mechanical
joints. The upper ring is linked to the peripheral structure via on-site welding.
The cables that tense the membrane, both snow and wind cables, were designed as
open steel cables, with a GALFAN coating, with a 1 × 61 weave (fi 31.3). The cables are
linked to the structure using joint panels. The edge cables were designed as open steel
cables with a GALFAN coating, 1 × 19 weave (fi 12.2).
The snow cables are fastened to the upper tensing ring. The wind cables are anchored
to the central support in the first support row, at a height of 230 cm from the floor level of
the upper walkway. The edge cables and tensors have a diameter of 12.2 mm. The cables
on the semicircular section are anchored centrally to the steel ring (2 × HEM300), anchored
to the newly designed reinforcement of the lighting bridge, while the cables in the side
section are anchored perpendicularly to a C300 bracing beam at the southern side of the
triangular roof. The combined length of the steel cables is 1743.8 m, while the total weight
of the steel is 79,038 kg. The PVC membrane Precontraint 1002 Serge Ferrari roofing, with
a total area of 1789 m2 , colored white, has the following parameters:
• Sunlight permeability: 19%;
• Protective coating: S2 PVDF/PVDF;
• Weight: 1050 g/m2 ;

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• Total thickness: 0.78 mm;

• Minimum tensile strength: 86/86 kN/m;
• Minimum tearing resistance: 0.55/0.50 kN;
• Minimum adhesion: 2.4 kN/m.

Figure 12. Parametric design of the shape (A,B) combined with structural analyze of the membrane
and reaction of the foundations (C). Source: BP Projekt.

The second type of membrane, Valmex Mehatop, produced by Mehler Texnologies,

with similar parameters, was used to cover “light bridges” inside the structure.

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3.5. Acoustic Design

As a cable and membrane roof affects the building’s acoustics, the following three
types of acoustic correction elements were built after an acoustics analysis, as displayed
in Figure 13, and built by Professor Tadeusz Kamisiński: the acoustic system behind the
stage, the acoustic system underneath the triangular roof above the stage, and acoustic
systems on the lower audience rows. The reflective systems behind the stage are wall
fragments outside of the reach of the stage, shaped to direct the reflected sound towards
the audience. They are formed from extruded polystyrene panels, finished with smooth
silicon plaster. The system at the northern side of the stage, with a width of 592 cm, is
comprised of 4 vertical strips with a width of 148 cm each. The system at the south side of
the stage, with a width of 633 cm, is comprised of vertical strips with a width of around
158 cm each. The systems were designed along the entire height of the existing wall. The
second type are reflective systems above the stage, in the form of membrane screens that
are suspended from a peripheral steel structure, which are fastened between the existing
triangular roof structure, between the bracing in three rows, to eliminate the parallelism of
the stage and the ceiling.

Figure 13. Audience acoustics analysis of sound distribution. Reprinted from ref. [19].

There are eight screens in the first row, six in the second, and four in the third. Each
screen is 200 by 122 cm. The pitch of the screen along the longer axis does not change,
and is 15◦ , while the pitch of the screen along the shorter axis varies between 4◦ and 16◦ .
The height at which the screens are fastened varies, and is around 6 cm. The third type of
sound-absorbing system was used on the vertical walls of the concrete audience stand in
the first four rows.
The sound-absorbing material used here is mineral wool, with a glass veil that is 3 cm
thick. Wooden profiles that reference the existing seating profiles were applied as masking
elements. The profiles in the first row have a height of 55 cm, while in the remaining rows
it is 46 cm. The profiles have the same width as the existing seating profiles—4 cm—and a

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thickness of 6 cm, with a narrow section with a thickness of up to 3 cm for mineral wool.
Every profile is fastened at two points with masking joints.

3.6. Details
A range of renovation work on each of the amphitheater’s elements was also per-
formed, such as on its roof and its steel structure, along with painting of the audience
(seating) and passages, approaches from the park, the stage, and the water drainage.
New site development elements were also made, such as a new concrete path atop of
the embankment.
The design also features a range of details, particularly the connection between the
structure of the membrane and the peripheral support structure. An example of this
includes the structure of the drainage valley. The water from the PVC membrane is
collected in a steel valley near every node, with a snow cable. The water from the valley is
transported outside the steel structure and introduced via an opening to the level of the
pitched concrete floor on the top of the embankment. The water from the floor directly
enters a linear drain that runs at the center of the peripheral pathway of the audience stands.

3.7. Result
This case study confirms all the previous odeon findings, in relation to location,
orientation in relation to the world, typology and material of the roof form, typology and
material of the audience and stage, the relationship between the roof and the audience and
stage complex, and the functional program.
The application of modern materials and structural technologies enabled the con-
struction of the odeon, by adapting the existing amphitheater building to the changing
user needs. The contemporary formal solutions harmonize with the extant cultural and
landscape heritage without mimicking or copying it. This contributes to the enhancement
and development of culture, which leaves a material trace of its time at every stage of
history, serving society and allowing it to read extant values anew.
The odeon, which protects against excessive sunlight in the summer and from rain
in the autumn, forms a new type of multifunctional public space in Park Radziwiłłowski
in Biała Podlaska, which corresponds to the scale of the city. The dialogue between the
odeon’s modern form, and the historical seventeenth-century park and palace complex
in Biała Podlaska, was the main idea behind the project. Just as fortifications were an
expression of contemporary ideas and technology in the seventeenth century, so is the
odeon, built in the twenty-first century, an example of the ideas and technologies of its
time, and, in this sense, it is a continuation of the site’s past.

4. Discussion
As part of a discussion about possible directions of further development, we can
discuss the results of the competition to transform Poland’s oldest eighteenth-century
amphitheater in the Royal Bath Park in Warsaw into an odeon. The topic was to convert the
historic amphitheater at the Royal Bath Park in Warsaw into an odeon with a movable roof.

4.1. Environment and Conditions

At the moment, the site features an amphitheater with an auditorium and a stage,
and a decoration in the form of ancient ruins. The area of the historic garden where the
amphitheater is located is under legal conservation protection through an individual entry
in the Register of Monuments. The auditorium and stage of the amphitheater are listed in
the register of historical monuments. Due to the conservation status of the structures, it
was imperative to protect the existing one historic landmark substance in and around the
amphitheater area.
The idea of this two-stage competition was to create a temporary seasonal roof,
covering the auditorium and the stage separately (used from April to October). After

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this period, it could then be completely dismantled, in such a way that no elements of its
construction would remain visible.
It was necessary to design two independent canopies for the stage and the audience,
separated by water, in a lightweight and demountable structure. Consideration had to be
given to the staging phase, with the auditorium being covered at stage I, and the auditorium
at stage II. The two main criteria for concept evaluation were as follows:
• Ability to fit into the historical context and conservation considerations;
• Quality and economy of design solutions [21].
The project has stirred considerable controversy, especially in the conservation commu-
nity. “If this happens, we will be dealing with a real conservation scandal. The amphitheater
is one of the most recognizable monuments of the Stanislaw August period”—Capital
Conservator of Monuments Michał Krasucki argued this in August [22]. In the first stage,
two works were selected and awarded participation in the second stage. In the second
stage, no first prize was awarded, but one of the works received a second prize and the
other received a distinction. In both concepts, membranes were used as the covering
material. The works differed in the concepts of constructing the support structure.

4.2. Proposition One Using Eight Extendable Poles

The work of DiM’84 Czesław Bielecki’s team, awarded with the second prize, was
based on building a roof that was supported by eight telescopic columns. Four larger
columns supported the roof structure over the auditorium, and four smaller columns
supported the roof structure over the stage. These columns had different dimensions and
were completely invisible during the period when the roof was to be dismantled. When the
roof was installed, they served as support elements for the auxiliary perimeter structure, in
the form of a semicircle in the case of the auditorium and a circle in the case of the stage.
The membrane was attached circumferentially to these elements, and at four points inside
each roof. Additionally, ropes were used as ties to stabilize the columns. The architects
foresaw that the amphitheater roofing ring, after being assembled and fixed to the columns,
would not be dismantled, but only lowered together with the telescopic columns into an
appropriate, covered channel. The stage roofing ring, on the other hand, has been designed
as a two-part system, with one half mounted permanently on the columns and the other
half folded. The elements to be dismantled after the summer would be only the membranes
and ropes with fittings [23].

4.3. Proposal Two Using Two Rotating Columns

The award-winning work by the BP Projekt team involved basing the roof structure
on two spatial columns, with a fan-shaped expandable roof structure supported by spatial
beams. This allows the roof to be spread over all the existing elements of the amphitheater
and trees, without any collision. The membrane fastens the entire structure together.
Both poles were placed outside the existing amphitheater, without interfering with its
structure, which is an important structural element. The first pole was located on the axis
of the composition on the empty square behind the audience, and the second was located
asymmetrically on the island behind the stage. The main supporting elements, in the form
of rotating spatial trusses, were placed on the pillars. There are five trusses above the
audience, and four above the stage. The trusses are of composite construction, consisting of
two parts that are separated by the axis of pole rotation. The structural thickness of the roof
over the stage is 3 m, and over the audience it is 5 m. Under the columns and under the
development area, there are reinforced concrete rims of circular cross-section, the radius
of which is 4 m and the height is 2 m, supported, respectively, on piles drilled at an angle
corresponding to the reaction of the spatial truss forces at the moment of the roof unfolding.
When the roof was disassembled, only the foundation connection pieces remained on the
surface. Storage of the assembled membrane and structure was to occur in boats on the
water body surrounding the stage. The result was an asymmetrical composition of the
free covering of the audience and the stage, with the possibility of various transformations

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of the elements forming the covering. Figure 14 shows the total membrane dimensions
of 1547 m2 , consisting of a membrane over the auditorium of 1028 m2 and over the stage:
of 519 m2 .

Figure 14. Competition entry team DiM’84 second prize. A first prize was not awarded. Reprinted
from ref. [22]. Competition entry BP Projekt mention. Reprinted from ref. [24].

Neither of the two competition proposals could be realized, and, as such, they re-
mained as voices in the discussion on the technical possibilities of transforming historic
amphitheaters into odeons, by roofing them. Although both concepts are technically feasi-
ble, the decisive factor here is not the question of technical feasibility, but of conservation
principles, which doctrinally assume the rejection of even temporary interference in favor
of the purist preservation of the existing substance. This is understandable in a city that
was completely destroyed during the Second World War. On the other hand, however,
such an approach limits the possibility of creating new spatial and cultural values.
In the technical field, however, this poses the following interesting spatial problem
that has so far been given little recognition: how to build an existing temporarily repeatable

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form without visual interference with the existing environment. Therefore, so far, in
Poland, only the Kielce amphitheater has a roof that is partially folded in the part above the
audience. This roof rolls up and develops into a stage portal that is connected to the fixed
roof over the stage. When the roof is retracted, the buttresses of the supporting structure
remain on the crown of the rampart. As a result, such a structure would not meet the
requirements for this competition. The change and reconfiguration of space in various
types of buildings is an interesting task; besides the mentioned technological and cultural
aspects, it is also conditioned by economic aspects. An example of this is the Stade de
France, whose reconfiguration from a football stadium to an athletics stadium costs about
€40,000, and therefore occurs very rarely.
There are no financial data for a comparative analysis of the costs of the transformation
of small venues, such as odeons. The costs of the construction and operation of odeons
in the European model are covered by public funds from taxes. Therefore, their rational
use, consistent with social needs, is an important issue. In the cost analysis, apart from the
manufacturing costs, the maintenance costs of this type of facility also play an important
role. The conversion of amphitheaters into odeons allows reduction in these costs and
increase in income, by contributing to better use of resources.

5. Conclusions
Odeons, similarly to open cultural spaces, are interesting examples of architectural
structures that follow sustainable development.
The formation of odeons is a process of evolution and adaptation of the existing built
environment, involving the transformation of previously existing amphitheaters into more
specialized forms. This transformation occurs gradually, and the resources previously
possessed are thus used more fully. The result of covering the amphitheaters is their fuller
utilization, by extending the artistic season. In Polish conditions, this extension is from two
to five months.
In odeons, the quality of the space is better than in amphitheaters, thanks to the
protection from rainfall, glare, and the improved acoustic conditions. Due to the open
nature of odeons, and the lack of exterior walls, the quality of space is also improved over
closed concert halls by the uniformity of natural lighting, natural ventilation, and ease of
evacuation. The traditional foyer of a concert hall is replaced by the landscape, causing a
strong integration of the surroundings and the interior of the performance space that is
characteristic of odeons. In odeons, the disappearance of barriers between the inside and
the outside results in an integration of space.
The construction cost of odeons, in comparison to the most similar concert halls, is
significantly lower. This is due to the fact that less materials are used; some functional
elements, such as, for example, foyers, are missing; there are no external walls; and there
are no installations, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The lack of heating
systems and natural ventilation results in a lack of pollution emission. Placement within
a park means that large volumes of water that are collected from the roof surfaces are
managed locally within the park, without overloading the neighboring areas, and therefore
contribute to sustainable water management. The majority of odeons are built using
membrane covers. Their use enables roof components to be completely recycled, and the
short assembly and dismantling process contributes to reducing their carbon footprint.
Utility costs are significantly reduced because the building elements of the stage
audience are not exposed to direct weathering, which increases their service life and
reduces repair costs. This factor is the reason for the decapitalization of many unroofed
amphitheaters, so covering them with a roof increases their durability.
Landscaped accesses to the odeons from various directions, from mass transit stops
and parking lots through green areas, make these areas act as a de facto natural foyer. This
contributes to the decongestion of traffic, and the natural contact between spectators and
nature. This fits with the concept of biophilia.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 308

Original characteristic forms of odeons have a social meaning that aids in promoting
the place where they were created. They contribute to identification with the space, and
open up new organizational possibilities for hitherto non-existent cultural functions, espe-
cially in small- and medium-sized towns. The permanent character of this spatial form in
time favors the organization of cyclic events constituting a permanent cultural offer for the
odeon’s area. Depending on the events, this area can have a local, regional, or national char-
acter. Odeon’s offer the social development of nonmetropolitan areas, where the odeons
are mainly located. As a result, they are able to counteract the depopulation tendencies of
small centers in favor of large agglomerations, by increasing their attractiveness. Further
research in relation to open cultural spaces can relate to the phenomenon of large-scale
events for tens of thousands of people in a short period of time, which is only hinted at in
this paper. This may include both architectural and urban planning issues.
The various environmental, spatial, technical and social factors that were indicated
above, jointly serve to build a sustainable cultural environment in Poland, responding
to social needs at the current level of the country’s development. The values in question
are, however, universal and do not have to be limited territorially to the territory under
analysis. In particular, open spaces of culture can be created in areas with similar climatic
conditions, providing an alternative to classic closed objects with a similar function, which
isolate humans from the natural environment.
Open cultural spaces significantly complement the variety of building forms for
cultural development, by bringing people closer to the natural environment, and thus
opening them up to new possibilities.

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

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 buildings
Article
Medieval Bourgeois Tenement Houses as an Archetype for
Contemporary Architectural and Construction Solutions:
The Example of Historic Downtown Gdańsk
Antoni Taraszkiewicz, Karol Gr˛ebowski *, Karolina Taraszkiewicz and Jarosław Przewłócki

Faculty of Architecture, Technical University of Gdańsk, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland; [email protected] (A.T.);
[email protected] (K.T.); [email protected] (J.P.)
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: The basic urban tissue of medieval European cities consisted of brick townhouses. In the
cities of northern Europe, these tenements were characterised by a block based on an elongated
rectangular plan, covered with a gable roof with a ridge oriented perpendicularly to the street. The
side walls of the tenement house were common for both neighbours and constituted a basic structural
element. The gable façades were not loaded with ceilings, providing freedom in shaping them.
The aim of this work is to determine the reasons why this method of shaping tenement houses in
historical city centres has survived to the present day, becoming an archetype for contemporary
architectural and construction solutions, despite the passage of time, numerous historical events,
Citation: Taraszkiewicz, A.; war damage, changing architectural styles, fashions and building techniques and technologies. The
Gr˛ebowski, K.; Taraszkiewicz, K.;
historical centre of Gdańsk has become the research material in this paper, where by means of such
Przewłócki, J. Medieval Bourgeois
methods as historical source material analysis (iconographic), observation (operationalisation of
Tenement Houses as an Archetype for
preserved historical objects), comparative analysis of completed contemporary investments, and 3D
Contemporary Architectural and
modelling of structural systems, an attempt has been made to determine the main factors determining
Construction Solutions: The Example
of Historic Downtown Gdańsk.
contemporary architectural and structural solutions. The reason for the extraordinary durability
Buildings 2021, 11, 80. of this type of construction model can be found in the enormous rationality and efficiency of this
https://doi.org/10.3390/ solution. It allows for very intensive use of land, easy access of all front elevations to the main
buildings11030080 communication routes, cheapness of construction resulting from small spans and use of common
structural walls for the neighbouring buildings, ease of shaping gable elevations, and fire safety.
Academic Editor: Oleg Kapliński; Aesthetic considerations are probably also important here, although it should be assumed that their
Agata Bonenberg; Wojciech significance began to grow only in the second half of the 19th century. However, it seems that the
Bonenberg; Marco Lucchini most important factor which made the model of the mediaeval bourgeois tenement house become
an archetype for contemporary architectural and construction solutions is the timeless message
Received: 6 February 2021
contained in this model, a specific code allowing it to be unambiguously identified as a form of urban
Accepted: 22 February 2021
house—a place of safe living and at the same time a visible sign of the rich history of European
Published: 25 February 2021
cities, an element creating their cultural and spatial identity, a component of the living, constantly
transforming urban fabric.
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil-
Keywords: contemporary architecture in historical context; archetype; bourgeois tenement house;
iations. cultural heritage

1. Introduction
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Medieval towns in northern Europe were usually compact urban complexes sur-
This article is an open access article rounded by fortifications, whose basic tissue consisted of burgher houses. The term
distributed under the terms and tenement house is defined in the paper as a brick, one-storey urban house, in a compact
conditions of the Creative Commons development, separated in terms of space and ownership, and co-creating with the plot a
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// layout of a traditional urban block and a street [1]. The compact dense housing of many
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ European cities evolved from detached houses due to the legal and spatial reorganisation
4.0/).

Buildings 2021, 11, 80. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030080 219 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2021, 11, 80

of these cities as described in [2]. Such buildings did not aspire to the role of spatial domi-
nance, leaving this role to the monumental edifices of cathedrals, churches or town halls,
however, thanks to their huge mass, they determined the spatial expression of individual
streets and squares, and sometimes districts and entire cities. The history of building plots
in early and late medieval towns in the Baltic Sea basin is described in [3]. Studies on
the house in the medieval and modern city in Europe are presented in [4]. The origins
of the tenement house, its function and form in Central Europe, are presented, among
others, in [5] while for Northern Europe, various aspects of the tenement are included
in [6]. The breakthrough stage of the building’s construction was replacing the walls of
the timber-framed hallway house with a building with load-bearing brick walls. With
time, the construction of the buildings changed from single residential buildings into
compact buildings.
In the Northern European countries, from The Netherlands through southern Scandi-
navia to Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, the dominant type was that of the tenement house
with its gable to the street, in which the side walls played an essential role and the façade
was only a screen [7]. As a rule, the building block was based on an elongated rectangular
plan, covered with a gable roof of a wooden construction. The construction of wooden
roof trusses of tenements, their typology and development in the region of Central and
Northern Europe, are described in [8,9]. The individual buildings differed primarily in the
architecture of their façades [10,11]. The masonry side walls of the tenement house were
common to both neighbours, constituting the basic structural element and, at the same
time, the fire separation wall. The gable façades were not loaded with ceilings, providing
freedom in shaping them. An important feature of bourgeois tenements was the fact
that they were built as compact buildings, forming a clear element of the street or square
frontage [12]. The bourgeois houses in the medieval cities of southern Europe looked
different. These were usually buildings with a near-square ground plan, with low-pitched
roofs and ridges parallel to the street. And although this model has survived in south
Europe to the present day, it is not as expressive as the model of the bourgeois house in
northern European countries.
The North European tenement form can be found in such cities as: Amsterdam
(The Netherlands), Antwerp (Belgium), Copenhagen (Denmark), Lubeca, Frankfurt am
Main, Bremen (Germany), Gdańsk, Toruń (Poland), and Tallinn (Estonia). For centuries,
in those cities, next to Gothic tenements, Renaissance, and later Baroque, Classicist, or
Eclectic buildings appeared, while the identical form of the structure and structural system
described above remained unchanged [2,13]. An interesting study of tenement houses
in modern times on the example of Gdańsk was conducted in [14]. The tenements were
built on plots of similar widths and were of similar heights. The width of the plots ranged
from several to a dozen or so metres, and their length reached even 100 m. They usually
had from two to 4–5 levels and an attic. If someone wanted to enlarge the width of the
tenement house, he had to buy the neighbours’ plot. In this way, the bordering buildings
were combined into one larger one.
Many publications have been devoted to the description of tenements in particular
regions and cities of Northern Europe. For example, an analysis of housing estates in
several European cities including Amsterdam can be found in [15]. The townhouses of
the Klaipeda region (Lithuania) are described in [16], the architecture and reconstruction
of the townhouses of Elblag ˛ (Poland) is presented in [11], while various aspects of the
townhouses of Gdańsk are given in [13,17–19], etc.
It is extremely interesting that this particular model of housing development managed
to be maintained for six centuries (from the second half of the 13th century until the mid-
19th century) in the cities of Northern Europe, in an almost unchanged form, despite the
passage of time, changing architectural styles, and the admittedly slow, but progressive
development of construction techniques.
In the 19th century, together with a rapid increase in the number of inhabitants of
European cities and changing needs in relation to buildings situated along main streets,

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numerous attempts were made to replace the model developed in the Middle Ages with
new, seemingly more adequate to the spirit of the introduced changes, forms of develop-
ment. These attempts, however, ended in failure and the model of the medieval bourgeois
tenement house, only functionally transformed into a tenement house, emerged from these
attempts “victorious”, remaining as the dominant one in the urban tissue.
A similar situation occurred after World War II [20]. The best example of this is
Gdańsk, where after the destruction wrought by the war, despite many attempts to im-
plement a completely new way of building, it was finally decided to shape the residential
development on the basis of a modernised model, which, however, was still preserved
from the Middle Ages.
All this brings us finally to modern times. The housing investments currently under-
taken in Gdańsk, but also in many other European cities, located in the zone of historic city
centres, are a modernised (however to a very small extent) model of a medieval bourgeois
tenement house. The departure from the original is of course visible in the contemporary
functional layout, execution technology and materials used, but it does not concern the
most important, decisive elements of the building’s spatial expression, such as its scale and
the overground shape of its mass.
Historically, townhouses by their very nature had the simplest and most optimal struc-
tural system possible: wooden roof trusses and wooden ceilings supported on masonry
walls placed directly on stone or brick foundations, or on wooden piles. In general, safety
evaluation for historical constructions is recommended by ISO [21] and ICOMOS [22].
Principles for the analysis or evaluation of historic wooden structures are given in ICO-
MOS [23,24]. An interesting review of existing standards, guidelines and procedures
available for the assessment of historic woodwork is presented in [25,26]. The most recent
research on using advanced digital technologies (such as building information modeling–
BIM, finite element method–FEM) in heritage preservation focuses on the analysing the
current state of particular structures. This approach to the structural analysis of the ten-
ement was used in [27]. BIM allows for excellent environmental sustainability results
while helping to reduce design time and eliminate design errors. “To ensure that a project
meets sustainability requirements, different software are used to verify energy consump-
tion. These software take into account several factors such as thermal insulation, climate
response, solar penetration, natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation HVAC systems,
building dynamics and thermal mass” [28]. A complex assessment methodology and
procedure for historic roof structures is proposed in [29]. Masonry structures are also most
commonly analysed based on finite element methods. Reviews of methods applicable to
the study of such structures have been presented in [30,31]. Unfortunately, there are few
comprehensive studies devoted to the foundations of historical buildings [32,33]. Several
examples of historical foundations, as well as past and contemporary preservation tech-
niques, are also presented in the latter. Numerical analysis of stone foundations by the finite
element method is given in [34]. A comprehensive structural analysis of the transformation
of the tenement for the different building phases from the 13th to the mid-16th century
was carried out in [35]. It considered a complex of three buildings on Mostowa Street in
Toruń, which is one of the most interesting examples of bourgeois architecture, inscribed
on the UNESCO World Heritage List. On the other hand, several cases of almost complete
reconstruction of historical urban complexes are analysed in [36].
The model of the medieval bourgeois tenement has survived to the present day
despite numerous historical events, war destruction, changing architectural styles, fashions,
construction techniques and technologies [36], despite pro-environmental trends, the
pursuit of sustainable development [37] and universal accessibility [38], and despite the
progressive development of civilization and globalisation. The aim of the article is to
determine the reasons for the great durability of this model, which has become an archetype
for contemporary urban-architectural and structural solutions located in historical urban
centres. The search for these causes was also based on the numerical structural analysis
(FEM) of a medieval tenement house.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 80

2. Materials and Methods

Among many elements of the current discourse on the protection of cultural heritage,
one of the most important seems to be the problem of coexistence or dialogue between
contemporary architecture and the existing valuable historical buildings. This problem
is not new and seems to have accompanied architects and builders for centuries, during
which they had to decide on the shape of new buildings adjacent to the existing ones.
Nowadays, however, more than in the past, this problem has taken on a new, more
pronounced meaning.
It seems that an excellent research material for this type of considerations is a model
of a medieval bourgeois tenement house, which was and still is an archetype for many
investment activities carried out in historical urban centres. In this paper, the historical
centre of Gdańsk was examined. Using such research methods as analysis of historical
source material (iconography), observation (operationalisation of preserved historical
objects), comparative analysis of contemporary investments, and 3D modelling of structural
systems, an attempt was made to determine the main factors determining the architectural
and structural solutions of contemporary buildings.

3. Medieval Bourgeois Tenement House in Gdańsk

The type of bourgeois tenement house in Gdańsk was formed a bit later than in other
northern European countries—only at the beginning of the 15th century—however it did
not differ in any way from the Dutch or German model. This was because these buildings
were constructed mainly by builders who came from other countries or by Gdańsk citizens
who acquired their skills in constructing this type of buildings abroad. Thus, the burgher
house in Gdańsk (like its foreign prototypes) was characterised by the body of the building
based on a rectangular plan with a width of approx. 5 to ca. 7 m and a length of several to
several dozen metres, adjoining the street along its shorter side (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Uphagen House, Gdańsk, 12 Długa Street, ground floor plans, mezzanine, first and second
floors [39].

The block was covered with a gable roof with an inclination of approx. 60◦ with a
wooden structure usually covered with ceramic tiles and a ridge situated perpendicularly
to the street. The side walls of the tenement were made of brick or earlier stone and
common to both neighbours, providing the basic structural element on which the ceilings
rested. These walls were also elements of fire separation for individual buildings. Gable

222
Buildings 2021, 11, 80

elevations were not loaded with ceilings, providng freedom in their shaping. Due to the
high level of groundwater in Gdańsk, the basements were shallow and the ground floor
was elevated above the ground level.
In order to determine the load transfer in the medieval roof structure and to deter-
mine stresses in the brick walls, a numerical model was made in the ABAQUS software
version 6.13, 2013 (Figure 2a). The analysis was performed on a 3D model of a medieval
townhouse with dimensions of 700 × 800 cm and a wall thickness of 100 cm. The model
was partitioned into 657,654 eight-node cubic reduced integration solid elements of linear
shape function type C3D8R with a total number of nodes of 1,113,556. Calculations were
performed for several finite element mesh sizes. The highest convergence was obtained for
a grid with a side size of 10 mm. The load was modelled cinematically as an equal vertical
displacement of the nodes of the upper surface of the elements forming the triple rafter
roof framing. The load was collected from the entire roof area taking into account the dead
weight of the elements and climatic loads.

(a) (b)

Figure 2. Medieval tenement house in Gdansk: (a) numerical model and description of the structural
members, (b) results of maximum stress maps in (kPa).

The numerical analysis carried out is intended to compare in a simplified way the
static schemes and load transfer between medieval and modern roof trusses. The studies
described in [40,41] were used to implement the wood input parameters. The follow-
ing wood parameters were included in the model: longitudinal compressive strength
XC = 62.2 MPa, longitudinal tensile strength XT = 140.0 MPa, transverse tensile strength
YT = 8.5 MPa, transverse compressive strength YC = 10.9 MPa, shear strength S = 35.0 MPa,
Young’s modulus—length direction E1 = 9715.0 MPa, Young’s modulus—horizontal direc-
tion E2 = 400 MPa, shear modulus G = 600 MPa, density ρ = 650 kg/m3, Poisson’s ratio
v12 = 0.316, v23 = 0.469, v31 = 0.023, initial yield limit σ0k = 26 MPa.
The research described in [42] was used to implement the input parameters of a his-
torical masonry wall. The elastic modulus of the masonry wall material was calculated
using the homogenization algorithm described in papers [43,44]. In order to determine the
stresses in the brick masonry, a plastic-degradation material with the following parameters
was included in the model: Young’s modulus E = 2600 MPa, Poisson’s ratio v = 0.167,
density ρ = 2000 kg/m3 , dilatation angle = 16◦ , eccentricity e = 0.07, biaxial/uniaxial com-
pression plastic strain ratio 1.16, parameter κc = 0.667, viscosity 0.001, stress σc = 8.42 MPa

223
Buildings 2021, 11, 80

inelastic strain ε = 0.009931, compressive degradation dc = 0.99 in elastic strain ε = 0.00931,

stress σt = 0.848 MPa in crushing strain εc = 0.00527, tensile degradation dt = 0.97 in
crushing strain εc = 0.00527 [45]. The current condition of the elements was also taken into
account by lowering the value of the longitudinal modulus of elasticity. The results ob-
tained during the numerical analysis in the form of stress maps are presented in Figure 2b.
On the basis of the obtained results, it was proven that the medieval triple rafter roof
framing and brick wall would satisfy the ultimate limit state and serviceability conditions.
Compressive stresses of 2 MPa did not lead to cracks in the structure of the elements, which
would cause failure of the entire structure.
The elevation of the ground floor above the ground level meant that the ground floor
was accessed by stairs through porches, which have become a characteristic element of
this architecture. The height of buildings and the number of decorative elements applied
on their façades depended on the social and, above all, material status of their owners. It
should be noted here that the decorations were applied mainly to gable façades located on
the street side. Gable façades located from the side of quarter interiors were not subject to
decoration, and side façades were decorated only when they had no “neighbour” and were
located along side streets. Very characteristic elements of the gable facades were (situated
“at the meeting point” of the neighbouring buildings) often richly decorated containers for
rainwater, connected with drain pipes running along the facades.
In spite of changing architectural styles and the development of building technologies,
this method of building tenements was preserved in Gdańsk from the 15th to the middle of
the 19th c. (Figure 3).

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Figure 3. Elevations of Gdańsk tenement houses: (a) Gothic, (b) Renaissance, (c) Baroque, (d) Classi-
cist, (e) Eclectic [46].

4. Gdańsk Tenements from the Mid-19th to the Mid-20th Century

The 19th century in Gdansk was initially a period of economic and construction
stagnation caused by warfare. Later, mainly due to the industrial revolution, came a
time of prosperity and thus a period of population growth and a boom in construction,
including housing. However, this did not change the way buildings were constructed. The
architecture of this period was full of historical borrowings and quotations, often based
on very fashionable catalogues or architectural patterns. The style of the façades of the
buildings was eclectic and the shape of the mass clearly continued the medieval traditions.

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The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in Gdańsk brought
new challenges to the then urban development and a new look at the urban planning
and aesthetics of the city. This prompted the citizens and authorities of Gdańsk to apply
measures to modernise its appearance. Encouraged by the examples of other European
cities, the citizens of Gdańsk began to undertake a number of actions aimed at “clearing” the
urban tissue of buildings that did not meet the new challenges. A number of demolitions
were carried out, unfortunately irrevocably destroying a significant number of valuable
historical buildings. The demolished historical buildings were replaced with new ones,
larger in scale and of a different, modern style, often characterised by flat roofs which were
“alien here”. The city authorities tried to control the emerging spatial chaos by organising
architectural competitions for the “façades of Gdańsk buildings”. These competitions were
aimed at finding a solution or a model of a Gdańsk building realised in the historical area.
The most widespread competition among architects was organised in 1902. This
competition attracted 110 entries from all over Germany and produced totally surprising
results [47]. Despite enormous pressure from the proponents of modernity, the works
submitted for the competition and awarded were solutions that very directly referred to the
historical legacy, using neo-stylistics, mainly the Dutch Neo-Renaissance. The residential
buildings presented in the competition were again traditional, medieval townhouses clad
in neo-decoration (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Tenement houses awarded in a competition for the facdes of buildings in Gdańsk, 1902 [46].

In the third decade of the twentieth century, the so-called “Project of Great Gdańsk”
was being prepared. It was the first comprehensive zoning plan covering not only the his-
toric downtown, but also its wide surroundings. Although this project generally assumed
the preservation of the old buildings in the city centre, it allowed for the reconstruction
of many historical parts of the city. The ideas of the modern movement in architecture
and modernist design with flat roofs, columns, and strip windows began to “invade” the
historic centre (Figure 5).

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Buildings 2021, 11, 80

Figure 5. Frontage of Długa Street in Gdańsk designed by Martin Kiessling [48].

Historic conservation officers, architects and urban planners of the time were engaged
in fierce disputes over the transformation of the face of the city. One of the proponents
of introducing changes in the way of building was an architect and respected builder,
Martin Kiessling [49], whereas his opponent and defender of historical building principles
was professor and rector of Technische Hochschule Danzig (now Gdańsk University of
Technology), architect Otto Kloeppel, who wrote in 1928: “For each city, there was a time
when its proper style was constructed; this was the historical time when the most was built
in a given city, thus creating its character. It was good if the newly constructed buildings
were built in the same form language. Nevertheless, it is a fact that just as the various
historical styles perfectly complement each other in our old cities, so there is also room for
modern forms, provided that the essence of the spatial art of the old urban foundation is
not violated” [48]. In the end, the traditional medieval townhouse won again. The space
of the historic downtown of Gdańsk remained quite uniform in its historic style and the
modernist visions of Kiessling and his ilk were not realised. Until the outbreak of World
War II, the bourgeois houses located in the historic downtown of Gdańsk remained faithful
to their medieval original (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Długa Street in Gdańsk, 1935. Source: Historical Museum of the City of Gdańsk.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 80

5. War Destruction in 1945 and the Reconstruction of the City

Gdańsk is one of the European cities that suffered the most damage as a result of
warfare during World War II. It is estimated that the degree of destruction reached as much
as 90% of the buildings existing before the outbreak of war (Figure 7) [50].

Figure 7. Photograph of damage in Gdańsk after the Second World War [50].

The reconstruction of such a badly damaged city was not an easy task, especially as it
was carried out in the atmosphere of many discussions and disputes concerning the way it
should be done. There were also opinions that Gdańsk should not be rebuilt at all, but only
turned into a huge park with only “islands” of the most important monumental buildings.
In turn, modernist visions of rebuilding Gdańsk envisaged building in its place a modern
residential district with wide, sunny streets, green areas and gardens. Towards the end
of 1946, however, the vision of a historic reconstruction of the city began to prevail and
its supporters began to draw up increasingly clear plans for its implementation. A great
propagator of this idea was an architect, town-planner, and scientist, Władysław Czerny,
the author of the first serious plan of rebuilding Gdańsk. He claimed that all reconstructions
must be carried out on the basis of strict historical documentation, not allowing the creation
of historical architectural fantasies. However, he allowed for the construction of tenement
houses in contemporary forms provided that they could respect the “artistic custom and
the custom of scale” [51].
Thus, the historic centre of Gdańsk was rebuilt, but this reconstruction was not a
faithful and literal reconstruction of all of the pre-war elements. The most significant mon-
uments were rebuilt, the main street lines were rebuilt, the city skyline was reconstructed,
but at the same time, the urban tissue was radically changed, adapting it to the require-
ments of modern urban planning. A housing development has been built in the historic
city centre. Therefore, during the reconstruction, the main emphasis was put on housing,
i.e., again on tenement houses, which are the face of the city. These tenements, often built
on historical foundations, in their general structure did not deviate in any way from the
archetype of the medieval burgher house. They often had historical façades reconstructed
on the basis of iconographic material, but even more often, they were buildings with a
fascinating combination of historical structure and modernist and, in later years, socialist
realist style [51].
Of course, it should be emphasised once again that it is the external spatial expression
of these buildings and the basic layout of their structure that is at issue here, not the func-
tional layout, which was completely transformed when adapted to the new requirements.
It is extremely interesting that the “struggle” between the traditional form of the bourgeois
tenement house and the new solutions lasted throughout the reconstruction of the city,

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i.e., until around 1960. However, the archetypical idea of a bourgeois tenement house was
victorious in this struggle each time (Figure 8).

Figure 8. Eastern frontage of Grobla I Street in Gdańsk: (a) modernist design from 1957 [51], (b) realisation in the form of
tenement houses 1958. Source: compiled by A. Taraszkiewicz.

6. Second Stage of Reconstruction—An Archetype Still Relevant

Despite the successful reconstruction of the city in 1945–1960, today’s historic down-
town of Gdańsk still requires new buildings to fill in the vacant spaces and complete the
quarters and street frontages destroyed during World War II. However, contemporary
architects and urban planners operate in a very different reality than their post-war pre-
decessors. The Venice Charter, adopted in 1964 by the Second International Congress
of Architects and Technicians for the Construction of Monuments in Italy, changed the
rules for the “handling” of monuments, and in particular drastically limited the possi-
bilities for their restoration and reconstruction. The Charter calls for the protection and
preservation of the original substance, structure and materials of historic buildings and
for a clear distinction between all newly added elements and the original elements. Most
relevant here is Article 9 of the Charter, which states: “The process of restoration is a highly
specialized operation. Its aim is to preserve and reveal the aesthetic and historic value of
the monument and is based on respect for original material and authentic documents. It
must stop at the point where conjecture begins, and in this case moreover any extra work
which is indispensable must be distinct from the architectural composition and must bear
a contemporary stamp. The restoration in any case must be preceded and followed by an
archaeological and historical study of the monument”, and Article 10, which states: “Where
traditional techniques prove inadequate, the consolidation of a monument can be achieved
by the use of any modern technique for conservation and construction, the efficacy of
which has been shown by scientific data and proved by experience” [52]. The provisions of
the Venice Charter significantly restrict the possibility of faithful reconstruction of historical
buildings, especially the creation of stylised forms. In spite of this, between 1960 and 2000,
many new tenement houses were erected in Gdańsk that deceptively resembled historical
buildings. These buildings, although constructed with modern technologies and materials,
are architectural fantasies on the theme of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, or Classicist
bourgeois houses in Gdańsk (Figure 9).

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Buildings 2021, 11, 80

Figure 9. Tenement houses on Stagiewna

˛ Street in Gdańsk. Source: A. Taraszkiewicz.

This situation, on the one hand, arouses objections of architects and conservators,
who understand the incompatibility of these actions with the provisions of the Venice
Charter and who are reluctant to create so-called “historic buildings”. On the other hand,
it is received with great satisfaction by the community of contemporary Gdańsk and the
wider public, who perceive this type of development as fitting in perfectly with the historic
landscape of downtown Gdańsk. As a result of the ongoing disputes, in 2004, on the almost
100-year anniversary of the 1902 competition described above, the city authorities organised
an international architectural competition for the 21st century tenement house in Gdańsk.
This competition was intended to provide specific guidelines for the implementation
of contemporary housing located in the historic downtown. The competition was very
popular. 94 applications were received from all over the world and 58 entries were finally
submitted [46]. The jury awarded 3 prizes (two for projects from Poland and one for a work
from Germany) and several distinctions. Surprisingly, all of the awarded and commended
works are solutions presenting a “typical” Gdańsk bourgeois tenement house with its
elongated, rectangular ground plan, body covered by a gable roof with its ridge situated
perpendicularly to the street and a slender main façade situated along the street. The only
difference from the historical original was the very contemporary, clearly international style
solution of the front façade (Figure 10). It has to be clearly stated here that the architects
taking part in the competition for the 21st century tenement house in Gdańsk decided that
its basic spatial structure must derive from the historical pattern and, as it was done by
artists of past epochs, only its front façade should testify to the time in which it was built.
Contrary to the expectations of its organisers, the 2004 competition did not provide
clear guidelines for spatial activities related to the development of residential buildings
located in the historic centre of Gdańsk. These activities are still carried out quite freely,
creating solutions directly related to history (Figure 11) as well as referring to contemporary
achievements, reflecting the spirit of the times in which they were created (Figure 12).
Structural solutions also vary, especially for elements such as roofs and basements.
Roof slopes are still constructed as traditional, wooden rafter framing with the difference
in relation to historical solutions that they are only one-tie structures. There are also
lightweight steel rafters protected against fire with intumescent paint and even monolithic
or prefabricated reinforced concrete slabs, laid with a slope of approx. 60◦ (Figure 13).

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Buildings 2021, 11, 80

For particular roof construction solutions, i.e., wooden, steel and reinforced concrete
rafter framing (all single-unit), as before, numerical models were made (Figure 13). The
parameters and material properties of the different models were adopted analogously as
in Chapter 3. An elastic-plastic model was considered for the steel truss model, while a
plastic-degradation model of concrete was used to model the reinforced concrete slab roof.
In contrast to the parameters of the medieval tenement house, the value of the longitudinal
modulus of elasticity of the individual materials was not reduced. The results of the
analyses are presented below in Figure 13.

Figure 10. Awarded project of a tenement house in Gdańsk of the 21st century. Authors: B. Domsta,
J. Raniszewski, K. Lipińska, M. Jaśkowiec [46].

Figure 11. Tenement houses in Św. The Church of the Holy Spirit in Gdańsk; designed by
P. W. Kowalski [53].

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Buildings 2021, 11, 80

Figure 12. Tenement houses at Targ Rybny in Gdańsk; designed by Kurylowicz &Associates [54].

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 13. Numerical model of roof structures of modern tenement houses in Gdansk: (a) wooden rafter framing of one
piece, (b) steel rafter framing, (c) roof made of reinforced concrete slabs; stresses in (kPa).

On the basis of the obtained results, it was stated that modern roof constructions fulfill
the conditions of ultimate limit state and serviceability. The compressive stresses of 2 MPa
are analogous to the results obtained from the analysis of the medieval roof. This allows us
to conclude that for small spans, typically 5 to 7 m, the construction of roofs of tenement
buildings carried out in the past (as well as at present) was economically justified and
optimal for the safe transfer of loads.
Underground parts of contemporary Gdańsk tenements are also elements of very
diverse construction solutions. Because modern engineers have acquired the ability to

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base buildings below the level of groundwater, the modern tenement house in Gdańsk
no longer needs (which was characteristic for centuries past) to have the ground floor
elevated above the level of the ground or to have shallow cellars. Today’s engineers can
deal with difficult ground and water conditions, which is why the basements of tenement
buildings are usually realised as so-called “white bathtubs”, made of waterproof concrete,
realised with the use of cavity walls or sheet pile walls. A “white bathtub” is the general
name for a reinforced concrete structure consisting of a foundation slab and walls made
of waterproof concrete. It combines the supporting and sealing function and is one of the
solutions to the problem of foundations in unfavourable ground and water conditions.
A characteristic feature of such a structure is that, in part or in whole, it is externally loaded
by ground water. The “white bathtub” as a description and solution has been refined for
several decades, mainly in Germany and Central Europe [55]. This technology is used in
both single and multi-storey buildings. It is supposed to protect the object from moisture
without an additional sealing layer. Basements constructed in this way are often two or
three storeys high and serve modern commercial functions such as fitness centres or clubs
for the inhabitants, but they are also sometimes the space of underground car parks and
the location of numerous technical rooms (Figure 14).

Figure 14. Cross-section through the quarter of buildings on Szeroka Street in Gdańsk; designed by A. Taraszkiewicz.
Source: A. Taraszkiewicz.

One thing, however, remains unchanged—the architectural expression of the above-

ground part of the building, designed and executed on the basis of a pattern developed
in the Middle Ages. The power of this archetype is so great that so far it has not been
broken by the changing styles, fashions and technical and technological progress over the
centuries (Figure 15) [56].
The medieval bourgeois tenement house located in the downtown of Gdańsk, trans-
formed in the 19th century into a tenement house and finally in the 20th and 21st century
into a multi-family or even multifunctional building, as was mentioned earlier, has been
and still is nowadays a background for monumental, historic religious buildings or centres
of secular power as well as contemporary public utility buildings or collective housing.
However, the phenomenon of the tenement house archetype also manifests its power
here, imposing its stylistics on larger objects containing a different function. Narrow, high
and flat façades of medieval tenement houses in Gdańsk have become so strongly inscribed
in the landscape of the historic city centre that none of the contemporary designers working
in this area dare to disturb the existing order. And it doesn’t just apply to residential
development.
Completed in 2012 and awarded with numerous architectural prizes, the building
containing the museum function of the Maritime Culture Centre in Gdańsk is one of many
examples of contemporary implementation of the gable form of a tenement house in a

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building with a completely different function (Figure 16). However, this does not give the
impression of artificiality or alienation in this so clearly defined space. On the contrary, by
fragmenting the elevation and referring to the medieval way of shaping high and narrow
façade divisions topped with pitched roofs, the building perfectly fits into the historical
urban landscape. It creates a harmonious whole with it, and at the same time clearly
emphasises its own modern distinctiveness through the use of contemporary materials and
technologies and the application of minimalist architectural details (Figure 16).

Figure 15. Tenement houses on Szeroka Street in Gdańsk; designed by A. Taraszkiewicz. Source:
A. Taraszkiewicz.

Figure 16. Maritime Culture Centre in Gdańsk; designed by Mirosław Fraszczak.

˛ Source: InfoG-
dańsk [57].

7. Conclusions
The spatial image of the European city is inextricably associated with a specific form
of the urban house—the tenement house [6], the model of which originates from the
Middle Ages, and despite enormous cultural, civilizational, and socio-economic changes,

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has survived until today. The reason for the extraordinary durability of this type of
construction can be found in the enormous rationality and economic efficiency of this
solution. Due to the continuity of the frontage, it allowed for very intensive use of the land.
Thanks to the use of small construction spans and common for neighbouring buildings
(up to today) construction walls (fire separation walls), it allows cheap and fast construction
and fire safety.
Thanks to unburdening of the gable elevations, this building model also allows the
gable façades to be shaped very freely, which is very important especially nowadays when
the tenement house often gains additional, not only residential, functions.
The model of a bourgeois tenement house, thanks to a narrow street, paradoxically
also allows for free shaping of the functional layout of the building. Inside the tract, limited
by external walls, we are dealing with a “free plan”, using modernist nomenclature, which
we can freely shape. Even at the present time, when two or three tracts of tenement houses
are functionally connected, the structural elements located at the border of the modules
(again thanks to small spans) are very small in size, not interfering with the functional
solutions. The possibility of easy access of each building to the main communication routes
in the tenement model is also functionally very beneficial.
Also on the basis of numerical analyses, it was shown that the construction of roofs
of tenement houses performed in the past, as well as in modern times, was and still is
economically justified and optimal for the safe transfer of loads at small spans of 5 to 7 m.
Aesthetic considerations, i.e., the possibility of shaping the face of the city according
to the patterns accepted in a given epoch and the ease of implementing elements testifying
to the aesthetic views and the social and financial status of particular investors in the front
elevation, are probably also important in the consolidation of the model of the bourgeois
tenement house. It seems, however, that the most important factor which made the
model of the mediaeval bourgeois tenement house become an archetype for contemporary
architectural and construction solutions is a timeless message contained in this model,
a specific code allowing it to be unambiguously identified as a form of urban house—a
place of safe living and at the same time a visible sign of the rich history of European cities,
an element creating their cultural and spatial identity, a component of the living, constantly
transforming urban tissue.
The tenement seems to be a proven, flexible model of an urban building, perfectly
fitting into the complexity of the downtown environment and possessing the features of a
basic element of the urban-architectural composition of this environment. The building,
both historical and contemporary, through its scale and archetypical form, fully respects
the spatial context of its neighbourhood, forcing the designers to constantly reinterpret
the legacy of past generations. The tenement house appears not only as a testimony to the
magnificence of European culture, but through its contemporary architectural interpreta-
tions, it gives the inhabitants of European cities an opportunity to preserve their identity,
cultural continuity and specific local character. Especially in cities such as Gdańsk, where
cultural continuity was broken [58] not only by the destruction of the material substance
but also by the exchange of society, where customs could not be passed from generation
to generation and there was no natural inheritance of tradition, signs such as the urban
tenement, inscribed in the city landscape, have become carriers of local tradition, bridging
the gap between generations of old and new inhabitants [59].

Author Contributions: Conceptualisation, A.T. and K.T.; methodology, A.T., J.P.; software, K.G.,
J.P.; validation, K.G., J.P.; formal analysis, K.G., J.P.; investigation, A.T., K.T.; resources, A.T., J.P.;
data curation, A.T.; writing—original draft preparation, A.T.; writing—review and editing, J.P.;
visualisation, A.T., J.P., K.G., K.T.; supervision, A.T., J.P.; project administration, A.T., J.P.; funding
acquisition, A.T., J.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 80

Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the
corresponding author.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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 buildings
Article
Influence of the Widespread Use of Corten Plate on the
Acoustics of the European Solidarity Centre Building in Gdańsk
Wojciech Targowski 1 and Andrzej Kulowski 2, *

1 Department of Residential Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University of Technology,

ul. G. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland; [email protected]
2 Department of Technical Fundamentals of Architecture Design, Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University
of Technology, ul. G. Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
* Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +48-501-052-874

Abstract: This paper describes the relationship between a strong architectural vision that is difficult
to balance, and user expectations in terms of acoustics. The focus is on the use of corten steel as the
dominant finishing material on façades and interiors to achieve an expressive, symbolic message
through program-based design. The architectural premises justifying the adopted solutions are
presented, especially the universality and homogeneity of the material. Against this background, the
influence of corten steel on the acoustics of the two largest rooms of the European Solidarity Center,
which are the winter garden and the multi-purpose hall, was discussed. Remedial steps have been
taken to reduce the greatest acoustic inconveniences resulting from the widespread use of metal sheet
as a finishing material in rooms, i.e., excessive reverberation and a low degree of sound dispersion. A
positive result for the acoustic conditions achieved in the winter garden was the presentation of a
Citation: Targowski, W.; Kulowski, large body of classical music in the building.
A. Influence of the Widespread Use of
Corten Plate on the Acoustics of the Keywords: symbolic building; corten plates; tilted walls; winter garden; room acoustics; reverbera-
European Solidarity Centre Building tion time; flutter echo
in Gdańsk. Buildings 2021, 11, 133.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
buildings11030133
1. Introduction
Academic Editor: Oleg Kapliński,
Developed as the result of a high-profile international competition, the European
Agata Bonenberg, Wojciech
Solidarity Centre (ECS) in Gdańsk was opened in 2014 [1,2]. The purpose of the building
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini
is to document and promote the idea of Solidarity, a concept born in the Gdańsk Ship-
yard, the guiding idea behind the great socio-political changes in Central and Eastern
Received: 5 February 2021
Europe at the end of the 1980s. For understandable reasons, the symbolic aspect of the
Accepted: 19 March 2021
Published: 23 March 2021
architecture was decisive for the design solutions and consequently for the verdict of the
international jury [3]. The shapes and materials used are closer to sculptural forms than
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
to utilitarian public architecture (Figure 1). A strong formal concept, however, sometimes
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
entails disadvantages in the functional sphere, such as achieving the desired acoustic
published maps and institutional affil-
characteristics.
iations. Widely used as an interior finishing material, the corten plate plays a special role in
developing the symbolic code of architecture [4]. Devoid of any paint hiding the essence
of the material, the raw surfaces perfectly reflect the spirit of the spontaneous protests
by Gdańsk shipyard workers. The corroded surface of the façades, however, is only a
complement to the primary formal idea behind the project, referring to the once existing
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
steel stockpile required for shipbuilding—hence the consistent parallel alignment, and the
This article is an open access article
inclination from the upright position of the rust-colored walls, so that they directly relate
distributed under the terms and
to the metal sheets leaning against the storage racks (Figure 2).
conditions of the Creative Commons The aim of this paper is to show the possibility of reconciling the specific, difficult-to-
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// balance, formal program of architecture with the requirements of the acoustic usability of
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ the building (Figure 3).
4.0/).

Buildings 2021, 11, 133. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030133 239 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2021, 11, 133

Figure 1. Richard Serra, Memorial to the victims of the Nazi T4 extermination program, Berlin.
Material: corten plate (photo by Wojciech Targowski).

Figure 2. Gdansk Shipyard, metal sheets warehouse for shipbuilding on the site of the future
European Solidarity Centre (ECS) building (photo by Wojciech Targowski).

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

Figure 3. The south and west façade of the ECS, with structural walls which deviate from the
vertical by 6.5◦ . The façades of the ECS are covered with 5 mm thick corten plates (photo by
Wojciech Kryński).

2. Examples of Widespread Use of Corten Cladding in Public Utility Buildings

The use of corten steel in building architectural narratives dates back to the 1960s.
One of the precursors of its application was the eminent American–Finnish architect
Eero Saarinen. In 1964, after his death, the John Deere World Headquarters designed
by him in Moline, Illinois, USA, was put into operation. In the symbolic code of the
architecture of this building, an attempt was made to establish a dialogue of seemingly
opposing values—industrial civilization and nature. According to the production pro-
file, a large concern producing heavy agricultural machinery has gained a complex of
offices and exhibition facilities made of steel blended into the organic landscape [5]
(Figure 4).
The Mies van der Rohe award-nominated Raif Dinckok Cultural Center was opened
in 2011 in Yalova, Turkey. The use of corten steel in the architecture of the building is an
obvious reference to the industrial character of the city. It is also a tribute to the founder—
a large industrial company, the Akkok Group. The impressive, openwork, steel structure,
illuminated by flickering light, contradicts the perception of steel as a soulless, raw mat-
ter and, contrary to stereotypes, encourages the affirmation of the industrial landscape
(Figure 5) [7].

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

Figure 4. John Deere World Headquarters Moline, Illinois, USA. Object completed in 1964, architects—
Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche [6]. Photo—public domain.

Figure 5. Cont.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

Figure 5. Raif Dinckok Cultural Centre, Yalova, Turkey. Object completed in 2011, architects—Emre Arolat, Gonca
Pasolar and Rafat Yalmaz [8]. Photos by courtesy of emre arolat architects, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike
4.0 International.

The façades of the town museum building in Essen, Germany, which were built in 2009,
and the city archives of Haus der Essener Geschichte—Stadtarchiv are completely covered
with corten cladding. According to the authors’ intention, the time-varying, maturing
patina of corten steel sheets illustrates the passing of time, directly referring to the function
of the building housing the documentation of the city’s history. The brutal, tin block is also
related to the landscape of the industrial complex of the Krupp steel plant—Kruppstadt
Essen, for many years an essential condition for the city’s existence (Figure 6) [9].

Figure 6. House of Essen History and City Archives, Essen, Germany. Object completed in 2009, architects—Frank Ahlbrecht,
Hermann Scheidt [10] Photo—public domain.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

The use of corten in architecture is good for building a symbolic aura. Architects
fascinated by this material willingly use it to manifest programmatic references. Despite
the aesthetic affinities with the above-mentioned projects, the building of the ECS is clearly
specific. In this case, the designer took the risk of mass use of corten cladding as a finishing
material in interiors with qualified acoustics. On the other hand, the unconventional use of
large steel surfaces raised concerns that the interiors would show the acoustic properties of
an industrial hall, and thus lose the acoustic comfort desired in public utility buildings [11].

3. Corten Plates as a Finishing Material

Corten steel (original name COR-TEN) is an alloy with a deliberately created corrosion
layer replacing the need for a protective paint coating. It is obtained by the use of alloy
additives that give the steel the desired metallurgical properties and form the corrosion
layer (P, Cu, Cr, Ni, Si, Mo, Ti, V). Work on the production of corten steel began in 1933,
with practical applications in 1959 [12].
In its basic applications, corten steel is a construction material. In the form of metal
sheets, it is used relatively rarely, mainly due to its specific decorative value. In architecture,
corten plates are mainly used as a façade covering for office and commercial buildings,
cultural facilities, etc., as well as for artistic projects such as monuments, sculptures or
other open-air installations. A special feature of the material is a long period of natural
stabilization of the physico-chemical properties of the corrosion coating, lasting many
years [13]. This is related to its change of color, as well as dusting and settling of the
corrosion deposits on the surface of the ground [14]. For this reason, corten steel is
mainly used in the open air. Due to the possibility of dusting, the use of corten sheet in
rooms requires stabilization of the corrosion coating, e.g., by spraying with thin layer of
clear varnish.
The article describes the use of corten steel cladding in the largest ECS rooms, i.e., in
the winter garden and in a multi-purpose hall, along with the impact of this material on
their acoustics. Corten plate is a finishing material that also dominates other ECS rooms
(entrance hall, foyer, corridors). The rationale is a reference to the material uniformity of
the façade and interiors, characteristic of large industrial facilities.

4. Use of Corten Plates in the ECS Interiors

A cladding made of 1 mm corten plate on plywood 15 mm thick was applied in
all interiors of the ECS. Its sound absorption coefficient is comparable to that of plaster
(αw ≈ 0.05) [15,16]. The use of such material in the form of large, flat sheets causes the
sound to be reflected in a mirror-like manner without loss of energy, which leads to a long
reverberation time [17]. According to the designer’s intentions, this is not considered an
acoustic defect, but rather as an aid to the visual means shaping the mood of the major
industrial interior.
These effects are mitigated to some extent by the use of a drawn mesh made of corten
plate and perforated corten plates, moved away from the concrete wall, and the filling of
the voids with mineral wool. When applied to the upper part of the wall, it preserves the
homogeneity of the interior material and minimizes excessive reverberation, directing the
auditory sensations of the users from the expected clear industrial monumentality to the
acoustic neutrality typical of public spaces.

4.1. Winter Garden

The winter garden brings together the most important ECS functions, which are
permanent and temporary exhibitions, reading rooms with libraries, offices, etc. They are
accessible directly or through wide corridors, mezzanines with escalators and internal
glass facades and window openings. As a result, the interior of the winter garden is largely
fragmented, which in combination with large clusters of vegetation has a positive effect on
its acoustics (Figure 7).

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Figure 7. The ECS, winter garden (photo by Wojciech Kryński).

As it was said before, the interior of the winter garden is made of large, flat elements
covered with metal sheets, reflecting the sound mainly in a mirror form, i.e., without
dispersion and with negligible absorption. Occurring in sufficiently large groups, the
vegetation has a positive effect on the acoustics of the room formed in this way by absorbing
and dispersing sound [18].
There are two types of vegetation in the Winter Garden—trees growing in single pots
and a green wall formed by plants climbing a frame next to construction poles. The sound
absorption coefficient of detached trees is α = Gf1/2 , where f is the frequency and G is a
constant with values from 0.001 to 0.002 [19]. With the density of vegetation available in a
room of the considered size (see Figure 4), a sound absorption coefficient α in the range
from 0.06 to 0.18 for the frequency range f from 1 to 8 kHz can be expected. Similar values
of α are reported in the literature for vegetation suitable for green wall formation (α from
0 to 0.2 for the frequency range from 200 to 1600 Hz) [20]. These are small values, but after
reaching the target size by the mass of vegetation and combined with the effect of sound
absorption by the air, also increasing with frequency [21], they will allow for a noticeable
suppression of high sounds as intended by the designer.
Consciously used aesthetic effect should also be raised, expressed in exposing the
rawness of corten combined with the softness of greenery, as well as improving air quality
and bringing other benefits to various forms of activity conducted there [18]. At present,
the vegetation in the winter garden is in the initial stage of growth, eventually becoming
an element competing with the severity of corten. This applies at least to the lower part of
the room, the total height of which is approx. 15 m.
The sound scattering and absorption effects produced in this way significantly reduce
the feeling of reverberation that one might expect when entering such a large cubature.
This refers to both the leading function of the winter garden, which includes meetings, exhi-
bitions and occasional events, as well as special occurrences, such as the stage presentation
of an opera (see Section 5, “Synergistic influence . . . ”).
The acoustic measurements of the winter garden were made without the presence
of the public (Figure 8). This is a common practice to avoid audience noises that affect
the measurement result. The influence of the audience on the acoustics of a room is
usually taken into account by calculation. An estimate of the audience’s influence on the
reverberation time using a statistical method (the so-called Sabine method) is shown in
Appendix A.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

Figure 8. The reverberation time of the winter garden. Continuous line and numerical values:
acoustical measurements (the average of 8 observation points, room without public). Measurements
were made in accordance with the ISO 3382-2 standard [22], sound source—pistol shot. Dashed
line—reverberation time taking into account the presence of the audience, choir and orchestra, see
Appendix A. The range of recommended values of reverberation time for the occupied room is
marked in blue [17].

Attention is drawn to the frequency characteristics of the reverberation time of the

winter garden with the damping of the lower and upper parts of the band, due to the
arrangement of the structural elements in the ceiling of the interior and the presence of
large bodies of greenery, intended for further growth. In view of the varied nature of sound
production, in line with the program-based multi-purpose character of the winter garden,
this creates favorable conditions for the functioning of the sound system.
Dimensions of the winter garden—length × width × height: approx. 30 × 30 × 15 m,
floor area—885 m2 , cubature, including acoustically coupled spaces—19,400 m3 , surface of
the corten plates—approx. 2200 m2 , reverberation time at a frequency of 1000 Hz—2.8 s
(Figure 8).

4.2. Multi-Purpose Hall

The multi-purpose hall is a room with a simpler form. As with the entire building, the
main tool for creating the interior architecture of the hall is the corten plates, which com-
pletely cover the parallel aligned side walls. In accordance with the accepted formula of an
industrial hall, the side walls are formed from large single-piece planes. This promotes the
fluttering effect of the sound as it decays. In general, this phenomenon is due to the multi-
ple mirror reflection of sound between spaced apart parallel surfaces, e.g., between walls or
ceiling and floor, and is acoustically disadvantageous. Flutter echo can also arise between
specifically shaped curved surfaces with insufficient absorption [17]. This phenomenon is
local in nature, i.e., it is observed only in the area including the paths of reflected waves, at
a specific location of the source generating sound pulses, e.g., percussion instruments.
The estimation of flutter echo formation is based on a geometric model of sound
propagation. In this model the assumption is that the obstacle that reflects the sound,
in this case the side wall, is large compared to the wavelength. This can be written as
l ≥ K λ, where λ is the wavelength, l is the dimension of the obstacle and K is a factor
dependent on the ratio between mirrored and diffused energy. K can be taken as a measure
of the audibility of a flutter echo. The greater the value of K, i.e., the larger the reflecting
surfaces are, the more clearly the flutter echo phenomenon is audible. At low K values,
the flutter echo becomes blurry because some of the reflected sound energy takes the form
of the scattered sound. With the decrease of K and the appropriate arrangement of the
fragmented elements, flutter echo turns into a smooth decay of the sound, beneficial for
the acoustics of the room.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

In the literature, the choice of the K factor is not free of some arbitrariness. Generally,
the K factor is greater than one [23,24], though some authors accept smaller values (e.g.,
K = 1 [25], K = 1/2 [26] or even K = 1/3 [27]). This means that even a strongly blurred
flutter effect, created with a share of diffuse reflections, is treated by these authors as
an acoustic defect of the room. This can be the basis for taking remedial steps, such as
dividing large areas forming a room into smaller ones, corresponding to small K values.
An acoustically qualified division of large areas into smaller ones leads to the creation of
acoustic diffusers.
In the multi-purpose hall, the area susceptible to flutter echo formation is the stage.
In accordance with the architectural concepts, the walls of the building have been tilted.
In this case, the strict formal guidelines had a positive effect on the room. The walls
deviate so significantly from the vertical plane such that the flutter echo formation zone is
shifted above the stage, severely reducing the degree to which it is perceived (Figure 9).
As mentioned above, flutter echoes are usually eliminated by positioning the walls in a
suitable plane or using sound-diffusing structures [17]. In this case, in order to emphasize
the form of the industrial hall and to be consistent with the formula for the whole building,
the parallel position of the walls and their flat form have been preserved, at the deliberate
expense of a slight inconvenience in the sphere of utility.

Figure 9. Shifting the zone of flutter echo formation (left) above the level of the performers’ heads by
deviating the side walls from the vertical (right).

4.3. Acoustic Tests of the Multi-Purpose Hall

Since the flutter echo consists of periodically repeated pulses, signal processing proce-
dures can be used to detect their presence in the sound decay curve. Two methods are most
commonly used, i.e., testing on the autocorrelation function and cepstral analysis. The
autocorrelation function is a measure for the inner statistical relations of a signal and can
reveal its stochastic or periodic components. In order to study the flutter echo, a property
of the autocorrelation function that is called temporal diffusion was extracted [28]. Cepstral
analysis is used when a highly condensed flutter echo is perceived as a coloration of sound.
This method allows us to detect periodicity occurring in the sound spectrum, which is a
symptom of its coloring [29].
The above-mentioned methods are an objective confirmation of subjectively unpleas-
ant character of the reverberation, which, apart from fluttering echoes, consists of other
irregularities in the sound decay curve. In many cases, a sufficient evaluation of the quality
of the sound decay curve can be made using the auditory judgment. This applies especially
to the audibility of the flutter echo in various types of sound production, i.e., speech,
singing, musical sounds, etc., taking into account performance factors such as tempo,
expression, the occurrence of pauses, type of instrumentation and others. The mentioned
types of stimulation are different from the standard measurement signal. Therefore, it is
helpful to include a competent judge, i.e., appropriately trained listener, in the auditory
evaluation of these effects in the sound decay phenomenon.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

In order to test the susceptibility of the multipurpose hall to the formation of flutter
echoes, acoustic tests were carried out during the finishing works. They comprised an
auditory evaluation of the degree of audibility of the flutter echo at various configurations
of the absorbing material applied to the side walls (Figure 10). During the test, a comparison
between the audibility of the echo to a listener positioned in the central part and at the
edge of the stage was carried out, with and without sound-absorbing material. The source
of the sound was a pistol shot, speech and selected musical instruments.
It was found that the inclination of the walls was a sufficient remedial step, shifting
the area of the flutter echo formation above the level of the performers’ heads. The level
of echo was reduced to such an extent that it became unnoticeable. The echo remains
slightly noticeable only at the edge of the stage, by the left side wall, which does not affect
the convenience of using the room. Thanks to this, the covering of the lower parts of the
walls with sound-absorbing material was avoided, which would have been clearly visible
from the audience. Sound-absorbing material is applied only to the upper parts of the side
walls as a means of reducing reverberation, without affecting the visual reference to the
industrial character of the interior (Figure 11).

Figure 10. The multi-purpose hall during the acoustic experiment regarding the susceptibility of the
room to the formation of the flutter echo. View from the audience on the stage, the left- and right-side
walls are shown (photo by A. Kulowski).

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

Figure 11. The multi-purpose hall, view from the audience on the stage (photo by Wojciech Targowski).

Dimensions of the multi-purpose hall—length × width × height—30.5 × 20.7 × 17.6 m;

stage—length × width—15.3 × 9.1 m; floor area—483 m2 ; cubature—5700 m3 ; number
of seats—433, surface of the corten plates—approx. 940 m2 ; reverberation time at the
frequency 1000 Hz—1.3 s (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Continuous line and numerical values—measured reverberation time of the multi-purpose
hall (the average of 6 observation points, room without public). The reverberation time measurements
were made in accordance with the ISO 3382-2 standard [22], sound source—pistol shot. Thin dashed
line—reverberation time according to the acoustic design. Thick dashed line—reverberation time
in a occupied room, see Appendix A. The range of recommended values of reverberation time for
occupied room is marked in blue [17].

5. Synergistic Influence of the Place of Presenting Art on Its Perception

The general aura of the surroundings—the spirit of the place—is important in terms
of the perception of artistic events. We succumb to its charm when the architecture of
the building crosses the barriers of the literary message. The emotional experience of the

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space can then be transferred to the assessment and impact of the events taking place
within it [30].
The industrial setting and the resulting interior acoustics take on special meaning
in the context of the artistic events presented at the ECS. It acts as a confirmation of the
significant influence of the place of presenting art on its perception. One example of such
synergy, noticeable in almost every meeting or artistic event taking place at the ECS, is the
presentation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s opera “Fidelio” in the winter garden on 30 August
2017 (Figure 13). The concert was performed by native musicians along with professionally
educated artists who were immigrants and refugees from countries in conflict [31]. In this
context, the ECS as a place for presenting art takes on special significance. Along with the
ideological message of this operatic work, it refers to still-remembered or ongoing events
with significant social consequences, including the mass protests that took place here in
1981, the changes in Poland and in Europe in 1989 and the current influx of immigrants and
refugees into Europe. Art becomes then a clear carrier of the idea of solidarity, connecting
these events.
Unrelated to the ECS, an eloquent example of a synergistic connection between the
place of traumatic events and the content of the presented piece of art is the historical
performance of Wolfgang A. Mozart’s “Requiem” in Sarajevo in 1994 by the orchestra
and chorus of the city of Sarajevo with world-class conductor and soloists (Zubin Mehta,
José Carreras) [32,33]. The concert took place in the capital of the 1984 Winter Olympics,
destroyed 10 years later during the civil war in Bosnia, among the rubble of the ruined
National Library.

Figure 13. Location of the multifunctional hall and the winter garden on the ECS plan; the positioning of the performers
(W) and the audience (P) during the stage performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s opera “Fidelio” in the winter garden is
shown (own study).

6. Conclusions
The European Solidarity Centre is a public building, one in which the guiding idea of
architecture plays a special role. Apart from formal procedures and numerous symbolic
themes, the clear reference to industrial architecture serves to create the expected aura.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

The primary means of expression are the shape of the whole, the interior layout and
the uniformity of the finishing material, dominating on the façades and interiors. The
building refers to the form of a large industrial factory building, with its high walls and
vast, single-space assembly halls. The whole is finished with seemingly unattractive, raw
in appearance, corten plates.
The main room of the ECS is a winter garden, which, together with the accompanying
rooms, occupies most of the volume of the building. It was intended as a multi-purpose
venue for various events involving large groups of participants. The consistent use of sheet
metal as a finishing material in such a high and vast interior is a major inconvenience,
leading to high reverberation, typical of industrial spaces. However, it was shown that
architectural treatments can partially compensate for the demonstrable flaws. Particularly
beneficial is the horizontal break in the interior, obtained due to mezzanines, the opening of
the layout with wide and several meters high corridors, penetrating the whole body of the
building, and the exceptionally richly designed clusters of greenery. The complementing
of the whole with sound-absorbing fittings located in the upper parts of the room made
it possible to achieve favorable acoustic conditions. In their current state, they allow for
a variety of activities, from exhibitions, through various types of meetings, to qualified
concert activities.
The multi-purpose hall, which is an important part of what the ECS program offers,
was designed as a rectangular, hall-like interior, which is not conducive to good acoustics.
In addition, it is completely encased in corten plate cladding. On the other hand, the
tilted walls, as provided for in the project, effectively reduce the unfavorable effects and
constitute the result of a desire to give the building a dynamic character, important with
respect to illustrating the momentum and expansiveness of the political changes of the
Solidarity era. Appropriate acoustic parameters were obtained in combination with the
use of sound-absorbing materials.
The article shows that corten steel, a seemingly visually unimpressive and acoustically
unsuitable finishing material, gains a new, attractive dimension through close cooperation
between an architect and an acoustic specialist. The appropriate design decisions made
it possible to reconcile the acoustic requirements with maintaining the clear ideological
layer of the building. Furthermore, the interaction of the acoustic climate with the cultural
climate of the place enhances the reception of both the values of the built space and artistic
events organized in the ECS building.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, W.T. and A.K.; resources, W.T.; writing—original draft
preparation, A.K.; writing—review and editing, W.T. All authors have read and agreed to the
published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

Appendix A

Table A1. Calculations taking into account the influence of the audience, choir and orchestra on the reverberation time
during the stage performance of Ludvig van Beethoven’s opera Fidelio in the winter garden.

Octave Band, f, Hz
No. Acoustic Data
125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k
Measured reverberation time of the room
1 2.54 2.83 2.99 2.83 2.44 2.00 1.40
without public, T, s
Sound absorption or the room without public,
2 1230 1104 1045 1104 1280 1562 2231
A = 0.161 × 19,400/T, m2
Sound abs. coefficient, person sitting in an
3 0.16 0.35 0.42 0.47 0.52 0.53 0.54
upholstered chair, α1 [17]
Sound absorption of 400-seat audience as in No. 3,
4 32 70 84 94 104 106 108
2 persons per 1 m2, A1 = 200 × α1, m2
Sound absorption of an adult in light clothing,
5 0.60 0.95 1.06 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08
A20 , m2 [17]
Sound absorption of a 30-person choir as in
6 18.0 28.5 31.8 32.4 32.4 32.4 32.4
No. 5, A2 = 30 × A20 , m2
Sound absorption of musician with
7 0.12 0.24 0.59 0.98 1.12 1.12 1.12
instrument, A30 , m2 [17]
Sound abs. of a 40-person orchestra as in No.
8 4.8 9.6 23.6 39.2 44.8 44.8 44.8
7, A = 40 × A30 , m2
Sound absorption of the occupied room,
9 1285 1212 1184 1270 1461 1745 2416
A’ = A + A1 + A2 + A3 , m2
Reverberation time of the occupied room,
10 2.43 2.57 2.64 2.46 2.14 1.80 1.30
T’ = 0.161 × 19,400/A’, s

Table A2. Calculations taking into account the influence of the audience on the reverberation time in the multi-purpose hall.

Octave Band, f, Hz
No. Acoustic Data
125 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k
Measured reverberation time of the room
1 1.35 1.25 1.26 1.33 1.28 1.10 0.85
without public, T, s
Sound absorption or the room without public,
2 680 734 738 690 717 834 1080
A = 0.161 × 5700/T, m2
Sound absorption coefficient of a person sitting in
3 0.56 0.68 0.79 0.83 0.86 0.86 0.86
lightly upholstered theater chairs, α4 [17]
Sound absorption of 433-seat audience as in No. 3,
4 121 147 171 179 186 186 186
2 persons per 1 m2, A4 = 216.5 × α4, m2
Sound absorption of the occupied room,
5 801 881 909 869 903 1020 1266
A’ = A + A4 , m2
Reverberation time of the occupied room,
6 1.14 1.04 1.00 1.06 1.02 0.90 0.72
T’ = 0.161 × 5700/A’, s

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Buildings 2021, 11, 133

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Article
The Impact of Avant-Garde Art on Brutalist Architecture
Wojciech Niebrzydowski

Faculty of Architecture, Białystok University of Technology, ul. Oskara Sosnowskiego 11,

15-893 Białystok, Poland; [email protected]

Abstract: Brutalism was an architectural trend that emerged after World War II, and in the 1960s
and 1970s, it spread throughout the world. The development of brutalist architecture was greatly
influenced by post-war avant-garde art. The greatest impact on brutalism was exerted by such
avant-garde trends as art autre, art brut, and musique concrète. Architects were most inspired by
the works of such artists as Jackson Pollock, Jean Dubuffet, Pierre Schaeffer, Eduardo Paolozzi, and
Nigel Henderson. The main aim of the research was to identify and characterize the most important
ideas and principles common to avant-garde art and brutalist architecture. Due to the nature of
the research problem and its complexity, the method of historical interpretative studies was used.
The following research techniques were employed: analysis of the literature, comparative analysis,
multiple case studies, descriptive analysis, and studies of buildings in situ. The research found
the most important common ideas guiding brutalist architects and avant-garde artists: rejection of
previous principles and doctrines; searching for the rudiments; mirroring the realities of everyday life;
glorification of ordinariness; sincerity of the material, structure, and function; use of raw materials
and rough textures.

Citation: Niebrzydowski, W. The

Keywords: art; construction engineering; cubature architecture; design method; design paradigms;
Impact of Avant-Garde Art on brutalist architecture
Brutalist Architecture. Buildings 2021,
11, 290. https://doi.org/10.3390/
buildings11070290
1. Introduction
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński, It is hard to imagine greater integration of art and engineering than in brutalist archi-
Agata Bonenberg, tecture, especially in its beginnings. This connection did not only concern the architectural
Wojciech Bonenberg and space, into which works of art (paintings, sculptures, tapestries) were introduced, nor
Marco Lucchini only buildings decorated with ornaments, reliefs, and mosaics. Brutalists brought archi-
tecture into an existential relationship with art that went far beyond the mere function
Received: 10 June 2021
of beautification. In brutalism, integration between architecture and art took place at the
Accepted: 2 July 2021
most basic level. It was the level of rudimentary ideas, common foundations, the most
Published: 4 July 2021
deeply rooted principles and values from which architecture and art grew. These ideas also
concerned strictly engineering issues, such as construction, materials, technical elements,
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
and installations. Artist and architects considered their meaning, aesthetics, and ways of
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
designing and exposing.
published maps and institutional affil-
Brutalism was the architectural style that spread throughout the world after World
iations.
War II. It reached the culminating point in the 1960s and faded away at the beginning of the
1980s. The architects who contributed most to the development of brutalism were Alison
Smithson, Peter Smithson and Le Corbusier. They all collaborated with artists but also
created art themselves. Knowledge of brutalist architecture is not sufficiently deepened.
Copyright: © 2021 by the author.
While the most famous works of the most eminent architects have been analyzed many
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
times, the issues related to the theory of this style require further research. In particular,
This article is an open access article
the relationship between brutalism and the ideas of avant-garde art should be explained.
distributed under the terms and
When reviewing the state of the research field, significant publications and their au-
conditions of the Creative Commons
thors should be identified. In this context, it should be stated that the most important
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
researcher of brutalist architecture was Reyner Banham. He was at the same time a pro-
4.0/).
moter, and even a co-creator, of the New Brutalism doctrine. Two of Banham’s publications

Buildings 2021, 11, 290. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11070290 255 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2021, 11, 290

are of fundamental importance—the article “The New Brutalism”, which appeared in

December 1955 in “The Architectural Review” [1] and the book “The New Brutalism: Ethic
or Aesthetic?” [2], which was published 11 years later. The analyses contained in the article
concerned the beginnings of brutalism and included, among others, its definition. The
book was largely their continuation and extension. Despite the passage of time, it is to
this day the most important study on both brutalist architecture and the doctrine of New
Brutalism. In the short chapter “Brute, non and other art”, Banham mentioned the influence
of avant-garde art on brutalism [2] (pp. 61–67). He also presented the issues of cooperation
between architects and artists in articles about two significant exhibitions: “Parallel of Life
and Art” [3] and “This is Tomorrow” [4].
Tight relationships between brutalist architects and representatives of various arts
took place within the Independent Group. The literature on the work of this group is
quite rich. The publications of Anne Massey, including the book “The Independent Group:
Modernism and Mass Culture in Britain, 1945–1959” from 1995 [5], as well as a monograph
edited by David Robbins, “The Independent Group: Postwar Britain and the Aesthetics
of Plenty” from 1990 [6], should be mentioned here. An important publication is also the
book “As Found: The Discovery of the Ordinary” by Claude Lichtenstein and Thomas
Schregenberger, which was published in 2001 [7]. The authors presented the idea of As
Found, which is essential to both brutalist architecture and avant-garde painting, sculpture,
photography, and film.
In research on brutalism, the publications of its precursors are important. Alison and
Peter Smithson were involved in intensive publishing work [8–11]. In the 1953 article
“House in Soho”, they used the term “New Brutalism” for the first time [12]. Significant
publications on the brutalist phase of Le Corbusier’s work were books from the “Oeuvre
complete” series, especially volumes 5, 6 and 7 [13–15]. The achievements and ideas of
other important architects related to brutalism are presented in monographs. Books about
the following architects helped obtain research material: Denys Lasdun [16], James Stirling
and James Gowan [17], Ernő Goldfinger [18], Louis I. Kahn [19], Josep Lluís Sert [20], Paul
Rudolph [21], John M. Johansen [22], Kenzo Tange [23], Kunio Maekawa [24], Gottfried
Böhm [25], Sigurd Lewerentz [26], Vilanova Artigas [27], Lina Bo Bardi [28], and Balkrishna
Doshi [29].
The works and ideas of avant-garde artists are also presented in individual mono-
graphs or articles. These include books about two of the artists most connected with
the New Brutalism doctrine, Nigel Henderson [30] and Eduardo Paolozzi [31]. The au-
thors of articles relating to the influence of individual artists on brutalist architecture
are Ben Highmore [32,33], Hadas A. Steiner [34,35], Alex Kitnick [36], and Dirk van den
Heuvel [37].
The analysis of the current state of the research field has shown that so far, only
fragmentary research has been carried out on selected issues, artists, and architects. There
is a lack of studies dealing with the issue of the influence of ideas of avant-garde art on
brutalist architecture in a holistic manner. The most important artistic ideas in this respect
should be identified, characterized, and systematized. The research should also go beyond
the theory aspect and include practice: architectural forms, building structure, architectural
elements and details, and textures. It should be shown that architectural solutions show
similarity, or even identity, with artistic and architectural ideas. Therefore, this article will
present the fundamental ideas and assumptions of avant-garde trends in the art of the
post-World War II period. It will be proved that the precursors of brutalist architecture
not only adopted these ideas but also co-created them. Artists used the common creative
principles in their works of art, music, and literature, and architects used them in their
architectural doctrines and buildings.
This ideological connection between certain trends in art and brutalist architecture
is evident, especially in the formation of brutalism, i.e., in the 1950s and early 1960s.
A special place here is occupied by the theoretical activity of British architects of the young
generation, which is led by the Smithsons. They developed the architectural doctrine of

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New Brutalism, which left a deep mark on brutalist architecture. Another precursor of the
brutalist style in architecture was Le Corbusier. His work and concepts were particularly
analyzed in the study.
Summarizing this introduction, the basic hypothesis should be emphasized. Post-
war avant-garde art and brutalist architecture shared common ideas. These ideas and
assumptions influenced the spatial, aesthetic, construction, and engineering solutions
characteristic of brutalist buildings.
The main purpose of the research was to identify and characterize the most important
ideas and principles common to avant-garde art and brutalist architecture. The practical
impact of these ideas on buildings was presented in terms of their forms, structures,
functional and spatial solutions, aesthetic effects, elements, and details.

2. Materials and Methods

The subject of research was both brutalist architecture and avant-garde art. The term
“brutalist architecture” should be understood as a global architectural style of the second
half of the 20th century. This term is much broader than “New Brutalism”, which was the
architectural doctrine of young British architects. The term “avant-garde art” covers such
post-war trends as art brut, art autre, and musique concrète, as well as the works of artists
connected with these trends. The scope of the research problem included both the theory
and practice of brutalist architecture and avant-garde art. The research period covered
the years 1945–1980, although some aspects went back to the interwar period. The most
focus was on the first phase of brutalism, which is the 1950s and early 1960s. As brutalist
architecture spread around the world, the research concerned architects and buildings
from many countries. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the origins of brutalism are
largely related to the United Kingdom, and therefore, much of the research is devoted to
this country.
The specificity of the science of history and theory of architecture requires extensive
analyses of objects as complex as buildings and issues as multi-faceted as architectural
ideas. In the case of brutalism, creative ideas were particularly diverse and included inter
alia, artistic, social, technical, and economic factors. Due to the nature of the research
problems and their complexity, the general method of historical and interpretative research
was applied. The following research techniques were employed: analysis of the literature,
comparative analysis, multiple case studies, logical interpretation, descriptive analysis,
study of the buildings on the site.
The course of research can be divided into four basic stages:
1. Collecting research materials.
Books and scientific articles, as well as information from internet sources, were col-
lected. Photographs and design drawings from publications and obtained from other
authors were also collected. During the study visits, our own photo and film documen-
tation of the buildings was prepared. On-site research was carried out, inter alia, in the
United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, Turkey, and
the USA.
2. Identification and organization of materials.
The collected materials were initially organized according to several criteria in the-
matic groups concerning, among others: avant-garde trends in art, the doctrine of New
Brutalism, works and ideas of individual architects, and forms of brutalist buildings.
3. Assessment and analysis of the collected materials and their interpretation.
The collected materials were assessed in terms of their usefulness in research. Further
research was carried out based on the most significant materials, using the remaining ones
as needed. The main research technique at this stage of research was the analysis of the
literature supported by comparative studies. The subjects of comparative analyses were,
among others, ideas and principles of artists and architects, works of avant-garde art and
buildings, and specific features of works of art and works of architecture (e.g., textures).

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In the course of these analyses and interpretations of their results, the main ideas common
to avant-garde art and brutalist architecture were identified.
4. Formulation of results and conclusions.
The final stage involved the formulation of results and detailed conclusions regarding
the individual ideas and principles. The author also compared the results with his own
research goal and working hypothesis.

3. Results
The most important ideas and creative principles common to the studied areas of
avant-garde art and brutalist architecture are listed and characterized below. Tables 1–7
show examples of buildings representative of each idea.

Table 1. Examples of buildings representative of the idea of rejection of previous principles

and doctrines.

Building Architect Year

Sugden House in Watford Alison and Peter Smithson 1955–1956
Richards Medical Research Laboratories
Louis I. Kahn 1957–1961
in Philadelphia
Bank of London in Buenos Aires Clorindo Testa 1960–1966
Southbank Arts Center in London Norman Engleback 1964–1968
Goddard Library at Clark University in Worcester John Johansen 1966–1969

Table 2. Examples of buildings representative of the idea of searching for the basics.

Building Architect Year

Patio and Pavilion (installation) Alison and Peter Smithson 1956
Maison du Brésil in Paris Le Corbusier 1957
Kagawa Prefectural Offices in Takamatsu Kenzo Tange 1955–1958
Kokusai Kaikan Building in Kyoto Sachio Otani 1963–1966
Center for Environment and Planning
Balkrishna Doshi 1968–1972
Technology in Ahmedabad

Table 3. Examples of buildings representative of the idea of reflecting the realities of life.

Building Architect Year

Golden Lane Housing Estate in London (project) Alison and Peter Smithson 1952
Keeling House in London Denys Lasdun 1957–1958
Halen Estate near Berne Atelier 5 1957–1961
J. Lewis Womersley, Jack
Park Hill Housing Estate in Sheffield 1957–1961
Lynn, Ivor Smith
Metteotti Estate in Terni Giancarlo de Carlo 1969–1974

3.1. Rejection of Previous Principles and Doctrines

New art and new architecture were supposed to break with the existing rules as
inconsistent with the post-war realities. Avant-garde trends, especially musique concrète
and art autre, showed how radical this rejection can be.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 290

Table 4. Examples of buildings representative of the idea of glorification of ordinariness.

Building Architect Year

House in Soho in London (project) Alison and Peter Smithson 1949–1954
Maisons Jaoul in Paris Le Corbusier 1953–1955
Langham House Close in London James Stirling, James Gowan 1957–1958
Florist Kiosk in Malmö Sigurd Lewerentz 1969
Casa Martirani in São Paulo, 1969–1974 Vilanova Artigas 1969–1974

Table 5. Examples of buildings representative of the idea of sincerity.

Building Architect Year

Secondary School at Hunstanton Alison and Peter Smithson 1949–1954
Istituto Marchiondi in Milan Vittoriano Viganò 1953–1957
Convent Sainte Marie de La Tourette in Éveux Le Corbusier 1953–1961
Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla Louis I. Kahn 1962–1965
Servico Social do Comercio in Pompeia Lina Bo Bardi 1977–1982

Table 6. Examples of buildings representative of the idea of rough textures.

Building Architect Year

Unite d’Habitation in Marseille Le Corbusier 1947–1952
Yale Art and Architecture Building in
Paul Rudolph 1958–1963
New Haven
Sports and Recreation Center in Zürich Hans Litz, Fritz Schwartz 1961–1965
Elephant and Rhinoceros Pavilion at
Hugh Casson, Neville Conder 1961–1965
London Zoo
Fitzroy Robinson,
Sampson House in London 1976–1979
and Partners

Table 7. Examples of buildings representative of the idea of As Found.

Building Architect Year

Upper Lawn Pavilion in Fonthill Abbey Alison and Peter Smithson 1959–1961
Hotel Godesberg in Bad Godesberg on the Rhine Gottfried Böhm 1961
METU Faculty of Architecture Building
Altug and Behruz Cinici 1961–1963
in Ankara
Gerhard Kallmann,
City Hall in Boston 1963–1968
Michael McKinnell
Boston Government Service Center Paul Rudolph 1966–1971

The architecture that Banham referred to as architecture autre (other architecture) was
also supposed to bring about such fundamental changes. The New Brutalism doctrine
seemed to be the beginning of such architecture of another kind. This was confirmed by
the first projects of the Smithsons and the buildings of other British architects. In place
of devalued rules, brutalist architects introduced new ones: subordinating the form of a
building to the circulation of people and their perception, articulation of internal functions
in the form, sincerity of structural expression, strong contrasts, vehement juxtapositions of
solids, and repetitive and disturbed rhythms. New ordering and unconventional forms of
buildings were often incomprehensible to an ordinary user (Table 1).

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3.2. Searching for the Basics

Avant-garde artists sought rudiments in the work of artistically uneducated people
or primitive tribes. They created paintings and sculptures by drawing on their own basic
emotions, which were expressed in a spontaneous, direct way.
In brutalist architecture, referring to rudiments was connected both with the simplifi-
cation of forms and the use of local and natural materials, as well as inspiration with the
works of uneducated creators of vernacular architecture, but most of all with reaching the
most basic ideas and principles of architecture. The architects tried to reject stereotypes
and established patterns in order to objectively assess the context. They had to start each
design task from scratch. Inspiration by vernacular architecture led to a regional diversifi-
cation of brutalism. The most relevant example of reinterpreting the solutions of the local
architectural tradition was Japanese brutalism (Table 2).

3.3. Reflecting the Realities of Life

Avant-garde painters, sculptors, and composers saw their art as a manifestation of
life, even its dark sides. Photographers photographed the everyday life of working-class
districts and rural settlements to reflect the relationships between people, space, and time.
Brutalist architects were fascinated by vernacular architecture precisely because it was
a direct response to the real needs and situation of users. The aspirations to link life and
brutalist architecture were most fully expressed in the design of residential buildings and
housing estates. The architects paid special attention to the spaces of social contacts. The
most important solution in this respect was the street deck, which was a reinterpretation of
the street in a traditional housing estate. Other spaces for establishing neighborly relations
were galleries, courtyards, terraces, bridges between buildings, rues intérieures, and drying
rooms (Table 3).

3.4. Glorification of Ordinariness

The connection of art and architecture with everyday life led to the fascination with
ordinariness. The artists presented images of everyday objects in their works or used them
directly, as found. They also employed prosaic, unattractive materials such as sand, asphalt,
mud, and rubbish.
Brutalist architects acted similarly, using ordinary, readily available materials and
extracting their artistic value. Among them were brick, stone, wood, sheet metal, and
common plywood. However, the most popular was concrete, which offered enormous
structural and aesthetic possibilities. The details, elements, and architectural forms were
also simple and sometimes even primitive. However, in the later phase of brutalism, the
ordinary was largely replaced by the extraordinary (Table 4).

3.5. Sincerity of Artwork and Building

Sincerity was an inherent feature of art autre and art brut. It manifested itself in the
honest expression of the artist’s emotions and the expression of the physical properties of
the materials he used. The relationship between the material and the work of art was clear
and unbreakable.
The results of the idea of sincerity and directness in brutalist architecture were use of
raw materials, rejection of the aestheticization of the building’s surfaces and any imitations,
exposing the overall constructional system of a building and its individual elements,
mirroring methods and stages of erecting a building in its form and surfaces, articulation
of internal functions, and exposing and highlighting technical elements (Table 5).

3.6. Roughness of Textures

The works of avant-garde artists drew the attention of brutalist architects to the
qualities of rough surfaces, bearing traces of the way they were made. Dubuffet claimed that
the essential gesture of a painter is to smear, not to smooth. Paolozzi’s bronze sculptures
had an uneven texture composed of small objects.

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Brutalist buildings usually had rough surfaces because the textures were supposed to
be sensual. The uneven and heterogeneous surfaces were picturesque, and they produced
variable visual effects depending on the distance and lighting. The architects did not strive
for perfectionism but preferred ordinary building craftsmanship. Craft methods gave their
works additional value of originality and uniqueness. In some brutalist buildings, defects
of surfaces were not hidden but even emphasized, which can be described as the poetics of
“magnificent ruins” (Table 6).

3.7. The Idea of as Found

The use of found objects was the essence of the work of many avant-garde artists. In
the post-war years, these were often things found in the ruins of destroyed cities and later
everyday objects, parts of mechanisms, and things of nature.
Influenced by artists, brutalist architects treated building materials as found objects.
Sometimes, they also used real found objects in their buildings. It should be emphasized
that the broad idea of As Found and the resulting design method became particularly
important for brutalism. As Found contributed to an objective analysis of the context,
searching for specific features of a place, and taking into account the conditions. The
uniqueness of brutalist buildings resulted from the fact that architects treated the existing
situation as a found object (Table 7).
Figure 1 presents the intensity of each idea in brutalist architecture (from 1950 to1980)
(Figure 1). Research shows that the intensity of all ideas declined in the following decades,
reaching the lowest levels in the final phase of brutalism. Only the idea of sincerity and,
to a lesser extent, the idea of roughness remained of great importance throughout the
duration of the style.

Figure 1. The intensity of the ideas in brutalist architecture (author: Wojciech Niebrzydowski).

Figure 2 presents the impact of the ideas on architectural solutions, forms, and aesthetic
effects (Figure 2). The research shows that the idea of sincerity contributed the most to
the development of the indicated attributes of brutalism. The other ideas were of similar
importance in this respect.

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Figure 2. The impact of the ideas on architectural solutions, forms, and aesthetic effects (author:
Wojciech Niebrzydowski).

4. Discussion
4.1. Artistic and Architectural Avant Garde after World War II
After World War II, a new political, economic, and social situation emerged in many
countries. The war also had a great impact on art and culture. However, new artistic
trends did not develop as dynamically as after World War I, when dadaism, surrealism,
and purism emerged. Stagnation was also visible in architecture. At that time, such innova-
tive architectural trends as those created thirty years earlier—modernism, expressionism,
constructivism—were not developed. After World War II, modernism gained the greatest
importance, but from the avant-garde trend, it turned into popular “soft modernism”.
In many countries, attempts were also made to use the threads of traditional architec-
ture, albeit in a superficial way (e.g., New Humanism). In countries subordinate to the
Soviet Union, socialist realism was introduced as the obligatory style. In fact, the primary
task of architects everywhere was to rebuild cities and provide housing, not to search for
new styles.
An example of a country stricken by the war, despite being victorious, was the United
Kingdom. Many cities were destroyed, food was rationed, and the public mood was
pessimistic and stagnant. British artists of the young generation were some of the first to
wake up to this apathy. Some of them formed the Independent Group in 1952, which was
extremely important for the beginnings of brutalism. The Independent Group gathered
artists, writers, designers, and architects [5] (pp. 2–3) who met at London’s Institute of
Contemporary Art [38] (p. 6). It is worth noting that they also had similar political views,
and most of them were socialists. The tragic events of the war left an imprint on both
their psyche and creativity. The family of the painter Magda Cordell died at the hands

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of the Nazis. Nigel Henderson was dismissed from the Royal Air Force due to a nervous
breakdown [7] (p. 92). The Italian family of Eduardo Paolozzi had lived in Edinburgh for
years. When Italy declared war on Britain, they were arrested and deported to Canada
on the SS Ambrosia ship, which was torpedoed and sunk [32] (p. 101). The radical and
nonconformist stance of these young artists pushed art, literature, and theatre in the United
Kingdom to new paths. At the root of these changes was the idea of searching for art that
would correspond to the harsh post-war reality and situation of British society. William J.R.
Curtis emphasized that they were involved “in trying to convey the rough grain of modern
urban life in a new art” [39] (p. 530). They also drew inspiration from new trends in world
art and works of other avant-garde artists.
Among the members of the Independent Group were also architects: Alison and Peter
Smithson, James Stirling, and Colin St John Wilson. These young architects set themselves
the goal of creating new, up-to-date architecture. Historian and critic Reyner Banham
actively assisted in their efforts. They were disappointed with the trends prevailing in
British and world architecture after World War II. They found these trends false and
incompatible with the times and felt that “the majority of architects have lost contact with
reality and are building yesterday’s dreams when the rest of us have woken up in today” [8]
(p. 185). The Smithsons in particular played an important role in the development of
brutalist architecture. They called their architectural doctrine New Brutalism, which was
a reference to the term “Nybrutalism” used by Hans Asplund in 1950 to describe Villa
Göth in Uppsala ([2] p. 10). They based it on several general ideas, including the objective
perception of reality and the direct relationship between architecture and life. Moreover,
architecture should evoke emotions, just as works of avant-garde art do. The Smithsons
wanted the language of architecture to be moving, not just pleasant [7] (p. 125). They
believed that thanks to this, architecture would help society recover from the war trauma
and regain a sense of identity.
Architects searching for a style appropriate to the post-war era reached for ideas and
principles on which the avant-garde trends in art were based. This was due to the fact
that they did not find them in the pseudo-traditional architectural trends, the sentimental
International Style, and the post-war buildings of the old masters of modernism. Instead,
they had special relationship with art autre, art brut, action painting, pop art, musique
concrete, and the works of Jean Dubuffet, Jackson Pollock, Pierre Schaeffer, Eduardo
Paolozzi, and Nigel Henderson.
In 1952, the French art critic and curator Michel Tapié published the book Un art
autre [40], in which he postulated that post-war art should correspond to the turbulent
nature of that time and completely reject the old styles. As examples of art autre, he gave,
among others, works of Pollock, Dubuffet, and Paolozzi, as well as such “anti-artists” as
Jean Fautrier and Georges Mathieu [2] (p. 61). The works of art autre were characterized
by expressiveness and anti-formalism. The spontaneously created works were a radical
break with traditional notions of composition and order.
Art brut is a term coined by Jean Dubuffet. He defined it as art created by people
without artistic education. The works of art brut showed the creative power inherent in
every human being, which over time is suppressed by social norms or the educational
system [41] (p. 34). Dubuffet gave examples of pictures painted by children and mentally
ill people. However, art brut was also practiced by professional artists, such as Magda
Cordell from the Independent Group “with the impressively violent style of painting in
her Monoprints” [7] (p. 157).
Another artist, this time from the USA, who left his mark on brutalism was Jackson
Pollock. Ben Highmore even argues that Pollock contributed more than anyone else to the
formation of the New Brutalism doctrine [33] (p. 277). His action painting, the technique
of spontaneous splashing liquid paint on canvas, fascinated young architects with its
expressive effects and the rejection of compositional rules. According to Banham, Pollock
became for them “a sort of patron saint of anti-art even before his sensational and much
published death” [2] (p. 61).

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Pierre Schaeffer composed experimental music in which he used random human

voices or sounds recorded in the streets or factories [37]. The musical trend he initiated
was described as musique concrète. It broke the classical rules of music in a way that was
as radical as art autre broke the classical rules of painting and sculpture.
The Smithsons’ closest associates in the Independent Group were not other architects,
but two artists, Eduardo Paolozzi and Nigel Henderson. As members of one team, they
created two exhibitions fundamental to the New Brutalism: “Parallel of Life and Art” (1953)
and installation “Patio and Pavilion” (presented at the exhibition “This is Tomorrow”, 1956).
Paolozzi’s work was accompanied by aspects related to the most important ideas of
the New Brutalism: As Found, image, and sincerity of the material. In the 1940s, Paolozzi
made collages from newspaper clippings, and after returning from Paris to England in
1951, he focused on sculpture. He used ordinary materials, including cast concrete, which
is so important for brutalist architecture.
After the war, trying to recover from his nervous breakdown, Henderson turned to
photography. The artist experimented with variable exposure times, deformations, and
blurring of human figures. Kenneth Frampton claims that Henderson’s work “evokes
at one stroke time, place, decay, and movement” [42] (p. 49). It should be emphasized
that all these aspects, especially the movement and circulation of people, became the key
problems of brutalist architecture. Henderson’s photographs were used by the Smithsons
to prepare the exhibition presented in 1953 at the CIAM (International Congress of Modern
Architecture) meeting. In this way, they gained fame and became symbols of new thinking
about architecture and urban planning.
It cannot be ignored that young architects also drew inspiration from the architecture
itself. Early in their career, the Smithsons referred to Mies van der Rohe, Hugo Häring, and
even Andrea Palladio. However, the real impact on their doctrine had one architect—Le
Corbusier. He gained great respect in their eyes because he was able to make a radical turn
in his work. Despite his status and widespread recognition for his earlier works, he did not
follow the mainstream of post-war architecture, as most pre-war masters did. Similar to
young architects, he wanted to create a new style that truly corresponded to reality [43].
Already in the 1930s, Le Corbusier’s works showed signs of rejecting machine aesthet-
ics in favor of more diverse textures and stronger articulation of solids in an architectural
form. He decided to create more sensual and expressive architecture in which emotional ex-
perience plays a leading role. Le Corbusier was inspired by vernacular architecture, which
he considered sincere and directly corresponding to the everyday life [44]. Finally, he began
to implement his architectural credo, which was expressed already in 1923: “L’Architecture,
c’est, avec des matières brutes établir des rapports émouvants” (“Architecture is, with raw
materials, establishing moving connections”) [45] (p. 4). As a result of this turn, he designed
his first proto-brutalist buildings. They foreshadowed his new style and, at the same time,
a style that appealed to so many other architects in the 1950s, not only the younger genera-
tion [46] (pp. 14–15). The following houses should be mentioned here: Maison de Mme de
Mandrot in Le Pradet (1931), the holiday house Le Sextant in Les Mathes (1935), and Petite
Maison de Week-end in Boulogne-sur-Seine (1935). Henry-Russell Hitchcock wrote that
they all showed respect for local materials and simple country craftsmanship [47] (p. 518).

4.2. Rejection of Outdated Rules and Canons

World War II changed the world so much that progressive architects decided that
architecture should also be radically different from the previous one. It should become an
expression of a society in change [48]. The Smithsons were among the first to start working
on a new architectural doctrine. The New Brutalism was to be based not on stylistic but
ethical assumptions, such as truth, objectivity, sincerity, and directness. These features were
also present in the avant-garde artistic trends of the time. Objectivity to the new reality
required rejecting the previous rules and “to overthrow the classical tradition” [2] (p. 62).
Young architects, together with artists, were involved in the anti-art movement.

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4.2.1. Art Autre and Architecture Autre

Architects admired how avant-garde artists break the traditional principles of art—
painting, sculpture, and music. The works of artists from the interwar period convinced
them that the new order was possible. Among them was Paul Klee, for whom the form
was the result of growth and change [49] (p. 77).
Dubuffet not only collected art brut works but also created such paintings himself.
Primitivized, caricatured, made with the use of unconventional techniques giving a rough
texture, they completely departed from the recognized canons of art. They seemed to
emanate the ugliness, deformation, and randomness of the composition. Paolozzi, despite
studying in many art schools, decided to reject academic art. His main idea and goal
were to reflect the harsh living conditions without any compromises or embellishment.
Schaeffer discovered previously disregarded sounds, including sounds of the city. He used
their musical potential to create innovative musique concrète in which he abandoned the
traditional kind of harmony, melody, and scale. He also manipulated the recorded sounds,
distorting them in various ways.
However, the works of Jackson Pollock played the greatest role in the rejection of
classical principles in brutalist architecture. Europeans first saw his spatter paintings at
the Biennale di Venezia in 1950. British architects became acquainted with Pollock’s works
3 years later at the exhibition “Opposing Forces” in the Institute of Contemporary Art
in London. Banham wrote about them: “The impact of these pictures on the intellectual
edifice which architects had built around classical theories of measure and proportion
was to be extremely destructive” [2] (p. 61). The Smithsons, on the other hand, noticed
in spatter paintings a revolutionary approach to artistic creativity and a new order in
art [10] (p. 86). Jackson Pollock practiced action painting, radically subverting formalistic
artistic conventions. This type of painting was primarily a notation of the creative process.
It was also connected with the all-over principle, which involved painting in such a way
that every fragment of the picture became important and expressive. Similar effects were
followed by many brutalist buildings in which all elements were expressive and visually
strong. An example is Boston City Hall (1963–1968). During its design, Gerhard Kallmann
used his concept of “action architecture”, which drew inspiration from Pollock’s action
painting and its critical reception [50] (p. 56).
Le Corbusier was also fascinated with action painting. Together with Tino Nivola, he
developed a specific sculptural method called “action sculpture”, which gives interesting
textural effects. During his stay in the USA in the early 1950s, Le Corbusier lived by the
ocean on Long Island. He and Nivola waited for the ebb of the ocean; then, they formed
wet sand and poured plaster (gypsum) over it. Plaster sculptures made in this way were
raw, their shape resulted from the possibility of forming sand—the material in which they
were cast. At the same time, they had a rough texture reflecting the structure of sand.
Similar features characterize Le Corbusier’s brutalist buildings and their concrete surfaces
with an imprint of the formwork material.
The concept of architecture based on completely new principles was promoted by
Banham. He was searching for an architecture of another kind—une architecture autre
(other architecture). This name was not accidental because “the term was coined by
analogy with Tapie’s concept of un art autre and was intended to stand for something
equally radical” [2] (p. 68). Architecture autre ought to be as vehement and extremely
expressive as the works of Dubuffet, as distant from the routines of classical composition as
Pollock’s paintings. It should also be based on “materials as found”, as musique concrète
is based on “sounds as recorded”. Banham even predicted that in the future, it ought to
abandon the idea that the most important role of an architect is to use structure to make
space. He hoped that the New Brutalism would be such other architecture, or at least its
seed. He appreciated the cooperation of architects and avant-garde artists. As a member
of the Independent Group, Banham participated in meetings with artists from various
countries. He was particularly moved by the meeting with Schaeffer in 1953 and wrote
that musique concrète “gave a measure of the extent to which une architecture autre could

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be expected to abandon the concepts of composition, symmetry, order, module, proportion,

‘literacy in plan, construction and appearance’, in the sense accepted in the theory of
architecture as taught in the Ecoles des Beaux-Arts, and piously preserved in the Modern
Architecture of the International Style and its post-war successors” [2] (p. 68). Rhythms
were the primary tool of music composers. Similarly, in the case of brutalist architects,
rhythms—repeated or interrupted in unexpected ways, simple or complex—became the
leitmotif of many buildings.

4.2.2. Breaking the Rules—The Smithsons and British Architects

Before the Smithsons began to make Banham’s dreams of architecture autre a reality,
they prepared two groundbreaking exhibitions, both in collaboration with Paolozzi and
Henderson. The first, “Parallel of Life and Art” (1953), had a significant subtitle “Indications
of a New Visual Order”. The unconventional way of arranging panels with 122 photographs
in space was one of the most important aspects of this exhibition. Each of the panels was an
autonomous exhibit placed in a seemingly random manner in space. The panels differed in
size and location, yet their arrangement gave the impression of a specific coherence. It was
impossible to focus on just one image because the view of another was superimposed on it.
In this way, the images lost their status as separate elements and established relationships
with each other. The authors of the exhibition wrote in the catalogue: “In short it forms
a poetic–lyrical order where images create a series of cross relationships” [51]. These
relations were varied and depended on the visual similarity of the objects presented in
the photos. Henderson, emphasizing the aspect of the interaction of the plates, compared
the way of their installation to a cobweb that formed something similar to a nervous
system [36] (p. 73). The arrangement of the plates made the observer move from place to
place, positioning himself at the correct angle to individual images. The reduced resolution
meant that to see the picture accurately, the observer had to move away from it or get
closer to it. The exhibition “Parallel of Life and Art” was not only a milestone showing how
new architectural order can follow new visual order. It also raised issues that will become
key problems for brutalist architects: circulation of people, perception of architecture in
motion, discovering spatial relationships and unconventional ordering rules, affirmation
of ordinariness.
The installation “Patio and Pavilion” (1956) referred more directly to architecture,
and as the name of the entire exhibition “This is Tomorrow” indicated, it referred to the
future of architecture. The authors of the installation, using a rather enigmatic building,
symbolic objects, and the limitation of space, created a virtually formless place with
meaning understandable to people. It should be remembered that according to Banham,
“formless buildings” were supposed to be the essence of architecture autre [2] (p. 68).
The idea of rejecting the previous compositional principles in architecture was imple-
mented by the Smithsons in 1956 in Sugden House in Watford (Figure 3). This building
was also a reaction to the white, abstract box-like houses of the International Style [38]
(pp. 11–12). The Smithsons explained the concept of Sugden House: “From individual
buildings, disciplined on the whole by classical aesthetic techniques, we moved on to
an examination of the ‘whole’ problem of human associations and the relationship that
building and community have to them. From this study has grown a completely new
attitude and non-classical aesthetic” [9]. However, architecture critics were appalled by
the building, especially the chaotic arrangement of its various windows. They condemned
architectural illiteracy in plan, construction, and appearance [2] (p. 67). The Smithsons
(and Banham) were actually satisfied with such opinions, as these words confirmed that
they had managed to employ a new kind of architectural grammar.
The New Brutalism had a strong influence on British brutalist architecture. It is no
wonder then that in this country, the tendencies to reject the classical principles were visible
throughout the style—not only in its initial phase but also in later years. The following
examples from London confirm this thesis.

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In the 1950s, these were public buildings designed by Lyons, Israel, and Ellis (e.g., the
Old Vic Theatre Annexe, London, 1958) or residential buildings designed by Denys Lasdun
(Sulkin House and Keeling House, London, 1958). It should be emphasized that Lasdun’s
cluster blocks went beyond aesthetic and compositional principles, but also beyond the
traditional way of functioning of a residential building. In the 1960s, the Southbank Arts
Center was built. It included Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery (Chalk, Herron
and Crompton under the group leader Norman Engleback, London, 1968). According
to critics, the complex was deliberately unresolved in compositional terms and was a
demonstration of the brutalist concept of “crumble” [52] (p. 117). In fact, “the quirky
topology” [53] was the result of subordinating the form of the building to the circulation
of people and their perception (Figure 4). The complex should be interpreted in an un-
conventional way as a system of places and visual events located along alternative paths.
An example from the 1970s, the last decade of brutalism in England, was the Sampson
House (Fitzroy Robinson & Partners, London, 1976–1979). The huge building was a kind
of brutalist megastructure (Figure 5). Its alien, vehement form, bizarre details, raw mate-
rials, and textures shocked even artistically sophisticated Londoners. Due to the lack of
acceptance (but also for economic reasons), the building was demolished in 2018.

Figure 3. Alison Smithson and Peter Smithson, Sugden House in Watford, 1955–1956 (photo:
Joshua Abbott).

Figure 4. Norman Engleback, Hayward Gallery in London, 1968 (photo: author of the article).

4.2.3. New Ordering in Brutalist Architecture

Another type of ordering and composition in brutalist architecture was the principle
of articulation of internal functions in the form of a building. One of its precursors was Le
Corbusier, who showed functions on the facades in Chandigarh using variable patterns of
reinforced concrete loggias and brise soleils. It was also practiced by Louis I. Kahn, exposing
served and servant spaces in Richards Medical Research Laboratories in Philadelphia
(1957–1961) [19] (p. 124).

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Figure 5. Fitzroy Robinson & Partners, Sampson House in London, 1976–1979 (photo: author of
the article).

These concepts were consistently developed by Josep Lluís Sert. His Law and Edu-
cation Tower at Boston University (1960–1965) clearly reflects the idea of a “vertical city”.
It was a building that contains a multitude of functions, including urban functions, and
articulates them in its form. The arrangement and mutual relations of the elements on the
three-dimensional facade make it possible to read the meanings assumed by the architect,
which would not be possible with a smooth facade. He applied similar solutions at the
Holyoke Center in Cambridge near Boston (1960–1967). The articulation of the complex
functions of the building is visible especially on its southern facade (Figure 6). Sert achieved
a clear effect primarily through the varied rhythms of vertical reinforced concrete sun break-
ers, showing the location of hospital rooms, doctor’s offices, seminar rooms, and the floor
for patient recreation. Working on the integration of urban planning and architecture,
Sert applied the principle of articulation of functions also in large building complexes
and megastructures. Charles Jencks wrote about the Boston University Complex: “Sert
breaks down a gigantic volume into several related forms and spaces which announce
the differences in function. These differences are further articulated by using separate
materials, and by making the construction apparent. All this rich articulation has the effect
of explaining a diverse and possibly overwhelming complexity without falling into strident
rhetoric or eroded symbolism” [54] (p. 115).

Figure 6. Josep Lluís Sert, Holyoke Center in Cambridge near Boston, 1960–1967 (photo: author of
the article).

Other American buildings, such as Boston City Hall and Goddard Library at Clark
University in Worcester designed by John Johansen (1966–1969), also articulated their
functional structure in a very expressive way, using overhanging solids and different
textures. The form of Goddard Library differs so far from conventional buildings that
it evokes associations with a complicated machine that is only in the assembly phase.
Johansen compared his work to a photocopier without a case and said that it was closer to a

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three-dimensional bubble diagram than a conventional building [22] (p. 14). He described
his design of Goddard Library “likening it to assembling the required spaces—lobby, stacks,
offices, reading rooms, study carrels, circulation stairs, and elevator shafts—within a large
plastic bag and then drawing out all the air to reveal the building’s form” [55].
The principle of exposing functions gave spectacular results in the USA, but it was
also evident in brutalist buildings in other countries. Examples are Hotel Tokoen in
Yonago (Japan, 1963–1964) by Kiyonori Kikutake and Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social
in San Jose (Costa Rica, 1977–1979) by Alberto Linner. In Poland, brutalism was especially
visible in religious architecture. In the forms of churches, various liturgical functions were
articulated. An example is the Church of St. Jan Kanty in Poznań (1976–1980) designed
by Jan W˛ecławski in which the rhythm of cantilevered solid housing confessionals was
articulated (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Jan W˛ecławski, Church of St. Jan Kanty in Poznań, 1976–1980 (photo: author of the article).

Brutalist architects also applied other individual rules of order and composition. The
rejection of classical principles has made this architecture difficult to understand. It is
commonly believed that brutalist buildings are inhuman and ugly [56]. However, it should
be emphasized that the goal of brutalist architects has never been to glorify ugliness. On
the other hand, they also did not pursue beauty. Actually, they did not pursue any other
aesthetic attribute. The brutalist building was supposed to provoke the senses, not satisfy
any taste.
However, it seems that several architects were close to the effects assumed by art
autre artists. About his sculptures from the 1950s, Paolozzi said: “I was trying to make a
kind of anti-art object; really trying to make something which looked horrible. It was a
reflection on the sensibility of that time” [32] (p. 103). A similarly shocking aesthetic effect
in architecture was achieved by Clorindo Testa and SEPRA Studio. In the Bank of London
in Buenos Aires (1960–1966), they used strange shapes, deformed elements, and bombastic
corner to break with the traditional image of a building (Figure 8). In turn, Lina Bo Bardi,
in her provocative statement about her building, Servico Social do Comercio (SESC) in
Pompeia (1977–1982), “declared that she wanted the SESC to be even uglier than the MASP
[Museu de Arte de São Paulo—her earlier building]” [57] (p. 152).

4.3. In Search of Rudiments

Avant-garde artists rejected the existing values in art and looked for new ones instead.
They found these values in the pure minds of uneducated artists. They also found them
in the works of primitive peoples, which were the result of the basic, simplest emotions.
They discovered true principles at the basis of human culture. Dubuffet appreciated the
value of works created without influences, without a specific purpose, and therefore spon-
taneous and sincere. “Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic
creative impulses—where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not
interfere—are, because of these very facts, more precious than the productions of profes-

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sionals” [58]. Paolozzi’s figurative sculptures from the post-war period were simplified,
primitivized, almost similar to archaic artefacts. For example, Paolozzi explored how far he
can simplify a sculpture of a head so that it is still perceived as a head. He asked himself:
“How far can the disintegration of the head go without the head losing its identity” [59]?

Figure 8. Clorindo Testa and SEPRA Studio, Bank of London in Buenos Aires, 1960–1966 (photo:
Bogusław Podhalański).

Architects, similar to artists, looked for the basics in the works of uneducated people,
which were free from imposed stylistic rules. These people were the builders of vernacular
architecture. Brutalist architects believed that there are objective, eternal, deep-rooted
values in such architecture. Contemporary vernacular buildings became important because
direct contact with them and their authors was still possible, unlike with architects from
past historical epochs.
Le Corbusier observed that the abstract forms of modernist buildings did not appeal to
the common people. He noticed that people identify rather with buildings with traditional
forms made of local materials. Le Corbusier realized how great artistic and emotional
potential lies in vernacular architecture and primitive houses of rural builders. During his
vacation in the countryside, he began sketching rural cottages, fishermen’s houses, and
their details. He also took measurements of such buildings [44]. As a result of analyses
of vernacular architecture, Le Corbusier discovered the value of raw, natural materials as
well as traditional steep roofs, massive walls, and narrow windows. However, it should
be emphasized that in the works of ordinary builders, he was looking not for primitivism
but architectural wisdom [60] (p. 6). He was convinced that the concept of contemporary
architecture could be influenced by the experience of ancient cultures, especially from
their origins [61] (pp. 345–346). Inspired by vernacular architecture, Le Corbusier fully
developed his brutalist style in the post-war period. Direct references to the forms of
traditional buildings were hardly noticeable in his works. Although they are clearly visible
in the use of raw and natural materials such as stone, e.g., in the Maison du Brésil in the
Cité Universitaire built in Paris in 1957 (Figure 9).
Other brutalist architects, seeking the basics, drew more direct formal inspiration from
vernacular architecture. They often combined motifs of local architecture with brutalist
elements and forms. This was particularly evident in Japanese brutalism, where architects
used both eternal ideas and reinterpreted forms and solutions specific to vernacular archi-
tecture. Relevant examples are buildings in which reinforced concrete structures imitated
the system, proportions, and sometimes even shapes of wooden construction elements.
In the Tsuyama Culture Center built in 1965 according to the project of Kohji Kawashima,
all structural elements replicate the wooden poles, beams, and corbels used in Japanese
temples. Less direct references to the tradition can be seen in the Kyoto Kokusai Kaikan
Building built in 1963–1966 according to the project of Sachio Otani (Figure 10). The form
of the building is characterized by complexity, monumentality, and sloping walls [62]
(pp. 78–79). The pioneers of Japanese brutalism, such as Kenzo Tange and Kunio Maekawa,

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also reached the roots of architecture. This is evidenced by buildings built in the 1950s:
the Kagawa Prefectural Offices in Takamatsu (Tange, 1955–1958) and Harumi Apartment
Building in Tokyo (Maekawa, 1957–1958). Frampton wrote about the first building that it
was “a béton brut version of Daibutsu wooden style of the 12th century as we find this in
the Todaiji precinct at Nara, which for Tange embodied the essence of Japanese national
culture” [63] (p. 98).

Figure 9. Le Corbusier, Maison du Brésil in Paris, 1957 (photo: author of the article).

Figure 10. Sachio Otani, Kokusai Kaikan Building in Kyoto, 1963–1966 (photo: Stephen Smith).

Brutalism reached another Asian country, India, thanks to Le Corbusier. In the form
of the Mill Owners’ Association Building (1954), we can find references to the traditional
wooden and stone architecture of the Gujarat Region [39] (p. 426). Frampton even sug-
gested that the concrete roofs of the High Court in Chandigarh were a reinterpretation
of roofs from Fatehpur Sikri—the capital of the Great Mughal [64] (p. 228). However, it
should be emphasized that Indian native architects—Charles Correa, Balkrishna Doshi,
and Achyut Kanvinde—really deepened the ties between brutalism and vernacular archi-
tecture. These include the Museum of Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad (Correa, 1963) and
the Center for Environment and Planning Technology in Ahmedabad (Doshi, 1968–1972),
combining brick and concrete structures with local motifs [65]. In Turkey, Behruz and Altug
Cinici referred to local architecture in the METU Faculty of Architecture Building in Ankara
(1961–1963). The building has only two floors; its monochromatic form is fragmented and
devoid of expressive elements, such as overhangs. These features were taken from the
traditional architecture of Anatolia.
References to vernacular architecture are visible in Polish sacral architecture [66]. The
steep, gable roof characteristic of rural residential and farm buildings was especially used.
As the dominant element and in a very direct way, it was applied by Szczepan Baum in the
Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Władysławowo (1958–1962) and
Władysław Pieńkowski in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church in

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Sulejówek (1972–1983). In addition to concrete, traditional materials such as red brick and
field stones were used (Figure 11).

Figure 11. Władysław Pieńkowski, Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church in
Sulejówek, 1972–1983 (photo: author of the article).

The proponents of the New Brutalism also drew from the vernacular architecture.
In “Patio and Pavilion”, they returned to the roots of architecture—a piece of the world
(a yard) and an enclosed space (a house)—two necessities of human habitat. The Smithsons
showed that these architectural rudiments will also be valid in the future [33] (p. 277). They
emphasized this by using both traditional (wood) and modern materials (corrugated plastic,
aluminum) in their installation. An appeal to fundamentals is visible in their analyses
of social patterns of associations in primitive habitats. As a result of these studies, they
concluded: “From pre-history to contemporary peasant society, each culture has thrown
up a limited number of house forms. The culture expresses itself through these forms.
Today’s problem is to define that form unique to each culture group” [11] (p. 14). It is
worth noting that Alison and Peter Smithson ended their program manifesto, published
in January 1955, with a significant reference to the vernacular architecture: “What is new
about the New Brutalism among Movements is that it finds its closest affinities, not in a past
architectural style, but in peasant dwelling forms” [67]. They undoubtedly confirmed this
idea in Sugden House. An important aspect of their searching for the basics was starting
each design task from scratch. They always rejected all stereotypes, imposed patterns, and
objectively assessed “realities of the situation” [2] (p. 87).

4.4. Art and Architecture as the Direct Result of a Way of Life

The linking of architecture with everyday life was one of the assumptions of brutalism.
The vernacular architecture was also glorified because it was a direct response to the real
needs of users. The connection of art brut and art autre with life, even its ugly and dark
sides, also seems obvious. The Smithsons claimed: “Architecture, painting, and sculpture
are manifestations of life, satisfying real needs; of man and not of each other” [68].
Henderson focused on life and “the everyday activities of people whose energies were
mostly directed towards the basic needs of survival” [35] (p. 141). He was also inspired by
the research of his wife Judith Stephen, who from 1945 conducted an anthropological project
called “Discover Your Neighbour”. Henderson’s photographs, depicting the everyday life
of Bethnal Green (where he lived) and other London districts, were not merely documentary
photos. The artist analyzed human associations [49] (p. 105), relations between people and
surroundings, and how these aspects change over time. Later, Henderson turned to X-ray
and microscopic photographs which he treated as a metaphor of life. The artist had a great
influence on the doctrine of New Brutalism. The existential nature of brutalist architecture
was derived from Henderson and Paolozzi [64] (p. 263).
Just as Henderson photographed the everyday life of ordinary workers and their fam-
ilies in London, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand photographed old villages in the

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Jura Mountains (in the 1930s) [69] (p. 24). They both collaborated with Le Corbusier, who
used these photos when designing his proto-brutalist houses. According to Le Corbusier,
“no architect could match the judgement and skill of the humble peasant who builds his
own house around his daily actions” [70] (p. 48). He emphasized that rural builders, who
are also users of houses, can build them better than professional architects.
Brutalist architecture was supposed to be a parallel of life. Its creators noticed that
in the past, the architecture of traditional villages and cities was correctly related to life.
The austere, post-war times and the changing way of life resulted in the need to search for
new, appropriate architectural and urban solutions. Brutalist architects not only reached
for completely new ones but also began to process and reinterpret solutions that previously
functioned well in social terms.
Many brutalists based their creative credo on the link between architecture and the
realities of life. Le Corbusier used to say that life is always right and architecture is
wrong [71] (p. 79). Kahn wrote that before everything an architect does becomes a building,
it must be appropriate for human beings. “You don’t know yet what a building is, as long
as you don’t believe in its identity with people’s way of life” [72] (p. 303). A similar attitude
was presented by Gottfried Böhm when he spoke about architecture in which forms and
functions life finds its reflection and explanation [73] (p. 346). The Smithsons declared:
“We see architecture as the direct result of a way of life” [67]. Inspired by the work of
Henderson, they started researching people’s connections with home, street, district, and
city. The Smithsons prepared their grille for CIAM 9 using Henderson’s photos from
Bethnal Green. This ground-breaking presentation, known as the “Urban Reidentification”
grid, concerned design with social associations [34].
The pursuit of a complete environment for human beings was expressed by the
Smithsons in the competition project for the Golden Lane Housing Estate in London (1952).
In this project, “street decks” appeared for the first time. They were not only access galleries
to flats but also served as spaces for social contacts. So, they were a reinterpretation of
streets in traditional housing estates. The Smithsons believed that an important aspect of
these “streets in the sky” [52] (p. 109) was their width (12 feet), providing space for meetings
and other activities. They emphasized the relationship between architecture and everyday
life in their design drawings, filling them with photographs of residents. In the perspectives
of the estate, the human presence almost overwhelmed the architecture [1] (p. 360).
The idea from the unrealized Golden Lane project was applied in the Park Hill Estate
in Sheffield (J. Lewis Womersley, Jack Lynn, Ivor Smith, 1957–1961). In Park Hill, street
decks connect all the buildings and pass through the entire estate (Figure 12). At bends and
intersections of street decks, there are spaces analogous to traditional street corners with
intimate squares. They were supposed to be places of frequent meetings of residents. Here,
people entered staircases and elevators and dumped garbage into the chute. The architects
claimed that, in terms of neighborly relations, the chute was “the modern equivalent of a
village pump” [2] (p. 132). Alan Powers wrote: “The street decks at Park Hill emphasized
the new focus on circulation spaces and routes as a means of recovering the sense of
community within this otherwise forbidding mass of structure” [52] (p. 114).
Lasdun designed a new type of multi-family residential building—the cluster block.
In the cluster block, residential towers were attached to the central reinforced concrete
circulation and service core (Figure 13). The connection was provided by short bridges
leading into galleries and flats. The cluster block idea was fully implemented by Lasdun
at Keeling House in London. The main place of neighborly contacts was not the gallery,
but the central core in which the entrance hall and drying rooms (every second floor) were
located. The architect proposed such a solution after analyzing the functioning of the
traditional Bethnal Green buildings and the habits of their residents, such as meetings and
gossip while hanging up the laundry.
In order to shape collective spaces, brutalist architects used such solutions as street
decks, galleries, bridges (connecting buildings or their parts), rues intérieures, courtyards,
terraces, and drying rooms. Virtually all of these spaces are associated with the circulation

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of people. The architects’ intention was for people walking through these spaces to meet
and establish relationships in a natural way. Therefore, circulation and movement became
the essence of architecture (not only residential), as well as an element crystallizing the
building’s form and helping users to understand it.

Figure 12. J. Lewis Womersley, Jack Lynn, Ivor Smith, Park Hill Estate in Sheffield, 1957–1961 (photo:
Sarah Briggs Ramsey).

Figure 13. Denys Lasdun, Keeling House in London, 1957–1958 (photo: author of the article).

These noble ideas did not always work properly. In large-scale buildings and housing
estates, spaces intended for neighborly contacts sometimes became places of vandalism
and violence. An example is the Harumi Apartment Building in Tokyo, where street decks
were used by children during the day and by bullies at night. Japanese architecture critic
Noboru Kawazoe expressed his opinion about Harumi: “To be a true building it must melt
into the history of its time. A building does not really belong to the people unless it is
capable of absorbing the shadier sides of life along with the more pleasant” [2] (p. 131).

4.5. Ordinariness
The connection of art and architecture with the everyday life of ordinary people led
to the apotheosis of ordinariness. Dubuffet was fascinated by ordinary things. In the
1950s, he painted a series of works entitled “Landscape tables”, which presented everyday
objects: dishes, bottles, papers, etc. He also emphasized the artistic potential of prosaic
materials: “I’ve found myself suggesting certain materials, not so much those with a ‘noble’
reputation like marble or exotic woods, but instead very ordinary ones with no value at
all like coal, asphalt or even mud . . . in the name of what . . . does man bedeck himself

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with necklaces of shells and not spiders webs, with foxes furs and not their guts, in the
name of what I’d like to know? Mud, rubbish and dirt are man’s companions all the life;
shouldn’t they be precious to him, and isn’t one doing man a service to remind him of
their beauty” [74] (pp. 263–264)? Other avant-garde artists also used such unattractive
materials as sand, gypsum, slag, and asphalt. Henderson photographed people in an
ordinary London working-class neighborhood in everyday, unposed situations. In his
other works, he used ordinary found objects. He also claimed: “I feel happiest among
discarded things, vituperative fragments, cast casually from life, with the fizz of vitality
still about them” [64] (p. 265).
Many architects were sure that they would be able to bring out exceptional artistic
values from ordinary things and materials. The Smithsons rejected these fashionable and
simulated ones. “Thus ‘as found’ was a new seeing of the ordinary, an openness as to
how prosaic ‘things’ could re-energize our inventive activity. A confronting recognition of
what the post-war world actually was like. In a society that had nothing. You reached for
what there was, previously unthought of things” [6] (p. 201). Already in the installation
“Patio and Pavilion”, they demonstrated the intensity of the direct and ordinary [7] (p. 13).
The harsh living conditions in Great Britain were reflected in both art and architecture.
Anthony Vidler wrote that brutalism “was born out of the post-war culture of ‘austerity
Britain’ [. . . ] with almost everything either rationed or simply unavailable” [75] (p. 106).
Young architects, whose basic assumption was objectivity, had to take this austerity
as a starting point. Thus, they began to use readily available materials. In England, it
was primarily brick. Its advantage was not only commonness but also the fact that it
was cheap. Brutalist architects were aware that for their understanding of architecture to
be widely accepted, the buildings they proposed could not be expensive. In a difficult
economic situation, the idea of simple and unspectacular architecture, which for many
seemed a weakness, could become a decisive asset. Peter Smithson even claimed that he
personally did not like brick, but he appreciated its qualities because of the prevailing
conditions. In Sugden House, he used low-quality bricks of various shades. Such a material
would be considered poor by most, but the Smithsons gave it artistic value. Other prosaic
materials were also used in brutalism: stone, wood, sheet metal, common plywood, and
blockboard [49] (p. 96). However, the most popular was concrete, which, apart from its
ordinariness, also had transcendent features.
Architectural and construction elements, as well as details, were also ordinary, some-
times even primitive. It can be said that the steel structure used by the Smithsons in
Hunstanton School (1949–1954) was a primitivized version of Mies van der Rohe’s struc-
ture from the Illinois Institute of Technology. The steel frames were welded in the simplest
way. They lacked elaborate details such as Mies’s famous corner pillar. The Smithsons
wrote about their House in Soho that it was supposed to have a simple construction
as in a small warehouse [12]. Maisons Jaoul in Neuilly-sur-Seine (1953–1955) designed
by Le Corbusier is an extreme example of the apotheosis of ordinariness in brutalism
(Figure 14). Even very monumental works were erected from concrete and brick using
primitive techniques, such as buildings designed by Kahn in Bangladesh.
The forms of buildings in the first phase of brutalism were also quite simple. The
architects used a small number of solids and elements, and their compositions were not
complicated. The emphasis was on clarity and coherence between material, construction,
and form. However, over the years, the forms have become more complex and even bom-
bastic. In the later phase of brutalism, the tendency toward the apotheosis of ordinariness
survived in the works of a handful of architects. Lina Bo Bardi based on this tendency:
“I was looking for simple architecture [...] I made the most of my 5 years in the northeast of
Brazil, a lesson of popular experience, not as folkloric romanticism but as an experiment in
simplification. By means of a popular experiment, I arrived at what might be called Poor
Architecture” [57] (pp. 153–154). Undoubtedly, Bo Bardi was also influenced by the works
of other Brazilian brutalist architects tending to the ordinary. These include the buildings
of Vilanova Artigas (Casa Martirani in São Paulo, 1969–1974) (Figure 15) and Paulo Mendes

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da Rocha (Casa Millán in São Paulo, 1970). The forms of their buildings are simple concrete
blocks with few windows. An equally radical example is the Florist Kiosk at the Malmö
Cemetery (1969) designed by Sigurd Lewerentz [26] (p. 11).

Figure 14. Le Corbusier, Maisons Jaoul in Neuilly-sur-Seine, 1953–1955 (photo: author of the article).

Figure 15. Vilanova Artigas, Casa Martirani in São Paulo, 1969–1974 (photo: Nelson Kon).

4.6. Sincerity of Material, Structure, and Function

Sincerity was an attribute especially valued in avant-garde art trends. The artists
expressed their emotions in an honest and direct way—thanks to their independence from
the prevailing cultural norms and current artistic trends. They also directly exposed the
nature and properties of the material they used. This was characteristic of Paolozzi’s
works [59]. In some cases, a sculpture seemed to be almost a study of the properties
of its material [36] (p. 63). Artists and then brutalist architects rejected abstraction and
emphasized the importance of materiality.
The value of sincerity and directness in art brut and art autre inspired brutalist
architects to honestly display the structure of buildings [9], but not only that. The form of
the building answered four general questions.
1. What materials was the building made of?
2. What is its construction?
3. How was it built?
4. How does it work?
(1) Brutalist architects exposed raw, as found materials in their buildings. In this way,
they showed their natural color, internal structure, and other features. They rejected the
aestheticization of the building’s surfaces and any imitations. They did not use plaster or
cladding. The Smithsons emphasized: “We were concerned with the seeing of materials for
what they were: the woodness of wood, the sandiness of sand. With this came a distaste of
the simulated” [6] (p. 201). Each material was supposed to show only what it really is. Cast

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concrete, the most important material in brutalism, was a doubly honest solution in the
minds of architects. Béton brut reflected both the nature of the building material and that
of the formwork. It should be noted that some concrete buildings have a similar character
to the sculptures of Paolozzi. They show the enormous textural possibilities of concrete.
A relevant example is the Hayward Gallery.
(2) Architects exposed an overall constructional system of a building and its individual
elements, such as columns, beams, and floor slabs. They were visible in the facades, as no
cladding or curtain walls were used. Reinforced concrete elements were usually exposed
also in brick walls. Even in the facades entirely made of concrete, the constructional
elements were distinguished, for example with the help of various textures. There was
also a tendency to enlarge construction elements and give them sculptural shapes (against
the idea of ordinariness). Thick, angular poles were used by Marcel Breuer in the Becton
Engineering and Applied Sciences Center in New Haven (1969–1970). In turn, the curved
supports in the Australian Embassy in Paris (1975–1977) was an idea of Harry Seidler
(Figure 16).

Figure 16. Harry Seidler, Australian Embassy in Paris, 1975–1977 (photo: author of the article).

(3) Striving for truth in architecture, brutalist architects reflected the methods and
stages of erecting a building in its form and surfaces. In the case of cast concrete, traces of
the building process were especially the lines (striations) left by the edges of the formwork
and the imprint of its surface. The holes left by the formwork assembly elements—nails,
screws, spacers—were also exposed. One of the first architects who decided to leave
circular holes produced by spacers was Antonin Raymond. In the walls of the Gunma
Ongaku Center erected in 1955 in Takasaki, these marks form an additional pattern and
are a badge of authenticity [76]. This was also the practice of Kahn, for whom the direct
presentation of a building process was the essence of architecture: “An architectural volume
is characterized by the fact that it shows how it has been made” [77] (p. 423).
(4) The articulation of internal functions in the form of a building was undoubtedly a
way of showing how the building works. The display of technical elements and installations
played a similar role. Water, sewage, electricity, and other installations were visible inside.
Elements of water drainage from the roof (gutters, gargoyles) and ventilation elements
(chimneys, air intakes) were exposed outside. The Hunstanton School was pioneering in
this regard. Banham wrote about the sincerity of this building: “Water and electricity do
not come out of unexplained holes in the wall, but are delivered to the point of use by
visible pipes and manifest conduits. One can see what Hunstanton is made of, and how it
works, and there is not another thing to see except the play of spaces” [1] (p. 357). Paul
Rudolph, who later in his work rather hid installations, in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Building in Boston (1957–1960) created a composition of ventilation ducts on the facades
(Figure 17). Rudolph actually designed a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system
with ducts placed within exterior concrete piers [21] (pp. 49–54).

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Figure 17. Paul Rudolph, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Building in Boston, 1957–1960 (photo: author
of the article).

4.7. Textures—Roughness and Defects

Most brutalist architects preferred rough, uneven textures. Dubuffet’s paintings and
Paolozzi’s sculptures drew the architects’ attention to the qualities of such raw surfaces,
bearing traces of the way they were made.
Dubuffet emphasized that the texture of a painting is a means by which the painter
expresses himself. He preferred the expressive, dynamic, and spontaneous application of
painting material. The layer of paint or other matter was thick and expressive. Dubuffet
believed that the essential gesture of a painter is to smear, not to smooth. In this way,
he wanted “to imprint the most immediate traces that he may have of his thoughts and
rhythms and impulses coursing through his arteries and running along the length of his
nerve endings” [78] (p. 35). Therefore, the rough texture was an expression of emotions and
mind. Dubuffet’s ideas helped brutalist architects to justify the thesis that the use of rough
and raw materials in architecture is not a regression, but an expression of avant-garde taste.
Paolozzi’s sculptures also had rough surfaces. Using bronze or concrete, he finished
their aesthetic development at an earlier stage than other artists. For Paolozzi, it was
raw material not “artist’s material” [59]. Some of Paolozzi’s sculptures were large and
monumental. Observed from a distance, they seemed coarse, as if roughly hewn. However,
up close, their rough surface revealed details, small objects that made it up [32] (p. 88).
The massiveness and heaviness of solids and monumental forms became the hallmarks
of brutalist architecture in the following years. In contrast, brutalist buildings, such as
the sculptures of Paolozzi, changed depending on the distance of the observer. Only after
approaching the building, the observer was discovering the structure of their surfaces—for
example, an imprint of formwork and components of concrete. Rough surfaces prevailed in
brutalism because the textures were supposed to be sensual. The uneven and heterogeneous
surfaces were picturesque, and they produced variable visual effects also depending on
the lighting. Smooth textures were also used, but most often to juxtapose them with rough
surfaces, following the brutalist principle of contrast.
Picturesque brick textures were designed by Le Corbusier and the Smithsons, and
even Rudolph (Yale Married Student Housing in New Haven, 1960–1961), who was known
for his concrete textures. Le Corbusier hired unskilled Algerian workers using crude and
primitive building techniques. In this way, he wanted to achieve the effect of sloppy and
carelessly made brick walls. James Stirling admitted that he was shocked but also excited
when he saw the Jaoul Houses within half a mile of the Champs Elysèes built in contrast
to sophisticated constructional habits with the use of “ladders, hammers and nails”. [2]
(p. 86). In developing countries, primitiveness was an immanent feature of brickwork,
and that is why such aesthetics is visible in local brutalist buildings, e.g., in the Center
for Environment and Planning Technology in Ahmedabad (Figure 18). It was the same
with concrete buildings. Many architects also opted for craftsmanship rather than precise
prefabrication. They followed Dubuffet, who emphasized: “The more the artist’s hand is

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apparent in the entire work, the more moving, the more human, the more eloquent it will
be. Avoid all mechanical and impersonal means. The most meticulous typography and
calligraphy are less alluring than a few hand-written, unpremeditated words scrawled by
a devoted hand” [78] (p. 35).

Figure 18. Balkrishna Doshi, Center for Environment and Planning Technology in Ahmedabad,
1968–1972 (photo: Aurobindo Ogra).

Artisanal building methods, according to many architects, gave their works additional
value. Unlike prefabricated buildings, they were original and unique. Each of their
fragments was characterized by individualism and contained immanent features. The
erection of a building from concrete placed on the site was an even more difficult and
complex artisanal task than bricklaying. Max Bächer claimed: “Here is the very essence
of ‘hand-made’ article. Here is task calling, if ever one did, for the fullest mental and
manual skills of the dedicated craftsman” [79] (p. 64). In some brutalist buildings, defects
of surfaces were not hidden, and even highlighted, as in Unite d’Habitation in Marseille
(1947–1952) (Figure 19). Architects considered cracks, blisterings, and efflorescences to be
an inherent feature of the material. In addition to Le Corbusier, this approach to concrete
texture can also be found in buildings designed by Hans Litz and Fritz Schwartz. In the
Sports and Recreation Center in Zürich (1961–1965), they used coarse wooden formwork
with gaps between the boards and left all texture defects. John Andrews achieved a similar
effect using metal sheet formwork in Scarborough College in Toronto (1963–1965).

Figure 19. Le Corbusier, Unite d’Habitation in Marseille, 1947–1952 (photo: Tomasz Basista).

As a result of exposing rough textures with defects, some brutalist buildings already
on the day of completion looked as if they had been destroyed by time, as if they were
almost ruins. It was a deliberate effect that was to add splendor to the building and bring
it closer to the great works of the past that have survived for centuries. The building was

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to become “a magnificent ruin” [2] (p. 16). These poetics came from the surface of the
building, it was inherent in its texture.
The fascination with ruins was related to the war trauma noticeable in the works
of avant-garde artists. The installation “Patio and Pavilion” should be mentioned again,
as it presented the image of a makeshift building erected on rubble among scattered
objects. Fragments of buildings destroyed during the war were also visible in other works
by Paolozzi and Henderson. Especially for Henderson, it was important to capture the
problem of time, place, and passing in the photographs. He was interested in specific
signs of space, defects in buildings, “slicks and patches of tar on the roads, the cracks and
slicks end erosive marks on pavement slabs, the ageing of wood and paintwork, the rich
layering of billboards” [7] (p. 94). The Smithsons were interested not only in ancient ruins
but also in the ruins of industrial facilities. This was due to both the search for the basics
and the rediscovery of the genius of the place. They wrote: “Our enjoyment of ruined
places, liberated spaces intended for life but emptied by time, their clean yet evocative
stones have, over the years, suggested to us we are on the threshold of a period of lyrical
appropriateness” [49] (p. 325).

4.8. Found Objects and the Idea of As Found

The use of found objects was the essence of the work of avant-garde artists and
influenced brutalist architects not only in terms of the way materials were used.
Paolozzi found everyday objects to make his works, as shown by the series of sculp-
tures made using the lost wax method. This method allowed reflecting the shapes of
materials and objects used to make the mold in the finished sculpture casting. The coarse
bronze objects had rough surfaces from which broken toys, piano mechanisms, wheels,
gun-sights, cogs, electrical parts, clock parts, broken combs, and bent forks emerged.
Paolozzi described his artistic process as “the metamorphosis of rubbish” [32] (p. 87).
Henderson placed objects and pieces of rubbish found in the ruins after the bombings in
his photograms. He picked them up in London’s bombarded East End and took them
back to his darkroom. There, he lay them on light-sensitive paper to make what he called
Hendograms [36] (p. 68). He also created collages with photos of found objects. Charlotte
Perriand used found objects (objets trouvés) in her photographs. She described her works,
often created together with Fernand Léger, as art brut. She especially liked driftwood,
shells, and debris, lifting these objects out of obscurity and giving them the status of works
of art [80]. She used her artistic experience while working with Le Corbusier and Ernő
Goldfinger. Brutalist architects treated building materials as found objects. They used raw
materials without any surface treatment, which has already been analyzed above. It is
worth noting that they really used found objects as well as artefacts found at the construc-
tion site. Gottfried Böhm in the Hotel Godesberg in Bad Godesberg on the Rhine (1961)
incorporated the stone walls of the ruined castle into the new architectural structure [79]
(p. 40). Altug and Behruz Cinici in the METU Faculty of Architecture Building in Ankara
have inserted an original historical wooden door called “han kapisi” (Figure 20).
However, As Found in brutalist architecture should also be understood as a broad idea
and the resulting design method. The idea of As Found contributed to noticing various
aspects of the context, searching for specific features of a place, and taking into account
the existing conditions in the project. The uniqueness of the design solutions of brutalist
architects resulted precisely from the fact that they treated the existing situation as a found
object with all its immanent features.
According to the idea of As Found, the value of the thing was contained in the thing
itself. The brutalists did not modify the thing itself but tried to change its relations with
other objects and with people. Anette Busse noted: “As Found meant taking something
existing and reinterpreting in relation to reality” [81] (p. 93). The design method used,
among others by the Smithsons involved “picking up, turning over and putting with; a
careful consideration of ordering and an appreciation of the ordinary” [7] (p. 194). In fact,
it was a creative process transferred directly from the artistic experience of Paolozzi or

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Henderson. An example was the Upper Lawn Pavilion in Fonthill Abbey (1961). First,
the Smithsons assessed the situation and the place, analyzing the remains (foundations,
stone walls, chimney) of the old house. Then, they reinterpreted it in relation to new
needs, deciding to use some parts of the old structure. As a result, they developed the new
building with significant preservation of the original artefacts.

Figure 20. Altug and Behruz Cinici, METU Faculty of Architecture Building in Ankara, 1961–1963
(photo: Haluk Zelef).

Kallmann also followed the idea of As Found when creating his concept of “action
architecture”. He insisted on accepting the reality of established urban, social, and even
political contexts. “If governments wanted to represent authority, then architects would
oblige; if cities were threatening places, ‘as found’, perhaps buildings ought to be tough
and defensive” [50] (p. 56). It is worth noting that many brutalist buildings, especially
those from the 1960s (the period of the Cold War and social unrest), have defensive and
heavy forms (Figure 21).

Figure 21. Gerhard Kallmann and Michael McKinnell, City Hall in Boston, 1963–1968 (photo: author
of the article).

5. Conclusions
The greatest impact on brutalist architecture was exerted by such avant-garde trends
as art autre, art brut, and musique concrète. Architects were most inspired by the works of
Jackson Pollock, Jean Dubuffet, Pierre Schaeffer, Eduardo Paolozzi, and Nigel Henderson.
This influence was most evident in the beginnings and the first phase of brutalism, that is,
in the 1950s and early 1960s.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 290

After the end of World War II, both avant-garde artists and architects searched for a
new style that would correspond to the harsh reality and the changing way of life. They
were convinced that the language of architecture and art should, first of all, be moving; it
should evoke emotions. Young architects reached for the ideas of avant-garde art, as they
did not find the right ones in the architecture of that time. In fact, the only architect of the
older generation whose work inspired them was Le Corbusier.
The studies of brutalist architecture have shown that it was a very complex and
heterogeneous style. There were various trends in it, changing over time, and many
architects developed their own, individual manner. The regional differentiation was also
characteristic of brutalism. Therefore, it should be emphasized that the ideas derived from
avant-garde art did not apply to all architects and their works to the same extent. Moreover,
some buildings and their features, especially those from the late stage of brutalism, seem to
contradict these ideas. Nevertheless, the hypothesis that many brutalist architects drew
from the post-war avant-garde artistic trends a number of assumptions and ideas is correct
and has been confirmed. These ideas found their implementation in brutalist buildings.
The most important ideas were:
- Rejection of previous principles and doctrines,
- Searching for the basics,
- As Found,
- Glorification of ordinariness,
- Reflecting the realities of life,
- Sincerity of material, structure, and technology,
- Articulation of internal functions in the form of a building,
- Roughness of textures.
These ideas contributed to the development of the following forms, solutions, and
aesthetic effects in brutalist architecture:
- Simplification of forms and elements,
- Forms and solutions inspired by vernacular architecture,
- Vehement juxtapositions of solids and elements,
- Repetitive and disturbed rhythms,
- Highlighting circulation and communication elements,
- Exposing structural elements,
- Exposing installations and technical elements,
- Ordinary materials,
- Raw materials,
- Poetics of “magnificent ruins”.
Among the architects who were largely guided by the ideas derived from avant-garde
art were Le Corbusier, Alison and Peter Smithson, Denys Lasdun, James Stirling, Vittoriano
Vigano, Louis I. Kahn, Paul Rudolph, Gerhard Kallmann, John Johansen, Joseph Lluís Sert,
Kenzo Tange, Altug and Behruz Cinici, Vilanova Artigas, and Balkrishna Doshi.
The research showed that the idea of sincerity had the greatest impact on brutalist
architecture. It contributed to the development of most of the architectural solutions and
forms. Both at the beginning and the end of the style, its importance was great, especially
in terms of the sincerity of the material. The remaining ideas were gradually devalued,
which was one of the reasons for the fall of brutalism.

Funding: This research was carried out as part of work WZ/WA-IA/4/2020 at the Białystok Univer-
sity of Technology and financed from a research subsidy provided by the Ministry of Eductaion and
Science of Poland.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 290

Acknowledgments: The author thanks the fieldworkers for their important role in data collection.
The author thanks the fieldworkers for their important role in data collection.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design
of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or
in the decision to publish the results.

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 buildings
Article
Unknown Suns: László Hudec, Antonin Raymond and the
Rising of a Modern Architecture for Eastern Asia
Anamaria Andreea Anghel 1 , Joseph Cabeza-Lainez 2, * and Yingying Xu 3

1 Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Politehnica University of Timisoara,
300006 Timisoara, Romania; [email protected]
2 Department of Architectural Composition, University of Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
3 Department of Oriental Studies, University of Seville, 41002 Sevilla, Spain; [email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to disclose the strenuous efforts of László Hudec in China
and Antonin Raymond in Japan and India to create a modern architectural stance by heralding an
incipient space syntax. At the turn of the 19th century, for dynastic, political and economic reasons,
Eastern Asia had very little modern architecture. It is a surprising fact that, out of happenstance, two
European architects, Antonin Raymond and László Hudec, had to intervene to remedy this situation,
to the point of becoming 20th century icons in Japan and China. Their fruitful careers spanned over
thirty years and included locations like Tamil Nadu and the Philippines. The oriental territories were
not an easy ground for the bold architectural achievements that they produced. Despite faraway
strangeness and uncountable personal losses, in revolutions and wars, which eventually forced them
both to leave for the United States of America and never to return, they were successful in the manner
of establishing a broad avenue for modern Asian architecture which is still recognizable today thanks
to their systematic approach. However, theirs is an endangered heritage and the intention of this
Citation: Anghel, A.A.; article is to offer a just remembrance of the way in which such actions could be performed, how
Cabeza-Lainez, J.; Xu, Y. Unknown they predated by many years a syntactic approach to architectural composition and why their legacy
Suns: László Hudec, Antonin should be preserved.
Raymond and the Rising of a Modern
Architecture for Eastern Asia. Keywords: modern architecture in East Asia; architectural design; László Hudec; Antonin Raymond;
Buildings 2022, 12, 93. https://
innovative architectural projects; space syntax; Asian traditions
doi.org/10.3390/buildings12020093

Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński,

Wojciech Bonenberg, Agata
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini 1. Introduction
Received: 4 January 2022 A score of years ago one of the authors of this article was present when the late
Accepted: 14 January 2022 and famed architect Peter Smithson delivered a speech to a devoted audience of the
Published: 19 January 2022 Architectural Association of Seville.
When the turn came to explain his acclaimed project for the furniture factory Tecta in
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
Germany, he produced a slide with a map of Europe. Then he showed that the latitude of
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
the construction site near Kassel was very similar to that of London, roughly 50 degrees
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.
north. Then, with a smile of confidence, he uttered to the listeners’ surprise: “This is a
Known Sun . . . ” and he went onwards explaining the particulars of his design.
With such a phrase, P. Smithson wanted to convey his great environmental concerns;
he dared to work in this part of Germany because he deemed that the climate or at least the
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. shadow casting of architectural forms were similar to that of his native London.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. On the contrary, for Antonín Raymond and László Hudec, the eastern sun was a totally
This article is an open access article unknown one, no matter how hard they tried to appease its ruthless brightness.
distributed under the terms and Both Hudec and Raymond never chose such a challenge. For sundry vicissitudes, in-
conditions of the Creative Commons cluding exile and imprisonment, they were to settle and design for Eastern Asia. They soon
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// realized that their duty and position was to adapt the innovations of modern architecture
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ which they had known in Europe and America, such as Perret’s, Wright’s or Le Corbusier’s
4.0/).

Buildings 2022, 12, 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12020093 285 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 93

oeuvre [1], to the incipient but firm building activity of the great Chinese and Japanese
newly opened ports. Subsequently they extended this huge task to all confines of Asia, like
India [2], the Marianas and the Philippines [3].
In this article, the authors will try to disentangle the subtle nuances and mechanisms
of such extraordinary construction. Our main research objective is to demonstrate the
relevance of the designs that they produced out of the significance and relevance for
modern architecture. How they were able to develop new structures and typologies was
deeply ingrained with the architectural traditions of Asia.
When China and Japan opened up to European markets and culture in the 19th century
and began an amazingly rapid process of technological development, their traditional
architectural culture was also fundamentally transformed. The two Eastern Europeans
who contributed the most to this process of modernizing the architectural image of the Far
East, blending local traditions with European influences and creating the foundations of
contemporary architecture in both countries, were the internationally recognized Czech
Antonín Raymond and László Hudec, yet to be rediscovered by posterity since basically
their contribution is largely forgotten [4].
The careers of Hudec and Raymond [1,5] share considerable similarities. They were
born geographically close to each other (Czechoslovakia), although under different circum-
stances, and ended up in a cultural environment foreign to their own. The two architects
had an active and productive career, enabling them to form ties with the members of the
local cultural and political elite. They both strived to find their own form of expression in
the 1920s and clearly turned towards Functionalism in the 1930s, exerting a major influence
on their respective environments, while they enjoyed international attention thanks to
periodicals and other publications. This led them to make a fundamental contribution to
the modern development of architecture in the metropolises of the East. After considerable
research experience in East Asia, we have reached the conclusion that their legacy has been
obliterated and such indubitable heritage faces undeniable risks that we intend to avoid by
outlining the fundamental characteristics of their oeuvres.

2. The Material Milieu

2.1. A Parallel between Antonin Raymond and László Hudec
Raymond and Hudec, since the beginning of their lives, shared many similitudes; for
instance, their birthplaces are very close, one in today’s Czech Republic and the other in
Slovakia; their years of birth, with a slight difference of about five years, 1888/1893; their
dream to excel in architecture; their formation at the architectural academy; the First World
War and their active participation in it; and their destiny in Eastern Asia (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Comparison between Hudec and Raymond’s trajectory from Europe to Eastern Asia
(Hudec’s trajectory in red, Raymond’s trajectory in orange).

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Buildings 2022, 12, 93

As we can see in the map above, their trajectories start from similar places, but Hudec
is going east and Raymond west. Both converge in Eastern Asia, one in Shanghai and
the other in Tokyo. The big difference between the two is that Hudec arrived in China
unwillingly, after escaping from a prison camp during the War [4], and Raymond came
to Japan (with his family and Frank Lloyd Wright) with the precise aim of designing the
Imperial Hotel.
As regarding their professional careers, immediately after finishing his studies, Hudec
was enrolled in the army. The only previous experience he had was working for his father.
This was a blessing in disguise for him; although he had to start practically from nothing in
Shanghai, he rapidly progressed and evolved.
On the contrary, Raymond’s work experience before arriving in Japan was ample. He
had always combined two professions, architectural practice and painting. He worked for
different architects and painted together with his wife. It was because of his talent that he
was invited by Frank Lloyd Wright to help him with the design of the Imperial Hotel in
Tokyo [6].

2.2. China and Japan in a Contemporary Review

China and Japan are situated in Eastern Asia and are geographically separated by
a relatively narrow stretch of ocean. Japan was strongly influenced by China’s writing
system of characters, architecture, culture, religion, philosophy, and law.
In the mid-19th century, western countries forced Japan to open for trading. Japan
moved towards modernization (Meiji Restoration) and started to view China as an anti-
quated and isolated civilization, unable to defend itself against Western forces, in part due
to the First and Second Opium Wars resulting in Anglo–French expeditions from the 1840s
to the 1860s [7]. Japan’s long chain of invasions and war hostilities in China between 1894
and 1945 as well as modern Japan’s attitude towards its past are major issues affecting
current Japanese and Chinese relations.

2.3. Modern Architecture in Shanghai and Tokyo

Like every other style in architecture, Chinese architecture is a style that has become
ingrained in Eastern Asia since the beginnings of Chinese civilization. The structural
principles are almost the same; differences reside mainly in the decorative details. Chinese
architecture had a major influence on the architectural styles of Korea, Vietnam and Japan.
In the 20th century, after the opening of China to the world, western-trained Chinese
architects have tried to combine traditional Chinese design with modern architecture. This
had limited success in big cities, like Beijing or Shanghai, and later proved impractical
because of the pressure for urban development, which demanded new types of buildings.
The appreciation for low-rise Chinese architecture declined in favor of modern architecture.
It is important to outline the main characteristics of traditional Chinese architecture, in
order to analyse the buildings designed by the architect László Hudec, among the pioneers
who brought modernism into design. These features are, from the point of view of space
syntax [4]:
1. Symmetry—signifying balance and order;
2. Enclosure—this involves designing the building around an open space, like a court-
yard, the spaces opening to the yard directly or through verandas;
3. Hierarchy—the placement of the building within a complex, taking into account the
entrances to the different buildings;
4. Horizontal emphasis—the emphasis on breadth and less on the height of the buildings;
5. Cosmological concepts—the use of concepts, such as Feng-Shui and Daoism, for
the organization and layout of the constructions. (In Japan, China, India and other
countries, the disposition of buildings in relation to the surroundings followed an
adroit strategy of natural balance related to geomancy, like Feng-Shui or Vastu, and to
the observance of deeply rooted environmental rules [8].)

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Buildings 2022, 12, 93

Shanghai gained its international identity and flourished as a hub between the East
and the West during the period known as Old Shanghai, which dates from 1846 to 1945.
Shanghai was then a free treaty port, witnessing the establishment of international settle-
ments. During its internationalization period, Shanghai gained its cosmopolitan reputation
through the intermixture of global and local residents with diverse social, economic and cul-
tural backgrounds. This intersection of cultures is reflected in the mixture of multinational
architectures and the coexistence of modern and traditional styles.
Historically, although Japanese architecture was strongly influenced by its Chinese
counterpart, there are some important differences between the two. For example, the wood
used in Chinese buildings is finished with bright painting, while in Japanese traditional
architecture the wood remains exposed; Chinese architecture is based on a lifestyle that
uses chairs, tables and beds, while in Japan the floor serves all these purposes [9], though
this changed slightly during the Meiji Period (1868–1912).
László Hudec, in one of his letters addressed to his family, writes his opinion about
Japanese and Chinese temples and the differences between them: “The concept of Chinese
temples is absolutely beautiful and on a large scale, but shameful in the detail of its
workmanship—while in Japan the details are like arts and crafts but the layout is weak.
It is true that their asymmetrical arrangement is much more picturesque than the strict
symmetry of the Chinese temples but the trees in the courtyards make the latter less
boring” [4].
Traditionally Japanese architecture is characterized by wooden structures, slightly
elevated from the ground, covered by tiled or thatched roofs and with sliding panels,
translucent and covered by paper, which are called, respectively, shoji and fusuma. Rash
mats or tatami, heavily modulate the space at a fixed area of 1.65 m2 , two tatami disposed in
a square shape give 3.3 m2 , which is the actual unit of measurement, the tsubo. Even today,
these are key elements of the traditional Japanese house and garden [10]. These sliding
panels or shoji are elements particular to Japanese architecture, used instead of normal
walls, and thanks to them each space can be customized for different occasions. Until the
20th century, tables, chairs or beds did not exist in any house or space, traditionally, the
Japanese people used the floor for sitting or sleeping.
Architecture in Japan has been strongly influenced by the climate and this is reflected
in the way homes are built. Summers in most of Japan are long, humid and hot. This is
also the reason why the traditional houses are raised from the ground for letting the air
circulate around and beneath the house [11]. Wood is the preferred material because of its
properties—cool in summer, warm in winter, and its flexibility during the earthquakes.
In the 19th century, gradual changes began. Japan has slowly incorporated western
modern architecture into the design of buildings. Today, Japan is a trendsetter in the field
of architectural design and technology. Modern architectural techniques were introduced
in Japan with the advent of the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Two major events in the history
of Japan radically changed its architecture. The first event was the Kami and Buddhas
Separation Act of 1868, which distinguished Buddhism (a foreign faith) from Shinto and
Buddhist temples from Shinto shrines, breaking an association which lasted well over a
thousand years. This caused severe damage to the nation’s architecture for lack of state
funding. The second event was the intense modernization Japan was undergoing in order
to compete with other developed countries. For this, the first step was importing architects
and styles from abroad. However, after a while, Japan taught its own architects who slowly
began to design in their own modern style. Japan sent architects to the West to study
and they returned home, introducing the International Style of modernism into Japan.
International recognition came only after the Second World War with the work of architects
like Kenzo Tange. In the four years of employment in the office of Kunio Maekawa (one of
the most influential Japanese architects of his generation), starting in 1938, Kenzo Tange
assimilated his practising experience. Maekawa had the privilege of working in the office of
Le Corbusier in Paris [12] (being part of the team which designed the Villa Savoye and the
Swiss Pavilion) and, once returned to Japan, spent five years at Antonin Raymond’s office.

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In the 1880s, a sudden reaction against the rush toward westernisation, ignited the
support of Asian models, even in architecture. This changed again after World War I when
the architects Frank Lloyd Wright (1869–1959) from the United States and Bruno Taut
(1880–1938) from Germany arrived to work in Japan [13].

2.4. Interior Design Concepts for the Japanese Dwellings

The interior design of a Japanese house is very different from normal European
interiors. It possesses its own rules, underlying deep notions based on tradition. In the past,
a Japanese house consisted of an open space, even devoid of screens to make partitions for
individual spaces. In time, particular areas and different functions (like eating, sleeping or
dressing) became more and more present in the design. As a result of such new necessities,
the use of self-standing screens started (first byobu, then shoji and fusuma). They were
used to provide some degree of privacy, although they served less as sound barriers. These
screens can be easily removed in order to open up the entire space [10].
The Japanese had a particular way of dealing with the interior and exterior of the
house. Instead of seeing the interior and exterior as two distinct environments, they are
considered continuous spaces. Therefore, they introduced the veranda (engawa), which
plays the role of transitional space between inside and outside.
The traditional living space is designed for people who remain seated on the floor,
not standing. The windows and doors are therefore placed low, so that the visual relation
between the spaces is clear and everyone from the inside can see the garden or vice versa.
Although modernization has produced significant alterations in design, the traditional
Japanese style has not vanished, and it is still in use. For example, even in westernized
dwellings, it is likely that a room will be found whose floor is clad with tatami, and it is
customary to remove one’s shoes when entering the house.

3. Case Studies
3.1. Antonin Raymond and László Hudec—A Comparison of Early Works
The architects both lived and practiced in Eastern Asia for a long period of time,
sufficient to allow them to become involved with the local people and culture. They had
the advantage of starting their architectural practice in Japan and China, in the proper
period, when these countries opened up to modernization; they were “in the right place at
the right time”. A timeline of their careers is offered in Figures 2–4.
In Raymond’s case, he began just when Japan’s pursuit of modernization slowly
shifted from being based on the westernization model back towards native roots. Another
important reason for Raymond’s blossoming career was the fact that he benefited from the
consequences of the Great Kanto earthquake and the following period of reconstruction [14].
László Hudec was much more interested in the use of modern materials, functions and
technologies. This was the main reason of their encounter. When Raymond was finishing
his design for the American Otis Elevator Company in Tokyo, Hudec had installed Otis
lifts for the first time in Shanghai in his novel 22-storey Park Hotel. As Alessa Hudec
De Wet recalls, Hudec met Raymond through the Asian representative of Otis. After the
family’s first trip in 1932 to Tokyo, a lasting friendship developed between the two and
their families. From 1935 to 1941, the Hudecs spent their summer holidays in Japan in
Raymond’s house on a hill near Karuizawa [15]. This can be inaccurate in part because the
Raymonds had to leave Japan in 1938.
On the other side, Antonin Raymond gained a deep insight into traditional building
techniques, the use of materials and a wider view of Japanese culture. This allowed
him to deal with the problematic issue of finding the perfect balance between traditional
Japanese and western modern architecture, the necessary syntax for the creation of a
modern architecture suited to Japan.

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Figure 2. Timeline 01—Hudec and Raymond comparative designs.

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Figure 3. Timeline 02—Hudec and Raymond comparative designs.

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Figure 4. Timeline 03—Hudec and Raymond comparative designs.

3.2. The Private Houses of Hudec and Raymond

The authors believe that the best way for an architect to achieve full development is
by reflecting on the design of his own house. The process often starts as an experiment
that later becomes a representative project. In Raymond’s case this happened more than
once but the first occasion was with his Reinanzaka concrete house (Figure 5), which ended
up being a real modern project, one of his masterpieces. Designing his own house or
his Karuizawa studio, an architect gains all the necessary freedom to create art which
incorporates most of his knowledge, beliefs and principles. Without compromises and
restrictions, this is the way real art and architecture emerge.

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Figure 5. Reinanzaka house of the Raymond family (1924) and its concrete plasticity.

Built completely out of reinforced concrete, Reinanzaka House constituted a huge

step forward and a liberation from Frank Lloyd Wright’s mannerism, predating modern
architecture. Like everything Raymond designed after the Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the
house had an earthquake proof structure of reinforced concrete. The exposed concrete was
not clad with cement mortar or any other finishes, which emphasized Raymond’s belief
that there is inherent beauty in concrete and that it has its own character if studied and
understood [16]. He created a monolithic enclosure surrounding the house and garden.
The configuration was striking because it was dissimilar to his former designs and also to
local productions. For the organization and separation of the functions (the living areas
from the servant’s areas), he articulated three aisles under a U-shaped plan (Figure 6).

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Figure 6. The U-shaped plan of the Reinanzaka house and openings towards the garden.

Raymond’s own house was remarkable in a number of ways. It was one of the first
occasions on which a concrete frame was enriched so as to recall traditional Japanese
wooden construction, a mannerism which was to become the architectural touchstone of
Japanese architecture after the Second World War [16].
Raymond explains that the flexibility and southern orientation of the living spaces,
the position of the windows which provided good ventilation and natural illumination
and the principle of using only natural materials without any processing, were all inspired
by traditional Japanese examples. As every room had a proper orientation to the south
and access to its own section of garden, the windows became quite important. There
appeared some necessary details above the windows, “the overhang (eyelid)”, which was
not only aesthetic but had the main purpose of preventing direct sunlight in summer while
admitting it in winter. Moreover, the design constituted a reinterpretation of the veranda
(engawa), which has the combined role of a transitional space between inside and outside
and a protection from the harsh weather. These concrete canopies or “eyebrows” situated
over the windows became one of the principles of modern design [1]. In Raymond’s attempt
to integrate into his design elements extracted from the local vernacular, the rainwater
was evacuated in a particular way, by means of ropes, instead of the usual western gutters
prone to clogging. Apart from concrete, the house has metal fenestration and tubular steel
trellises (Figure 7).
In 1933, the Raymonds decided to build a summer residence (Karuizawa) for them-
selves in order to continue developing some of the work in the midst of the hot summer of
Tokyo. Raymond had a deep admiration for Le Corbusier’s oeuvre. In the design of his
summer residence, the main inspiration was Le Corbusier’s unrealized Matias Errázuriz
house for Zapallar in Chile (1929–1930). In fact, as Raymond says, “what better way to
express an admiration for someone than taking one of his motifs of an unconstructed project
and carrying it further on”. Raymond’s design borrowed the distinctive “butterfly roof
and internal ramp circulation”. “Except for the motif for the main room of the Karuizawa
summer house, the building was conceived in an entirely original way. It has a very strong
Japanese flavour, although it does not adopt any traditional Japanese forms.” [17]. The
Karuizawa summer house may be a key project to the intention of breaking completely
from Wright’s influence and embracing a new period, dominated by Le Corbusier.

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Figure 7. Reinanzaka house of the Raymond family 1924—detail of the concrete eyebrows and of the
ropes for evacuating the rainwater, looking up from the garden.

Pointing out that on his turn other architects used to adopt or borrow details from his
designs, in 1938 Raymond published his book entitled Architectural Details. The book was
conceived with the aim of sharing his knowledge and information with all the interested
architects “in the hope that they would use it” (like in his own case, when he was a student
and first got his hands on a book presenting Frank Lloyd Wright’s projects).
Raymond built a house suited to his family lifestyle (one of the fundamental principles
advocated by the pioneers of modern architecture). His main design principles, “honesty”,
“simplicity”, “economy”, “directness”, “functionality” and “naturalness”, are guiding lines
of the whole structure [14].
For the plan and interior organization of the spaces, Raymond followed the roles of
Japanese traditional residential architecture regarding orientation. The plot has a pavilioned
distribution. Raymond oriented the main house with the openings of the living room
towards the south, facing the breathtaking view of the mountains and the pond (Figure 8).

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Figure 8. Karuizawa house—public and private area and the pool, plan and views.

The house is composed of two main areas—the public area (living and dining room,
kitchen and studio) and the private area (which included the bedrooms and the maid’s
room). These two main zones are articulated by the pool, which serves as natural barrier
between them two, creating a source of relaxation and fresh and moist air which invigorates
the atmosphere during the humid summer.
The house stands upon elevated ground, artificially created from the soil extracted to
make the pond (Figure 9). The circle of life is recreated by the fact that the water overflowing
the pool is being let to the pond. In fact, the whole level difference allows better drainage
of the ground below and around the house, for which the pond functions like a reservoir
(Figure 10). The fact that is entirely supported by a series of short wooden posts facilitates
the natural ventilation beneath the house.

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Figure 9. Karuizawa summer house—lightness and transparency.

Figure 10. Karuizawa summer house—section, natural ventilation and water cycle = eco-friendly,
sustainable house.

Raymond was eager to introduce the traditional Japanese syntax of the tatami in his
design. In the summer house there are three tatami rooms in the main building, almost
the entire private area. By placing a grid based on a three-by-three shaku (Japanese foot)
module over the plan [18], we can observe that Raymond used the tatami as a syntactic
resource for the overall composition of the Karuizawa house, highlighting the conversation
between western and traditional Japanese (Figure 11).

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Figure 11. Karuizawa summer house—study of the tatami module over the plan.

This house “marked the new era in his design” in Raymond’s own words. Actually,
with this house, he completed a stage, summarizing all the knowledge gathered previously
and it was the living result of the many years spent trying to find the perfect balance
between western modern principles and Japanese traditions. The need to combine western
and Japanese elements in his designs was not only due to practical issues but more an
aftermath of his long studies and admiration of the Japanese roots and traditions. He began
to develop this discovery from an early stage in his career. The Karuizawa summer house
testifies to the strong impact this research had on him and his wife, Noemi Pernessin, who
practically used them as the main inspiration for their ensuing designs. In the last period of
their life they reconstructed the Karuizawa house in New Hope, Pennsylvania [19] under a
loose key that permitted calling it a farm and that was sadly demolished recently.
For Raymond, the secret key to successfully blending modern with traditional Japanese
architecture was the “wise handling of material that speaks to us”. In this case he linked
concrete from lava aggregate and wood from neighbouring forests. The structure of the
building included only these two materials, an exposed concrete elevated base with a
round lumber framework of sand-polished columns and beams [9] (traditionally, Japanese
architecture is characterized by wooden structures, slightly elevated from the ground) [20].
A clever remark was made by Raymond when he saw architect Albert Kahn’s own
house on one of his business trips to America which he conducted in order to obtain a
commission from Henry Ford to build a large assembly facility in Japan.
His work at that time was creative and modern in every way. I was, therefore, amazed
to find that both his office and his home were designed in an entirely eclectic way. It was
difficult for me to understand how those two things could be reconciled in one personality,
as both aspects could not be the expression of a truly sincere conviction [10].
A similar situation is Hudec’s experience; both of his houses were designed following
the local trend of eclecticism and classic revival. He was somehow more aiming towards
the comfort of the family in the detriment of the modern form and the development of
new trends in the history of architecture. Hudec might have been influenced by his wife’s
wishes and classic stylistic preferences (as we can see in the numerous drawings and details
of the furniture designed for Gisela’s bedroom) and another reason could be his financial
business skill, since he was very good in making investments and gaining profit after selling
the property. The styles chosen for their family houses were not defining the architect’s
vision of a perfect, modern work of art, but may rather reflect the overall preference of

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future possible clients, proving that Hudec was more interested in business than creating
outstanding designs. An exception was Hudec’s Sun Ke’s house [15]. It seems that the
architect designed it in a freer, creative mood, perhaps because the house was originally
meant for him, and some traces of shifting towards new modern trends were just around
the corner. Since he did not have to please any client, he felt the freedom to indulge himself
in experimenting with his own ideas. Since he got a very good offer from Sun Ke, he sold
the house before it was completely finished, just another proof of his ambition for profits
that may enhance his practice (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Sun Ke House—neo-Gothic (first row) and Art Nouveau (second row).

Hudec’s second residence built in 1930 was one of Hudec’s last projects belonging to
his first period in his independent career, described as a constant continuity of classicism
and eclecticism, for a variety of clients, of different nationalities (westerners and Chinese)
and cultural backgrounds. The designs he made in this first phase of his career were all
eclectic. This required extensive and vast knowledge. His theoretical background acquired
in his university years helped him greatly. He was aware of Frank Lloyd Wright’s activity
and, like Antonín Raymond, he disagreed with the way he was imposing his designs and
ideas, no matter the taste or real need of the client. Raymond and Hudec always designed
their projects for and with the clients, analysing and filtering the requirements depending
on environmental characteristics and wishes.
He felt at home with a wide array of architectural styles, always choosing the one
that best suited the taste of his client. He worked like an extremely adroit tailor who
makes bespoke clothes, in all sizes and designs, from any material and in any quantity. His
ultimate aim remained the same throughout his career: “to satisfy his clients as best as he
could”. [ . . . ] Hudec believed that the architect must serve the client and the community [4].
Later on, he was to apply his novel ideas in Dr. Woo’s house, which was recognised
as an early and enduring influence by the Chinese architect I. M. Pei. On this occasion,
Hudec’s approaches were much more systematic (Figure 13).

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Figure 13. Former residence of Dr. Woo.

3.3. The Grander Scale in Hudec’s Work

In the early 1930s, Hudec’s star was about to shine brighter with the construction
of Shanghai’s tallest skyscraper. He played a significant role in developing modern ar-
chitecture in Shanghai, side by side with other prestigious architects of that time, who
were slowly beginning to shift their neoclassical stylistic preferences in the direction of Art
Deco or the so-called “modern”. Shanghai became in the 1930s one of the major centres of
Art Deco (still extant and well preserved), with a very large number of buildings around
the Bund area. Shanghai’s art deco is unique because of the traditional Chinese design
elements that were incorporated.
His two designs developed almost in parallel, the Grand Theatre and the Park Hotel,
which were situated in a centremost area, on the northern side of the racecourse, adjacent to
each other. Figures 14 and 15, show the racecourse and the Shanghai Race Club, a building
that we can visit today, designed in neo-classical style (1934) with effective eclectic details.

Figure 14. The racecourse with the Shanghai Race club and Grand Theatre, viewed from the Park Hotel.

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Figure 15. View from the racecourse towards the Grand Theatre and Park Hotel.

The 22-storey hotel (91.4 m) was designed once again for the Joint Savings Society
(after the previous success of the JSS headquarters). It was at that time and for many
decades after the tallest building in the entire eastern hemisphere, from London to Tokyo.
Until 1984, for more than a half century the new structure was to remain the highest
residential construction of Shanghai and Asia [15]. It was a dream come true, not only for
the architect but for the Shanghainese citizenship who were enthusiastically aiming toward
modernization. Since the American skyscrapers equaled and symbolized the modernity
and financial power of the city, Shanghai became very proud of its own achievement.
Hudec’s recognition extended to internationality, and he remained known until today as
“the man who changed Shanghai”.
Shanghai lies on very difficult alluvial soil on the River Yangtze Delta, composed of
sand and mud. This was always problematic for the builders, because after a short time,
all the constructions started to sink or lean. Building in height seemed almost impossible.
It was only in the first decades of the 20th century that European engineers invented new
technologies and methods of foundation suited to Shanghai’s impractical soil condition,
with the aim of reducing to a minimum the subsidence problem. In order to receive the
permit to erect the hotel, the architects had to present a satisfactory foundation design that
would prevent such constraint and reduce the sinking to a minimum.
The plan offered three special solutions: a deep foundation pit to be excavated, im-
permeable metal partitions to surround it, and the insertion of a dense system of piles.
Four-hundred 33 m-long piles of Oregon pine were driven into the ground at a close dis-
tance in order to increase the friction coefficient between the piles and the soil to ensure an
adequate transmission of the building loads [4].
Besides the already mentioned system of piles, Hudec and his team adopted another
method, developed in 1920 in Germany, called Larssen pile profiles, which consisted of
piles made with sheets of steel driven into the ground in order to stabilise a structure. Pile
foundations had been previously employed in Eastern Asia since the early 1920s but never
before for such a high building as the Park Hotel.
The building features 22 storeys above ground and two storeys below ground. Re-
sembling the skyscrapers from New York, from the ground until the upper 21st floor, the
layout and form is constantly changing, gradually decreasing, thus creating a truncated
pyramid shape towards the sky that begins at the 15th level. The whole composition and
syntax is based on a characteristic tripartite scheme used by the architect in most of his
high-rise buildings:

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3.3.1. Urban Connections and Entry Floors

The base of the hotel showcases modern details, such as an emphasis on the horizontal,
dark finishes of polished black granite from Shandong and Qingdao, rounded corners and
continuous windows following the same major curve of the road (a detail he previously
included in 1928 for his neighbouring design, the Honisberg Garage, by virtue of the
same architectural language which later became known through Erich Mendelsohn’s work
in Wrocław).
Thus, the architect managed to integrate the appearance of the lower levels of the
hotel (Figure 16) with his previous design for the Honisberg Garage; it almost seems like
the two building were meant to coexist. Unfortunately, the garage was recently demolished
in order to accommodate a major expansion of the hotel.

Figure 16. Lower levels of the Park Hotel.

3.3.2. Central Part of the Hotel Building

The middle section, entirely Expressionist in style, is clad with dark brown brick and
ceramic tiles. Vertical elements that convert into rear pillars articulating and dividing the
façade present at the same time a decorative and functional role; these elements provide
grace and cause the building to look sleeker than it actually is.
Between the modern rectangular-shaped windows, the vertical brick faces are laid
45 degrees from the horizontal (a resource visible in the building of the Christian Literature
Society for China). The ceramic enameled tiles covering the facades are rotated again by
45 degrees, creating interesting textures which vary in subtle accordance with the angle of
the sun. Although Hudec resorted mainly to German Expressionism, his meticulous design
with oriental furnishings proved a sensation, since buildings so hefty and monumental
were yet to emerge at the time.

3.3.3. Adjustments and Influences for the Hotel and the Theatre
The upper section, purely Art Deco and Expressionist, bears finishing akin to that
of the middle floors (dark ferrous brick and enameled tiles). The stepped pyramid of the
upper part, which reminds us of Saqqara, emphasises the verticality and slender silhouette
of the entire building. The windows use the same grid-like disposition. The attic recesses
floor by floor until the top, where an observatory terrace was placed (Figure 17).

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Figure 17. JSS Building (Park Hotel)—main view, detail of the façade decoration from the middle
part and detail of the upper part.

In Figure 18, we present a succinct analysis of the façade’s grammar and the vector-like
interplay of tension lines. Such careful composition reveals the sheer evolution of Hudec’s
architectural thinking towards a modern idiom.

Figure 18. JSS Building—tripartite scheme and gradually decreasing plan, scheme of tension lines.

In 1931, Hudec was commissioned with the refurbishment of the Grand Cinema built
in 1928. Initially, the design was meant to become a temporary facility. However, Hudec
persuaded the clients to go ahead with the construction of a new, modern movie theatre,
which resulted in his most significant design made for the world of entertainment.

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The site was near to the Park Hotel, as the two buildings positively contributed to the
definition of the cityscape of 1930s Shanghai. Art Deco and Modern in style, straight and
curved tension lines mark the whole aspect of both the exterior and interior of the Grand
Theatre (Figure 19).

Figure 19. Grand Theatre—(top) main view from the former race course, (bottom) compositional
study of the façade’s grammar, Art Deco and International Style.

Perhaps facing fewer constraints that in the case of the Park Hotel, Hudec envisaged
here a true liberation of forms towards a futuristic expression, one that encompassed the
fascination of the Orient and advances in technique and which signified a real progress for
Chinese architecture.
The architect’s dexterity in fitting all the required spaces into such a difficult, quasi-
triangular plot (long and asymmetrical) can be seen in the way he contrived to project the
entire building.
The structure of the central hall’s gallery was a sort of challenge for the engineers, but
the result was satisfactory. Taking into account its dimensions, it constituted a real novelty
in the Far East. The shape of the main hall and the reinforced concrete arch gallery ensure
proper visibility and adequate acoustics from all the seats (Figure 20).

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Figure 20. Grand Theatre—longitudinal section and plans; shape, acoustics, visibility and evacuation
of the auditorium.

Carrier’s air conditioning equipment (which amounted to 25% of the total construction
costs) and fire control systems were installed in the entire building. By that time, it was
the sole cinema in Shanghai equipped with synchronous interpretation devices integrated
into each chair. For that reason, barriers of language were almost broken and everyone,
even locals, could attend the latest foreign-language American and European films using
individual earpieces. The programme changed in order to reflect the developments of the
Chinese film industry only after the Pacific War, in 1949.
With the Grand Theatre’s refined statement (Figure 21) and the landmark of the Park
Hotel, Hudec returned to the spotlight, this time in the international scene of modern
architecture, side by side with leading architects of the period, gaining recognition through
sundry publications.

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Figure 21. Grand Theatre—the entrance lobby and glittering pillars.

The September 1934 issue of L’architecture d’Aujourd’hui introduced the Grand Theatre
in a lengthy article along with some designs by Le Corbusier, the Moscow Theatre designed
by the Vesnin brothers and the famous London Zoo pavilion of Lubetkin and Tecton. The
issue of May 1935 of Der Baumeister published the designs of the Park Hotel and the Grand
Theatre side by side; the two buildings stand next to each other and together defined the
skyline of Shanghai at the time. In December 1935, Dexter Morand wrote about the Grand
Theatre in the Spanish journal Obras: “This new cinema is neither European, nor American,
but Asian and Chinese. It testifies to the high standard of film theatre construction achieved
in this country and is on a par with European cinemas. The layout and decoration of
Shanghai’s Grand Theatre (Figure 22) are as modern as any European or American design
could be. Its appearance bears the marks of Modernism often seen in Europe” [4].

Figure 22. Recent view of the Grand Theatre.

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4. Discussion
As seen in the projects and design intentions formerly described, Raymond’s trajectory
towards modern architecture was much more straightforward as compared with Hudec’s
long and winding road.
However, Hudec and Raymond’s visions on how an architect should behave, converge
as follows:
Independence and freedom are two important aspects, vital to an architect or artist,
in order to protect their creative work from anything that might compromise it. A real
architect must be an independent artist. He must have freedom and strength to stick to his
principles [15].
Besides that, however, an architect has to be able to design beautiful and economical
architecture even in the worst situation possible. “It is the architect’s job to create beauty in
every house, no matter what the economic level is” [15].
Discussing the relationships between architecture and engineering, we have to stress
that both Hudec and Raymond enjoyed a similar polytechnic academic formation. The two
central European universities, Budapest and Prague, belonged to the Austro-Hungarian
realm and, as such, they were putting a great emphasis on the proper education, a prepa-
ration in engineering for their students. However, due to their different cultural context
of living and designing, the two architects ended up having different orientations. Hudec
is perhaps more of “the engineer” type and Raymond closer to “the artist”, as can be
perceived in their ways of thinking and designing.
Although this slight difference existed, both of them had considered vital the collabo-
ration between the architect and the engineer. As Raymond stated, they must:
“[ . . . ] work closely [ . . . ] from the beginning (of the project), in order to find not
an extraordinary solution, but the simplest, the most direct and most economical
solution of the problem”. [21]
Soon, he realized that in order to eliminate any kind of constrains due to future possible
confrontation with engineers, an architect had to become one with himself in order to
achieve his aims, and more, in the technological present era, an architect needs to know the
properties and technological processes of different materials:
The aim of the architect is to put once more his feet on the ground, to work natu-
rally and from insight, to avoid external artistic and abstract influences, to become once
more an “architect” which means “master builder”. Designers, whether they are archi-
tects or designers for the industry, have, as a rule, little idea how their designs are to be
executed [21].
This was enhanced by the context of Japan, where previously the profession of an
architect did not exist and the carpenter or Daiku had the role of an architect and engineer
at the same time [22].
Hudec, on the other side, regarded himself as an engineer rather than an architect.
The technical aspects, structure and construction techniques were pivotal in the process of
defining the architectural form, being equal in importance, always seeking for unity and
interaction between them: “You will only be a good architect if you understand materials
and construction. [ . . . ] Here buildings have either steel or reinforced concrete frame
structure, walls are not considered structural elements but seen just as partitions” [4].
Such was his approach to modern structures, mainly because he had imbibed the Chinese
traditions of complex wooden frames that harks back to the 13th century and treatises
like the Yingzao Fashi. Later, this tome on wood construction was an explicit influence on
Jorn Utzon.
The conscious pursuit by these architects of the oriental essence of building, the so-
called Dao of architecture, led them to a spatial renovation that paradoxically coincided
with some postulates of modern architecture, as recognised by Walter Gropius on a famous
postcard to Le Corbusier in which he admitted, among other statements, that, “the Japanese
house is the best and most modern I know of and truly prefabricated” [23].

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By accepting the modularity and versatility of the oriental construction procedure

which is based on the Jian or Ma system of intervals [10,24], as we exposed regarding the
Karuizawa summer house, they paved the way for an early space grammar applicable not
only in Asia but in the whole world, as Bruno Taut had justly foreseen during his stint
of nearly three years in Japan. A fact later confirmed by Schindler, Bawa [25] and even
Bernard Rudofsky in his acclaimed essay “The Kimono Mind”.
Moreover, such a semiotic paradigm reached contemporary linguistic theories when
Roland Barthes published in 1970 the book Empire of Signs about his experiences in contem-
porary Japan.
In his celebrated lecture “The Destruction of the Box”, addressed to the AIA in 1954,
Wright expressed his admiration with a vision of Laozi contained in The Book of Tea by
K. Okakura.
He claimed that only in the vacuum lay the truly essential.
The reality of a room, for instance, was to be found in the vacant space enclosed by
the roof and the walls, not in the roof and walls themselves.
It can be argued that in a similar fashion to their former icon, Frank Lloyd Wright,
they adopted the following vision of Laozi about architectural space:
“Pottery needs to be hollowed so that it is useful, (otherwise it is just an irregular
brick) a house needs to have some holes (e.g., door and windows) to be useful, (otherwise
air and people cannot enter or exist). Thus, a certain level of nothingness is necessary to
make an object useful” [26].
That is, they clearly understood that the void was, so to say, more important than the
solid, a game-changer for architectural design, since Aristotle had postulated that the void
was irrelevant compared with matter [27]. Conscious of this fact, they applied themselves
to molding new materials, especially concrete, to embody their novel intuitions.

5. Conclusions
Hudec and Raymond are justly called pioneers of modern architecture because they
were among the first western architects who came to Eastern Asia (a cultural context
completely different to their native one), developed as modern architects and managed
to guide, transform and implement a new way of thinking and design based on oriental
philosophy [28].
Once in Japan, far away from his native Europe, Raymond had to adapt his design
processes. He tried to define what he considered to be the principles of a true modern
architecture, everything based on the synthesis between his own pre-Japan experience and
what he had learned since his arrival in Tokyo: space, structure, modulation as the essential
philosophy of Japanese traditional architecture.
Antonin Raymond, found himself in a relationship with Japan that offered him the
best conditions for developing his stark and audacious principles [29]. Nature beckons
beauty, and beauty, in the traditional Japanese houses, was to be found in pure simplicity
and essence. It was only after years of experience and observation of the Japanese houses
inside nature that he realized the easiest way to achieve beauty in architectural design. He
used to say that it is through increased simplicity and elimination that the man of taste
finds elegance.
Complementarily, Hudec’s modernism lies in his architectural ability and complexity,
as a man always ready to change his life drastically when confronted by dire events or
facing necessity. He gained architectural experience in Shanghai (not as the leader of
the architectural movements but as an actor always prepared to follow and to adhere
to new trends and styles if his commissioners wished for them, constantly adapting to
the fashion and introducing the latest western technologies in the Far East), had more
pronounced diplomatic experience than Raymond during the Second World War (providing
humanitarian aid, helping his compatriots and Jews escape from Nazi prosecution) and
gained teaching experience in America (giving lectures on archaeological themes).

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Hudec was not as avant-garde an architect as his trendsetting European contempo-

raries, who were concerned with reforming and creating new guidelines and manifestos in
architectural design. However, thanks to his dexterity in articulating modern functions,
spaces and shapes with the world’s most advanced technologies, he became one of the
leading architects of fashion in Shanghai, enjoying local and international recognition
through his designs that deeply reflected the city’s growth and cultural character in the
constantly changing Chinese society.
Although they are now unfairly forgotten and their works lie mainly in neglect,
we believe that Raymond and Hudec should be praised for their stylistic audacity that
heralded a new understanding and appreciation of architectural space and contributed to
the creation of a viable future for the development of Asia. This is the main reason why we
have conceived the present article.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, A.A.A. and J.C.-L.; methodology, J.C.-L.; investigation,

J.C.-L. and A.A.A.; writing—original draft preparation, J.C.-L. and Y.X.; writing—review and editing,
J.C.-L.; visualization, Y.X. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the
corresponding author.
Acknowledgments: A.A. Anghel dedicates this article to her family. J. Cabeza-Lainez desires to
honor Pablo Rico Perez. He would like to recognize the consistent help of Riko Katsube and Lavinia
Mates. Y.X. appreciates the understanding and support of her family and especially of her beloved
daughter Tanya.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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2. Mehrotra, R. Architectural Responses in Tropical India. In Tropical Architecture: Critical Regionalism in the Age of Globalization; John
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3. Misawa, H. Antonin Raymond no Kenchiku—アントニン レーモンド の建築; Iwanami Shoten: Tokyo, Japan, 1998; Volume 84.
(In Japanese)
4. Poncellini, L.; Csejdy, J. Hudec László—Az Építész Mesterei—Könyv (LÁSZLÓ HUDEC. Masters of Architecture); Holnap Kiadó:
Budapest, Hungary, 2010.
5. Raymond, A. Concrete for New Designs; The Architectural Record 79; Architectural Record: New York, NY, USA, 1936.
6. Cabeza-Lainez, J. Notas para una biografía arquitectónica: Antonin Raymond, Nociones de Japonisme. Rev. De Hist. Y TeorÍA De
La Arquit. 2002, 2, 1576–5628. (In Sevilla)
7. Rodriguez-Cunill, I.; Gutierrez-Villarrubia, M.; Salguero-Andujar, F.; Cabeza-Lainez, J. Sustainability in Early Modern China
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9. Taut, B. Ich Liebe die Japanische Kultur; Gebr. Mann Verlag: Berlin, Germany, 2003.
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11. Polk, B. Building for South Asia: An Architectural Biography; Malik, S., Ed.; Abhinav Publications: New Delhi, India, 1993.
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Homo Ludens); Építésügyi Tájékoztatási Központ Kft.: Budapest, Hungary, 2010.
16. Cabeza-Lainez, J. The Quest for Light in Indian Architectural Heritage. J. Asian Archit. Build. Eng. 2008, 7, 39–46. [CrossRef]
17. Cabeza-Lainez, J.M. Fundamentals of Luminous Radiative Transfer; Netbiblo: Seville, Spain, 2010. (In Spanish)
18. Kerr, A. Lost Japan; Penguin Press: New York, NY, USA, 2015.

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19. Kurt, G.F. Helfrich and William Whitaker. In Crafting a Modern World, the Architecture and Design of Antonin and Noemi Raymond;
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Thinking and Way of Design. Ph.D. Thesis, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, 2008.
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23. Salguero Andujar, F.; Rodriguez-Cunill, I.; Cabeza-Lainez, J.M. The Problem of Lighting in Underground Domes, Vaults, and
Tunnel-Like Structures of Antiquity; An Application to the Sustainability of Prominent Asian Heritage (India, Korea, China).
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24. Shukuya, M. Hikari to Netsu no Kenchiku Kankyogaku.—The Environmentally Conscious Architecture of Light and Heat.—光と熱の建築
環境学; Maruzen: Tokyo, Japan, 1993. (In Japanese)
25. Robson, D. Geoffrey Bawa: The Complete Works; Thames and Hudson: London, UK; New York, NY, USA, 2002.
26. Watsuji, T. Fûdo. Climate and Culture—風土; 岩波書店: Tokyo, Japan, 1979; Volume 17. (In Japanese)
27. Tanizaki, J. In Praise of Shadows—陰翳礼賛; Leete’s Island Books: Stony Creek, CT, USA, 1977.
28. Misawa, H. Antonin Raymond Architectural Details—アントニン レーモンド の建築詳細; Inkokusha: Tokyo, Japan, 2005.
(In Japanese)
29. Cabeza-Lainez, J. Architectural Characteristics of Different Configurations Based on New Geometric Determinations for the
Conoid. Buildings 2022, 12, 10. [CrossRef]

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 buildings
Article
Historical Cultural Layers and Sustainable Design Art Models
for Architectural Engineering—Took Public Art Proposal for the
Tainan Bus Station Construction Project as an Example
Wan-Fang Liu 1 , Chun-Ta Tzeng 1 and Wen-Chang Kuo 2, *

1 Department of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan;

[email protected] (W.-F.L.); [email protected] (C.-T.T.)
2 Department of Arts and Creative Industries, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien 97401, Taiwan
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: The concept of “historic buildings” is cultural with evolutionary characteristics, mainly
constructed in the category of historical culture and people’s living settlements. “Public art” is an
artistic asset with aesthetic attributes in urban living spaces. It contains two connotations, “cultural
landscape” and “cultural route”, which form an artistic symbol of urban architectural space at the
same time. Along with the progress of an urban renewal plan, a local culture characterized the urban
landscape, making architecture a tool used to convey cultural identity spatially. Two coexisting issues
can be seen through the accumulated structure and long-term changes of historic buildings, a region’s
appearance, and the content of the traditional architectural styles—cultural value preservation and
modern urban renewal—which ferment and generate decision-making discussion of design subtly in
every corner of a city. This study examines the extant literature and the design model of public art
Citation: Liu, W.-F.; Tzeng, C.-T.;
landscape setting to construct a design model that balances the cultural value of historic buildings,
Kuo, W.-C. Historical Cultural Layers
and the landscape of public art has been proposed as a result of this study.
and Sustainable Design Art Models
for Architectural Engineering—Took
Public Art Proposal for the Tainan
Keywords: historic buildings; public art; sustainability value; case studies and projects
Bus Station Construction Project as
an Example. Buildings 2022, 12, 1098.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
buildings12081098 1. Introduction
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński,
Little attention has been paid to small and tight spaces in urban systems, which
Agata Bonenberg, Wojciech are often fragmented and unorganized (e.g., small open spaces, green spaces, art deco
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini building facades, and streetscapes); however, nowadays, they are formed by the influence
of aesthetics and ecology and have gained a new dynamism driven by society and publicity.
Received: 29 June 2022
The dynamism is influenced by civic activity, referred to as a social ecosystem. This
Accepted: 22 July 2022
civic activity promotes sustainable design for public art, historical building renewal and
Published: 26 July 2022
demolition programs.
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral According to J. Becker (2004): “Public art is a multifaceted field of inquiry; it encom-
with regard to jurisdictional claims in passes a wide variety of creative expressions in the public realm” [1].
published maps and institutional affil- Compared to current urban living spaces, the architectural styles left behind by his-
iations. tory show a strong and more profound sense of belonging. In other words, their distinctive
features and historical traces exist as the “local power” and urban public art, which is a dis-
play of architectural culture layers. Implementing public art can connect the characteristics
of local culture and show the characteristics of urban blocks.
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
The common sustainability features of public art include public accessibility, public
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
realm placement, community participation, and public process (including public funding);
This article is an open access article
however, these works can be permanent or temporary. M.J. Jacob (1992) said, “Public
distributed under the terms and
art brings art closer to daily life” [2]. In 1992 and 1998, the Taiwan R.O.C. government
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
promulgated the “Culture and the Arts Reward and Promotion Act” [3] (Taiwan version
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
of Percent-for-art Program) and “Regulations Governing the Installation of Public Art-
4.0/). work” [4]. Since then, public art has become an important cultural and artistic indicator

Buildings 2022, 12, 1098. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081098 311 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 1098

for Taiwan’s urban public construction space. The design characteristic of sustainable
public art determines how best to activate the images in the surroundings. The concept
of “sustainability” arises in response to the perceived environmental deficiencies of a city.
For example, A. Zittel’s public art: “Indy Island”, proposes issues of sustainability and sus-
tainable living space that participants can actively participate in, which can be considered
sustainable public art facing the challenge of public open space needs [5].
The “Cultural layer” refers to a layer of earth formed by the accumulation of human
traces or remains of man’s activities in the past. The historical and cultural patterns can
be examined with this concept of time evolution and stacking of the older and newer
cultural layers. Furthermore, through the interpretation of modern architectural design
and public art, traditional buildings’ value of historical and cultural sustainability can also
be transmitted and preserved [6].
On the other hand, historical streets are the spatial pattern of historical buildings,
which carry the historical information of the city and the memory of residents and a form
of stacked expression of cultural layers. The designs of these stacked cultural layers in
historical buildings are presented in the field of modern urban architecture through time,
symbolizing the cultural assets of a living block. Making historic blocks follows the same
nature as public art: “cultural landscape” [7], “cultural route” [8], and “intangible cultural
heritage” [9]. These factors simultaneously form a design symbol of the image of a city.
The United Nations has promoted sustainable development programs in various
economic, social, and ecological genres since the 1980s. In 2016, F. Ceschin proposed
the “4 Innovation Levels” [10] of sustainable design, one of which is known as the
“Spatio–Social innovation levels”; the context of this innovation is about the spatial and
social conditions of human settlements and their communities. This can be addressed at
different scales, from communities to cities. Therefore, through the forms of public art,
the design style guided by the cultural layer of traditional buildings can be used as a
wonderful method of sustainable urban design.
The most special requirement of the design characteristics for public art is the construc-
tion of interactivity. The setting environment of public art is the living space where citizens
experience it with their five senses, and public art plays an important role in creating a
community [1]; Figure 1 presents the statistical data of public art installations in Taiwan
from 2018 to 2020 [11]. As shown, public art installations are mainly distributed in urban
blocks with significant populations. This agglomeration phenomenon suggests that the
number of urban construction and public art installation projects is proportional to the
trend, and it also shows the coordinate phenomenon of public art for urban planning and
artistic landscape. The form of public art has been transformed into a design concept in
the space field, creative thinking that involves the historical building space, and an artistic
landscape combined with the planning and resources of urban public building construction.

Figure 1. Amount of public art installations in Taiwan in the past 3 years (2018–2020).

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1098

Public art refers to artwork installed in an open space. The primary considerations in
evaluation have four design features: “Artistic expression in environmental space”, “Local-
ity”, “Civilian interaction”, and “Feasibility of safety structure”. These four characteristics
are related to the current reconstructed architectural styles in historic districts with the same
essence and needs. Through evaluating traditional architectural design styles and using
public art as a reconstruction method, the design elements of traditional buildings and the
aesthetic needs of current urban planning can be obtained, which are the current selection
focus of the urban public art landscape design and the decision-making for transforming
traditional architectural space.
Artwork can be a feature of urban environmental education, especially when installed
in the public domain [12]. Public art is an artistic asset with aesthetic attributes; it is the
architectural space’s image facade, representing the fashionable beauty of the design at the
time, which simultaneously forms an artistic symbol. Historic building facades represent
a style of stacking with the time of the cultural layer; with its unique style and function,
it simultaneously shows the value of historical culture and the beauty of the public art
landscape’s design.
Therefore, this study analyzes the design elements of traditional historic buildings
through the characteristics and proposes a design-involved method for the historical
building space through public art. This study uses a design decision-making application
model, matching sustainable design to provide artistic landscape planning of the future
architectural environment.
In the 1970s, American cognitive psychologist J.J. Gibson proposed the “Environment
affordance” theory, arguing that:
“Human beings must be able to perceive the space environment; the space environment
it-self is perceived by people in the movement of the space environment, and the affordance
of the environment is composed of elements provided by the environment to the users [13].
Architectural engineering design is a cultural activity of human society not only covering
aesthetics but also exposing the inner essence and hierarchical structure of culture.”
Public art shows the artistic characteristics of modern architectural public space and
the affordability of space environment design; it then creates the cultural place color of
urban architecture.
Based on the above needs for the public space reconstruction of historical buildings and
public art landscapes, the design evaluation involves quite a variety of levels. Comparative
analysis needs to be carried out through an evaluation tool that can take into account the
existing spatial elements and non-substantial design characteristics and can objectively
analyze the characteristics of the overall elements. The research takes the historical building
facade of Shennong Street, Tainan City, Taiwan, as the research object, through its facade
design patterns, design elements, and the perception level of representative models, to
conduct a questionnaire survey on the design characteristics of relevant research objects. In
the end, the following results are proposed:
1. An evaluation and extraction method for the design elements of historical buildings
in the public environment space.
2. A design model that shows the sustainable cultural value of modern buildings through
the creation and design methods of public art.

2. Literature Review and Research Process

2.1. Literature Review
Historical streets are composed of residents living construction activities, which are
different from the street traffic planning formulated by modern cities. The current develop-
ment strategies of historic streets include preserving and maintaining historical build-ings,
the development of artistic and cultural spaces, and public art combined with public works
(such as art streets). Each issue is deeply challenging and developmental because of the
difference in each city’s historical development and the needs of each area. Still, it is

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essential to preserve historic streets; the purpose of development and pursuit of a beautiful
living environment is consistent. Shennong Street (Figure 2) is a historic street that remains
the most complete architectural style and street form in all of Tainan’s historical districts
since the Qing Dynasty [14]. During the Japanese colonial rule period, the “urban area
correction” plan was carried out; most of the buildings on Shennong Street were rebuilt
and adapted for residential use. The 1st and 2nd floors of the buildings contain rich facades
from different periods that forms one of the main features of this historic district [15].

Figure 2. Map comparison of current Shennong Street with an old map drawn by N. Nakagami,
Sketch map of inside and outside Tainan city, 1900 [16]. Map on left: Tainan City Government [17].

The architectural facade style of a historical street (Figures 3 and 4) contains the life
experience and beliefs of the residents and shows the overlapping characteristics of modern
life culture and the economic pattern at the time. In this research, a case study was carried
out through the design style of the traditional building facade. It used the facade’s design
style as a reference to propose a design method for the co-construction plan of the historical
building space and architectural art engineering.

Figure 3. Landscape of Bei-Shi Street.

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1098

Figure 4. Outlook of a historical building, which is the original spot of well-known Yong chuan
palanquin workshop.

2.2. Research, Investigation and Process

This research and investigation take the historical streets of Shennong Street as the
scope. Through field interviews, document surveys, building facade drawings, and style
models, Figure 5 summarizes the definition and classification of facade building types as
the basis for the perceptual evaluation of facade building design styles.

Figure 5. Elevation view of historical buildings on Shennong Street. (Adapted from [18]).

A questionnaire survey was conducted on the facade design styles and components
to obtain facade design styles data and historic buildings’ spatial planning and public art
design styles. The focus of the investigation is as follows:
1. Investigation of main design elements of street building facade:
A total of 47 buildings were on-site, and the field survey time was June 2017.
The primary collection of facade styles includes the facade material, window design,
and entrance design of the first floor (Floor A), and the facade material, window design,
handrail design, and entrance design of the second floor (Floor B), as shown in Figure 6.

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Figure 6. Facade design analysis diagram of historical buildings. (Adapted from [18]).

2. Interview:
Residents were used as the interview objects and conducted in-depth interviews on the
current usage of the street, including the problems of community construction, the impact
on the usage of the space change, and the historical memory of the buildings. The questions
were used to integrate traditional districts’ past and present lifestyles and the expectations
for current and future use of the space.
3. Questionnaire:
The main evaluation items of the questionnaire were obtained by inviting experts
and scholars to conduct interviews and discussions through the aggregated classification
and definition data. In this study, experts and scholars screened the items and compared
the items of building facades of Floors A and B. The decision-makers selected each paired
element with the Likert scale to obtain the pairwise comparison values for each item.
The subjects of the questionnaire are experts and scholars with professional backgrounds
in architecture and public art to gain the weight value of the design style features of the
facade. The research process is shown in Figure 7.

2.3. Classification and Definition of Research Objects

The building facade styles are drawn based on the north and south side buildings
(Figure 8). The facade design styles are classified and selected through the Delphic hierarchy
process (hereinafter referred to as DHP).

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1098

Figure 7. Diagram of the research process. (Adapted from [18]).

In order to distinguish the design styles, techniques, and materials of the facades
of historical buildings from Figure 8, they were compared by the DHP method to delete
similar design styles. The results concluded that the following building facades are the
most important design features, as shown in Figure 9.

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Figure 8. The facade styles of buildings on north and south side. (Adapted from [18]).

Figure 9. Main design styles of the building facade on Shennong Street. (Adapted from [18]).

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A. The Floor As’ facade design features:

1. Multi-format window style (No. 65).
2. Wooden partition-windowless style (No. 49).
3. 2:1 multi-grid wooden structure window style. (No. 53, 57, 59).
4. Open windows on both sides with a middle door and washed stone finish wall
style (No. 61, 64, 66, 88, 90).
5. Long facade wooden door style (No. 70).
6. Open windows on both sides with wooden facade style (No. 72).
B. The design features of the Floor Bs’ facade:
1. The facade design’s axis is divided into three equal parts vertical facade by
vertical and horizontal.
2. 2F’s window and door correspond with 1F’s design.
3. The design lines of the balcony are mainly vertical lines, crossing lines, squares,
and rhombus.
From Figure 9, the following design rules were concluded:
1. Multi-format window.
2. Open windows on both sides with a middle door.
3. The facade design’s axis is divided into three equal parts vertical facade by vertical
and horizontal.
These design rules form the overall architectural construction planning of Shennong
Street; its unified architectural style suited the living and industrial model at that time.
These design rules contain important design elements that can be used in future architec-
tural projects and public art landscape planning.

3. Research Method
3.1. Research Method
Architectural projects and public art landscapes have the characteristics of modern
urban space fashion and aesthetics. According to space requirements and shape design,
different art forms and design forms are produced, and there is a visual evaluation and func-
tional affordability hidden in the spatial aesthetics. This functional affordability makes the
overall construction project have diverse characteristics in the interaction of environmental
behavior and forms visual characteristics.
Although the above-mentioned methods have a clear theoretical context and high
practicability, they cannot take into account the subjective factors of human qualitative
thinking and those factors with high uncertainty; for example, when facing the evaluation of
various arts, culture, and creative thinking on the decision-making of public art installations,
proposing a simple objective evaluation and decision-making method can provide a result
that is in line with the needs of people. Therefore, this article proposes a combination of
the DHP and AHP that uses the eigenvalues comparison matrix to analyze and calculate
the optimal design features.
This study uses AHP as the primary research method. It provides objective mathe-
matics to address the inevitable subjectivity and personal preferences of individuals or
groups of decisions, empowering models with group decision-making capabilities [19].
Furthermore, it can construct a set of pairwise comparison matrices for each element at the
upper level to compare elements in the lower level [20].
Conversely, the DHP will be used to centralize and delete opinions to achieve the
effectiveness of evaluation indicators. Due to the method contained in AHP, there are three
advantages: (a) It will be more effective and simpler to use the DHP with the AHP(EM) to
acquire the specific or abstract facade style of the historical building. (b) The analysis of the
first and second items in the weight order can concentrate more on the decision-making
focus of artworks. (c) Using the DHP for decision-making inspection of art-works can avoid
unnecessary pairwise comparisons, which can evaluate the decision-making of setting
projects more accurately.

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This study examined the extant literature research data and survey analysis, then
formed a structured questionnaire. The study then performed a DHP expert evaluation
to obtain the classification design characteristics of each facade. AHP(EM) was used to
perform a pairwise matrix comparison operation; the weights of each pair of indicators
were obtained using MATLAB, a compiling software. A paired matrix comparison of each
element was conducted, along with the consistency check and sorting.
The facade design style of historic buildings and public art attributes have a complex
design structure, covering the needs of historical culture, urban function, and urban
planning. There exist tangible structures, intangible space aesthetics and other factors;
therefore, it is essential to evaluate decisions through a method that establishes decision-
making principles that can have implications and simplifies the design problem. According
to the data obtained from the above evaluation questionnaire, the higher the weight value
(ω), the higher the evaluation degree.
Take the matrix diagram in Formula (1) as an example; through a 7 × 7 matrix, to
obtain Lambda max (λmax ) and the value of CI/CR is ≤0.1, which means it is consistent.
When the matrix converted into a ω matrix, the weight value of this item can be obtained.

CI λmax − n
CR = CI = (1)
RI n−1

3.2. Result of Analysis on Design Evaluation

The building facade is the unity of architecture function, structure, and design aesthet-
ics. It is composed of color, material, scale, proportion, direction, shape, and combination.
This study processes perception-level evaluations based on aesthetic elements of the his-
toric building facades, to obtain representative design styles. Through the overall analysis
results, the weighted items of artistic features obtained by the weighted eigenvalue method
are used to pair with the application method of the existing building facade styles. These
can be used as design elements in the current historical street reconstruction, cultural
management, and community construction and as an evaluation application method.
The weighted items and the current status of building facades are compared and tested
by experts on the analysis and calculation results. After the examination, they all reached
the evaluation consistency and obtained the following design evaluation rules for building
facades. According to the top two weighted values, the representative styles are as follows
(for exact weighted values please refers to Appendices A and B):
1. The window design is mainly based on unity, geometry, order, and balance (Figure 10).

Figure 10. Diagram of representative window designs. (Adapted from [18]).

2. Handrail design styles are the most diverse in patterns and materials. The de-
sign styles are mainly based on continuity, rhythm, symbols, proportion, and order
(Figure 11).

Figure 11. Diagram of representative handrail designs. (Adapted from [18]).

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3. The design styles of the entrance are relatively unified, mainly based on proportional
order, balance, and stability (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Diagram of representative entrance designs. (Adapted from [18]).

4. Sustainable Design Patterns for Architectural Engineering and Public

Art Landscapes
According to the results of traditional architectural design elements (the public
space needs, civilian interaction, and the aesthetic engineering concept), an innovative
design plan was proposed and won the silver award in a competition of a public art
installation project.
The research object in this article is based on the public art proposal: “OPEN—The
Folder of Time” for the Tainan Bus Station public art project. Since the Tainan Bus Station
public art project is a percent-for-art program and must achieve the requirements for
the open competition, it must be related to the architectural design of the Tainan Bus
Station itself.
The architects put historical factors and meanings into the architectural design. It
carried the function of transportation just like Shennong Street, the most well-preserved
historical district in Tainan, which was also used as an important transportation road in
the early days (historical and cultural roles overlapped); therefore, by translating Shen-
nong Street during the Qing Dynasty into “Street of Tainan” in buildings, the architects
take this as the core concept of the architectural design of the Tainan Bus Station.
The public art proposal “OPEN—The Folder of Time”, its design and planning com-
bine with the design concept of the Tainan Bus Station; the representative facade design
styles are used as the design elements for public art installations, which deeply describe
the geographical connotation, and historical context and continue the historical memory of
the “cultural layer” of the installation location.
Tainan Bus Station is located upon the relics of the town office during the Qing Dynasty.
In order to avoid deep excavation and damage to the historical relics that were preserved
on-site, the design leans toward the shallow foundation and lightweight green building
materials, recyclable steel structures and containers as the main structure. As a temporary,
non-permanent building, the operation period is expected to be 10 to 15 years. After that,
according to the committee of the Tainan Bus Station, it will be demolished for other uses,
such as museums.
Therefore, in the public art installation plan, through the steel structure, the building
facades are transformed into the structural order of the building space, which is formed by
the facade steel structure like a container, performing the concept of a “cultural layer”, the
time delay, and space division. At the same time, the core concept of this public artwork
is consistent with the reuse plan of the Tainan Bus Station, which considered the possible
direction of sustainable development in line with the reuse of the structure of the Tainan
Bus Station shown as following Figure 13.

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Figure 13. Diagram of the reuse plan. (Upper diagram: Committee of public art installation project
on Tainan Bus Station) [21].

4.1. Fusion of Public Art and Architectural Engineering

The fusion of the public art planning and architectural engineering is completed by
designing it with the most representative eight groups of facades of historical buildings as
a unit (Figure 14). A theme of “OPEN—The Folder of Time” illustrates the significance of
the historical architecture, overall cultural atmosphere, and the separated meaning by the
cultural layer content of spatial stacking and time deposition on the construction base used.

Figure 14. Diagram of the design concept, for fusing public art and architectural engineering. (Upper
right structure diagram: Committee of public art installation project on Tainan Bus Station) [21].

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“Overall” refers to the “historical building facade” and the corresponding setting loca-
tion, “Tainan Bus Station” (Figure 15), as an overall of the same cultural layer. The separated
overall can refer to the “individuality of different facades of the same historic district”,
corresponding to “one station after another, each station has integrity; however, different
transport vehicles have their individuality”.

Figure 15. Comparison diagram of the living time stacking between the transit station and the
cultural layer. (Picture: Committee of public art installation project on Tainan Bus Station) [21].

4.2. Same Time but Different Individually

Different cultural layers have continuous characteristics in the process of linking
history, with both time delay and spatial distinction; history as an event is the “Perfect
tense” of the time. Past, present, and future are the three tenses identical in continuous time
but different individually from the space point of view. Therefore, this study proposes the
public artwork method that expresses the “is form and content” to present the art form in
the cultural layer and the multi-layered meaning of diachronic time and synchronic space.

4.3. The Construct of Public Art Landscape and Architectural Engineering

4.3.1. Creation Interpretation
Since the 1990s, the design concept of public art has gone far beyond the simple form of
sculpture and a monument sitting alone in the open square [22]. Therefore, this interpretation
uses the form of public art to express the unique historical background and location conditions
of the “Bus station” and “Street of Tainan” in multiple cultural layers. It also implies the
distinguishable characteristics of time, which symbolizes the combination of the three temporal
sequences of past, present, and future and the continuous nature of the cultural layer space in
the overall architectural space. The location of public art shown as Figure 16.

Figure 16. The pedestrian traffic flow of the Tainan Bus Station. (Picture: Committee of public art
installation project on Tainan Bus Station) [21].

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4.3.2. Design Method

“Public art been increasingly advocated on the basis of contributions to urban regener-
ation since the 1980s. Most decision-makers argue that public art can help develop a sense
of identity, develop the sense of place, promote citizens’ identity, address community needs,
and social exclusion; has its educational value and the function of foster social change” [23].
Considering the historical background and location conditions of the multiple cultural
layers, the representative building facade style (as Figure 17) is present in the way of
public art through the following three features: (a) Takes the rhombus patterns that appear
in large numbers on the facades of historical buildings as the design elements for the
three-dimensional design. (b) With quadrilateral rhombus to interpret the bus station
as the heart of urban traffic. (c) The overall meaning of the public art is to present the
“ex-tending in all directions” functions of the bus station; this not only transforms the
cultural layer design elements of historic buildings but also the historic value of the past is
represented in the beautification of modern architectural engineering, which is the fusion
of art and architectural engineering that re-deploys meaningful historical documents in
the modern urban living space, showing the beneficial result of architectural beauty and
cultural experience at the same time.

Figure 17. Elevation view of the public art design with historical building facade.

4.3.3. Color Scheme

One can integrate the color scheme of the building and analyze the cultural layer’s
time, distance, and space at different nodes to distinguish the difference in hue, saturation,
and vibrance. With this color scheme, the public art can also coincide with the architectural
design of “Tainan Bus Station”, shown as Figures 18 and 19.

Figure 18. The color scheme of public art and architectural engineering. (Left color scheme: Commit-
tee of public art installation project on Tainan Bus Station) [21].

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Figure 19. Dimensions of the public artwork (unit: mm) [21].

5. Conclusions
The 19th-century Austrian architect C. Sitte analyzed the spatial characteristics of
European cities from the late classical antiquity to the post-industrial revolution in his
book “City Planning According to Artistic Principles” (Der Städtebaunach seinen kün-
stlerschen Grundsätzen) (1889). He discovered that the urban space loved by residents
was not those large-scale squares or palaces but those well-proportioned, well-interacted,
and beautiful urban landscapes; he emphasizes that, with a design sense of free life,
the coordination between buildings and the encompassed squares and streets are the
elements to achieve the purpose of the aesthetic planning of a city [24]. He believes urban
architecture is a comprehensive work of art that must be planned and constructed based
on artistic principles. As for urban architecture, he believes that urban architecture is
a comprehensive work of art that must be planned and constructed based on artistic
principles. D. J. Curtis (2010) also argues that “the arts have an ability to communicate
environmental information . . . and to normalize concern for the environment, taking it
from the realm of ‘problem’ to the realm of general conversation or even entertainment” [25].
The public space of Shennong Street has the artistic characteristics of the public space
mentioned. The facade of the historical building on Shennong Street is an arrangement
of artistic images and the space between the building facades on both sides; the historical
street buildings and the artistic features of the facades constitute the historical value of
urban development.
Heritage buildings are a cultural concept with evolutionary characteristics, mainly
constructed in the category of historic culture and people’s living settlements. The con-
struction space of modern projects makes people’s living space and the buildings group
a certain correlation and produces unique architectural forms and living needs. Public
art is an artistic asset with aesthetic attributes in the architectural field and also forms an
artistic symbol of urban architectural space. Through describing the boundaries of public
artworks, combined artworks, urban architecture, and public spaces are formed into a
structure with perceptual entities that residents have a common impression of, which itself
becomes an “image” [26]. This means that the public art is a space that creates memory;
relatively speaking, the appearance of the cultural layer of a region can be seen from these
heritage buildings. In the process of research and practice conducted for this this study, the
following discoveries have been made:
1. Applying the design that retains the historical and cultural context of the heritage
buildings to the current city is an important method to show the sustainable cultural
value of modern buildings.
2. A design model found the balance between the cultural value of historic buildings
and public art.

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As an implementation case, the purpose of this research is to propose a field of

innovation and a direction for sustainable design. Make the preservation of historical
buildings not limited to widely discussed issues and methods such as: the maintenance
of historical sites, the preservation of cultural relics, spatial activation, reconstruction and
reuse. For the public art proposal “OPEN—The Folder of Time”, its design and planning
combine with the design concept of the Tainan Bus Station to translate history and culture
into a sustainable design. By using “public art” as a medium, through the fusion of
architectural engineering and art, history and culture are translated into a sustainable
design art model. In the face of the rapid development of the city and the current state
of continuous renewal and planning of modern urban architecture, through public art
combined with sustainable design art solutions, whether it is preservation or construction
planning, historical buildings and new construction will form an organic topology line of
shaping the urban landscape and urban development.
Therefore, the result and contribution of this article is a practical solution that uses
public art combined with cross-domain design, to open up another train of thought for the
preservation, activation and reuse of traditional buildings. The authors sincerely hope that
the opinions and discoveries in this study can become an innovative design and feasible
method that benefit future urban architectural engineering, cultural preservation, and
urban renewal projects.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, W.-F.L.; methodology, C.-T.T.; validation, W.-C.K.; formal

analysis, W.-C.K.; investigation, W.-F.L.; resources, C.-T.T.; data curation, W.-C.K.; writing—original
draft preparation, W.-F.L.; writing—review and editing, W.-C.K.; visualization, W.-F.L.; project
administration, W.-F.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Appendix A Calculation Result of Questionnaire

A and B layer Aa–Ac items CI/CR verification value ≤ 0.1, expert weight numerical
analysis results.

Table A1. Sorting of Floor A, Aa/Ab/Ac in the expert questionnaire. (Adapted from [18]).

ω Sort Q/Aa Item Pairwise Matrices λmax CR ω

expert 1 a4 7×7 7.0819 0.0103 0.3416
1 expert 4 a3 7×7 7.0819 0.0103 0.2975
expert 5 a4 7×7 7.3159 0.0398 0.3705
expert 1 a1 7×7 7.0819 0.0103 0.3215
2 expert 4 a4 7×7 7.0819 0.0103 0.2469
expert 5 a1 7×7 7.3159 0.0398 0.1898
ω Sort Q/Ab Item Pairwise Matrices λmax CR ω
expert 1 a3 7×7 7.4891 0.0617 0.3276
1 expert 4 a1 7×7 7.6825 0.0861 0.3234
expert 5 a1 7×7 7.6163 0.0778 0.2857
expert 1 a1 7×7 7.4891 0.0617 0.2875
2 expert 4 a3 7×7 7.6825 0.0861 0.2291
expert 5 a3 7×7 7.6163 0.0778 0.2242
ω Sort Q/Ac Item Pairwise Matrices λmax CR ω
expert 2 a3 7×7 7.5755 0.0072 0.3679
1 expert 4 a3 7×7 7.7934 0.1000 0.2976
expert 5 a4 7×7 7.5749 0.0725 0.2212
expert 2 a6 7×7 7.5755 0.0072 0.2271
2 expert 4 a5 7×7 7.7934 0.1000 0.1892
expert 5 a5 7×7 7.5749 0.0725 0.2059

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Table A2. Sorting of Floor B, Bd/Be/Bf/Bg in the expert questionnaire. (Adapted from [18]).

ω Sort Q/Bd Item Pairwise Matrices λmax CR ω

expert 1 b9 14 × 14 15.3698 0.0671 0.1815
1 expert 2 b12 14 × 14 15.6372 0.0802 0.1316
expert 4 b12 14 × 14 15.2014 0.0500 0.1433
expert 1 b6 14 × 14 15.3698 0.0671 0.1491
2 expert 2 b6 14 × 14 15.3698 0.0671 0.1157
expert 4 b9 14 × 14 15.6372 0.0802 0.1020
ω Sort Q/Be Item Pairwise Matrices λmax CR ω
expert 1 b5 14 × 14 15.6815 0.0823 0.2714
1 expert 2 b5 14 × 14 15.0989 0.0538 0.2650
expert 4 b3 14 × 14 15.1943 0.0585 0.2547
expert 1 b8 14 × 14 15.6815 0.0823 0.1624
2 expert 2 b8 14 × 14 15.0989 0.0538 0.1803
expert 4 b6 14 × 14 15.1943 0.0585 0.1483
ω Sort Q/Bf Item Pairwise Matrices λmax CR ω
expert 1 b9 14 × 14 15.4979 0.0734 0.2217
1 expert 2 b9 14 × 14 15.4636 0.0717 0.1578
expert 4 b9 14 × 14 15.4070 0.0689 0.1619
expert 1 b13 14 × 14 15.4979 0.0734 0.1365
2 expert 2 b13 14 × 14 15.4636 0.0717 0.1434
expert 4 b6 14 × 14 15.4070 0.0689 0.1401
ω Sort Q/Bg Item Pairwise Matrices λmax CR ω
expert 1 b6 14 × 14 15.4576 0.0714 0.1318
1 expert 2 b10 14 × 14 15.5980 0.0782 0.1625
expert 4 b13 14 × 14 15.2188 0.0597 0.1464
expert 1 b13 14 × 14 15.4576 0.0714 0.1213
2 expert 2 b13/14 14 × 14 15.5980 0.0782 0.1492
expert 4 b14 14 × 14 15.2188 0.0597 0.1345

According to the above eigenvalue matrix, to calculate the first and second items’
weight value, the following sorting sequence is required:
1. Floor A: Aa-a4, Aa-a3, Aa-a1/Ab-a1, Ab-a3/Ac-a3, Ac-a5, Ac-a6, Ac-a4.
2. Floor B: Bd-b12, Bd-b6, Bd-b9/Be-a5, Be-b3, Be-b8, Be-b6/Bf-b9, Bf-b13, Bf-b6/Bg-b13,
Bg-b14, Bg-b10, Bg-b6.
These items are the best representative facade design of Shennong Street. (as the
following Table A3).

Table A3. Comparison of the most representative design style on Floor A and Floor B of Shennong
Street. (Adapted from [18]).

A B
Sort ω Project Appraise Project ω Sort
Aa a4/a3/a1 Bd b12/b6/b9
Ab a1/a4 Be b5/b3/b8/b6
Ac a3/a5/a6/a4 Bf b9/b13/b6
Bg b13/b14/b10/b6

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Appendix B

Table A4. Floor A Aa-Ac items’ CI/CR verification value ≤ 0.1, expert weighted matrix.

Floor A, item Aa, expert 1, λmax 7.5268, CR 0.0665 Floor A, item Aa, expert 4, λmax 7.0819, CR 0.0103
Aa a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 ω Aa a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 ω
a1 1 5 3 1 7 7 7 0.3215 a1 1 5 1/3 1/3 7 7 7 0.2306
a2 1/5 1 1/5 1/7 1 1/3 3 0.0444 a2 1/5 1 1/3 1/5 1 1 3 0.061
a3 1/3 5 1 1/5 5 1 5 0.1277 a3 3 3 1 3 3 3 3 0.2975
a4 1 7 5 1 7 5 7 0.3416 a4 3 5 1/3 1 5 3 5 0.2469
a5 1/7 1 1/5 1/7 1 1/3 3 0.042 a5 1/7 1 1/3 1/5 1 1/3 1 0.0434
a6 1/7 3 1 1/5 3 1 5 0.0966 a6 1/7 1 1/3 1/3 3 1 5 0.0834
a7 1/7 1/3 1/5 1/7 1/3 1/5 1 0.0258 a7 1/7 1/3 1/3 1/5 1 1/5 1 0.0369
Floor A, item Aa, expert 5, λmax 7.3159, CR 0.0398 Floor A, item Ab, expert 1, λmax 7.4891 CR 0.0617
Aa a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 ω Ab a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 ω
a1 1 5 1/3 1/5 5 5 5 0.1898 a1 1 5 1 5 3 3 5 0.2875
a2 1/5 1 1/5 1/5 1/3 1 5 0.0601 a2 1/5 1 1/3 3 1 3 3 0.1157
a3 3 5 1 1/3 3 1 3 0.1891 a3 1 3 1 5 7 3 7 0.3276
a4 5 5 3 1 3 5 7 0.3705 a4 1/5 1/3 1/5 1 1/5 1/5 1/3 0.033
a5 1/5 3 1/3 1/3 1 1/3 1 0.0643 a5 1/3 1 1/7 5 1 1 5 0.1111
a6 1/5 1 1 1/5 3 1 3 0.0903 a6 1/3 1/3 1/3 5 1 1 1/5 0.0814
a7 1/5 1/5 1/3 1/7 1 1/3 1 0.0355 a7 1/5 1/3 1/7 3 1/5 1/5 1 0.0432
Floor A, item Ab, expert 4, λmax 7.6825 CR 0.0861 Floor A, item Ab, expert 5, λmax 7.6163, CR 0.0778
Ab a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 ω Ab a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 ω
a1 1 5 3 5 1 5 3 0.3234 a1 1 5 1 5 1 5 3 0.2857
a2 1/5 1 1 3 1 1/3 1 0.0898 a2 1/5 1 1 3 1 1/3 1 0.0945
a3 1/3 1 1 5 5 3 3 0.2291 a3 1 1 1 3 5 1 3 0.2242
a4 1/5 1/3 1/5 1 1/5 1/5 1/3 0.0307 a4 1/5 1/3 1/3 1 1/5 1/3 1/3 0.0381
a5 1 1 1/5 5 1 1 3 0.1339 a5 1 1 1/5 5 1 1 3 0.1402
a6 1/5 3 1/3 5 1 1 3 0.1279 a6 1/5 3 1 3 1 1 3 0.1483
a7 1/3 1 1/3 3 1/3 1/3 1 0.0649 a7 1/3 1 1/3 3 1/3 1/3 1 0.0687
Floor A, item Ac, expert 2, λmax 7.5755, CR 0.0072 Floor A, item Ac, expert 4, λmax 7.7934, CR 0.1000
Ab a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 ω Ac a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 ω
a1 1 3 1/7 1/7 1/3 1/5 1 0.0483 a1 1 5 1/5 1/5 1/3 1/3 1 0.0722
a2 1/3 1 1/7 1/5 1/3 1/5 1 0.0357 a2 1/5 1 1/3 1/5 1/3 1/4 1 0.045
a3 7 7 1 5 5 1 5 0.3679 a3 5 3 1 3 3 1 5 0.2976
a4 7 5 1/5 1 1 1/3 3 0.1432 a4 5 5 1/3 1 1 1 3 0.1764
a5 3 3 1/5 1 1 1 3 0.1283 a5 3 3 1/3 1 1 3 3 0.1892
a6 5 5 1 3 1 1 3 0.2271 a6 3 5 1 1 1/3 1 3 0.1671
a7 1 1 5 3 3 3 1 0.2043 a7 1 1 1/5 1/3 1/3 1/3 1 0.0521
Floor A, item Ac, expert 5, λmax 7.5749, CR 0.0725
Ac a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 ω
a1 1 5 1/3 1/5 1 1/3 1 0.0973
a2 1/5 1 1/5 1/5 1/3 1/5 1 0.0408
a3 3 5 1 1 1 1 3 0.1955
a4 5 5 1 1 1 1 3 0.2212
a5 1 3 1 1 1 3 3 0.2059
a6 3 5 1 1 1/3 1 3 0.1774
a7 1 1 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 1 0.0615

Table A5. Floor B Bd-Bg items’ CI/CR verification value ≤ 0.1, expert weighted matrix.

Floor B, item Bd, expert 1, λmax 15.3698, CR 0.0671

Bd b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 1 1 1 1/3 1/3 3 1/3 1/7 3 1/3 1/5 1 1 0.0414
b2 1 1 1 1 1 1/5 3 1/3 1/7 5 1/3 1/3 3 1 0.0535
b3 1/5 1 1 1 1 1/5 5 1/3 1/7 3 1/3 1/3 1 1/5 0.0373

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Table A5. Cont.

b4 1 1 1 1 1 1/5 3 1 1/5 1/3 1/3 1/5 1 1/5 0.0293

b5 3 1 1 1 1 1/5 3 1 1/7 1/3 1/3 1/5 1 1/5 0.0338
b6 3 5 5 5 5 1 7 3 1 5 3 1 5 1 0.1491
b7 1/3 1/3 1/5 1/3 1/3 1/7 1 1/3 1/7 1/5 1/7 1/7 1/5 1/5 0.0127
b8 3 3 3 1 1 1/3 3 1 1/5 1 1/3 1 3 1/3 0.0591
b9 7 7 7 5 7 1 7 5 1 1 1 1 7 5 0.1815
b10 1/3 1/5 1/3 3 3 1/5 5 1 1 1 3 1/3 3 1/3 0.0645
b11 3 3 3 3 3 1/3 7 3 1 1/3 1 1 5 1 0.0943
b12 5 3 3 5 5 1 7 1 1 3 1 1 7 1 0.1195
b13 1 1/3 1 1 1 1/5 5 1/3 1/7 1/3 1/5 1/7 1 1/3 0.0253
b14 1 1 5 5 5 1 5 3 1/5 3 1 1 3 1 0.098
Floor B, item Bd, expert 2, λmax 15.6372, CR 0.0802
Bd b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 1/3 5 1 1 1/5 5 1/7 1/3 5 1 1/5 5 5 0.0751
b2 3 1 5 1 1 1/3 5 1/3 1/5 7 3 1 5 1 0.0992
b3 1/5 1/5 1 1 1 1/5 7 1/3 1/5 1/3 1/5 1/5 1 1/7 0.0236
b4 1 1 1 1 1/3 1/3 5 1 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/3 1 1/3 0.0334
b5 1 1 1 3 1 1 5 1 1/5 1/5 1/3 1/5 1 1/3 0.0422
b6 5 3 5 3 1 1 5 1/3 1 1 1 3 7 3 0.1157
b7 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/5 1/5 1/5 1 1 1/7 1/7 1/3 1/5 1 1/3 0.0174
b8 7 3 3 1 1 3 1 1 3 1 1 1/3 3 1 0.113
b9 3 5 5 5 5 1 7 1/3 1 1 1 1/3 5 3 0.1116
b10 1/5 1/7 3 5 5 1 7 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 0.0917
b11 1 1/3 5 5 3 1 3 1 1 1/3 1 1/3 3 3 0.0689
b12 5 1 5 3 5 1/3 5 3 3 1/3 3 1 5 5 0.1316
b13 1/5 1/5 1 1 1 1/7 1 1/3 1/5 1 1/3 1/5 1 1/3 0.0219
b14 1/5 1 7 3 3 1/3 3 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/5 3 1 0.0541
Floor B, item Bd, expert 4, λmax 15.2014, CR 0.0500
Bd b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 1 1 1/3 1 1/3 3 1/5 1/3 3 1/3 1/3 3 1 0.0554
b2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1/3 1/3 3 1 1 3 3 0.0757
b3 1/3 1 1 1 1 1/5 3 1 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 1 1/5 0.0343
b4 3 1 1 1 1 1/3 3 1 1/5 1/3 1/3 1/3 1 1/3 0.0433
b5 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 1 1/5 1/3 1/3 1/5 1 1/3 0.0423
b6 3 1 5 3 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 0.0964
b7 1/3 1 1/3 1/3 1/5 1/5 1 1 1/7 1/5 1/3 1/5 1 1/3 0.024
b8 5 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1/3 1/3 1 1 0.0827
b9 3 3 3 5 5 1 7 1/3 1 1 1 1/3 3 1 0.102
b10 1/3 1/3 3 3 3 1 5 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 0.0993
b11 3 1 3 3 3 1 3 3 1 1/3 1 1/3 3 1 0.0866
b12 3 1 3 3 5 1 5 3 3 1/3 3 1 5 5 0.1433
b13 1/3 1/3 1 1 1 1/3 1 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/5 1 3 0.0435
b14 1 1/3 5 3 3 1/3 3 1 1 1 1 1/5 3 1 0.0706
Floor B, item Be, expert 1, λmax 15.6815, CR 0.0823
Be b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 3 5 1 1/7 5 5 1 1 5 1 5 7 3 0.0954
b2 1/3 1 3 1 1/9 3 5 1/7 1/3 3 1/3 3 5 3 0.0533
b3 1/5 1/3 1 1/3 1/9 1/3 1/3 1/7 1/5 1/3 1/7 1 3 1/3 0.0161
b4 1 1 3 1 1/7 3 5 1/5 3 5 1 5 7 3 0.0815
b5 7 9 9 7 1 7 9 1 5 7 5 7 9 7 0.2714
b6 1/5 1/3 3 1/3 1/7 1 5 1/5 1 3 1/3 5 7 1 0.0441
b7 1/5 1/5 3 1/5 1/9 1/5 1 1/7 1/5 1/3 1/7 1 1 1/3 0.016

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1098

Table A5. Cont.

b8 1 7 7 5 1 5 7 1 3 5 1 5 7 5 0.1624
b9 1 3 5 1/3 1/5 1 5 1/3 1 3 1 3 7 3 0.0691
b10 1/5 1/3 3 1/5 1/7 1/3 3 1/5 1/3 1 1/5 1 7 1/3 0.0261
b11 1 3 7 1 1/5 3 7 1 1 5 1 7 7 3 0.0973
b12 1/5 1/3 1 1/5 1/7 1/5 1 1/5 1/3 1 1/7 1 3 1/3 0.0185
b13 1/7 1/5 1/3 1/7 1/9 1/7 1 1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7 1/3 1 1/7 0.0106
b14 1/3 1/3 3 1/3 1/7 1 3 1/5 1/3 3 1/3 3 7 1 0.0376
Floor B, item Be, expert 2, λmax 15.0989, CR 0.0538
Be b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 5 1 5 1/7 7 1 1/3 1 5 1 7 7 1 0.0858
b2 1/5 1 1/5 1 1/9 1 3 1/7 1/3 3 1/5 1 5 1 0.0329
b3 1 5 1 3 1/7 1/3 1 1/5 1/3 1 1/5 3 7 1 0.0439
b4 1/5 1 1/3 1 1/7 1 3 1/7 1 1 1/5 3 5 1 0.0326
b5 7 9 7 7 1 9 9 1 9 7 5 9 9 9 0.265
b6 1/7 1 3 1 1/9 1 1 1/7 3 1 1/5 3 5 1 0.0399
b7 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/9 1 1 1/7 1/3 1/3 1/7 1 5 5 0.0361
b8 3 7 5 7 1 7 7 1 7 5 1 7 9 7 0.1803
b9 1 3 3 1 1/9 1/3 3 1/7 1 1/3 1/5 5 7 1 0.0466
b10 1/5 1/3 1 1 1/7 1 3 1/5 3 1 1/3 3 7 1 0.0411
b11 1 5 5 5 1/5 5 7 1 5 3 1 7 9 3 0.1245
b12 1/7 1 1/3 1/3 1/9 1/3 1 1/7 1/5 1/3 1/7 1 5 1/5 0.0165
b13 1/7 1/5 1/7 1/5 1/9 1/5 1/5 1/9 1/7 1/7 1/9 1/5 1 1/7 0.0082
b14 1 1 1 1 1/9 1 5 1/7 1 1 1/3 5 7 1 0.046
Floor B, item Be, expert 4, λmax 15.1943, CR 0.0585
Be b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 3 1 5 1/7 5 1 1 1 1 1 5 5 1 0.044
b2 1/3 1 1/5 1 1/9 1 3 1/7 1/3 3 1/3 1 3 3 0.0357
b3 1 5 1 3 1/7 1/3 1 1/5 1/3 1 1/5 1 3 1 0.2547
b4 1/5 1 1/3 1 1/7 1 3 1/5 1 1 1/5 3 3 1 0.0412
b5 7 9 7 7 1 7 9 1 5 7 5 7 9 7 0.0342
b6 1/5 1 3 1 1/7 1 1 1/5 1 1 1/3 3 5 1 0.1483
b7 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/9 1 1 1/7 1/3 1/3 1/7 1 1 5 0.064
b8 1 7 5 5 1 5 7 1 3 5 1 3 5 5 0.0499
b9 1 3 3 1 1/5 1 3 1/3 1 3 1/5 3 3 3 0.1263
b10 1 1/3 1 1 1/7 1 3 1/5 1/3 1 1/3 3 5 5 0.0239
b11 1 3 5 5 1/5 3 7 1 5 3 1 5 5 5 0.0138
b12 1/5 1 1 1/3 1/7 1/3 1 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/5 1 5 1/5 0.0446
b13 1/5 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/9 1/5 1 1/5 1/3 1/5 1/5 1/5 1 1/7 0.044
b14 1 1/3 1 1 1/7 1 5 1/5 1/3 1/5 1/5 5 7 1 0.0357
Floor B, item Bf, expert 1, λmax 15.4979, CR 0.0734
Bf b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 1 3 1 7 1/3 5 3 1/7 1 1/3 1/5 1/5 1 0.0471
b2 1 1 3 1/3 3 1/5 5 1 1/7 1/7 1 1 1/5 1/7 0.0337
b3 1/3 1/3 1 3 5 1/5 3 1 1/7 1/3 1/5 1/3 1/5 1/7 0.0263
b4 1 3 1/3 1 3 1/5 3 1 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/3 1/5 1/5 0.0282
b5 1/7 1/3 1/5 1/3 1 1/7 1 1/3 1/7 1/5 1/7 1/5 1/7 1/5 0.0121
b6 3 5 5 5 7 1 5 5 1/3 3 1 3 1 1/3 0.1072
b7 1/5 1/5 1/3 1/3 1 1/5 1 1/3 1/5 1/3 1/7 1/3 1/5 1/5 0.015
b8 1/3 1 1 1 3 1/5 3 1 1/5 1/3 1 1 1/5 1/5 0.0301
b9 7 7 7 5 7 3 5 5 1 7 3 5 3 3 0.2217
b10 1 7 3 5 5 1/3 3 3 1/7 1 1/3 3 1 3 0.0925

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1098

Table A5. Cont.

b11 3 1 5 5 7 1 7 1 1/3 3 1 1 1/3 1/3 0.0815

b12 5 1 3 3 5 1/3 3 1 1/5 1/3 1 1 1/5 1/3 0.0533
b13 5 5 5 5 7 1 5 5 1/3 1 3 5 1 3 0.1365
b14 1 7 7 5 5 3 5 5 1/3 1/3 3 3 1/3 1 0.1143
Floor B, item Bf, expert 2, λmax 15.4636, CR 0.0717
Bf b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 1/3 5 1 3 1/5 1 1 1/7 1 1/5 1/3 1/5 1 0.0386
b2 3 1 3 1/5 1 1 5 1 1/5 1/7 1/3 1/5 1/7 1/9 0.0349
b3 1/5 1/3 1 5 3 1/7 1 1 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7 0.0242
b4 1 5 1/5 1 1 1/5 1 1 1/5 1/7 1 1 1/7 1/7 0.0313
b5 1/3 1 1/3 1 1 1/7 1 1/3 1/9 1/7 1/7 1/7 1/7 1/5 0.0143
b6 5 1 7 5 7 1 9 7 1 1 1/3 3 1 1 0.109
b7 1 1/5 1 1 1 1/9 1 1 1/7 1/5 1 1 1/7 1/7 0.0221
b8 1 1 1 1 3 1/7 1 1 1/7 1/5 1 1 1/5 1/7 0.026
b9 7 5 5 5 9 1 7 7 1 3 5 5 1 1 0.1578
b10 1 7 5 7 7 1 5 5 1/3 1 7 7 1 1 0.137
b11 5 3 7 1 7 3 1 1 1/5 1/7 1 1 1/5 1/5 0.0689
b12 3 5 7 1 7 1/3 1 1 1/5 1/7 1 1 1/5 1/5 0.0518
b13 5 7 7 7 7 1 7 5 1 1 5 5 1 1 0.1434
b14 1 9 7 7 5 1 7 7 1 1 5 5 1 1 0.1399
Floor B, item Bf, expert 4, λmax 15.4070, CR 0.0689
Bf b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 1/3 3 1 3 1/3 1 1 1/7 1 1/3 1/3 1/5 1 0.0386
b2 3 1 3 1/3 1 1/5 5 1 1/5 1/5 1/3 1/5 1/5 1/5 0.0362
b3 1/3 1/3 1 3 3 1/5 1 1 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/3 1/5 1/7 0.0258
b4 1 3 1/3 1 1 1/5 3 1 1/5 1/5 1 1 1/5 1/5 0.0354
b5 1/3 1 1/3 1 1 1/7 1 1/3 1/7 1/7 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/5 0.0167
b6 3 5 5 5 7 1 3 5 1 3 1 3 1 3 0.1401
b7 1 1/5 1 1/3 1 1/3 1 1 1/5 1/3 1 1 1/5 1/5 0.0274
b8 1 1 1 1 3 1/5 1 1 1/5 1/3 1 1 1/5 1/5 0.0315
b9 7 5 5 5 7 1 5 5 1 3 3 3 1 3 0.1619
b10 1 5 5 5 7 1/3 3 3 1/3 1 1/3 3 1 1 0.0893
b11 3 3 5 1 5 1 1 1 1/3 3 1 1 1/3 1/3 0.0738
b12 3 5 3 1 5 1/3 1 1 1/3 1/3 1 1 1/5 1/3 0.0537
b13 5 5 5 5 7 1 5 5 1 1 3 5 1 1 0.1367
b14 1 5 7 5 5 3 5 5 1/3 1 3 3 1 1 0.1323
Floor B, item Bg, expert 1, λmax 15.4576, CR 0.0714
Bg b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 1 3 1 3 1/5 5 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/3 1/3 1 0.0494
b2 1 1 3 1 3 1/3 3 1 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 0.0404
b3 1/3 1/3 1 1/3 1 1/3 3 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/3 0.0236
b4 1 1 3 1 3 1/3 3 1 1/3 1/3 1 1 1/3 1/3 0.0486
b5 1/3 1/3 1 1/3 1 1/5 1 1/3 1/3 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 0.0187
b6 5 3 3 3 5 1 3 3 1 1 3 3 1 1 0.1318
b7 1/5 1/3 1/3 1/3 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/5 0.0169
b8 1 1 3 1 3 1/3 3 1 1/3 3 1 1 1/5 1/3 0.0624
b9 3 3 3 3 3 1 5 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 0.113
b10 1 3 3 3 5 1 5 1/3 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.0858
b11 3 3 5 1 5 1/3 5 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 0.1141
b12 3 3 5 1 5 1/3 5 1 1 1 1 1 1/3 1/3 0.0765
b13 3 3 5 3 5 1 7 5 1 1 1/3 3 1 1 0.1213
b14 1 3 3 3 5 1 5 3 1/3 1 1/3 3 1 1 0.0967

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Buildings 2022, 12, 1098

Table A5. Cont.

Floor B, item Bg, expert 2, λmax 15.5980, CR 0.0782

Bg b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 1 5 1 5 1 5 1 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 0.0397
b2 1 1 5 1 5 1/5 3 1 1/3 1/5 1 1 1/5 1/5 0.0384
b3 1/5 1/5 1 1/5 1 1/5 3 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/7 0.0147
b4 1 1 5 1 5 1/3 3 1 1/3 1/5 1 1 1/5 1/5 0.0395
b5 1/5 1/5 1 1/5 1 1/7 1 1/3 1/5 1/7 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/7 0.0131
b6 1 5 5 3 7 1 7 7 1 1 3 3 1 1 0.1232
b7 1/5 1/3 1/3 1/3 1 1/7 1 1/5 1/7 1/7 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/7 0.0124
b8 1 1 5 1 3 1/7 5 1 1 1/5 1 1 1/5 1/5 0.0423
b9 5 3 5 3 5 1 7 1 1 1/3 3 3 1 1 0.1035
b10 5 5 7 5 7 1 7 5 3 1 5 5 1 1 0.1625
b11 5 1 5 1 5 1/3 5 1 1/3 1/5 1 1/5 1/5 1/5 0.048
b12 5 1 5 1 5 1/3 5 1 1/3 1/5 5 1 1/5 1/5 0.0636
b13 5 5 7 5 7 1 7 5 1 1 5 5 1 1 0.1492
b14 5 5 7 5 7 1 7 5 1 1 5 5 1 1 0.1492
Floor B, item Bg, expert 4, λmax 15.2188, CR 0.0597
Bg b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 b13 b14 ω
b1 1 1 3 1 3 1 5 1 1/3 1 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 0.049
b2 1 1 3 1 3 1/3 3 1 1/3 1/5 1/3 1 1/5 1/3 0.0411
b3 1/3 1/3 1 1/3 1 1/3 3 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 0.0227
b4 1 1 3 1 3 1/3 3 1 1 1/3 1 1 1/3 1/3 0.0506
b5 1/3 1/3 1 1/3 1 1/5 1 1/3 1/3 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 0.0185
b6 1 3 3 3 5 1 3 3 1 1 3 3 1 1 0.1143
b7 1/5 1/3 1/3 1/3 1 1/3 1 1/3 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/7 1/7 0.0163
b8 1 1 3 1 3 1/3 3 1 1 1/3 1 1 1/5 1/3 0.0493
b9 3 3 3 1 3 1 5 1 1 1/3 1 1 1 1 0.0819
b10 1 5 3 3 5 1 5 3 3 1 1 3 1 1 0.1219
b11 5 3 5 1 5 1/3 5 1 1 1 1 1 1/3 1/3 0.0818
b12 5 1 5 1 5 1/3 5 1 1 1/3 1 1 1/3 1/3 0.0711
b13 5 5 5 3 5 1 7 5 1 1 3 3 1 1 0.1464
b14 5 3 5 3 5 1 7 3 1 1 3 3 1 1 0.1345

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Manag. Law Soc. 2018, 48, 159–169. [CrossRef]
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 buildings
Article
Preferences of the Facade Composition in the Context of Its
Regularity and Irregularity
Michał Malewczyk *, Antoni Taraszkiewicz and Piotr Czyż

Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University of Technology, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland; [email protected] (A.T.);
[email protected] (P.C.)
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: The aim of this study is to determine the preferences of Polish society towards building
facades depending on the degree of the composition regularity of the facade elements. The subject
matter is inspired by the authors’ observations in relation to the current architectural trends. The
purposefulness of the conducted research results from several issues. Firstly, the reports of psychology
and neurosciences clearly indicate the universality of certain preferences towards visual attributes of
objects (e.g., in relation to abstract symmetric patterns), resulting from biological conditions. Secondly,
residential, multi-family architecture is by definition designed for a wide group of anonymous users
whose expectations must be met. One of the dimensions of the above-mentioned expectations is
the visual dimension, partially dependent on the composition of the facade. In the course of the
conducted research, it is shown that facades with a regular composition are assessed as more attractive
than those with irregular compositions. Moreover, irregular facades evoked a negative effect of a
significantly greater force than the positive effect in the case of regular facades. The above-described
discoveries shed, in the authors’ opinion, a completely new light on the contemporary work of
architects. It is extremely important to adapt the visual dimension of architecture to the expectations
Citation: Malewczyk, M.; of its recipients, while taking care of its values and quality as a field of art.
Taraszkiewicz, A.; Czyż, P.
Preferences of the Facade
Keywords: composition; aesthetics; multi-family housing; Poland; preferences
Composition in the Context of Its
Regularity and Irregularity. Buildings
2022, 12, 169. https://doi.org/
10.3390/buildings12020169
1. Introduction
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński,
The main purpose of this study is to determine the aesthetic preferences of Poles
Agata Bonenberg, Wojciech
depending on the degree of regularity in the composition of building facades. An additional
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini
goal is to identify these preferences depending on the type of composition. Aesthetics
Received: 15 December 2021 is naturally a very broad and complex concept, but in relation to this study, it should
Accepted: 31 January 2022 be considered as a visual dimension of the external part of architecture. The research
Published: 3 February 2022 further narrows the visual dimension of architecture, which is also a broad and complex
phenomenon to the composition of window openings (an essential architectural element
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
on most multi-family building facades). Such a limitation allows to limit the conclusions
published maps and institutional affil-
from the study only to the composition of window openings. These should be considered
iations. both as a pattern (according to Alexander’s theory [1]) and as a component of architecture
as a multi-layer composition [2] with an influence on the aesthetics of the whole building.
Therefore, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 109 people. Statistical anal-
yses of the obtained results were used to formulate answers to research questions and
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. conclusions. The significance of the conducted research resulted from the utilitarian nature
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. of residential, multi-family architecture and the resulting universality. Multifamily housing
This article is an open access article constitutes the main part of the urban fabric and it is extremely important that its aesthetics
distributed under the terms and meet the expectations of modern society. It is impossible to fully meet these expectations
conditions of the Creative Commons without knowing the corresponding statistical data. Although this study refers to the pref-
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// erences of Poles, and, therefore, its scope is local, it refers to common preferences applicable
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
in the analysed group. It should also be noted that the presented research method is a
4.0/).

Buildings 2022, 12, 169. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12020169 335 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 169

universal one and is a starting point for global research and for determining the preferences
of the general public.
One of the key issues for this study is the concept of aesthetics. Naturally, this is a very
broadly understood term [3]. Aesthetics itself is a branch of philosophy; however, aesthetics
understood as the visual dimension of an object (e.g., works of art) also depends on other
philosophical trends and concepts. Nowadays, we can observe the emergence of voices
suggesting the need to redefine the directions in which the aesthetics of architecture should
follow. In the opinion of the authors, special attention should be paid to trends relating
to the aesthetics of the everyday [4], an example of which may be the Super Normal [5]
initiative. Roger Scrouton [6], among others, draws attention to the importance of creating
the aesthetics of architecture in the context of its impact on everyday life. Everyday
architecture is also treated as a counterpoint to a world engulfed in consumerism and the
necessity to follow fashion [7], a counterpoint to architecture defined by Tom Dyckhoff
as “wowhaus” architecture [8]. The need to direct the way of creating architecture to its
user is also indicated by Jeremy Till, who called architecture a frame for life [9]. It is very
important to fill the gap between architectural monuments and people, as Till also states [9],
but in the authors opinion it is not possible without obtaining the knowledge of the real
expectations and preferences of ordinary users of architecture.
Another important issue for these considerations is the growing interest in irregularity
in the context of shaping the visual dimension of architecture. This tendency is evidenced
by many international projects, but the most important for these considerations are objects
from Poland. It is worth paying attention to the Polish multi-family architecture, realized
in 2011–2021 and, at the same time, nominated for the Mies van der Rohe award. During
this period, seven multi-family projects were created (Figure 1) which were nominated
for this prestigious award and, therefore, are examples of architecture of above-average
quality. These projects inspire other architects and, above all, set trends in design and also
reflect the current trends in this segment of architecture. The analysis of the facades of
these objects shows that in the case of four (out of seven) implementations, we deal with
irregular compositions and with irregular (in terms of texture or colour) facade materials.
The two embodiments also operate in an irregular form. It should also be noted that there
is a certain irregularity (formal, compositional or material) in each of the realizations. The
results of the above analyses are presented in Table 1. In the opinion of the authors, it can,
therefore, be concluded that we are dealing with a clear tendency related to the shaping of
the contemporary aesthetics of Polish multi-family architecture.

Figure 1. Polish residential, multi-family projects nominated for the Mies van der Rohe for 2011–2021:
(a) Atmosfera real estate; (b) Riverview real estate; (c) Nowy Werdon building; (d) Nowy Nikiszowiec
real estate; (e) Unikato building; (f) Sprzeczna 4 building; (g) 19 Dzielnica real estate.

336
Buildings 2022, 12, 169

Table 1. List of irregularities in relation to the analysed housing developments.

Project Name Designer a b c

Atmosfera arch_it X
Riverview APA Wojciechowski X X
Nowy Werdon Biuro Projektowe Maleccy X X
Nowy Nikiszowiec 22ARCHITEKCI X
Unikato KWK PROMES X X
Sprzeczna 4 BBGK X X
19 Dzielnica JEMS Architekci X
(a) Irregularity of form. (b) Irregularity of composition. (c) Irregularity of material.

At the same time, due to the utility nature of multi-family housing, a question should
be asked whether this direction is in line with the users’ expectations. Doubts about the
purposefulness of this aesthetic tendency arise from the results of research carried out in
many different fields. Firstly, there are many studies which, based on quantitative research,
indicate a clear difference between the aesthetic judgments determined by architects and
non-architects [10]. Secondly, research clearly shows people’s preference for objects and
systems with regular features. One should pay attention to the discoveries determined
in 2014 by a group of scientists—Pecchinenda, Bertamini, Makin and Ruta [11]. The
results of four experiments clearly indicated a tendency to choose patterns or symbols
that are symmetrical to asymmetrical. Equally important are the discoveries related to the
preferences for fractal-based patterns, which are highly ordered and regular structures.
Such patterns are considered to be much more aesthetic than those not based on such
structures [12–14]. The same regularity was observed in relation to abstract regular patterns,
which, in the research of the Bertamini, Makin and Rampone team, were associated with
positively marked words. The associations with irregular patterns were opposite [15].
Thirdly, too much visual variety in the built environment can simply result in spatial chaos.
On the other hand, there are many reasons to move away from extremely repetitive
facades. Reports of videoecology clearly indicate the problem of the disappearance of
gray brain cells caused by exposure to environments composed of the same, repeatable
elements [16,17]. Visually diverse environments also evoke much more positive reactions in
recipients [18]. Therefore, it can be assumed that the clear regularity and repeatability in the
case of architecture does not reflect the aesthetic needs of a human being, as the results of
research by psychologists and neuropsychologists suggest. This could also suggest that we
should design irregular compositions that break the monotony and predictability of regular
ones. However, in the opinion of the authors, it is not possible to resolve the aesthetic
dispute between regularity and irregularity without examining the actual preferences.
An extremely important issue for these considerations is also the issue of universal,
biological determinants that govern the processes of perception, determining aesthetic judg-
ments and experiencing beauty [19]. Despite the relatively short tradition of experimental
aesthetics or neuroscience, attention should be paid to three publications from 2004 by
Vartanian and Goel [20], Kawabata and Zeki [21] and Cela-Conde et al. [22]. All the above-
mentioned teams of researchers, thanks to the technology enabling neuroimaging (fMRI or
MRI), clearly indicated that when the recipient contacted an object generally considered
as beautiful, the reward system was activated in the brain. The results of these studies
also highlight the lack of a single structure in the brain responsible for making aesthetic
judgments, which are rather the result of more complex processes. Naturally, neurosciences
clearly flatten the character of aesthetic experience and may also only provide empirical
confirmation of intuitive judgments about beauty [23]. Nevertheless, this approach proves
the possibility of describing universal determinants of beauty, common to the general
public and independent of the individual’s particular characteristics.
Determining the aesthetic preferences regarding the composition of building facades
in the context of the degree of their regularity is important as long as they strengthen the
designers’ awareness of how to shape the space. They can primarily help to determine

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the directions in which aesthetics should follow in order to meet the expectations of its
recipients. They can also help in determining the directions in which architecture should
go in order to simultaneously meet the needs and expectations of its users and, at the
same time, to not cease being art. The implementation of this task, however, is the role of
architects, whose knowledge should be as broad as possible. The results and conclusions
of this study can also be a very powerful planning tool. The use of a specific type of
composition in a given area could help with building spatial order, but also with breaking
the aesthetic monotony or be an architectural reinforcement of an urban dominant.

2. Materials and Method

The aim of the study was to determine the preferences of Poles towards building
facades in the context of their regularity. The study was conducted in three stages.
The first step was to prepare the research material; then, an internet survey was con-
ducted. The last stage was to carry out statistical analyses of the collected results and to
formulate conclusions.
Naturally, each architectural object is a complex being, but each of its components
influences the perception of the whole. This approach to the multi-element nature of
architecture is reflected in the pattern language proposed by Christopher Alexander [1].
According to the authors, one of the most important patterns is the composition of architec-
tural elements, such as window openings, balconies or elevation panels, because the way
the same elements are arranged on the same facade causes its perception to be completely
different. The composition also determines the complexity of the facade and the degree of
its order [24]. These two determinants were reflected in the parametric method of assessing
the aesthetics of an object, proposed by Birkhoff [25] and refined by Eysenck [26]. The
composition, therefore, has a significant impact on the perception of the aesthetics of the
entire building. A key aspect of the study was to isolate the composition as the test item so
as to discover pure preferences for themselves.

2.1. Research Questions

1. Is there a relationship between the degree of regularity in facade compositions and
aesthetic preferences?
2. Are regular compositions considered more aesthetic than those with a greater degree
of irregularity?
3. Is there a relationship between the type of composition and aesthetic preferences?
4. What kind of composition is preferred the most or the least?

2.2. Research Material

Five visualizations of the building’s facades were prepared for the study. The limitation
of the number of stimuli presented during the study resulted from the processing capacity
of the human brain. The maximum number of items stored in working memory is between
five and nine [27]. Comparing stimuli (which was the task of the respondents during the
study) requires storing them in working memory. Therefore, limiting number of stimuli to
five minimized the impact of limited human cognitive abilities on the final test result.
The stimuli were digitally generated to maximize control over their final image. The
only variable between the stimuli was the composition of the window openings. The
window openings were presented as the simplest and no other elements were placed on the
facade, so that, according to the theory of multilayer composition [2], the compositions of
many layers doid not overlap and did not affect the perception of the whole. The basis for
each of the compositions was the elevation (Figure 2) with dimensions of 16 × 10 m placed
on a uniform background, showing a meadow and greenery in the distance. Reducing the
building to a flat facade drawing made it possible to eliminate the influence of perspective
on the respondents’ perception process. Compositions no. 1–5 (Figure 3) were designed
as systems of decreasing degree of regularity, with composition no. 1 having the highest
and composition no. 5 having the lowest degree of regularity. This effect was achieved

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through the use of compositions that differed in terms of type of composition elements
(one, two or three types of composition elements) and the method of building vertical
composition lines. The composition type indicated tentatively with the letter “X” (Figure 4)
meant compositions composed of elements stacked on top of each other at equal horizontal
distances (the highest degree of regularity). Compositions tentatively marked with the
letter “Y” (Figure 5) were compositions consisting of clearly marked compositional verticals
(the same elements one above the other), but the distances between the vertical lines were
different (average degree of regularity). The composition type, initially marked with the
letter “Z” (Figure 6), also had different distances between the compositional verticals;
however, additionally, these lines were not built by the elements arranged in accordance
with the axis of symmetry one above the other, but by the side edges of these elements (the
lowest level of regularity).

Figure 2. The basis for the stimuli for research.

Figure 3. The incentives presented in the study: (a) composition no. 1; (b) composition no. 2; (c) compo-
sition no. 3; (d) composition no. 4; (e) composition no. 5.

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Figure 4. Diagram showing the assumptions of an “X” composition.

Figure 5. Diagram showing the assumptions of a “Y” composition.

Composition no. 1 (Figure 3a) is the composition of type X with the highest degree
of regularity. Composition no. 2 (Figure 3b) is an example of a Y-type composition which
differed from the first composition only by the horizontal distances between the window
openings and used the same compositional elements. Composition no. 3 (Figure 3c) is
also an example of a Y-type composition; however, in this case, different widths of the

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elements were added, which reduced the degree of regularity of the arrangement with
respect to composition no. 2. Composition no. 4 (Figure 3d) is a Z-type composition, based
on elements with two different horizontal dimensions. Composition no. 5 (Figure 3e) is
also an example of a Z-type composition; however, in this case, elements of three different
horizontal dimensions were used. All compositions had 15 elements of equal height
arranged in three horizontal lines.

Figure 6. Diagram showing the assumptions of a “Z” composition.

The graphics were prepared on the basis of the original 3D model created in Blender,
rendered with the Cycles rendering engine and then processed in Affinity Photo.

2.3. Variables
The following independent variables were introduced into the study: the degree of
regularity, defined by a number from 1 to 5, where 1 is the most regular, and 5 the least
regular, and the composition type, marked with the letters X, Y and Z (in accordance with
the previously described types of compositions). The dependent variable was the degree of
aesthetic preference, indicated by a number from 1 to 5, with 1 being the most preferred
and 5 being the least preferred.

2.4. Procedure
The performed procedure was based on previous studies [10,28]; however, it used
different stimuli, and the rating scale was also limited from 1 to 10 to 1 to 5. On the basis
of the prepared research material, an online questionnaire was developed, consisting of
two parts. The first part consisted of one task aimed at arranging randomly displayed
graphics (described in Section 2.2) from the prettiest (value 1) to the ugliest (value 5). The
second part of the questionnaire was not the main element of the study, but it allowed to
characterize the research group. This part contained three questions concerning gender,
age and education of the respondents, respectively. The survey was conducted from 23
May 2020 to 1 June 2020 and took the form of an online survey. The link to the survey was
placed on one of the social networks (Facebook) and shared using a post promotion tool.
The message was addressed to people aged 18 to 65 declaring living in Poland.

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2.5. Characteristics of the Study Participants

The study involved 109 people (N = 109) and met the statistical guidelines for the
minimum survey sample for populations larger than 5000 [29]. Margin of error of the
research was at the level of 9%, with a confidence level of 95%. Respondents were aged 18
to 62 (M = 31.18, SD = 11.25), of which 75 were women and 34 were men. In total, 73 people
had higher education (66.97%), 28 people secondary (25.68%) and 4 people (3.67%) each
had primary and vocational education.

3. Results
3.1. Research Questions 1 and 2
In order to answer research question one, a one-way ANOVA was performed in
an intergroup scheme. The dependent variable in these calculations was the degree of
regularity (on a scale from one, the most regular, to five, the least regular) to which the
presented stimuli belonged. The dependent variable valued the determining aesthetic
preferences in relation to stimuli (on a scale from one, the most attractive, to five, the least
attractive). A summary of the results obtained during the above-described operation is
presented in Table 2.

Table 2. ANOVA summary of the variable “degree of aesthetic preference” depending on the degree
of regularity of the composition.

Source SS df MS F
Between groups 167.76 4 41.94 22.83 **
Inside groups 890.86 485 1.84
Overall 1058.62 489
** p < 0.001.

The analysis of variance turned out to be statistically significant—F (4.489) = 22.833,

p < 0.001—, which proved the relationship between the degree of regularity of the composi-
tion and aesthetic preferences.
Post hoc tests were performed to see if there were differences in aesthetic preferences
depending on the particular composition. The result of Levene’s test for the variable
“aesthetic preferences” turned out to be statistically significant (p < 0.001); hence, the
assumption of the equality of variance was rejected and Dunnett’s T3 test was used. The
analyses showed that there was a statistically significant difference in aesthetic preferences
between compositions no. 1 and no. 4 and 5, between compositions no. 2 and no. 4 and 5,
and between compositions no. 3 and no. 4 and 5.
The above results, together with the results of the descriptive statistics (Table 3),
indicated the existence of two groups of compositions and provided answers to research
question two. The first group consisted of compositions with a higher degree of regularity,
i.e., no. 1 (M = 2.34; SD = 1.428) , no. 2 (M = 2.45; SD = 1.202) and no. 3 (M = 2.64; SD = 1.270),
which did not differ statistically significantly in terms of the degree of aesthetic preferences.
The second group consisted of compositions with a lower degree of regularity, i.e., no. 4
(M = 3.62; SD = 1.240) and no. 5 (M = 3.68; SD = 1.596), which also did not differ statistically
significantly from each other in terms of the degree of aesthetic preferences. In contrast,
the compositions of the first group (i.e., no. 1, 2 and 3) were statistically significantly more
preferred than the compositions of the second group (i.e., no. 4 and 5).
The data collected during the survey were also subjected to a statistical correlation
analysis. A statistically significant, weak, positive correlation was found between the degree
of regularity and the degree of aesthetic preference: r = 0.372; p = 0.01. Therefore, the higher
the degree of regularity in the composition, the higher the degree of aesthetic preference,
which was consistent with the analyses carried out earlier on research question two.
However, attention should be paid to the graph (Figure 7) of the distribution of the
frequency of assessments of the degree of aesthetic preference depending on the degree

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of the regularity of the composition. Although the mean values of the degree of aesthetic
preference for the compositions with the degree of regularity 1, 2 and 3 were similar (which
was confirmed by the post hoc tests carried out), the response frequency distribution graphs
for these compositions clearly differed from each other. Composition no. 1 was significantly
more frequently rated as the most aesthetic (37.76% of the response) than compositions
no. 2 (21.35% of the response) and no. 3 (16.33% of the response). On the other hand,
composition no. 5 was rated as the least visually attractive by 49.49% of the respondents,
i.e., 11.73 percentage points more than the most positive grades for composition no. 1. In
view of the above, it could be assumed that the irregular compositions elicited negative
reactions more strongly than the regular compositions elicited the positive reactions.

Table 3. Descriptive statistics for the dependent variable “Degree of Aesthetic Preference” for
composition.

Function No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5

Standard deviation 1.428 1.202 1.270 1.240 1.596
Standard error 0.144 0.121 0.128 0.125 0.161
The minimum value 2.05 2.21 2.39 3.37 3.36
Mean * 2.34 2.45 2.64 3.62 3.68
The maximum value 2.62 2.69 2.90 3.87 4.00
* Lower value means greater aesthetic preference for a given composition.

Figure 7. Distribution of aesthetic preferences in relation to the degree of regularity of the facade.

It is also interesting to note that 55.65% of the aesthetic preference score for composition
no. 1 was above the average, and for composition no. 2 this was 57.22%. Compositions
no. 3, 4 and 5 had more than half of the scores below average, and composition no. 5
had 65.85% of these scores. The above results (presented in Figure 8) meant that regular
compositions were more often assessed as the most attractive, while irregular compositions
had the opposite effect.

Figure 8. Percentage of aesthetic preference grade above avarage.

The conducted analyses indicated a clear relationship between the degree of regularity
in the composition and the degree of aesthetic preference. Although the analyses based

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on the comparison of means did not prove a linear gradation of correlating variables with
each other, the frequency plots showed a different effect. More regular compositions were
judged to be more aesthetic than less regular compositions. Equally important is the fact
that irregular compositions were assessed as visually unattractive, much more than regular
compositions were assessed as attractive. In other words, irregular stimuli elicited a more
pronounced effect than regular stimuli.

3.2. Research Questions 3 and 4

In order to answer research question three, a one-way ANOVA was performed in
an intergroup design. The dependent variable in these calculations was, the type of
composition (marked with the letters X, Y and Z), to which the presented stimuli belonged.
Dependent variables valued the determining aesthetic preferences in relation to stimuli (on
a scale from one, the most attractive, to five, the least attractive). A summary of the results
obtained during the above-described operation is presented in Table 4.

Table 4. ANOVA summary for the variable “degree of aesthetic preference” depending on the type
of composition.

Source SS df MS F
Between groups 165.74 2 82.87 45.199 **
Inside groups 892.88 487 1.83
Overall 1058.62 489
** p < 0.001.

The analysis of variance turned out to be statistically significant—F (2.489) = 45.199,

p < 0.001—, which proved the relationship between the type of composition and aesthetic
preferences.
Post hoc tests were performed to see if there were differences in aesthetic preferences
depending on the particular type of composition. The result of Levene’s test for the variable
“aesthetic preferences” turned out to be statistically significant (p < 0.001); hence, the
assumption of the equality of variance was rejected and Dunnett’s T3 test was used. The
analyses showed that there was a statistically significant difference (p = 0.05) in terms of
the aesthetic preferences between composition type X and Z, and also between type B
and E. The above results combined with the results of descriptive statistics meant that
compositions of type X (M = 2.34; SD = 1.428) and Y (M = 2.55; SD = 1.237) were preferred
at a similar level. At the same time, these compositions were more preferred than the Z
type compositions (M = 3.65; SD = 1.426). Descriptive statistics are presented in Table 5.

Table 5. Descriptive statistics for the dependent variable “Degree of Aesthetic Preference” for composition.

Function Type X Type Y Type Z

Standard deviation 1.428 1.237 1.426
Standard error 0.144 0.088 0.102
The minimum value 2.05 2.37 3.45
Mean * 2.34 2.55 3.65
The maximum value 2.62 2.72 3.85
* Lower value means greater aesthetic preference for a given composition.

One should also pay attention to the data contained in Figures 9 and 10. The distribu-
tion of the frequency of the assessments of the degree of aesthetic preference depending on
the type of composition showed that although the means for type X and Y were similar
(which resulted from the post hoc tests), the compositions of type X were almost twice as
likely to be rated most attractive (37.76% of responses) than compositions of type Y (18.88%
of responses). Equally important is the fact that only 36.85% of the respondents assessed

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Z-type compositions above average and, what is even more important, only 21.18% of the
respondents assessed such compositions as positive (value one or two). The above results
clearly indicate that X-type compositions were perceived as more attractive compared to
Y-type compositions, and the compositions of both types clearly dominated (in terms of
aesthetic preferences) over Z-type compositions.

Figure 9. Distribution of aesthetic preferences in relation to the composition type of the facade.

Figure 10. Percentage of aesthetic preference grade above average.

The conducted analyses indicated a clear relationship between the type of composition
and the degree of aesthetic preference. Statistics based on averages showed that both
the X and Y-type compositions were stated to be more attractive than the Z compositions;
however, the differences between X and Y types were statistically insignificant. The analysis
of the frequency charts showed, however, that also between types X and Y there were clear
differences in the degree of aesthetic preference, where X-type compositions were twice as
likely to be the most attractive compared to Y-type compositions.

4. Discussion
The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the degree of regularity
of the composition and the type of composition of the building facade and aesthetic prefer-
ences. Therefore, a questionnaire survey was conducted. Statistical analyses of the collected
results created the possibly to answer research questions and formulate conclusions.
The results of statistical analyses clearly indicated the relationship between the degree
of the regularity of the composition and the aesthetic preferences for these compositions.
Although the correlation index indicated a weak relationship between these two variables,
further analyses clearly showed that, generally, compositions with a higher degree of
regularity were preferred over the less regular ones. Thus, the compositions of the type X
and Y were considered more visually attractive than the compositions of the type Z. It could,
therefore, be assumed that the key element for the perception of a given facade composition
is the legibility of the vertical composition axes. The compositional axes in the case of
Z-type compositions were marked less clearly than the arrangement of elements one above
the other according to their axis of symmetry, as in the case of X and Y compositions. It also
resulted from the Gestalt principles closeness and continuity [30], according to which we
perceive compositional elements one above the other as one vertical line. The grouping of
elements vertically and not horizontally results from the vertical nature of architecture [31].

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This direction is also suggested by the window openings themselves, which usually have
the proportions of a vertically arranged rectangle.
However, a question may be raised as to whether the compositional axes themselves or
the clarity of the rule according to which a given composition was created were important
in this aspect. Naturally, compositions of type X were subject to the greatest number
of constraints and were the most ordered; therefore, the readability of these rules was
the greatest in this case. Furthermore, the arrangement of elements one above the other
according to the axis of symmetry of each of them was the most natural arrangement,
and the compositional axes built by the side edges of the elements (as in the case of Z-
type compositions) were not so clear and required a longer analysis. The application of
compositional rules, however, was closely related to building compositional axes, although
not necessarily in the vertical direction. Therefore, it may not be possible to investigate the
correlation between the clarity of a compositional rule and aesthetic preferences in isolating
the compositional axes from readability. The results of such analyses would certainly be
very interesting and would broaden the knowledge of the perception of composition.

5. Conclusions
The results of the study are in line with previous reports on abstract patterns [11–15].
Facades with a regular composition were found more aesthetic than those with an irregular
composition. However, the most important for shaping architecture is the effect associated
with the negative impact of irregularity, which was clearly stronger than the positive impact
of regularity. Such results suggest the need to explore the subject of composition, especially
in the context of the perception of irregular compositions (e.g., “Z” type), as it may turn out
that they are definitely considered visually unattractive. On the other hand, the conscious
use of compositional irregularity may be a desirable visual reinforcement for a dominant
or other significant object.
Nevertheless, in the opinion of the authors, formulating general guidelines for design-
ers and architects on the basis of this study would be too hasty. The conducted research
should be treated as a starting point for further analyses, deepening the subject of the
perception of compositions. First of all, attention should be paid to the problem of the scale
of the building. It may turn out that, in the case of larger buildings, regular compositions
would not be the most frequently chosen, which would be consistent with the reports
of videoecology [16,17]. Relating the research to larger facades would also involve the
analysis of compositions consisting of a greater number of elements and would also allow
the creation of systems with more subtle differences in the degree of regularity.
Subsequent research should also take into account the influence of other architectural
elements on composition preferences. It may turn out that different surroundings, a differ-
ent colour or material of the façade, different shapes of windows or forms of roofs or the
shape of the façade itself would result in a change in preferences regarding the composition.
Another important issue is the multilayer composition theory [2] and the influence of
the composition of individual layers on the preference for the composition of the whole.
Certainly, the way the stimulus is presented is also important. It would be interesting to see
the results of research carried out on the basis of visualizations of buildings from the human
perspective. Furthermore, the use of technologies, such as VR, could provide interesting
results and would make it possible to arrange a virtual walk; thus, bringing the perception
processes occurring during the study closer to those that appear under normal conditions.
This study, in the opinion of the authors, also indicated a very important feature of the
composition, which is the degree of regularity. Not only preferences, but also the perception
of the degree of regularity in the composition should be the subject of separate research.
The results of such analyses could allow for a more conscious design, as they would give
designers an understanding of what reactions and perceptions are generated by specific
aesthetic treatments.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, M.M. and P.C.; methodology, M.M.; software, M.M.;
validation, A.T. and P.C.; formal analysis, M.M. and P.C.; investigation, M.M.; resources, M.M.; data

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curation, M.M.; writing—original draft preparation and editing, M.M.; writing—review, A.T. and
P.C.; supervision, A.T. and P.C.; project administration, M.M. All authors have read and agreed to the
published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: The consent of the participants was disregarded because the partici-
pation in the study was anonymous and voluntary and the questionnaire did not concern sensitive
data concerning the participants of the study.
Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the
corresponding author.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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 buildings
Article
The Interior Experience of Architecture: An Emotional
Connection between Space and the Body
Keunhye Lee

Department of Interior Architecture, Gachon University, Seongnam-si 13120, Korea; [email protected];

Tel.: +82-(0)10-8769-9387

Abstract: This paper provides a phenomenological understanding of interior space to explore the
emotional connection between space and experience. It focuses on the significant aspects of interior
space, considering how people experience interior space and which aspects improve the quality of
spatial and emotional experience. I have argued that the interior experience offers effective ways of
stimulating emotional experience to create spatial perception as a way of understanding architec-
ture. Interior experience can be developed through: (a) stimulating a lived body; (b) emphasizing
materiality; and (c) generating emotional connection. This allows people to develop an awareness
of the sensual aspects of the interior space and improve the quality of their emotional experiences.
I have drawn upon representative case studies about spatial experience to explore how they use
materiality to stimulate sensory effects and how the multi-sensory space connects with emotional
experience, which is one of the fundamental aspects of this paper. I found that an integrated body
and materiality are fundamental elements that are needed to enrich the spatial experience, even in
an abstract dimension of the work without architectural form. Thus, this paper contributes to the
understanding and knowledge of the relationship between interior space and experience with respect
to improving the quality of the emotional experience in order to develop spatial experience and
considering how experience intervenes in interior space to create a multi-sensory space.

Keywords: interior experience; multi-sensory experience; movement; sensory body; emotion; materiality
Citation: Lee, K. The Interior
Experience of Architecture: An
Emotional Connection between Space
and the Body. Buildings 2022, 12, 326.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ 1. Introduction
buildings12030326 This paper provides a phenomenological understanding of interior space to explore
the emotional connection between space and experience. It emphasizes the importance
Academic Editor: Adrian Pitts
of interior experience as a way of understanding architecture. It considers how people
Received: 31 January 2022 experience interior space, what elements, forms, and techniques can be used to improve the
Accepted: 7 March 2022 quality of spatial experience in architecture, and which aspects of interior space stimulate
Published: 9 March 2022 multiple senses, which help to create a better experience through emotional connection in
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral the realm of architecture.
with regard to jurisdictional claims in Over the last century, the field of architecture has focused on the functional and
published maps and institutional affil- morphological aspects rather than on its relationship to people and its environment of
iations. interior space [1–4]. In addition, the visual-oriented representation of architecture has led
to the predominance of the visual experience over other sensory effects [5].
In recent decades, however, there has been much discussion on the phenomenological
understanding of architectural space, as it has become more critical to focus on how peo-
Copyright: © 2022 by the author. ple experience the space rather than on the current visual-oriented architectural form; this
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. has been raised as a fundamental issue in both an academic and practical context [4,6–10].
This article is an open access article Although there are already many studies on the phenomenological understanding of archi-
distributed under the terms and
tecture, these rarely discuss the importance of the interior experience of architecture and
conditions of the Creative Commons
its connection to the emotional aspects that enrich the quality of architecture. An interior
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
experience that emphasizes the body and environmental stimuli represents an immersive
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
experience, affecting emotion [11]. The body here means bodily movements and senses
4.0/).

Buildings 2022, 12, 326. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12030326 349 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 326

as a subject to interact with interior space, while environmental stimuli are understood as
interior environments that directly respond to the body. In this sense, this paper argues that
the interactive connections between the body and environmental stimuli are substantial
elements for generating the emotional experience that improves the quality of interior
experience, understood as “the origins of architecture” [12]. Thus, it is worth looking at
the interior experience of architecture for an emotional connection between space and
experience, engaging the body and various aspects of interior environments.
An architectural experience cannot be perceived merely through the visual sense.
Instead, as has been emphasized by many theorists and architects, such as Juhani Pallasmaa,
Peter Zumthor, Kengo Kuma, and Yi-Fu Tuan, it is understood through the eyes and
experienced through the entire range of bodily senses and the physical movements of the
body “as one moves through it and actively interacts with it” [13] (p. 168). This idea was
initially developed by philosophers such as Kant and Hegel and later by Martin Heidegger,
Gaston Bachelard, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. These phenomena and how we experience
space through our body are emphasized [14] (p. 6). In this sense, Finnish architect Juhani
Pallasmaa (2005) states that “[e]xperiencing architecture is multi-sensory; qualities of space,
matter and scale are measured together by the eye, ear, nose, skin, tongue, skeleton and muscle.
Architecture strengthens one’s sense of being in the world, and this is basically an enforced
experience of self. Instead of mere vision, or the five classical senses, architecture involves
several realms of sensory experience which interact and fuse into each other” [10] (p. 41).
In this respect, some contemporary architects, designers, and artists highlight the
importance of spatial experience in their projects by engaging with several issues, such as
materiality, the body, senses, emotion, and environments. Their projects are presented using
various methods, including architectural space, pavilion, and installation. For example,
Peter Zumthor’s Thermal Vals provides a phenomenological experience in which various
sensory elements are transmitted to the body; it allows people to touch water and stones,
see the light and darkness, hear the sounds of flowing water, and smell the mist of the
water [7,15]. The Blur Building by Diller + Scofidio concentrated on the awareness of bodily
experiences and sensations to generate an emotional connection. This pavilion provided
an immersive experience that stimulated all of the senses due to the sight being blocked
by mist [16] (pp. 48–49). Responding to Peter Zumthor’s architecture, Olafur Eliasson’s
the Mediated Motion provided sequential spaces filled with natural materials, including
water, steam, fog, earth, wood, fungus, and duckweed [17]. Eliasson allowed visitors to
be a part of the exhibition, engaging “their senses, memory, and reflections to make his
projects more profound” [18]. Some works create a physical architectural space, stimulating
spatial experience through bodily movements and senses, while some other projects present
abstract space using ephemeral yet experiential material, engaging emotional experience or
feelings. They have the power to provide a spatial experience through bodily engagement
and to stimulate users’ emotions. While visual-oriented spatial experience focuses on the
physical forms of architecture, interior experiences that are felt through engaging the body
and environmental stimuli provide multi-sensory space and generate various types of
emotional experience [13] (p. 169). These projects trigger me to consider: (a) the meaning
of experience in the realm of architecture; (b) how people can obtain a sensory experience
from interior space; and (c) which aspects of interior space can improve the quality of
spatial and emotional experiences. This paper investigates various elements to find a
way of improving the emotional experience and therefore developing the interior space,
rather than measuring the emotional levels numerically. Thus, the hypothesis of this paper
relies on the qualitative-analytical and bibliographical research methods. To explore these
research questions, I formulated two hypotheses.
1. An interactive connection between the body and various elements of interior
space improves the interior experience, providing a personal connection to culture
and emotion.

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2. Sensory effects that enhance the emotional connection with the interior space can
potentially enrich the spatial experience and improve its quality to greater effect than
functional or form-oriented factors.
This is an opportunity to develop the idea of the body and interior space, which may
lead to theoretical and practical aspects with contemporary significance. Methodologically,
this paper demonstrates the value of the phenomenological understanding of the interior
experience for emotional connection. For this, I investigate:
1. The meaning and essential aspects of interior space;
2. The meaning of the body and experience in architectural space;
3. Case studies, through analyzing the selected architectural space; and
4. Various effective ways of improving the qualities of interior experience and its emo-
tional connection, which I then go on to discuss.
Thus, this paper attempts to analyze various characteristics of the environmental
stimuli of interior space as a way of showing how experiencing space can create a connection
with personal emotion. This is done through the use of selected case studies of architectural
representation that are presented in various ways. This paper presents ways in which the
interior experience can contribute to a phenomenological understanding of the architectural
realm, engaging several key issues, such as the body, senses, emotional experience, and
culture, which solidify spatial perception.

2. Interior Experience as the Origin of Architecture

2.1. Interior Space
This section investigates the meanings and essential aspects of interior space in un-
derstanding architecture. It focuses on the body and materiality, understood as a subject
and object, respectively, considering how interior space engages the body and provides a
sensual experience.
Many architects and researchers focus on the primacy of interior space in architectural
experience because “the inside is always more important than the outside” [19] (p. 274).
This is because most people spend more than 90 percent of their lives indoors [20] (p. 4). In
this sense, Bart Verschaffel states that the significant aspect of architecture is “the creation
of an interior, [which] separates a circumscribed space from its environment and turns it
into an inside” [21]. In addition, interior space can impact the people who occupy and
use those spaces; it is strongly related to our body and is understood as a communicative
form. In this sense, Frank Lloyd Wright states, “[t]he space within becomes the reality of
the building” [22] (p. 217), because interior space allows people to dwell, live, move, and
enact the rituals of their everyday life. It demonstrates that the “reality of the building does
not consist in the four walls and the roof but in the space within to be lived in” [22] (p. 80).
Concerning this, John Dewey defines architecture as “the formation of interior space”,
as it provides “opportunity for movement and action” [23]. These ideas emphasize the
important connection between interior space and the body. The interior space, engaging
the body, provides spatial experience, which generates an emotional connection. Many
architects, such as Louis Kahn, Wright, and Zumthor, agree that the most important
function of architecture is “to enrich experience and enhance the life that takes place within
it” [12] (p. 9). Paul Goldberger also highlights the importance of interior experience, “by
staying in one place and taking it all in” [24], in order to feel the space. This emphasizes
that interior experience is emotional and communicative because it engages the body.
People continuously interact with various elements of interior space. The environment
of interior space provides material worlds. Material worlds here not only means physical
aspects, such as wood, brick, and concrete, but also substances, including proportion,
form, texture, light, shapes, color, temperature, smell, and even sound. This is understood
as environmental stimuli. It can be divided into two aspects: the morphological factor,
which is a visual composition of architectural space, and the sensual factor, which relates to
arousal of people’s sensory perceptions [25]. For example, people primarily experience the

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various features of environmental materials within an interior space. Beyond the immediate
visual qualities of a space, the sensual factor can be felt through our body; for example,
people can smell various odors, touch the texture of surfaces, and reflect sound while
walking inside. This means that interior space can be “defined not only by occupation
but also by materiality” [26] (p. 1). The materiality of the interior space can reflect the
spatial usages, revealing traces made by our body, as Walter Benjamin states [27]. This
shows that materiality, as an environmental stimulus, can enhance the spatial experience
by engaging the body. In relation to this, Peter Zumthor states that “[t]he material presence
of things in a piece of architecture, its frame. That kind of things has a sensual effect on
me” [28] (p. 23). This shows that materials provide interior environments and directly
stimulate sensory experience. In other words, materiality can be understood as a medium
to connect with the body and the interior space. It shows how people relate to the interior
space and engage with materiality; a method of communication between the body and the
space. The environmental stimuli can also evoke our memory and cause us to “feel” [14].
Moreover, social and cultural environments are also a substantial factor affecting what
people experience, because the built environment is an integral part of the social and
cultural order [29] (p. 457). In relation to this, Kahn refers to the interior space as “a society
of space”, which generates social and cultural relations [12].
The interior space becomes the manifestation of what people perceive, experience,
and feel. It also reflects how people use, occupy, transform, and adapt to space. This
spatial experience can transform the space into place, emphasizing the sense of insideness
within the dwelling [30] (p. 20). It shows that the interior space is strongly related to
a lived body [31] within the material world, reflecting spatial identity and culture. The
interior space contains various elements, comprising physical factors, space, and the body.
In other words, the interior space can be defined by the body and becomes the reflection
of the identity, subjective experience, and personal responses [26] (p. 2). Thus, interior
spaces can be understood and explained not only by architectural forms, but also by their
relation to the body, environmental stimuli, and culture, which forms the meaning of space
through experience. This idea provides a framework for exploring how the multi-sensory
atmosphere of interior space can be formed and how this stimulates spatial experience and
emotional connection. Table 1 shows the key aspects of interior space.

Table 1. Characteristics of interior space. Source: author’s drawing.

Contents
Morphological Factor
volume, scale, rhythm, order, proportion, contrast
(Form and pattern)
Environmental Stimuli Sensual Factor
texture, light, shadow, color, temperature, sound, smell
(Material connection)
Influential Factor cultural symbolism, local/social issue

• Interior space is a container where various elements, such as the body, objects, and materials,
are involved.
Container • Interior space engages the body as a form to interact with.
• Interior space can be transformed into a place through bodily experience.

2.2. The Body and Experience

The body is significant in the understanding of architecture and its history. Historically,
architecture has mainly been experienced through the visual sense. The body can be
understood as an element of nature and ingredient of form, and in the past it was described
as the most fundamental measurement of self [16]. It has long been the medium through
which Western culture and society has represented the architectural environment [7].
Although the body was a fundamental representation of architecture and has been used
as a system of proportion throughout history, the experiential and emotional roles played

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by the body in the subject’s thinking were ignored entirely, a situation that lasted until the
20th century [6,16]. This shows that the physical representation of the body emphasizes
the visual aspects rather than the spatial experiences. However, contemporary theorists
and architects, such as Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Peter Zumthor,
highlight the significant aspects of the bodily experience for emotional connection within
the interior space of architecture. They consider how a lived body can “effectively create a
more emotionally charged space and consequently [cause] an emotional connection within
architecture” [16] (p. 12). The physical body and its emotional connection can stimulate the
sensory experience of architecture.
The body can be a form that is used to interact with space, allowing us to experience the
interior environment that generates spatial perception. The bodily experience in architectural
space can be interpreted through phenomenological understanding. Phenomenology is the
most effective and applicable approach to architecture in response to the body, emphasizing
experience through continuous interaction with various elements [32] (p. 565). For example,
people experience space through the body as soon as they enter an inside area. In this sense,
Merleau-Ponty concentrates on perception, body, and the sensible dimension of human
experience, providing “an important perspective on more practical, applied architectural
issues” [5] (p. 13). Pallasmaa is indebted to Merleau-Ponty, particularly to themes such as
the lived body, perception, and mobility. In this regard, Steen Eiler Rasmussen underlines
the experience of architectural space, stating that “it is not enough to see architecture; you
must experience it” [33]. In this sense, Zumthor uses emotion as a measuring tool for expe-
rience [28]. This means that architecture is not just experienced visually, but through the
entire body, such as through movements and the senses, stimulating spatial experience [34].
In other words, the phenomenological approach is used to explore the relationship between
space and the body through experiences. This idea can be seen as parallel to the Asian phi-
losophy of traditional architecture, which emphasizes the interrelationships between body,
mind, environment, and cultural identity in order to understand architectural space [35–39].
However, these ideas have rarely been discussed in the realm of architecture, either in
Asia or in the West [38,40]. Furthermore, bodily movement is also an important method of
experiencing space. Bodily movement can be divided into two aspects: physical movement
and visual movement. It provides dynamic experiences through changes that occur due
to spatial sequences [41,42]. It shows that bodily senses and movements provide constant
dialogue with interior space due to spatial experience.
Spatial experience can be physical, sensory, and mental. The term “experience” itself
emphasizes the body as a medium for interacting with objects and space, generating emo-
tional aspects. According to the Cambridge Dictionary (2022), experience means “something
that happens to you that affects how you feel” [43]. This shows that the word includes
both physical and emotional qualities through doing and feeling. In this sense, to expe-
rience space is to interact with space through the body and mind; people can recognize,
act on, and perceive the space through their entire body. This means that the physical,
sensory, and emotional aspects of the body cannot be separated. For example, people can
perceive the surface of the concrete with their eyes, feel the surface by touching it with
their skin, smell the air of an interior space, and listen to the sound of footsteps while
walking inside. Therefore, an entire body can be viewed as a sensing apparatus that gauges
a space, other people, and surrounding objects in order to produce a spatial experience [44].
This method of sensory experience can generate an emotional experience; it is specific
to place, time, and materials. In this respect, Yi-Fu Tuan states that “place is a center of
meaning constructed by experience [ . . . ] through not only the eyes and mind but also
through the more passive and direct modes of experience” [45], which evokes feelings.
This shows that place can be understood as a space where a particular spatial experience
and its emotional connection are embedded. John Dewey defines experience as the whole
process of human adaptation to the environment through interaction with the environment.
He also emphasizes that human activities are incorporated from rational and emotional
thoughts and acts [46] (p. 41).

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People perceive the world through a lens generated by the emotions they experi-
ence [12,47]. Emotions are an expression of our feelings that appear according to certain
situations and experiences. Emotions are related to both personal experiences of interior
space and social experiences, affecting spatial perception and definition. This can be embed-
ded within the body as memories, which form a spatial identity. For example, each person
has different spatial memories, as they have experienced space differently [48]. This shows
that interior space can evoke a socially memorized spatial experience that affects one’s
emotions. In other words, we can all experience space differently, even if we are in the same
space. In this sense, Pallasmaa states that “all experience implies the acts of recollecting,
remembering and comparing” [10] (p. 72). This allows us to experience interior space
in various ways, stimulated by overlapping our present experiences and the memories
formed by past experiences [46] (p. 38) within the culture.
Thus, to experience space is to understand space phenomenologically, engaging the
body, environmental stimuli, and culture to provide an emotional connection (see Figure 1).
This provides some of the varying approaches for understanding the distinct ways of
conceptualizing how interior space is experienced through the meanings of the body,
which could provide theoretical and practical approaches to exploring the cultural context.
Experiencing space in this way has been described in phenomenology as “multi-sensory”,
a way of interacting with space through a sensing apparatus of the body. In relation to this,
Tuan (1977) explores the relationship between people and space, examining the sensory and
affective experience. Tuan writes, “[t]he given cannot be known in itself, what can be known
is a reality that is a construct of experience, a creation of feeling and thought” [49] (p. 9).
Tuan’s idea addresses how people feel and think about space and how they form a sense of
attachment to space, based upon memories or intimate experiences.

Figure 1. Phenomenological understanding of the body. Source: author’s drawing.

3. Multi-Sensory Experience and Emotional Connection: A Review

The interior experience is likely to be significant in the phenomenological under-
standing of architecture, but discussions regarding the issues concerning the emotional
connection are still at an early stage. Therefore, due to the limited amount of research
regarding the connection between interior experience and emotion, it is worth looking
at several architectural projects. The review of these projects not only covers existing
architecture, but also pavilions and conceptual installations. This is because such projects
provide both the symbolic meaning of architectural space and various ways of under-
standing spatial experience. For the case study, I have therefore selected two prominent
phenomenological architects, Peter Zumthor and Kengo Kuma, and analyzed how they
created architectural space in order to improve the quality of interior experiences and
emotional connections.

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3.1. Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, Peter Zumthor

In 2007, the Bruder Klaus Field Chapel was built by Peter Zumthor in Mechernich
in Germany (see Figure 2). The most significant aspects of the Chapel are found in the
construction methods [50,51]. Twenty-four layers of concrete were poured into a wooden
frame surrounding the tree trunks, which were stacked in a curved conical form. Once
the concrete had set, the wooden frame was set on fire. When the blaze subsided, only
the concrete was left, containing a blackened void where the logs’ shape and bark were
imprinted, and emitting a particular smell. After removing the frame, many small holes
were left behind in the walls and crystal shafts were inserted into the holes, which created
an effect reminiscent of the night sky [50–53]. These refracted lights from the crystal shafts
contrasted to the rough, blackened concrete surfaces surrounding them [51,52]. These
elements were used to create a structure, but the effects are far more evident in the interior
space; “the process of construction is integrated with the experience of space” [53] (p. 290).

(a) (b)
Figure 2. Peter Zumthor, Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, 2007. (a) entrance area (b) interior space (Photos:
August Fischer).

The environments of the interior space are a stark contrast to the smooth, angular
façade. During the short journey from entering the structure to the inner space, “the
horizontal movement through space is slowly shifted to a vertical movement with the
eyes” [53] (p. 290). “[The] gaze is pulled up by obvious directionality to the point where
the roof is open to the sky and the night stars” [50]. Sunlight, air, and rain all penetrate the
opening and create a particular environment and experience based on the time of day and
the season.

3.2. Serpentine Pavilion, Peter Zumthor

The Serpentine Pavilion 2011 was created by Peter Zumthor for meditation that evoked
a spiritual experience (see Figure 3). At the center of the pavilion was an inner garden,
which was conceived by Dutch designer Piet Oudolf [54]. Zumthor highlighted the role of
the senses and emotions in our architectural experience. The pavilion provided a hallway
with multiple paths and staggered doorways for visitors, which gently guided them to a
central, hidden inner garden. The covered pathways and seating areas surrounding the
central space created a calm and meditative environment from which visitors looked out
onto the richly planted sunlit garden, which was the center of the pavilion [55].
While traveling through a dark hallway with intermittent natural light streams, visitors
were directed “away from the bustling city and toward the secluded, intimate interior” [56].
Through blackness and shadow, “visitors entered the pavilion from the lawn and began
the transition into the central garden, a place abstracted from the world of noise, traffic,
and the smells of London—an interior space that allowed people to sit, to walk, and to
observe the flowers” [54] for meditation. The carefully chosen flora produced various
colors, fragrances, and textures that stimulated the individuals’ bodily senses [56].

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(a) Sitting areas (b) A floral garden (c) Corridor

Figure 3. Peter Zumthor, Serpentine Pavilion, 2011. (Photos (a,b): author. Photo (c): John Offenbach).

3.3. Sensing Space, Kengo Kuma (2014)

The Sensing Space was a new type of architecture exhibition presented at the Royal
Academy in 2014, emphasizing the experiential aspects rather than the functional aspects
of architecture. Seven prominent architects were invited to focus on the sensory qualities of
architecture [57]. The exhibition encouraged visitors to consider how architecture makes
people feel. As a part of the Sensing Space exhibition, Kuma introduced certain scents
into two darkened rooms to provoke memories of a particular space: the smell associated
with architectural aspects of Japanese culture (see Figure 4). He interpreted the aroma
of architecture as a full bodily sensation “inspired by a Ko-Do, Japanese smell ceremony,
which has similarities to a chado, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony” [58].

(a) (b)
Figure 4. Kengo Kuma, Sensing Space, 2014. (a) Kuma’s installation (b) Kuma’s installation (Photos:
James Harris).

In these darkened rooms, he created the woven bamboo structures as a traditional

Japanese architectural material, with spotlights infused with the aroma of tatami mats
and hinoki. Kuma referred to darkness as being “very important in traditional Japanese
architecture [...] Darkness also emphasizes the distinctive scent in each installation” [59]. A
review in the New Statesman stated that this particular scent evoked the childhood home
that comforted him and sent him “to the sleep of the innocents” [59]. This is a personal
experience shared not only with visitors who have similar memories, but also those who
are not familiar with the smell.

3.4. GC Prostho Museum Research Center, Kengo Kuma (2010)

Designed by Kengo Kuma, the wooden structure of the GC Prostho Museum Research
Center was built in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in 2010 (see Figure 5). The GC Prostho was
inspired by a traditional Japanese toy called a Chidori. Chidori is a three-dimensional
puzzle composed of interlocking timber sticks that feature joints that can be assembled by
twisting the sticks without the aid of fittings, such as nails [60–62]. The Chidori system

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provides a flexible structure and anti-object where space is delineated by light, structure,
and materiality. People first encounter the wooden structure and experience glimpses
of the interior space according to light conditions [60]. When entering inside, people
experience “a cave-like space carved out of the lattice that is concurrently experienced as
connected to the exterior while distanced from it due to the viewing angle densities of the
Chidori system” [60]. The quality of spatial experience is provided by integrating light
and shadow from the east-facing structure; “sunlight filters through the lattice structure,
creating an ever-changing pattern of shadows” [53]. Kuma refers to these patterns created
by light and shadow as “a forest of deciduous trees, where you can enjoy sunshine filtering
through” [62]. This filtering of light through lattice provides constantly changing patterns
and volumes throughout the day and allows people to experience the spiritual nature of
the space in various ways.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 5. Kengo Kuma, GC Prostho Museum Research Center, 2010. (a) Façade (b) The lattice
structure (c) Interior space (Photos: Daici Ano).

4. Analysis and Discussion

The case studies discussed above present the important connection between the
sensory body and materiality (environmental stimuli) and show that the interior experience
affects the emotional experience. Three key aspects have been raised as significant in order
to improve the qualities of interior experiences, which are: (a) the stimulation of the body
through movements and senses; (b) the use of materiality, which allows people to develop
an awareness of the sensual aspects of interior space; and (c) emotional connection, which
can be shaped both individually and socially. However, throughout the research, I found
that: (a) these three aspects cannot be separated, but rather an integrated understanding
is required, providing multi-sensory experience; (b) a particular factor provides cultural
experience by stimulating socially shared memory; and (c) an abstract dimension of a
work without architectural form also provides spatial experience through stimulating
bodily senses and evoking personal memory. It allows people to smell, hear, and touch the
materials of the interior space while walking inside, which evokes a particular memory of
one’s past experiences through emotional connection. This means that interior experience
is physical, sensory, cultural, and mental. The characteristics of the architectural projects
found through analyzing the case studies are as follows (see Tables 2 and 3).
As shown above, the case studies concentrate on particular environmental materials
and stimulate bodily senses in order to provide a spatial experience and its emotional
connection. For example, Bruder Klaus Field Chapel and Serpentine Pavilion focus on the
integrated ways of using various environmental elements, providing a multi-sensory space.
On the other hand, Kuma’s Sensing Space and Prostho Museum concentrate on a particular
element, stimulating a socially shared memory. The materials help people to experience,
feel, and perceive the space in a particular way. In this sense, Zumthor states that “materials
react with one another and have their radiance, so that the material composition gives rise
to something unique” [28] (p. 24). The materiality stimulates bodily senses, which are not

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independent, but interactive with each other, to provide a multi-sensory experience of a

place in time.

Table 2. Characteristics of architectural projects. Source: author’s drawing.

Peter Zumthor’s Peter Zumthor’s Kengo Kuma’s Kengo Kuma’s

Bruder Klaus Chapel Serpentine Pavilion Sensing Space GC Prostho Museum
Type Chapel Pavilion Installation Museum
Location Mechernich, Germany Hyde Park, UK Royal Academy, UK Aichi, Japan

• Movements
• Movements • Movements
The Body • Senses: smell, • Senses: smell
• Senses: smell, tactility • Senses: tactility
hearing, tactility

Light, water, concrete, woods, Plants, flowers, black

Materiality Aromas, wood strips Light, shadow, woods, glass
and fire. wall, light

• Spiritual inspiration • Meditation • Socially shared • Sense of space

Emotion • Meditation • Relaxation memory • Cultural connection

To emphasize material To provide a sense of space

To emphasize visitors’ sensory To provide a culturally
experience, particularly smell with formlessness,
experiences and provide space specific spatial experience,
and tactility, through providing a cultural idea of
for meditation. providing a socially shared
Spatial multi-sensory space for a lattice structure.
To provide various emotional smell of a Japanese home.
Experience spiritual experience. To use light and shadow for
experiences through the To emphasize materiality
To use native materials for a various spatial experiences
interaction of gardens, light, and senses rather than
strong connection to a in changing spatial
and darkness. architectural form.
particular place in Germany. atmospheres.
↓
Various aspects, such as the physical and sensory body, materiality, and emotional connection, were combined
to improve the quality of the interior experience.

Table 3. Analysis of various aspects of spatial experience for emotional connection. Source: au-
thor’s drawing.

Influential
Morphological Factor Sensual Factor The Body
Factor
Temperature

Movements
Proportion

Contrast
Rhythm

Shadow
Volume

Culture
Texture

Senses
Sound
Order

Smell
Color
Light

Local
Scale

BKC            
SP           
SS       
PM         
BKC: Bruder Klaus Chapel, SP: Serpentine Pavilion, SS: Sensing Space, PM: Prostho Museum.

An integrated understanding of environmental stimuli and the body can improve

the multi-sensory experience. Thus, experiencing architecture provides a multi-sensory
space; “qualities of space, matter and scale are measured together by the eye, ear, nose,
skin, tongue, skeleton and muscle” [10] (p. 41) within the material worlds. This means that
interior space provides a sensory experience that combines all of the senses. The interior
space reinforces one’s sense of identity and enriches the experience. For example, when
visiting an architectural space, what most strikes people is not the physical function for
which it was created, but the feelings it transmits through materials, stimulating their
bodily senses. In this sense, the case studies demonstrate that the stimulation of bodily
senses and their connection to environmental stimuli can improve the quality of spatial
experiences, generating emotion.

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Peter Zumthor focused on the tactile sense in order to provide spatial experiences
when engaging with materiality in the Chapel. In particular, he focused on the sense
of touch, which is directly related to the use of materials, and deals with several key
issues, such as the body, surroundings, and spatial continuity in time [63]; it connects with
particular aspects, such as environments and the culture of a specific place. In relation to
this, many architects and theorists concentrate on significant aspects of tactility as a source
of a visual sense that exceeds “two-dimensional surface texture” [64]. This introduces a
sense of how “touch performances propose qualities of feeling that impact powerfully
and ideologically” [65] (p. 167). This means that differentiated sensory organs in the
skin can understand space by “touching”, which is related to the sense of touch. Jennifer
Fisher, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art and Curatorial Studies at York University,
highlights that “tactilism is strikingly performative” [65] (p. 166). It means that tactilism
stimulates one’s entire body, engaging various elements within space. The tactile experience
that integrates space and one’s own experience is perceived through the skin. The skin is a
sensory organ and acts as a canvas for tactile sensation within the cultural context. In this
regard, the tactile sense provides two key attributes: texture and temperature [20,66,67].
For example, our skin can measure the temperature of the surroundings in an interior space
and can experience the texture of an interior space through the tactile experience of stroking
the surface. Moreover, the sense of touch can be considered the visual unconscious. In
relation to this, Merleau-Ponty focuses on the significance of “visual tactilism”. He argues
that people can see the depth, smoothness, softness, and hardness of matter with their
eyes [68]. This shows that the visual-tactile sense observes both materials that are far away
and things that are close with the same intensity, combining them into a coherent and
intimate experience. Zumthor also writes about material, stating that “people interact with
objects. As an architect, that is what I deal with all the time” [28] (p. 17). He argues that
touch is a synergetic sensory link that amplifies our bodily experience of the architectural
form [69]. For this, he concentrates on the interrelationship between space, time, sounds,
smell, light, and shadow, emphasizing the importance of materiality. Sense of smell is also
an important idea that enables both the Chapel (smoke smell) and Serpentine Pavilion
(floral scent) to improve the quality of the interior experience in relation to materiality.
For example, a particular smell, which was left behind in Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, can
directly link that place with something that was burned in the past. Moreover, the sense
of sound is also a significant aspect of environmental stimuli in the Chapel; it is never
absent, and relates strongly to materials in the interior space. According to Pallasmaa, the
sense of sound creates an experience of interiority, compared to the sense of sight, which
implies exteriority [10]. Hearing allows one to perceive the environment in cooperation
with sight and imagination. Sound measures space and its scale. The sound is provided
depending on the pattern and scale of the space and materials [10] (p. 75). These sensory
experiences are again integrated through the body and constantly interact with materials
and the surrounding environment. Spatial experience through the sensory body resonates
in our consciousness and highlights material experience in interior architecture.
Culture is also a significant aspect of interior experience. A particular environmental
element evokes personal memory, which then connects to spatial experience within a
culture. In particular, the sense of smell is strongly linked to cultural aspects, evoking
a particular memory. In this respect, it is worth looking at Kuma’s Sensing Space, as it
underlines materiality rather than architectural form. Kuma’s abstract wooden structure
containing a particular smell evoked a socially shared memory of a Japanese home for
those visitors who had experience of living there and gave information about the cultural
smell of the architecture to others who do not have this shared memory. These culturally
specific sensory experiences and memories stimulate our emotions and feelings in particular
situations related to the cultural space. Kuma’s installation also highlighted the experiential
rather than the functional aspects of architecture. It simply provided a sense of smell in a
dark room without an architectural form, but stimulated spatial experiences and emotional
connections. It demonstrated a significant aspect, which is that spatial experience can be

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developed not only in an architectural form, but also in material worlds with regard to the
cultural context. Thus, the spatial experience can be developed not through the reality of
architectural representation, but rather through “the awakening of the imagination” [17],
based on the predominant experience. Kuma’s Sensing Space also emphasized darkness
in order to provide the aesthetic value of Japanese architecture. Shadow and darkness
are considered to be a silent space in Japanese culture. The Japanese are familiar with
living in darkness and discover beauty in shadows. According to Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, this
is because the Japanese spend much of their daily lives in the heavy darkness that hangs
beneath the eaves [70]. Thus, the darkened room in Sensing Space provided a familiar
sensation of Japanese home culture. In relation to this, light and shadow, as environmental
elements, provide various ways of experiencing space. Light and shadow are significant
and enable us to experience and feel a particular spatial environment [14,71]. Together,
they enrich the quality of materiality, providing volume, smoothness, temperature, and
patterns; they provide a particular atmosphere of interior space [14,71]. This can also be
found in other case studies. The Prostho Museum, for example, emphasized the integration
of light and shadow, engaging the wooden lattice structure. It provided various ways
of experiencing space through observing the changes in spatial volume and atmosphere
created by the changing levels of light and shadow throughout the day. This aspect can
also be linked to the Japanese cultural context by engaging particular elements, such as
shadow, lattice structure, and timber. In the Chapel, however, light and shadow were used
for spirituality as they have a mystifying quality. In ancient Greece, the light was respected
for its spirituality and was considered to create a sacred place for holding ceremonies,
creating an ecstatic mood and an atmosphere of divinity [14,72]. Light also provides a
comfortable environment. As I mentioned in the previous section, the Serpentine Pavilion
provided both dark corridors and a garden filled with light, allowing people to experience
different ways of meditation, both through walking and through remaining separated from
the world of noise and the smells of London. This shows that an interior experience of
architecture can be transformed into an emotional level of experience of architecture.
Through this interior experience combining the body and materiality, a particular
emotion, such as spiritual, meditative, cultural, or enjoyable, can be evoked. This means
that the body, materiality, and emotional connection offer a fundamental idea for enriching
the interior experience. Emotions generated through sensory experience within space also
recall memories of past space, which embodies interior experiences. Thus, people can
experience, perceive, and feel the space, which creates spatial imagination; this can be
developed both individually and socially. Thus, interior experience represents several key
issues, such as the body, materiality, culture, emotion, and memory (see Figure 6).

Figure 6. Embodiment of spatial experience for emotional connection. Source: author’s drawing.

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5. Conclusions
This paper provides a phenomenological understanding of interior space in order to
explore the emotional connection between space and experience. This paper incorporates a
literature review and gathers together theoretical research based on issues of interior space,
experience, and emotion. I have explored the important role of the interior experience
within the field of architecture, engaging the bodily sense, materials, culture, and identity.
The interior space here refers not only to physical aspects, such as materiality, but also to
a container where bodily activity and movements are embedded within the culture. In
this paper, I have argued that interior space offers effective ways of developing spatial
and emotional experiences. Throughout this research paper, I found that the body and
materiality are essential in order to improve the quality of experiences in the realm of
interior space, which is understood as the origins of architecture. The spatial experience
of architecture is developed by: (a) the body, which includes bodily movements and
senses; (b) materiality, which represents the interior environment, stimulating the body;
and (c) emotional connection, which evokes both individual and socially shared memories.
Although a phenomenological understanding of architecture is becoming a more
important social issue in contemporary society, it seldom considers interior experience but
instead focuses on a visual sense of architectural representation. In this paper, I try to trace
what effect the spatial experience has on improving the quality of interior design through
examining the body and materiality in a contemporary architectural context, considering
the roles of interior space and the effects of experience. This paper also concentrates on
phenomenological and emotional experience in understanding architecture, which affects
the users’ perceptions and experiences through phenomenological engagement. Interior
space provides a personal connection to communication to offer an individual experience
and social engagement through predominant memories. The important aspects of interior
space are to provide bodily participation and emotional experience in engaging the body,
and allowing them to interact, communicate with, and recognize previous experience to
embody spatial perception. Thus, interior space can be transformed into a place where
the body is involved, allowing people to discover the interior environment that stimulates
users’ emotions and improves interior design to give users a better experience. In this
paper, I have drawn upon the representative case studies regarding the interior experience
to explore how they provide sensory effects and materials and engage people, providing
an emotional experience to improve the quality of the interior space, which is one of the
fundamental aspects of this paper. I found three significant aspects: (a) an integrated
understanding of the body, materiality (environmental stimuli), and how emotion plays a
substantial role in improving the quality of the interior experience; (b) a particular factor
provides cultural experience by stimulating socially shared memory; and (c) material
worlds that engage the body can enrich both spatial and emotional experience, even in an
abstract structure. This highlights the idea that spatial experience is not only a functional
but also a sensory and material experience. From this perspective, the emotional experience
can substantially improve the quality of interior space to enable a better understanding
of architecture. It is difficult to generalize the findings of this paper with regard to the
architectural environments as only four case studies were explored. Moreover, the data were
interpreted and analyzed by reflecting the researcher’s perspectives, which could provide a
subjective view in some respects. Nevertheless, this approach is still substantial and widely
used in the qualitative analysis of spatial experience. More discussions will be necessary to
develop ideas on how sensory stimulation and materiality affect emotional experience and
to look at what qualities need to be developed to allow the interior experience to become
more powerful, which could be examined in future studies.
A phenomenological understanding of interior space can bring about the stimulation
of emotional feelings and memories, leading to new ways of thinking about architecture,
which helps us to develop interior or architectural design. Therefore, I expect that this
paper will contribute to the understanding and knowledge of the relationship between

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interior space, the body, environmental stimuli, and materiality, considering how experience
interacts with architecture to create a multi-sensory space.

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

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 buildings
Communication
Apparent Destruction Architectural Design for the
Sustainability of Building Skins
Magdalena Celadyn 1, * and Waclaw Celadyn 2

1 Faculty of Interior Design, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, 31-157 Kraków, Poland
2 Faculty of Architecture, Cracow Technical University, 30-155 Kraków, Poland
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: Technical durability and aesthetical longevity of building skins are among the fundamental
demands of sustainable architecture in terms of building fabric’s physical changes due to deterioration.
This concept paper presents a design concept intended to fill the existing gap related to the limited
durability of buildings and non-existing design methods for its effective extension. The study
concentrates on the anticipation and assimilation of disintegration processes occurring in time
into the architectural design methodology to promote the design techniques focused on the visual
expression of the coexistence of nature and the artificial in the function of time. This study investigates
the building’s enclosure as an active boundary through which the building’s interaction with the
natural environment occurs, as well as a regulator of the building’s energy performance and a
factor conditioning their durability. The consideration of formal and esthetical deconstruction in
architectural design is followed by the analyses of some relevant examples of completed buildings
and cultural determinants underlying this issue. The proposed Apparent Destruction Architectural
Design (ADAD) concept addresses the time-dependency of the building skins’ physical properties
manifested by the deterioration, destruction and re-figuration of the building’s fabric. This design
Citation: Celadyn, M.; Celadyn, W.
concept offers a solution to the disturbing problem of architecture’s impermanence enhances the issue
Apparent Destruction Architectural
of sustainability of the building’s fabric in time, becomes a means to search for the unconventional
Design for the Sustainability of
comprehension and vision of architecture, as well as to reframe the architectural design toward its
Building Skins. Buildings 2022, 12,
1220. https://doi.org/10.3390/
compliance with sustainability postulates through the aesthetic concept.
buildings12081220
Keywords: architectural design; apparent destruction; entropy; technical durability; aesthetical longevity
Academic Editors: Bo Hong,
Oleg Kapliński, Agata Bonenberg,
Wojciech Bonenberg and
Marco Lucchini
1. Introduction
Received: 26 June 2022 The issue of buildings’ longevity remains one of the fundamental requirements of
Accepted: 11 August 2022 sustainable architecture due to the constant transformations as a function of time. These
Published: 12 August 2022 changes are related to the characteristics of the destruction process that are recognised as
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral unrecommended for technical reasons, as well as for aesthetical intentions. The obvious
with regard to jurisdictional claims in response is to slow down these changes by undertaking preservation efforts that cause
published maps and institutional affil- elevated financial costs, which include, among others, additional expenses due to increased
iations. energy consumption. The buildings’ rising energy absorbency throughout their life cycle,
therefore, becomes a factor contrary to the sustainability paradigm. The occupants’ accep-
tance of visible signs of weathering or effects of the systematic deterioration of material
substance, as well as a positive perception of a building’s destruction-related aesthetics,
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. can be indicated as essential factors in overcoming these negative consequences.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Buildings, or “composite structures” enabling different human activities and having
This article is an open access article
“both an internal space and an external form” ([1], p. 6), render a built environment
distributed under the terms and
component essential. The question of forming a building’s envelope refers partially to the
conditions of the Creative Commons
technical pillar that, along with social, economic and biophysical postulates constituting the
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
principles of sustainability [2], assures the construction of durable and functional structures
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
of high environmental performance and quality.
4.0/).

Buildings 2022, 12, 1220. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081220 365 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 1220

The self-modification of the initial phase of architectonic objects, disclosed after the
completion of a spatial concept of the aesthetics being specifically defined as well as
purposely developed by architects, remains unavoidable. The kind of this correction,
the intensiveness or the ultimate results, are difficult to anticipate since they depend on
the multifaceted factors that influence this process independently or synergistically. This
development has a destructive character mainly in terms of its materiality and formality, as
well as functionality or semanticity.
This article examines the durability-oriented design methods to shape the building
skin that goes beyond the direct application of the developed building techniques to
focus on the eco-aesthetic measures within the design process. The study investigates the
building enclosure as the active boundary through which the building’s interaction with the
environment occurs, as well as a “component in the integration” ([3], p. 1) of human-made
structures with natural ecosystems, and which does so in terms of the anticipation and
assimilation of disintegration processes occurring over time. It considers an architectural
design methodology that promotes the coexistence of architecture and nature. The article
analyses the character, scale and range of the relationship between the deterioration of the
technical conditions of buildings associated with their limited durability within their life
cycle and the aesthetical effects of this phenomenon.
This paper presents a conceptual framework aimed at implementing the Apparent
Destruction Architectural Design (ADAD) concept into the design methodology, supple-
menting the strategy for effective resources management that fulfils the environmental
sustainability issue. Specifically, its technical pillar [2] is accomplished with lean design
and construction, as is done as well with the introduction of recycled materials and durable
structures. The main objectives of the study are as follows: (1) formulate an apparent de-
struction architectural design framework in view of the building enclosure’s sustainability;
(2) determine the range of possible formal and technical interventions within the building
skin to employ the design scheme and then examine the character of their contribution to
sustainability; (3) recognise the apparent destruction as a means to reframe the architectural
design toward its compliance with sustainability postulates.
All those postulates are intended to respond to the apparent necessity to launch a
serious discussion about further methods to increase the sustainability of buildings by
way of unconventional solutions. The presented concept is designed to fill the existing
gap related to the limited durability of buildings and non-existing methods of its effective
extension. Written published materials have not indicated this way of dealing with the
analysed issue so far.
The structure of this article is as follows: the first part addresses the building skins and
emphasizes their substantial role in the buildings designed in accordance with sustainability
postulates and in view of their function as a separator between the exterior and interior
of buildings, as well as a regulator of their energy performance. This section also deals
with the issue of the durability of buildings conditioned by building envelopes. The next
chapter considers formal and aesthetical deconstruction in architectural design, analysing
some relevant examples of completed buildings. It also discusses the cultural determinants
underlying this issue. Crucial is the section dealing with the introduced term “apparent
destruction design”, which explains the meaning and essence of the idea by analysing it
in larger, energy-related and biophilic contexts. The application modes of this concept
in executed buildings, presented in the next fragment of the paper, give the idea of the
results of the implementation of the destruction concept. The Discussion chapter attempts
to justify the investigation of the realm of the interrelationship between the human-made
and natural environments that is the inspiration of the presented idea.

2. Building Skin and Sustainability Postulates

As Lee noted, the “building envelope occupies a special position within the strategies
of sustainable design” ([4], p. 120). These strategies respond to the functional, technical
and energy-related questions in a cohesive manner and assure the “symbiotic relationship

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with natural environment” ([5], p. 260). The building skin, also referred to as the building
envelope, shell, fabric or enclosure, establishes a physical boundary between the interior
of a building and the outdoors. The structure and technically advanced components of
this “environmental separator” generally situated between the inside and outside of a
building ([6], p. 2) are expected primarily to respond to external circumstances, providing
users with psycho-physical comfort.
For the purposes of this study, the term building skin is applied to analyse the apparent
destruction of a building’s external surface in the context of its environmental sustainability.
The term building skin designates the active position of this building component and its
ability to “selectively admit and reject” ([7], p. 247) the natural environment’s influence
in time, as well as to overcome its position as a boundary to physical and psychological
control of the environment [8]. This interrelationship results in visible signs of progressive
physical deterioration of building materials and products over time. The building skin,
providing the “transition between inside and outside” ([9], p. 9), becomes a responsive
building component in view of the following sustainable postulates: (1) low level of
energy consumption; (2) effective management of resources with emphasis on the materials’
durability; (3) enhancement of indoor environment quality parameters; (4) articulation of
interconnectedness and interdependency of human-made and natural environments to
provide the building’s functional and aesthetical cohesion. This serves to modulate the
occupants’ multisensorial emotional and cognitive experience of a building and intensify
the topophilia [10], understood as individually developed and emotionally based reception
of the space.

2.1. Energy Efficiency

Building skin responds to the sustainability requirements in a way to contribute to the
object’s high environmental performance, mainly through the control over effective energy
consumption within the object’s life cycle, as mentioned earlier, meaning both operational
and embodied energy.
The supplementing design techniques to accomplish the energy-efficiency-related
demand through the building skins outline, in large measure, comprise the following:
(1) spatial disposition respecting functional demands as well as building orientation and
exposure to meteorological conditions; (2) modularity of enclosure construction; (3) sim-
plicity of surface treatment of the enclosure’s finishing layer and limited processing
(e.g., mechanical working, plastic forming, abrasive machining); (4) application of re-
claimed, recycled or recyclable building materials and products; (5) assembly technique
allowing for the sporadically executed partial demounting of the damaged parts and
their replacement.
These above-mentioned procedures, having a direct or indirect impact on the appear-
ance of the enclosure, are decisive in this regard and should override aesthetical concerns
in a genuinely sustainable design. However, this seems to be a challenge to the ingrained
methods of aesthetical perceptions. This paper proposes a new approach to the issue of
energy-related features of building skins that brings them closer to the natural aspects of
the environment.

2.2. Effective Resources Management

In searching for notions relevant to the analysis of the connection between architec-
ture and the sustainability paradigm, Lee highlights concepts addressing the relationship
between the sensory perception that enables the qualitative evaluation of an object and
the quantifiable measures applied to its assessment [4]. These notions denote the “role of
architectonics in informing the relationship between the expression of material culture and
the environment” ([4], p. 10).
Given that sustainable architecture is to address and stimulate the users’ senses [11]
and considering the external wall as a compound functionally and technically developed
to enclose and dress the built structure, retaining superiority over the construction in terms

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of form and the content of architecture [12], the study focuses on the questions of building
skin materiality, identified as an essential factor of aesthetical distinctiveness. In addressing
the pro-environmental postulates, the building skin design is to simultaneously provide
the occupants with the high values of formal qualities that affect users’ perception on the
cognitive, behavioural, and emotional levels. Limited to the buildings’ enclosure, the study
area denotes perception as the “subjective assessment of individuals” [11], influencing the
users’ qualitative evaluation of the building’s performance.
To achieve this, the effective management of resources is necessary, namely the suitable
choice of building technology related to the skin and emphasising its low embodied energy
as well as durable materials and their fixing techniques.

2.3. Durability of Building Fabric

Durability is the most frequently mentioned and considered part of the sustainability
paradigm [13,14]. However, the difference between durability and longevity should be
elaborated on, given that they have a similar meaning. Some sources define durability as
“the quality of being able to last a long time without becoming damaged” [15], “the power
of uninterrupted or long continuance in any condition; the power of resisting agents or
influences which tend to cause changes, decay, or dissolution” [16]. Another definition
relates to the characteristics of a concept, meaning its ability “to exist for a long time
without significant deterioration in quality or value” [17]. Longevity is defined as the “long
duration of individual life” or “long continuance” [18]. It seems evident that the term
durability rather than longevity applies most closely to the problems related to architecture
and construction, as well as to the analysis in this paper. However, the term longevity will
be used in relation to aesthetical issues.
Another concept used in relation to sustainability and close in meaning is resilience, un-
derstood as the “ability of a system to absorb disturbances and still retain its basic function
and structure” ([19], p. 1). This concept, allowing small re-arrangements irrelevant to the
object’s identity and integrity, is aimed to “build capacity to work with change” ([19], p. 14).
The durability of any component, regarded as the quality of maintaining the object’s satis-
factory performance, is correlated with the environmental and operation-related factors that
cause deteriorating or degrading effects upon the object’s properties and its functioning.
Durability is the “product of a large number of factors” [20], including the type and quality
of materials chosen or the degree of exposure to which a building is subjected. As noted by
Legget, it is justified to analyse this term separately within each major building components
category, including the group “exterior finishes” [20].
Technical durability in the case of buildings, addressed through design and construc-
tion, remains the factor enabling the amortisation of environmental and economic costs [21]
and assessments of the ability of a building and its parts to “perform required functions in
its service environment over a period of time without unforeseen cost for maintenance or
repair” ([6], p. 2). Durability informs the extent to which a material maintains its original
requirements over time [22]. It refers to the state of the conceived material object, defining
its ability to fulfil the assigned functional requirements within the anticipated lifespan
“without breaking down irreparably” ([4], p. 12), whereas sustainability is understood as a
process that means continuity reached through the presence of necessary structures and
relations. The term durability, considered sustainability’s complementary component [4],
addresses the appropriate building methods that are to maximise the value of the object in
terms of its utility duration. This approach to the question of the object’s usefulness impli-
cates the evaluation of the introduced building materials, as well as the applied building
techniques, based on the postulates derived from the sustainability strategy of effective
resources management corresponding to the object’s lifetime performance.
The degree of sustainability of buildings and their components in the design strategy
is defined by the materials’ durability-related features that correspond to the objects’ life
cycle performance [23]. These comprise the following factors that are meant to function-
and technique-related solutions: (1) functional effectiveness defined by low-cost and simple

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building technologies; (2) adaptability, meaning easy change in function and potential
for relocation in the future; (3) ease of demounting process and separation of combined
materials or components for further reuse; (4) susceptibility of selected products and
materials to recycling; (5) transparency and simplicity, understood as the clarity of applied
technical solutions complemented by easy inspection; (6) dynamism of systems allowing
for ecological risks instead of their stability.
Among the issues essential for the aesthetical longevity of objects manifested through
the physical condition of the object’s surface are the following:
• Amenability for and ease of maintenance [24,25], as well as its low frequency;
• Evolutive capacity, meaning the possibility of future improvements in the building’s
technical life cycle;
• Ability of materials to withstand time-related malformations or those provoked by
users, supplemented with the introduction of envelope patterns to absorb possible
buckling “without detracting from the appearance” ([25], p. 87) of the object’s finishing
layer and that of the object as a whole.
These factors influence the perception of a building as a subject of continuing phys-
ical degradation and disfigurements and have an impact on its durability. To assure the
steady performance of a building shell in a lifespan, the applied construction techniques,
treatments and selected building materials usually improve its technical durability and
formal soundness, as well as its aesthetical approval. As a concept, the apparent destruction
architectural design refers to the interconnectedness of human-made and natural envi-
ronments in view of the building’s lifespan. The concept employs technical durability
accompanied by aesthetical longevity as the criteria of sustainability-oriented architectural
design. The above-mentioned building skin sustainability features and the indoor-outdoor
relationship, unlike indoor environment parameters irrelevant for this study, are considered
in the following sections.

3. Destruction in Architectural Design

The deterioration over time of building facades is a common occurrence and is a
noticeable phenomenon. The main three environmental conditions that have the greatest
effect on the built fabric are temperature (ambient and surface), humidity (absolute and
relative) and sunlight (ultraviolet), along with atmospheric pollution [26], while additional
human-induced degradation features, related to the object’s operation and users’ behaviour,
are littering, graffiti and vandalism [26].
These transformations concerning the building’s envelope usually do not cause any
direct inconveniences in terms of the real objects’ functionality and to a certain point,
have technically harmless effects. Their negative connotations usually decrease the overall
aesthetical value and thus can have, in some cases, an indirect impact on functional features.
Destruction, for the purpose of this specifically oriented analysis, is to be defined as
pursuing the disintegration of the above-mentioned characteristics and parameters of the
building over time. They differ significantly from the initial stage, expressing the originally
developed form. There are different indirect levels of destruction to be recognised within
the temporal range before the final stage and the extremal form assigned to this process.
It is reasonable to recognise other notions to describe the process of multilayered
changes in the building fabric, including deformation, disfigurement, degeneration and
disintegration. Destruction, as it embraces the above-mentioned, seems to be the most
appropriate term and thus is referred to in the following sections of this paper.

3.1. Formal and Aesthetical Destruction

The SITE group dramatised the disposable and substandard qualities of selected build-
ings in the projects realised from the 1970’s [27]. That, as Wines admitted, made them
appear as “arrested somewhere between construction and demolition” ([28], p. 98). Their
objects, frequently realised in the form of artificial ruins, remained “simultaneously unfin-
ished and decaying” [27], witnessing the unsettling process of completion, anticipating the

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inevitable future destruction of buildings that were created in a way to emphasise their
material “fragility and ephemerality” [27] in view of the progressing physical decompo-
sition over time, and the final disappearance as a result of nature’s dominance. Artists
and architects from SITE recognised in the creation of the buildings as “monuments of
entropy” ([29], p. 428), being a partial response to the whole spectrum of social concerns
that arose in the 1970’s, and to the criticism about the expansion of the consumption model.
Their buildings’ formal appearance as artificial ruins, as well as the exposure of nature’s
role in the process of specific consumption of building fabric, were the most often explored
SITE design method. This was possibly associated with the investigation of the destruction,
decay and incompletion constituting fundamentals of the architectural design concept.
The Maison Zalotay by Elemer Zalotay, representing the architectural design exploring
the destruction of material substance that expanded in time remains one of the most
extravagant examples of the architectural “design of the concrete” [30] based on considering
the acquisition of available artefacts and projecting possible effects of their reassembly
in a new context. This redesign concept, being a response to problems caused by the
accumulation of solid post-construction and post-consumption waste, vastly introduced
the materials acquired by scavenging as valuable resources. This building, exploding
out of its natural surroundings, resembled “a collage choreography that fills the site with
a cacophony of anarchic movement” ([31], p. 109). It constituted the specific spatial
composition of used parts that had undergone degradation. They were reclaimed and then
purposely assembled together to shape an unconventional form of housing construction.
Although this object was not erected on the strictly defined destruction aesthetic con-
cept, the final effect referred to its main postulates, including the exposure of the lapse of
time and limited material durability. It accomplished the sustainability paradigm require-
ments, proving its low energy consumption level, ease of accessibility of local resources
featuring building components, as well as formal cohesiveness to enable adaptability. The
Maison Zalotay, constructed entirely with different reclaimed solid waste, including alu-
minium, plastics and glass, exemplified a model of spontaneous architecture or garbage
architecture, which, along with Reynold’s “radically sustainable architecture” [32], featur-
ing the tentative and largely autonomous “earthship biotecture” [33], was the ultimate
example of experimental handmade structures. The Maison Zalotay constructed with
reclaimed materials and repurposed solid post-consumption waste was conceived with the
consideration of sustainability issues to decrease the impact of materials’ lifecycle on the
environment and increase their durability. The upcycling of reclaimed objects and products,
based on their introduction in a new formal and functional context, remains a proposal for
the effective management of waste.

3.2. Cultural Determinants

Culture unquestionably has important influences on multidimensional aspects of
individuals’ relationships with the physical environment [34]. The coexistence of symbolic
durability and physical impermanence, being the distinguishing feature of the Japanese
architectural culture, concentrates on acceptance and demonstration of transience, imper-
fection, change in various ways, the effects of weathering [35] and the incompleteness of
things together with a contribution to resource efficiency. The aesthetics based on these
determinants and derived from the wabi-sabi concept refers to the beauty that is deficient,
impermanent and incomplete and still remains “the most conspicuous and characteristic
feature of what we think of as traditional Japanese beauty” [36]. As Powell indicates,
wabi-sabi nurtures all kinds of material objects that remain authentic by acknowledging
some certainties. These can be summarised as follows: nothing lasts, nothing is finished,
nothing is perfect [37].
This approach, being opposite to the European concept, acknowledges the temporality
of material objects and their lack of precision caused by the changing usage methods
implying fallibility and limited lifespan. The analytical valorisation of the damage to
material substances, including architectural objects, provides them with contemplation-

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oriented values. The process of the growing old of the introduced building materials,
according to the wabi-aesthetics, adds to their attractiveness caused by the demonstration
of physical changes occurring over time. Thus, objects gain a positive perception by
observers and occupants.
The wabi-aesthetics, celebrating irregularity, rough surfaces or defects [35], seems to
expose the value of the destruction concept in architecture in the function of the flow of
time and to accept its occurrence in buildings. Although the philosophy of constant renewal
of building substance, being the essence of cyclic reconstruction of architectural objects
present in Japanese architectural tradition, stands in contradiction to the mentioned wabi-
aesthetics, the practice of systematic rebuilding can be explained as a need for providing
objects with stable identity through the impermanent consecutive embodiments. The
analogical inconsequence is present in some European philosophy concepts that maintain
the inexistence of identity in view of constant evolutions of material substance. The
variability in architecture presently frequently analysed is the postulate of sustainable
design guidelines concerning functional solutions.

4. Apparent Destruction Design

The apparent destruction scheme, in terms of the extension of building materials and
products technical life, supplements the related sustainable design strategies already well
recognised and analysed in the literature as follows: (1) design for repair; (2) design for
remake and replacement; (3) design for reclamation, allowing the avoidance of reprocessing
or decrease in repairing processes; (4) design for disassembly; (5) design for deconstruction,
understood as the process being “construction in reverse” [38], and conceived to avoid the
costly and environmentally harmful final demolition phase.
Related architectural interventions to enhance the environmentally responsible archi-
tectural design are:
• Architectural design for adaptive reuse, defined as the reintroduction of salvaged build-
ing components or products into the structure of a newly conceived or refurbished
building, executed in distinct functional, formal or spatial contexts [39], introduced to
complete the building envelope;
• The dematerialisation scheme, a basic strategy in sustainable design, considered
through: (1) reduction in the quantity of materials used in construction and finishing
works; (2) design cost-effectiveness in terms of maintenance, replacement or alteration
of building components; (3) sporadic substitution of originally installed building
components, leading to economical and environmentally responsible use of materials
throughout the buildings’ life cycle [24].
The dematerialisation scheme, which precedes the discussed apparent destruction
design concept, emphasises the dynamics of changes in artificial forms with the passage of
time, with ongoing exposure of signs of wear and tear on the enclosures due to environ-
mental conditions occurring in the natural surroundings.
The following subsections discuss the most important aspects of the concept:
(1) “passage of time” ([40], p. 17); (2) entropy in terms of acceleration of building skin’s vi-
sual maturity; (3) technical durability; (4) aesthetical longevity; (5) biophilic design patterns.

4.1. Apparent Destruction and Time Passage

Considering that no physical structure remains “immune to the passing of time” ([41], p. 10),
the apparent destruction concept raises an issue of temporal framework [35] as relevant to the
architectural design methodology. This design scheme anticipates architectural technical
decay or the ultimate dismantling processes due to the deterioration of the material’s value
from the passage of time. These processes are responsible for the building’s premature and
multidimensional obsolescence, stimulation of users’ negative aesthetical experience, and
generating additional financial and environmental costs caused by partial replacement,
deconstruction and/or ultimate demolition.

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The apparent destruction scheme mediates the architecture–nature relationship with em-
phasis on the dimension of time, acknowledging that time is an inevitable, continuous and ongo-
ing process of change [41], as well as “a material to be used in architecture” ([42], p. 192). ADAD
provides the alternative proposition in the discussion on the relationship between matter
and time to overcome the building skins’ specific vulnerability to the effects of time and the
visible revenge of time [43]. It does accommodate while shaping building skins, the com-
pound and unavoidable processes of ageing and weathering that feature the “breakdown
and alteration of materials by mechanical and chemical processes” ([26], p. 109); processes
that are not usually considered as “conscious and positive elements in design” ([43], p. 79).
ADAD provides a solution to the change of position of architectural objects being in “a deep
defense against the terror of time”([8], p. 59).
The decay and deterioration of material substance become a relevant element of the
character of the architecture itself due to their creative transformation of the assimilation
of possible changes in a building’s quality prior to its real appearance after the passage of
time. The exposure of building fabric to climatic factors causes physical changes that alter
the performance and physical characteristics of the affected building materials.

4.2. Apparent Destruction and Entropy

Destruction of the building’s envelope material, in its natural, spontaneous, purposeful
or accidental form, generates an increase in the entropy of a system, such as building
fabric. In consequence, there is an intensification of the formal complexity since the
formally and aesthetically consistent building elements become less organised. The lack
of tidiness follows the spontaneous and unintended appearance of additional elements
of spatial layouts or surface arrangements caused by deterioration. The latter provokes
the dissonance within the originally developed structure and finally implies the negative
perception of an architectural object, and thence of its disapproval.
Considering the issue of destruction in architecture, we have in mind a different
degree of this process. The same relates to facades. We analyse the problem of the natural
degeneration of the technical and aesthetical state of external surfaces of buildings, aside
from the potential mechanical human-related damages. Natural destructive processes are
the result of entropy, which in the changing environmental conditions are unavoidable.
Therefore, in its life cycle, every building is subject to gradual destruction. Entropy is
defined as the “quantitative measure of the degree of disorder in a system”; furthermore, it
maintains that “physical systems move towards a state of maximum disorder ”([44], p. 8).
As Arnheim underlines, “the more remote the arrangement is from a random distribution,
the lower will be its entropy and the higher its level of order”([44], p. 16). During the
operation of a building, we undertake corrective actions to rectify its degradation, and
finally complete destruction as a result of the action of the Second Law of Thermodynamics,
and “the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert
uniformity” [45]. The exterior facades of buildings are subject to this law as they are in
constant movement from a state of order to disorder.
Destruction or disappearance can become inspirational as a design process. Entropy
provides buildings with dynamics in the function of time, with the gradual vanishing of the
elements that originally made up the spatial-material composition toward the development
of new ones of usually negative connotations. Since this process frequently intensifies
beyond the author’s control, it is difficult to predict intermediate phases of the change
within the object’s multidimensional disposition originally developed by designers.
The apparent destruction design concept takes from some point of entropy devel-
opment of a facade material and uses it at a point of installation. The dynamic entropic
process proceeds in a highly randomised sequence, so its effects are usually unpredictable.
In architecture, entropy can be considered from a physical and technical viewpoint or from
the artist’s perspective. The image of a façade changes in line with the entropy of the
façade material turning into a natural pattern. This process can be illustrated by the curve
presented in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. The mechanism of building skin graphic entropy plotted as a function of time (A) and its
emulation in the ADAD concept (B) is considered from an art perspective.

The increasing disorder continues theoretically to the point of total destruction in the
physical and technical senses, as this is considered an irreversible process. However, in
the art aspect, it stops at some apex and then continues toward a greater order. The initial
image turns gradually to its negative as a result of the increased complexity of degradation
spots, as illustrated in curve A. This can seem similar to the entropy in reversible processes
in physics; however, the final result is different from the initial state in terms of the colour,
texture or integrity of the material. The intensity and/or uniformity can be equal, as
indicated in Figure 1.
The advanced state of entropy is seen as a certain disorder in its visual composition
that can be imitated in a new façade material at the moment of its installation in accordance
with the ADAD concept. The process of entropy then begins and proceeds in a way similar
to that of the original material; however, its range of relative equilibrium (apex) is achieved
by the higher degree of entropy (curve B), which is due to the initiation of entropy at a later
stage of its theoretical development and in new environmental conditions.
The ADAD is to create an effect of accelerated and purposely induced visual maturity
of an enclosure that accommodates the signs of weathering and materials’ malformations
occurring over time. It is to “resist the inauthentic and unreliable feeling of the artificial
environment” ([46], p. 129).

4.3. Technical Durability

Durability is enhanced with the more rational maintenance of building components,
where maintenance could be defined as “routine work necessary to keep the fabric of
a place in good order. In other words, the main objective of maintenance is to limit deterio-
ration” [47]. Nevertheless, the area and frequency of these works should be substantially
limited. The low frequency of maintenance operations, as well as the rarity of replacement

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of the components installed in a building with new elements, depend, among other things,
on the avoidance of technologies and building materials vulnerable to deformations due
to accelerated unfavourable weathering process or intentional or accidental mechanical
damages. The priority of high durability is crucial when drawing up the specifications for
the building materials and products that are to be introduced [24].
The technical durability, conditioned by the physio-chemical characteristics of building
materials, techniques of assembly, methods of finishing and climatic factors, remain in tight
relation to the formal aspects of architectural design, emphasised mainly in a developed
aesthetical concept. Because it features aesthetical longevity, the ADAD concept provides
the enhancement of design for the sustainable durability strategy.
The concept of Apparent Destruction Architectural Design (ADAD) allows the durabil-
ity aim to be achieved and, therefore, underlies the sustainable strategy of efficient resource
management. This model of controlled and deliberately employed deterioration, in order
to support the durability scheme and, in consequence, the sustainability goals, comprises
the following:
• Adequate shape of a building volume enabling undemanding fixing of the cladding;
• Application of construction techniques and manufacturing technologies to diminish
or ignore the presence of factors that harmfully affect the physical parameters of the
finishing layers of the built structures (e.g., disadvantageous location of objects in
places exposed to intentional or accidental mechanical damages, exposure to intensive
and destructive effect of adverse climatic conditions);
• Selection of recommendable building materials, possibly recycled and recyclable;
• Selection of materials of which physical properties allow stable performance to be
applied, including multiple tool cutting, chemical treatment or profiling.
The consideration of the environmental responsiveness of buildings remains unsepa-
rated from the analysis of the aesthetic-related issues [48]. It does require the simultaneous
recognition of physical and functional aspects, as well as an aesthetic concept. The latter
component, while revealing “mediation between culture and nature” ([4], p. 10) and re-
maining the “site for the development and display of a new cooperative contract between
built culture and nature” ([48], p. xiv), proves its significant role in building up occupants’
understanding and acceptance of the architects’ environmental-oriented approach.
The controlled destruction of a building’s structure is associated with the assimilation
of signs of the flow of time in which they emerge. The negative and disqualifying percep-
tion of the buildings’ fabric that shows gradual dissonance between initial perfection of
manufacturing and continuing signs of weathering or deterioration due to intensive or
careless use is to be partially tempered by the introduction of inventive design methods and
techniques. These are to evoke a positive perception with the purposely introduced appar-
ent destruction scheme, where the carefully displayed visible and tactile attributes of forms
and finishes, sometimes completed with purposefully exposed imperfections, serve the
assimilation of the signs of ageing within the component’s composition. Imperfections and
visible signs of physical deterioration initially considered in the component’s configuration,
although apparently omitting the phase of contemplation of the original state or observed
through the cause of transformation, still allow the observer to experience the object’s
impermanence as representing the reflected aesthetics over and against natural processes.

4.4. Aesthetical Longevity

The design methods and techniques to decrease the separation of the occupants from
the natural environment realised through physical boundaries materialised in the appear-
ance of the building’s enclosure are to limit the negative effects, such as “inadequate
contact with natural light, ventilation, materials, vegetation, views” ([40], p. 5). They are
to correct the forms of artificial structures toward their formal unobtrusiveness within the
surroundings, through the effectiveness in resources management, as well as the lean de-
sign and construction scheme that imposes significant limitations on the usage of building
materials and the production of solid waste. The implementation of building technolo-

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gies and techniques is to define the aesthetic framework of the formal environment’s
homogeneity-oriented architectural design.
The ADAD addresses the methods to demonstrate the continuity of the phenomenon
of a building’s ageing, being “always time-specific” ([49], p. 209). Apparent destruction as
an aesthetic concept draws on examples of the degradation of building substances arising
over time, mainly due to unfavourable climate-related conditions and factors, such as
rainwater, winds, sun or radiation. The range of material losses occurring on the surface
of a building’s envelope as a result of these processes combines irregular stains or dye
penetrations visible on the cladding material. The spatial or structural destruction refers to
the building’s single elements or to their composition-forming building parts. The extreme
situations cause its visual degradation, structural damages, loss of physical qualities or
other failures, suggesting progressive devastation of the object.
These above-mentioned visible indicators of a building’s continually occurring physi-
cal changes can be analysed as stimulating factors for the search for new aesthetic concepts,
as well as to become instruments to build “consonance of nature and artificially created
work” ([50], p. 75). Apparent destruction is a design device valued in a formal as well
as in an aesthetical aspect. It does assist to “capture a true sense of connectedness and
bio-integration” ([51], p. 415).
ADAD extends the simple introduction of building materials for finishes simulating
malformations or physical symptoms of time-related material destruction toward its sys-
tematic consideration in the context of the sustainability paradigm in architectural design.
The concept discussed is situated near the whole-systems model in its formal and aesthetic
aspects. It does echo the reconciliatory approach in design that acknowledges the integral
aspects of humans and natural systems acknowledged in the Trajectory of Environmentally
Responsible Design by Reed [52].

4.5. Biophilic Design Attributes

Inclusion of the selected patterns of biophilic design into the environment-oriented
design methodology allows the avoidance of the dominant approach to modern architec-
tural and landscape design, where nature is treated mainly as a “trivial and irrelevant
consideration” ([40], p. 5), to “connect human occupants and passersby with the experience
of nature” ([53], p. 110) and to get compound proficiency of the nature in the human-made
environment through the developed solutions concerning formal and technical aspects.
The development of these, in particular, “encourages an emotional attachment to particular
settings and places” ([40], p. 7).
The apparent destruction refers to the changed approach to the understanding and
appreciation of nature in its origin, structure and function. This is realised even with the
exposure of conceived artificial elements inspired by natural structures initially regarded
as “aesthetically negative” [54] and thus bringing detrimental connotations. The creative
transformation of these attributes allows the observers’ acceptance and positive perception
to be gained. The apparent destruction design concept is a proposal to complement
the discussion on the aesthetics of sustainability with regard to the formal expression
of building envelopes, with the inclusion of attributes of biophilic design viewed as the
“largely missing link in prevailing approaches to sustainable design” ([55]. p. 5).
The proposed design concept is aimed at the conjunction of the postulates of a sustain-
ability design framework concerning efficiency in the resource management discussed in
the context of building materials’ longevity with design methods and techniques address-
ing the aesthetics model of “visual ecology” [56]. This model addresses the inclusion of the
concept of biophilia into the sustainable design methodology, as well as various forms of
biomimicry applied, in particular, in terms of an architectural object’s formal appearance, as
inspired by nature in terms of the functional concepts of an organism [57], and mimicking
its selected features in a search for unconventional solutions in compliance with sustainabil-
ity postulates [58]. These proposals should combine the developed construction techniques
with the selection of building materials of specific physical characteristics and attributes,

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enabling their permanent integration with the environment within the structure’s lifecycle.
This study is an attempt to supplement an “aesthetics of ecology” ([59], p. 28), considering
the principles and mechanics that prove the object design as environmentally responsive
and responsible alike. Through the apparent destruction concept, as a sustainable architec-
tural design scheme applied to define the enclosure, the building is to “express its qualities
in the intelligent economy of reduced means” ([11], p. 49) as a support of the strategy of
effective resources management.
The possibility of the coexistence of the built environment with the natural environ-
ment “depends to a great extent on the designer’s ability to understand and creatively
integrate various technologies in an appropriate manner” ([60], p. 66). This harmonised
interrelationship comprises the abilities of human-made objects, being temporary structures
placed in the surrounding natural environment ([60], p. 69), to overcome the changes caused
by various factors related to climatic conditions. The capabilities of artificial structures to
accommodate these changes are to be recognised by designers in an aesthetical context
as well. Purposefully exposed imperfections or unfinished elements of external surfaces,
giving an insight into the methods of processing and assembling, as indicated by Walker
while discussing product design methods, might “absorb wear and tear” ([25], p. 87), al-
lowing effective assimilation of the damaging results of weathering or physical damages
caused intentionally in time, and thus remaining conformed to the overall appearance of
the building designed in conformity with the apparent destruction scheme.
The apparent destruction concept, derived from the symbiotic design and endorsed
with selected attributes within biophilic design patterns, responds to the demand for
the visual congruency of human-made structures with natural settings [34]. This interre-
lationship of artificial and natural environments is achieved with the effect of mingling,
blurring and ultimately dissolving the physical boundaries separating inner spaces from
natural surroundings. The quality of this design scheme is achieved through the display
of similarities in spatial configurations, textures and colours, as well as the application
of “broken symmetries” ([61], p. 78) to obtain a coherent visual effect and patterns that
mimic natural objects. It is to form buildings as objects that are the “self-evident part of
their surrounding” ([50], p. 17). ADAD provides a design methodology with the biophilic
design postulates of complexity and order, characterised by the presence of rich sensory
information that is configured with a coherent spatial hierarchy, similar to the occurrence
of design in nature [62].
The following section relates to the architectural discipline’s aesthetics while dis-
cussing the environmental sustainability-related questions, with emphasis on architectural
design methods to align the surface of external enclosures. The discussion over architectural
design methods and techniques addresses the layout of envelope surfaces and materials
specification with regard to sustainability issues.

5. Apparent Destruction—Application Modes

As Carlson indicates, every natural object demonstrates an integral relationship to
its own environment [63]. The interventions undertaken by architects should be, then,
focused on creating the similarly stable interconnectedness between artificial objects and
their natural surroundings, in the formal as well as aesthetic aspects, understood as relating
to the ways in which people respond to a place (e.g., local building materials, designed and
natural landscapes) through its multi-sensorial and intellectual experience ([26], p. 269).
An aesthetics-oriented appreciation of the natural environment as a source of inspi-
ration for buildings tends mostly to be the exposed component of the built environment.
It does require original measures for analysis, interpretation and creative use of natural
processes. Within the design process, including the building being treated as a complex
construction product, addressing sustainability issues and proving to possess an environ-
mental consciousness, there is a need to generate design solutions that, as Walker indicates,
challenge conventions and well-established notions of aesthetics, as well as inspire new
studies [25].

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The apparent destruction model applied to a building skin addresses this postulate
with the consideration of the physical characteristics and processing of materials. Design
methods, comprising the core of the apparent destruction model in the search for formal
continuity and the relationship between an architectural object and its natural surroundings,
include the following:
• Selection of durable materials to assure their long-lasting appearance and performance
to eliminate the need for excessive conservation and maintenance;
• Consideration of building materials as aesthetically appealing in their natural state;
• Reproduction, put in effect by the application of patterns, rhythm, tectonics and
textures borrowed from abiotic forms;
• Imitation of destructive processes occurring in the appearance of natural structures
from weathering;
• Assimilation of possible negative effects caused by the weathering assured by
a surface layout;
• Accidental arrangement of openings that remain in accordance with functional re-
quirements and effectiveness in terms of spatial layout;
• Employment of different processing of materials forming the cladding to achieve the
effect of accelerated ageing;
• Broad exposure of signs of apparent destruction in finishes throughout the building
skin inherent in the envelope’s composition;
• Employment of techniques to emphasise the signs of a building’s visual maturity as
opposed to its aesthetic obsolescence;
• Reduction of a building’s geometry to a minimalist form to vastly expose the enve-
lope’s texture.
Coexistence and continuity of artificial and natural environments is articulated with
design techniques to observe constant and inevitable physical changes in a building’s
envelope influenced by environmental conditions over time. The appearance of poten-
tial conspicuous defects of the building cladding, caused mainly by changing weather
conditions, ageing, wear and tear or destruction, as well as naturally developed changes,
constitute a valuable factor in defining the formal identity of the structure and its con-
nection to the natural context. The apparent destruction concept incorporates biological
references into the design of the enclosure in terms of their composition, realised through a
formal configuration of surfaces, placement of nature-inspired patterns and textures in the
enclosure layout and the arrangement and shaping of openings. The ultimate objective of
this concept is to avoid a building’s premature aesthetic obsolescence [25] that might be
caused by the aesthetic perfection of design, provoking the exposure of parts demanding
replacement due to their defective appearance. The ADAD scheme, accommodating the
ongoing physical changes in building fabric caused by weathering or operation, denotes
the “symbiotic interrelationship between building and the site” ([64], p. 249) and thus
complies with the complex sustainability issues.
The emerging new building techniques and technologies based on software along
with computer-controlled machining tools allow the graphic design to be made full use of
in the production of building materials to apply the apparent destruction design concept,
mimicking the physical changes that develop naturally on a building fabric with the passage
of time. These mainly concern decolourisation, texture irregularities appearing on the
finishing layer or perforation of material in the case of the long-lasting influence of specific
aggressive external factors. The following subsections examine the apparent destruction
concept through the discussion of the exemplary types of surface compositions. They are
developed in anticipation of the impact of meteorological factors on the deterioration of
the materials’ physical parameters and mimicking them to build a cohesive aesthetical
scheme. The selection of the composition and its critical analysis is made with an emphasis
on attributes of selected patterns and processing techniques applied to imitate the naturally
occurring decay or deterioration of matter, building materials and characteristics of surfaces.

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5.1. Flat Compositions

The apparent destruction concept exercises the defining of surfaces through their
irregularities as a result of the process of the ageing of building materials. This mainly
concerns experiments with the shaping of building facades. The colour and graphic
scheme of the building materials used to realise this concept imitate materials undergoing
an intensive and advanced process of degradation appearing over time. This approach,
anticipating future physical changes, can be described as deceptive and anachronistic since
it falsely suggests the flow of time and its destructive consequences on the building fabric.
However, the value inhering in the objective of this ADAD concept is its own justification
and thus withstands the criticism.
In order to intensify the destruction-related changes that naturally develop over time
and to avoid repeatable arrangements, individually developed building and processing
techniques are exercised to achieve the effect of apparent randomness in the configuration
of components, repetition of patterns, rhythmic variations and contrasting juxtaposition
of textures. Still, the composition and assigned technical measures enable recognition of
the “organized complexity” ([40], p. 19) of the enclosure’s layout, allowing observers to
experience it in an orderly and organised way.
The design techniques to realise the plane apparent destruction scheme in flat com-
positions, preconditioned by the selection of durable building materials to withstand the
applied physical or chemical treatments (e.g., stainless steel, Corten, concrete, brick, stone),
comprise the following:
• Visual patterns featuring irregular stains occurring on the finishing layer executed with
Corten caused by chemical reactions triggered by ongoing meteorological phenomena;
• Shading applied to the adjacent modules to control the sharpness of surface boundaries
and to facilitate its formal blending with the surrounding;
• Seemingly uncontrolled configuration of the openings being disposed accordingly to
functional demands;
• Individually developed building treatment techniques for the finishing layer
(e.g., embossment, brushing, sheet-metal forming, perforation);
• Mixture of processing techniques to obtain apparent malformations in the surface
layer that are deliberately introduced and to anticipate possible damages occurring in
the span of time due to intensive usage (e.g., brushing and perforation, fading out and
colour saturation);
• Spontaneous yet carefully controlled juxtaposition of adjacent modules differing in
finish (e.g., bright and matte, satin and rough, plain and perforated).
Possible effects of building material selection, graphic layout and employment of
processing techniques to execute the apparent destruction concept in the flat compositions
of enclosures are presented in Figure 2.
The apparent destruction design concept is investigated in the context of selected sus-
tainability considerations focused on buildings within an architectural design framework.
Among them is conservation, understood as a measure of the object’s physical durability
and effectiveness in terms of formal quality, aesthetical identity and sensorial stimulation,
all influencing the social perception of a human-made object. In the search for design tech-
niques that comply with these sustainable approaches, the apparent destruction concept
examines the formal and technical means to figure out the objects relationship with the
natural surroundings. This approach remains in tune with Venturi’s opinion that buildings
have been made to communicate the ideas hidden behind the architectural concept through
their enclosures [65]. The design concept is defined jointly by the composition, the applied
building techniques and the used building materials, which all together enable this expres-
sion. These main categories were used to create the typology of unconventional design
interventions to affect the building envelope. The inclusion of selected attributes into the
building components’ design framework assigned to the category of biophilic design based
on natural patterns and processes [55,66] adds to the meaning of the physical presence of
nature and awareness of natural processes, especially seasonal and temporal changes.

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(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 2. Applicationf ADAD concept in the flat composition of an enclosure; (a) Façade cladding
in Corten steel sheeting, Centro de Convenciones de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, arch. Josep Lluis
Mateo-MAP Arquitectos, 2004 (Photo by M. Celadyn, 2014); (b) Inner courtyard walls’ cladding
with plane and perforated Corten sheeting, Teaching Center Vienna University of Economics and
Business, Wien, BUSarchitektur ZT GmbH, 2013 (Photo by M. Celadyn); (c) Façade cladding in
partially perforated and stamped stainless steel sheeting, Museu Blau, Barcelona, arch. Herzog
and de Meuron, 2011 (Photo by M. Celadyn); (d) “The wings” sculptures fabricated with panels of
brushed aluminium, EXPO Mediolan, arch. D. Libeskind, 2015 (Photo by M. Celadyn).

Table 1 identifies the main attributes of the flat composition scheme with applied
techniques to realise the ADAD conceptual framework, as well as the possible impact of
these variables on the formal appearance of the building enclosure.

Table 1. Typology of flat composition in ADAD concept.

Plane
Composition Processing Material Surface Appearance
Attributes
Manufacturing process to
Random configuration of openings contrasted
Accidentality obtain the effect of premature Corten plain sheets
with rigid arrangement of cladding
ageing due to corrosion
Manufacturing process to
Corten plain or Discolourations, softening of colours, rupture,
Shading obtain the effect of premature
perforated sheets irregularity in displacement of stains, dissolving
ageing due to corrosion
Unconstrained placement, repetitive forms,
Mechanical working based Stainless steel, monochromatic collage of polished, shiny,
Seriality
on embossment aluminium brushed and matte modules, clustering
of perforations
Complementary Perforation, brushing, Scratches arranged randomly, malformations of
Stainless steel
Contrasts grooving cladding, scratches, cuts

5.2. Relief Compositions

Similar to flat compositions, the application of design techniques to realise relief
compositions is preconditioned by the selection of durable building materials to withstand
the chosen physical processing or chemical treatment. The relief compositions of building
skin introduced traditionally used building materials (e.g., wood, copper, concrete, brick),
as well as these recently vastly employed, especially in public buildings, such as aluminium,
stainless steel, Corten or titan.
The design techniques to realise the apparent destruction scheme in relief compositions
comprise the following:

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• Layout featuring embossed or press-formed metal modules with visible deep

gaps between;
• Random arrangement of repeated forms;
• Tectonic articulation;
• Broken rhythms of adjacent modules;
• Graded porosity of segments.
Distinct modes of application of the apparent destruction concept to relief compo-
sitions employing tactile patterns illustrate the dependence of aesthetic effects on the
material’s physical parameters and applied specific processing methods, as well as the
spectrum of possible results influencing the dynamics, colour saturation and tectonics of
the enclosing surface. The possible modes of application of relief compositions to building
enclosures are presented in Figure 3.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 3. Application of ADAD concept in relief composition of building enclosure; (a) Façade
cladding in wrinkled steel mesh, pavilion, EXPO Milan, 2015 (Photo by M. Celadyn); (b) Inner
courtyard walls’ cladding with perforated stainless steel sheeting, Stary Browar (Old Brewery)
Commercial Center, Poznan, Poland, arch. ADS Studio, R. Kaja, 2007 (Photo by W. Celadyn, 2014);
(c) The external pivoting doors with perforated steel and stains from the Corten-finished walls’
cladding, British pavilion, EXPO Milan, 2015, (Photo by M. Celadyn); (d) External wall cladding with
picado technique, CKK Jordanki Congress and Culture Centre, Torun, Poland, arch. Menis Arquitectos,
2015 (Photo by M. Celadyn).

The typology presented in Table 2 combines the selected relief compositions that
emphasise the range of examination of the appearance of finishing layers on the façade. The
various processing techniques applied were examined as means to modify the building’s
volume, to transform its surface and moderate its interference in the setting.
An exemplary list of processing methods contributing to the surface effects comprises
these commonly used techniques that are based on modern technologies as well as innova-
tive ones that explore mixed techniques to reinterpret traditional building techniques. One
of them, named picado, offers the concrete-clinker brick conglomerate made with crushed
red brick [67] reclaimed from a local factory and then embedded into the thick reinforced
concrete to shape three-dimensional building cladding [68]. This technique represents an
unconventional way toward the reduction of the negative impact on the natural environ-
ment and addresses an efficient resource management sustainability strategy. It merges the
design for reuse with the aesthetic concept of apparent destruction.

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Table 2. Typology of relief composition in the ADAD concept.

Relief
Composition Processing Material Surface Appearance
Attribute
Wrinkled mesh, undulating, folds, bulges of
metal sheets causing deceptive illusion of
Crease Embossment, stretching, folding Stainless steel
building volume or slight movement, slots,
irregular texture
Irregular openings, porous, rough, robust
Abrasion Mechanical treatment of building materials Stainless steel layer of the cladding, clustering, random
disposition of repeated projecting pieces
Perforation on an irregular grid, breaking,
Puncture Grooving Stainless steel
cutting, collapse
Picado conglomerate of reclaimed building
materials, crushing, adaptive reuse of Reused brick,
Chipping Roughness, robustness, hardness, brutality
recovered building products of concrete
high durability

6. Discussion
The apparent destruction of architectural design concept is to add to the discussion
about potential methods for making contemporary architecture more sustainable. As
mentioned earlier, much has already been said and written about operational energy
saving in buildings and also about the reduction of embodied energy in buildings through
a suitable choice of building materials and components. Relatively lower attention is
assigned to the issue of the longer technical durability of building systems. The ADAD
concept indicates ways to prolong the life cycle of conventional building materials in both
the technical and aesthetical and symbolic meaning. This component of the scheme partially
refers to architecture that is resistant to the pressure of changing styles and traditional
perception of building aesthetics that are a restrictive factor for the implementation of “aged”
materials. It can introduce new aesthetic and technical values to contemporary architecture,
as well as contribute to its interconnectedness with nature through the exposure of creatively
transformed nature-produced signs of decay of the building fabric. External surfaces’
accommodation of the effects of environmental factors results in the gradual mingling and
dissolving of the object’s outlines. The softening of the building edges’ sharpness and
strength evolves with the application of processing techniques along with graphic patterns
introduced to provoke the blurring of lines limiting the façade material in the process of
transition between the artificial and natural.
Apparent destruction architectural design aiming at the increase in technical durability
of building skins introduces a sort of camouflage of the actual age of buildings, which could
be contested as a means of purely aesthetic treatment. However, there are some features
that stand behind such an approach to the issue of architectural design and sustainability;
these comprise the following:
• Extension of the life cycle of materials and building components due to the acceptance
of their time-responding aesthetics;
• Decrease in embodied energy of buildings due to less frequent maintenance procedures
executed in view of expected aesthetical corrections;
• Reduction of new building materials used in renovation works or as replacements;
• Aesthetic and formal integration of buildings with their natural surroundings.
All these features are directly or indirectly part of the sustainability paradigm for
architecture. The building envelope concept faces changing climatic conditions as well as
the consequences of the occupants’ conduct while showing its eco-aesthetical aspect that
reflects the object’s resilience and longevity alike.

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ADAD considers anticipation, accommodation and creative adaptation as well as

the progressive transformation of the signs of matter’s decay caused by environmental
factors related to time passage. As a result of the assimilation of possible changes in a
building’s quality prior to its real appearance and their creative altering with selected
building techniques, the decay of the surface itself becomes a relevant element of the
character of the artificial. Therefore, the discussed design concept is to transcend the
distractive evidence of time passage and to substantially weaken the phenomenon defined
as buildings’ captivity to transformations in the function of time.
Furthermore, ADAD recognises the similarity of morphologies of building skins and
those observed in components of the natural environment as complementarities derived, in
part, from the biophilic design. This component of the scheme partially refers to architecture
that is resistant to the pressure of changing styles and traditional perceptions of building
aesthetics that are a restrictive factor for the implementation of “aged” materials.
The environment-responsible postulate of the formal integration of artificial and
natural forms proceeds within ADAD in two interconnected areas. These comprise
the following:
• Alteration of signs of physical decomposition of building fabric denoting the passage of
time to underline the physical transition between the artificial and natural, remaining
as the leading design principle;
• Bio-mimicking of the enclosure’s composition to enhance the human-made object’s
formal integration with the natural surrounding and their aesthetical interdependence.
The increase in the durability of buildings and their envelopes goes against the current
trend in architecture characterised by frequent exchange of facades and exterior finishes,
technical services and “interior constitutive components” [39]. This tendency is to be
stopped with the introduction of unconventional design methods and techniques. Apparent
destruction addresses the time-dependency of the building skins’ physical properties
manifested by the destruction and re-figuration of building fabric. This design concept
offers a solution to the disturbing problem of architecture’s impermanence and enhances
the issue of sustainability of building fabric over time.
The paper attempts to investigate the realm of the interrelationship between the
human-made and natural environments through the examination of the building’s envelope
while underscoring the interconnectedness of these environments and continuity of space.
The concept is designed not only to indicate a novel idea for architecture and the building
industry but also to spark discussion on some unconventional ways to perceive architecture
through the lens of the extended view of sustainability in the built environment and some
new challenges for the public in the perception of our buildings.

Author Contributions: Conceptualisation, M.C.; methodology, M.C. and W.C.; investigation, M.C.;
writing—original draft preparation, M.C. and W.C.; writing—review and editing, M.C.; visualization,
M.C. and W.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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49. Murialdo, F. Adaptive use and reuse: A time-specific process. In Conservation-Adaptation. Keeping Alive the Spirit of the Place
Adaptive Reuse of Heritage with Symbolic Value; Fiorani, D., Kealy, L., Musso, S.F., Eds.; EAAE: Hasselt, Belgium, 2017.
50. Zumthor, P. Thinking Architecture, 1st ed.; Birkhauser: Basel, Switzerland, 2006.
51. Yeang, K. Ecodesign. A Manual for Ecological Design; John Wiley & Sons: London, UK, 2009.
52. Reed, B. Shifting from “sustainability” to regeneration. Build. Res. Inf. 2007, 35, 674–680. [CrossRef]
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A Collaborative Inquiry into Design and Planning, 2nd ed.; Bartuska, T.J., McClure, W.R., Eds.; John Wiley & Sons Inc.: Hoboken,
NJ, USA, 2007; pp. 65–74.
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Science and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life; Kellert, S.R., Heerwagen, J.H., Mador, M.L., Eds.; John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken,
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Aesthetics of Sustainable Architecture; Lee, S., Ed.; 010 Publishers: Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 2011; pp. 243–258.
65. Venturi, R.; Scott-Brown, D. Architecture as Signs and Systems for a Mannerist Time; Harvard University Press: Cambridge,
MA, USA, 2004.
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Article
Creative Thinking in the Architecture Design Studio:
Bibliometric Analysis and Literature Review
Eun Joo Park 1 and Sanghee Lee 2, *

1 Department of Architecture, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea; [email protected]

2 Department of Architecture, Dongyang Mirae University, Seoul 08221, Korea
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: It is increasingly important for researchers and educators to find effective ways to stimulate
students’ creativity. In design education, the specificity of design, defined as open-ended problems
and ill-defined problems, provides a special opportunity to improve creativity. Nevertheless, design
education itself encounters other issues concerning creativity, such as not specifying in detail what
creative design pedagogy should be. Thus, a comprehensive review of existing studies is needed
to guide research in this field better. We used bibliometric analysis to provide information on
literature statistics of the 658 articles published in design research–related journals between 1982
and 2022. An in-depth review of the 36 selected articles revealed the existing research on the design
studio to investigate creativity from three perspectives: (1) creativity criteria and evaluation, (2) idea
generation and development, and (3) pedagogy in the design studio. This study provides a roadmap
for global educators and researchers focusing on pedagogy that enhances students’ creativity in the
design studio.

Keywords: creative thinking; design studio; design education; design research; bibliometric

Citation: Park, E.J.; Lee, S. Creative

Thinking in the Architecture Design
Studio: Bibliometric Analysis and 1. Introduction
Literature Review. Buildings 2022, 12, Creativity is characterized by the ability to deal with ideas of expression and produce
828. https://doi.org/10.3390/ unique and useful results [1]. It is often qualified by its outcome but can be associated with
buildings12060828 a specific process that is likely to produce creative artifacts in design [2,3]. A creative design
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński, process is a special type of design that generates innovative ideas [2,4]. Guilford pointed
Wojciech Bonenberg, Agata out that creativity is closely related to the ability to reconstruct problems and reinterpret
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini thinking, which leads to freedom from fixation when developing logical solutions [5]. New
ideas emerge from a new combination of existing knowledge and ideas found in experi-
Received: 19 May 2022
ments. Designers can find solutions based on processes such as problem interpretation,
Accepted: 13 June 2022
memory exploration, and adoption of relevant knowledge [6]. Cross argued for a design
Published: 14 June 2022
way of knowing that was distinct from scientific and academic ways of knowing [7].
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral Creative design thinking can be a powerful way to motivate various design ideas
with regard to jurisdictional claims in by allowing an interactive understanding of ill-defined design issues [7–11]. Accordingly,
published maps and institutional affil- many researchers and educators have attempted to find effective ways to stimulate students’
iations. creative thinking, and they emphasize the importance of design education [7–10,12–15].
Transitions between divergence and convergence thinking often occur throughout creative
design idea generation [16]. Dorst studied the core of design thinking to generate ideas,
defined reasoning patterns derived from design, and emphasized abduction as a basic
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
reasoning pattern for creative thinking [12]. Enhancing creativity is crucial in design
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
fields and helps students discover their visions, acquire core expertise and knowledge, and
distributed under the terms and
understand the professional philosophy and foundation of the design process [11]. Students
conditions of the Creative Commons can intensively demonstrate their creative skills while learning during the design process
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// and engaging in communication, discussion, and knowledge acquisition methods [17].
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ Design thinking has become a way to lead students’ creativity and innovation, teach
4.0/). creative problem solving, and improve or rediscover creative confidence [18,19].

Buildings 2022, 12, 828. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12060828 385 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 828

In the university education environment, each field has its own basic characteristics.
The architectural department is an active area where research, design, and implementation
processes are based on interaction, sharing, and production at the forefront rather than on
theoretical processes [20]. Creativity and spatial ability are representative cognitive abilities
that are considered important in architectural and spatial design [21–24]. The architecture
design studio is a unique educational area in which students require creative abilities
and communication skills [25]. The design studios are the most fundamental course of
architectural education where students acquire practical and theoretical knowledge and
creatively transform that knowledge into a representation of design models [26,27]. Design
education has a complex and contradictory structure based on comprehensive and abstract
concepts. Nevertheless, it can be a powerful way to allow interactive understanding of ill-
defined design issues and motivate additional design ideas [9]. The design studio approach
consists of repetitive reflections and representations in the design process [28]. In terms of
the education aspect, how new operative techniques change the role of creative thinking in
the design studio needs to be identified rather than just experimenting with techniques [29].
One of the problems with architectural design education is the gap between knowledge
acquisition and knowledge application in design studios [30–32]. Design is related to
subjective creativity, but the empirical university paradigm emphasizes objective rationality
in education [17,33]. Design education has generally been delivered to students through
the subjective teaching method of teachers rather than through a systematic academic
approach [34]. Design education tends to be ignored as an academic category from a general
educational perspective that values logical and empirical education. Thus, design education
should have an educational model with more academic methods to improve creativity
because promoting creativity is an important issue, and interdisciplinary integration should
be emphasized [35]. Against this background, in the area of design education, many
studies related to education to enhance creativity are currently being actively conducted.
To improve students’ creativity in design education and develop a more rigorous and
academic approach to design education, it is necessary to form an educational platform
that can take potential thinking to the next level within a new educational paradigm based
on creative experience according to university standards.
Based on the research content analyzed, we aimed to extract research trends that could
be important in future design education by identifying keywords related to creativity that
have been actively explored in design research. Therefore, this study sought to understand
creativity in relation to the design studio, along with the integral relationships between
(1) creativity, (2) design strategy, and (3) design education. The composition of this paper
is as follows. Section 2 describes the applied methodology, while Section 3 addresses the
results of the bibliometric analysis. Section 4 discusses the findings and Section 5 presents
the conclusions.

2. Materials and Methods

The use of traditional review methods depends on the objectives of the review and
the size and nature of the literature under review. Since bibliographic analysis and meta-
analysis are both inherently quantitative, the differences can confuse some scholars. To
clarify this distinction, quantitative methods can handle large quantities of literature but are
relatively different in terms of usage. In particular, meta-analysis focuses on summarizing
empirical evidence by analyzing the direction, intensity, and relationship between the
effects. It is useful for solving open research questions with data closer to conclusive than
reported in any single primary study [36]. In contrast, the bibliometric analysis summarizes
bibliographic and intellectual structures in the field by analyzing social and structural
relationships between different research components such as authors, countries, institutions,
and topics [37]. Thus, this study employed a bibliometric methodology summarizing
quantitative techniques on bibliometric data to facilitate an approach to scientific databases
via the Web of Science (WoS) to obtain large amounts of bibliometric data using software
such as VOSviewer. The WoS is one of the world’s largest bibliometric databases for

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peer-reviewed studies, and it delivers the results of various analyses and forms linked to
VOSviewer. Therefore, it was considered an appropriate method for identifying evolving
research trends in creative thinking in design research across disciplines. To achieve this,
the bibliometric study was conducted over the following five steps [37]: (1) define the aim
and scope of the study, (2) choose the techniques for the bibliometric approach, (3) collect
the data for bibliometric analysis, (4) run the bibliometric analysis comprising performance
analysis and science mapping, and (5) deliver the findings and discuss their implications
for future research.

2.1. The Aim and Scope of the Study

This study aimed to contribute to future research directions on researchers’ creativity
in design-related areas by presenting and reviewing research trends to improve students’
creativity in design studios. In addition, the bibliometric study delivers theoretical and
methodological references to creativity in the design studio. Researchers can obtain an
understanding of the gaps between different disciplines and obtain a variety of ideas about
design education that enhances students’ creativity. Thus, we conducted a literature review
to capture the developing topics and emerging concepts in design education that were
relevant to our research questions on creative thinking in design research. This study
addresses the following main research questions:
RQ1. How can creativity in the design process be evaluated in students’ work?
RQ2. What are some effective educational tools in the design studio to support the creativity
of design concepts?
RQ3. What educational practices are found in design studios to enhance creativity?

2.2. Framework for the Study

Table 1 shows the selection process adopted and analysis of the study at each phase.
In the first study-selection phase, a preliminary study was conducted based on the title,
abstract, and keyword. In the second bibliometric approach phase, a descriptive and
quantitative methodology analysis of traditional literature reviews from the WoS databases
was conducted based on publication year, the number of total citations, the most productive
authors and countries, and the co-occurrence network of author keywords.

Table 1. Flowchart summarizing study procedure.

(1) Selection of databases with bibliometric data:

The WoS
(2) Selection of software tools for analysis:
VOSviewer
(3) Selection of query wording and Boolean operators:
(“creativity” or “creative thinking”) and (“design studio” or “education”) and ֲ n = 709
2.3. (“architecture” or “urban design” or “built environment”)
Phase 1: Study
selection (4) Selection of timespan:
ֲ n = 708
1982–2022
(5) Selection of document types:
ֲ n = 685
Journal articles and proceedings articles, excluding review articles
(6) Selection of language:
ֲ n = 661
English
(7) Screening ֲ n = 658

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Table 1. Cont.

(1) Descriptive bibliometric analysis of WoS research:

Number of publication year
(2) Descriptive bibliometric analysis of WoS research:
Phase 2: 2.4.
Total citations
Bibliometric Bibliometric
approach approach (3) Descriptive bibliometric analysis of WoS research:
The most productive authors and countries
(4) Descriptive bibliometric analysis of WoS research:
Co-occurrence network of author keywords
3.1.1. Converting data from WoS to appropriate format for bibliometric analysis:
3.1. Publication years of relevant citations
Performance
3.1.2. Most cited publications in WoS search result
analysis
3.1.3. Most prolific authors in WoS database
3.2.1. Co-authorship analysis of authors:
Mapping the scientific collaboration of authors, countries, and organizations
3.2. Science
3.2.2. Co-occurrence—Keywords in WoS: 105
mapping
Most frequently used words, author keywords, co-occurrence, network of ֲ keywords
Phase 3: authors’ keywords out of 502
Bibliometric
Analysis 3.3.1. Creativity in design studio:
Creativity criteria
Creativity evaluation
3.3. 3.3.2. Idea generation and development:
Intervention Reasoning patterns ֲ n = 36
methods of Representation tools
the studies
3.3.3. Pedagogy in design studio:
Design studio set-up
Enhancing creativity
3.4. Overall review
Phase 4: Discussion
Phase 5: Conclusions and directions for future research

The VOSviewer software is used for visualizing the bibliometric networks employing
the data imported from the WoS data source. Figure 1 shows the process of the bibliometric
analysis of the data extracted from the WoS using the VOSviewer software.

ȱ
Figure 1. The process of the bibliometric analysis using the VOSviewer.

2.3. Study Selection: Phase 1

To ascertain the scope and ensure eligibility of existing studies on design research
for creativity, we selected related articles from the WoS from 1982 to 2022 for further
analysis using the keywords (“creativity” or “creative thinking”) and (“design studio”
or “education”) and (“architecture” or “urban design” or “built environment”). The file

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contained key information for literature analysis, such as author, subject, source, abstract,
citation, document type, number of citations, keywords, and publisher information. We
limited the results to articles and proceedings published in English. Intervention studies
in peer-reviewed journals were included, whereas conference papers, essays, reports, and
dissertations were excluded. These articles were judged based on their relevance and
results. After several iterations, the keyword group consisting of terms to be excluded was
applied to the databases. This search produced 658 articles. The selection criteria were as
follows:
1. document types: journal articles and proceedings articles excluding review articles;
2. use of language: English;
3. publication year: from 1982 to 2022.

2.4. Bibliometric Approach: Phase 2

This study employed a quantitative bibliometric approach and was largely classified
into qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In addition, from the traditional literature
reviews available, this study focused on a narrow range of domain, method, and theory-
based reviews using qualitative techniques [37–39]. The technical bibliometric approach
from the WoS was categorized into four analysis techniques, as follows:
1. number of publications in a year;
2. total citations;
3. most productive authors and countries;
4. co-occurrence network of author keywords.

3. Results: Bibliometric Analysis

Bibliometric analysis is a common and rigorous method for exploring or analyzing
large volumes of scientific data to discover new trends and examine the intellectual structure
of specific areas in the existing literature [37]. First, performance analysis condenses the
productive research components of the number of publications and citations per year,
analysis of publications by journals, research area, authors, affiliations, and countries. Next,
science mapping explores the relationships between research components categorized into
five analysis techniques, as follows:
1. Citation analysis classifies the relationships between the most significant publications
in the field of creativity in the design studio;
2. Co-citation analysis reveals the intellectual structure through publications, assuming
publications that are cited together frequently are similar thematically;
3. Bibliographic coupling exposes periodical or current development of topics through
the relationships between cited publications;
4. Co-word analysis discovers existing and future relationships between topics in the
research area of creativity in the design studio;
5. Co-authorship observes the research network among authors and the equivalent
impacts on the development of creativity in the design studio.

3.1. Performance Analysis: Phase 3 (1)

3.1.1. Publication Years of Relevant Citations
The 658 published research articles were analyzed, and the results are presented.
Figure 1 reveals increased research in “creative thinking in the design studio” and presents
indicators of publication activity based on records included in the WoS databases. It covers
the number of publications (i.e., annual and cumulative) for the period of 1982–2022 and
the number of citations that these items received. The data indicated that from 2010 to
2019, the number of publications of relevant citations increased considerably. However, the
sharp decline in publications in 2021 and 2022 was due to unfinished bibliographic data
records (see Figure 2). This trend will continue to demonstrate a rise in any future studies

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conducted. Therefore, further analysis is needed to gain more insight into the direction of
research in this area.

Figure 2. Times cited and publications over time.

3.1.2. Most Cited Publications

Table 2 shows the top 10 most cited papers in the WoS search results over the whole
period from 1982 to 2022. The purpose of this analysis was to identify the main sources of
ideas and determine which paper has had the most influence in shaping the content and
the design research field. Moreover, we also present the research areas and number of the
journals cited over the whole period, which indicates the change in the cited journals’ influ-
ence on the design research. The most cited paper in the WoS databases, with 93 citations,
was “How good are good ideas? Correlates of design creativity”, written by Goldschmidt
and Tatsa [40]. It should be noted that most studies on the lists with the highest number of
citations were published in the journal Design Studies.

Table 2. The top 10 most cited papers in WoS search results for “Creative thinking for sustainable
education in the design studio”.

Year Citation
No. Author(s) Paper Title Journal Discipline
Published Count
Goldschmidt How good are good ideas? Correlates
1 2005 Design Studies Engineering 93
and Tatsa [40] of design creativity
Goldschmidt
2 2011 Inspiring design ideas with texts Design Studies Engineering 89
and Sever [41]
Cognitive strategies of analogical
Ozkan and
3 2013 reasoning in design: Differences Design Studies Engineering 66
Dogan [42]
between expert and novice designers
Impacts of VR 3D sketching on novice
Rahimian and designers’ spatial cognition in
4 2011 Design Studies Engineering 58
Ibrahim [43] collaborative conceptual
architectural design
Problem analysis and thinking tools:
Kokotovich
5 2008 an empirical study of non-hierarchical Design Studies Engineering 58
[44]
mind mapping

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Table 2. Cont.

Year Citation
No. Author(s) Paper Title Journal Discipline
Published Count
Construction
Comparison of CAD and manual
Ibrahim and Automation in and Building
6 2010 sketching tools for teaching 57
Rahimian [45] Construction Technology
architectural design
Engineering
Neurosciences
Srinivasan Genetic markers of human evolution Biological
7 2016 and Neurology 50
et al. [46] are enriched in schizophrenia Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Demirkan Assessing creativity in design
8 and Afacan 2012 education: Analysis of creativity Design Studies Engineering 46
[47] factors in the first-year design studio
Extended linkography and distance
graph in design evaluation: An
9 Cai et al. [48] 2010 Design Studies Engineering 46
empirical study of the dual effects of
inspiration sources in creative design
International
Education and
Methods that may stimulate creativity Journal of
Kowaltowski Educational
10 2010 and their use in architectural Technology and 45
et al. [49] Research
design education Design Education
Engineering
Psychology

3.1.3. Most Prolific Authors

The most productive authors with the most frequent contributions to the creativity
in the design field in the WoS databases were Kim D.S. and Kim M.H., each with seven
publications. Interestingly, South Korea was the most productive country in all periods
(See Table 3).

Table 3. Most productive authors, organizations, and countries in the WoS database.

Author Institution Country Documents Citations

1 Kim, D.S. Kumoh National University Technology South Korea 7 41
2 Kim, M.H. Kyung Hee University South Korea 7 25
3 Casakin, H. Ariel University Israel 6 53
4 Hua, C.H. Kyung Hee University South Korea 6 39
5 Cho, J.Y. Kyung Hee University South Korea 5 45
6 Hasirci, D. İzmir University of Economics Turkey 5 31
7 Lee, J.M. Pusan National University South Korea 5 21
8 Chen, Y. University of South China China 4 27
9 Dorado, M.I.A. Universidad de Málaga Spain 4 0
10 Huynh-the, T. Kumoh National University Technology South Korea 4 40

3.2. Science Mapping: Phase 3 (2)

3.2.1. Co-Authorship Analysis of Authors
Co-authorship analysis identified the intellectual collaborative structure of authors,
countries, and organizations. The relationships between authors, countries, and organiza-
tions are displayed on the network map in Figure 2, and the links connecting the nodes
represent the relationships. The size of the node characterizes the number of citations, while
the thickness of the connection between the nodes establishes the strength of collaboration.
Individual collaborative groups are assigned different colored circles.

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(1) Authors
The threshold for bibliometric data was set as one for the minimum number of docu-
ments per author. Of the 1528 authors, only 33 met the threshold to create the collaboration
network map shown in Figure 3. Nevertheless, co-authorship demonstrated that noticeable
names from productive authors such as Goldschmidt, G., Kowaltowski, D., Demirkan, H.,
and Wang, T. had established firm research cooperative relationships.

Figure 3. Mapping of authors’ collaboration network.

(2) Countries
Regional collaboration and research hotspots were obtained with the visualization
of co-authorship occurrences of countries. The distribution of studies across geographic
regions appears in Figure 4. The size of the circles represents the number of occurrences
of papers. Collaboration strength is demonstrated by the distance between circles in
individual pairs. All studies were distributed internationally, with publications from all
global regions. This suggests that the themes identified through the qualitative grounded
theory analysis were likely to be general characteristics of studio pedagogy rather than
specific to one nation’s pedagogical tradition, thereby indicating an increasing trend of
international collaboration among the authors. Analysis revealed 69 countries represented
by collaborating authors in the WoS databases:
• Turkey and the United States had the greatest total link strength in relation to the
international collaboration of authors;
• China, Spain, India, and South Korea had a high number of publications, but their
international collaboration strength was relatively low.

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Figure 4. Co-authorship network of countries.

(3) Organization
To examine its international influence, we grouped the countries of the authors’ affilia-
tions into seven groups, displayed below in Figure 5. University Lisbon Ozyegin University,
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and Kyung Hee University appeared to have a relatively
close network of relationships with other universities. However, the strongest relationship
between Kyung Hee University and Pusan National University stood out.

Figure 5. Co-authorship organization networks.

3.2.2. Co-Occurrence—Keywords Plus

The threshold for the co-occurrence of keywords was set to twice, and 105 out of
502 keywords were classified as visualization items. The keyword co-occurrence network
is provided in Figure 6. The size of the circle corresponds to the number of occurrences of
the illustrated keyword. The larger the circle, the more the author keyword was selected
in the WoS databases. The subject similarity and its relative strength are demonstrated by
the distance between the elements of an individual pair. Different colors of the circle are
assigned to individual keyword clusters. The network in Figure 6 shows 12 individual
clusters representing the individual subfields of the research fields identified in the WoS
databases. The links between particular keywords indicate the number of papers in which
the keywords co-occurred.

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Figure 6. Co-occurrence network of author keywords (min. number of occurrences: two) in WoS.

Analyzing Figure 6, it may be concluded that the core topics with the highest total
link strength were “creativity,” “education,” and “students.” Twelve subfields (clusters of
author keywords) were identified in the research fields, and the three main subfields were
as follows:
• Yellow cluster: Groups keywords such as creativity, design thinking, and experience;
• Pink cluster: Groups keywords such as design, tool, and sustainability;
• Brown cluster: Groups keywords such as education, knowledge, and challenges.
The results demonstrate a considerable diversity of the co-occurrence of author
keywords in individual publications in the WoS, proving the multi-faceted and multi-
dimensional character of this particular scientific field.

3.3. Intervention Methods of the Studies

In this section, the findings are discussed, focusing on the latest technology in creativity
in the context of architectural design studios. The findings provide an overall explanation
of the main topics identified primarily as important in the early stages of the design process,
also known as the most creative conceptual stage of the entire design process. Before the
establishment of creative design thinking as a term in the research field of interdisciplinary
study, discussions focused on three aspects of research findings: (1) creativity criteria and
evaluation, (2) idea generation and development, and (3) pedagogy in the design studio
(See Table 4).

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Table 4. Defining aspects of creativity, design strategy, and design studio.

Creativity Design Strategy Design Studio

Creativity criteria, Idea generation,

Pedagogy
Creativity evaluation Idea development

3.3.1. Creativity in the Design Studio

(1) Creativity criteria
Creativity is an individual’s core ability to create original, useful, and unexpected
tasks [1,50,51]. Therefore, rather than attempt to reach an agreement on how to define
creativity, it may be more advantageous to review topics or characteristics related to how
to understand creativity in a variety of contexts.
• Guilford emphasized divergent thinking and that creativity is closely related to recon-
structing problems and defined fluency, flexibility, and originality [5];
• Goldschmidt argued that convergent thinking also plays a role in creativity, and
design literature, which views design as a priori creative activity, mostly accepts this
view [16];
• Doston argued that interest in design thinking was sparked in organizations that had
difficulty dealing with complex problem situations, which could be particularly useful
in the context of abductive reasoning in how design practices handled themes and
frames [12];
• Taylor proposed five typologies of creativity: expressive, productive, inventive, inno-
vative, and emergent [52];
• Jackson and Shaw reported specific topics of definition, including creativity, innova-
tion, transfer, and application of ideas [53];
• Using qualitative analysis, Kleiman observed five categories of creative experience:
constraint-oriented, process-oriented, product-oriented, transformation-oriented, and
implementation-oriented [54];
• Cropley defined engineers as problem solvers, explained that the core activity of engi-
neering is design, and suggested that creativity is inherent in the design process [55].
(2) Creativity evaluation
Many studies consider assessing creative outputs to discuss critical issues related to
the measurement of students’ activity. While efforts have been made to identify approaches
to improving student creativity [56,57], there is no way to claim to be effective in student
growth. The level of creativity in higher education is again related to the idea that the
creativity practiced in higher education is deeply entrenched.
• Casakin and Kreitler emphasized the relationship between the evaluation of creativity
in design problem solving and the level of expertise of evaluators [58];
• Hargrove and Nietfeld noted that evaluation played an important role in tracking
students’ conceptual understanding of the metacognitive process [59];

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• Acikgoz evaluated the quality of learning achieved during the design team collabora-
tion based on a rubric that included defining problems, idea generation, linking and
integrating ideas, and adapting to the task at hand. He has shown that structured
architectural processes significantly affect the overall consistency between design
thinking, idea generation, and finding solutions [60];
• Choi and Kim enhanced novelty and familiarity measurement by using “third ele-
ments” that address ambiguous aspects such as clarity, communication, and observa-
tion to capture the behavioral aspects related to creative activities. The development of
this triangular approach is worth considering in a very social and dynamic space [61];
• Grover et al. evaluated the support provided by typology in three key stages of
the design process. Exploring the framing stage of a design project has shown that
searching for relevant functions and identifying metaphorical typologies based on
cultural, contextual, or empirical phenomena is challenging for most students [62].

3.3.2. Idea Generation and Development

Idea generation and development is the development of ideas and strategies that
support various reasoning methods to influence students’ design thinking in the design
process and the expression of various techniques [7].
(1) Reasoning patterns
Analogical reasoning may be viewed as a critical aid in problem-solving, especially
in solving architectural design problems. Metaphors can help designers understand unfa-
miliar problems and expand the scope of potential design solutions, especially in the early
stages of the design process. Moreover, by examining the relationship between creativity
and metaphor, it is evident that metaphor plays an important role in design creativity.
• Hofstadter revealed that analogy is a cognitive process that can support the acquisition
of new knowledge [63,64];
• Dorst described abduction as a basic inference pattern for design strategies that define
creative thinking. He studied the core of design thinking for idea generation, defined
design-derived reasoning patterns, and emphasized abduction as the fundamental
reasoning pattern for creative thinking [12];
• Casakin and van Timmeren revealed that analogical reasoning supports architectural
education by employing visual and verbal analogies in the early stages of the design
process [65];
• Schön argued that metaphor can help one reflect on the nature of a situation when
solving unusual design problems. Without metaphor, it would be difficult to obtain
solutions [27];
• Orthony emphasized that metaphor allows us to understand unknown situations in
relation to familiar situations [66].
(2) Representation tools
Expressing creativity and visual experience is an essential part of architectural design.
Design representations are used for a variety of purposes, including as a means of support-
ing reflective activities [67] and communicating design intentions to others [7]. Creativity
can be developed through training, such as intentionally capturing new ideas [68–70].
• De Bono explained that brainstorming is a method for improving creativity and is a
good example of enhancing and maximizing idea generation [71,72];
• Choi and Kim described how stimuli can generate thought extensions. Their work
focused on the level of abstraction provided during brainstorming and troubleshooting,
and the authors suggest that this can be particularly effective in digital contexts [73];
• Juhani emphasized that drawing refers to the essential meaning of revealing and
embodying inner thoughts and emotions as much as recording the external world [74];

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• Clear described that architectural drawings are traditionally considered to have two
main functions: communicating practical information about design and construct-
ing architectural projects, or communicating aesthetic information about building
materials or stylistic aspirations [75];
• Park revealed that drawings represent a good medium for design and communication,
and text could stimulate students’ creativity as a thinking transition in architectural
studios [29].

3.3.3. Pedagogy in the Design Studio

In the context of architectural design pedagogy, creativity-related education was
emphasized as essential to producing self-sufficient and innovative future architects [76].
To this end, we identified (1) design studio set-up and (2) enhancing creativity to support
creative education.
(1) Design studio set-up
• Goldschmidt and Tatsa analyzed student ideas generated during the development
of a design studio project with additional ideas organized by fellow students and
instructors. Their approach led to deep insights into how ideas are structured along
the design process in terms of quality as well as quantity [40];
• Casakin and Kreitler compared the way students and teachers explored the design cre-
ativity process and outcomes. They found that while students focused on operational
aspects, teachers paid more attention to innovative aspects of student processes and
outcomes. They concluded that design studio intervention programs could consider
these differences to facilitate the acquisition of design procedures and provide deeper
insights into how students perceive design creativity compared to teachers [58];
• Asefi and Imani considered more broadly the “mode transitions” required to accom-
modate different types of thinking employed in different stages of the design process
by using comparative studies of student outcomes. They advocated an active strategic
education model and assigned various tools and methods for use in design studio
work [76];
• Kowaltowski et al., from the perspective of an instructor, reviewed the creativity
method and its use in a design studio. They interviewed 28 design instructors on
how to apply it to design studios, reporting that the method is typically applied in an
unstructured manner and that a more structured approach would help [49];
• Grover et al., used the historical theory of typology as a structured framework for the
knowledge search contained in architectural building precedents to guide students
through various stages of the design process. The design phase included frame
definition, conceptual design, and detailed project development [62];
• Suh and Cho explored the relationship between an individual’s cognitive style and
creative performance by structuring the design process according to the different
design stages. Their study found that intuitive students were more creative in the
early stages, whereas adaptive and more analytical students improved their creativity
at the end of the process [77];
• Kavousi et al., proposed a conceptual model that focuses on the impact of metacogni-
tive processing in design education on student design thinking and making. Their re-
search demonstrated how super-cognitive components interact and how they support
training programs to improve the design process and creative outcomes generated [78];
• Avsec revealed that design thinking is closely related to self-directed learning and
emphasized that creative design thinking can provide metacognitive insights that
include interpersonal skills, creativity, and digital skills that are strongly explained by
design thinking variables [79].

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(2) Enhancing creativity

• Alterio and McDrury revealed that reflection on experience creates meaningful learn-
ing to improve creativity, interprets learning as behavior, and evaluates the results
of these behaviors through self-reflection learning. This learning method shows that
reflective practice trains students’ creativity during studio projects [80];
• Hargrove and Nietfeld explored the effectiveness of creativity education in the form
of associated thinking strategies. The pedagogical approach aimed at supporting
creative problem solving consisted of integrating activities related to creative thinking
strategies to encourage super-cognitive development. Creative thinking reflects the
ability to be trained and developed over time [59];
• Bhattacharya et al., argued that active exposure to unusual experiences and/or sit-
uations can have useful creativity-enhancing applications in design studios. Their
pedagogical approach was based on the idea that a conceptual mix of virtual scenarios
can be used to enhance and train divergent thinking while dealing with a variety of
unfamiliar and unexpected design situations [81].
(3) Problem-solving
• Kruger and Cross described that designers using problem-driven design strategies
manage to produce the best results in terms of a balance between overall solution
quality and creativity [82];
• Wrigley verified that design thinking creates a highly reflective creative process that
allows students to review and critically think about their design process to create
a deeper understanding of the evolution of design thinking as a problem-solving
activity [83];
• Lee et al., revealed that the design process sometimes begins with solutions that are
not problems through the empirical study of engineering designers with experience in
successfully searching for problems that fit new technology solutions [84].

3.4. Overall Review

The characteristics of creativity in the design studio were considered, and three major
themes and six subcategories were identified above in Section 3.3. The major themes
included creativity, idea generation and development, and pedagogy in the design studio.
The themes cover practical considerations that help architectural design studios’ creative ac-
tivities, as well as theoretical models and frameworks that underlie creativity interpretation
in this context. The themes related to each category and directly addressed in the articles
are shown in Table 5. Further, 36 selected articles are sorted by year and the remainder are
organized by themes, and each sub-category sorts the description of each category.

Table 5. Overall review of the 36 selected articles.

Themes Categories Subcategories Description Articles

Divergent
(1) Emphasized fluency, flexibility, and originality [5]
thinking

Convergent (2) Argued that convergent thinking also plays a role in

creativity, and design literature, which views design as [16]
thinking
Creative a priori creative activity, mostly accepts this view
Creativity
criteria
Abductive (3) Argued that abductive reasoning could be useful in
dealing with open and complex problem situations, [12]
reasoning
especially in the way themes and frames are handled

(4) Covered expressive, productive, inventive, innovative, [52]

and emergent typologies

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Table 5. Cont.

Themes Categories Subcategories Description Articles

(5) Provided specific topics of definition, including creativity, [53]

innovation, transfer, and application of ideas

Typologies (6) Defined five categories of creative experience:

constraint-oriented, process-oriented, product-oriented, [54]
Creative
transformation-oriented, and implementation-oriented by
criteria
using qualitative analysis

Engineering (7) Defined engineers as problem solvers, explained that the

core activities of engineering are design, and suggested [55]
activity
that creativity is inherent in the design process

(8) Explored the relationship between the creativity

Self-evaluation assessment of design problem solving and the level of [58]
expertise of evaluators

(9) Constructed a mental model for a creative approach to

Creativity Metacognitive design problem solving and evaluation of students’ [59]
process creative and metacognitive thinking through a final
design project

Structuring (10) Evaluated the quality of learning achieved during the

Creativity design team collaboration based on a rubric that included
architectural [60]
evaluation defining problems, idea generation, linking and
processes
integrating ideas, and adapting to the task at hand

(11) Measured novelty and familiarity and addressed

Third elements ambiguous elements such as clarity, communication, and [61]
observation

Metaphorical (12) Evaluated the support provided by typology in three key

stages of the design process based on cultural, contextual, [62]
typologies
and empirical phenomena

(13) Detailed a cognitive process that can support the [63,64]

acquisition of new knowledge

Analogical (14) Provided a basic inference pattern for design strategies

that define inference patterns and provide creative [12]
reasoning
thinking

(15) Used visual and verbal analogies in the early stages of the [65]
design process to support architectural education
Idea
generation Reasoning (16) Reflected on the nature of a situation when solving [27]
and pattern Metaphorical unusual design problems
development reasoning
(17) Focused on understanding unknown situations in relation [66]
to familiar situations

(18) Discussed how this enhances and maximizes idea [71,72]

generation
Brainstorming
(19) Covered how stimuli can generate thought extensions [73]
particularly effective in digital contexts

(20) Explored how this reveals and embodies inner thoughts [74]
and emotions

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Table 5. Cont.

Themes Categories Subcategories Description Articles

(21) Studied communication of practical information and

construction of architectural projects, or communication of [75]
Representation aesthetic information or stylistic aspirations
Drawings
tools
(22) Examined how text is used as a thinking transition in
architectural studios—A good medium for design and [29]
communication

(23) Analyzed students’ idea generations during the

Demonstrate development of projects using additional ideas organized [40]
by students and instructors to demonstrate deep insights
into how ideas are structured during the design process

(24) Compared the design creativity process of students and

teachers, finding that students focus on operational [58]
aspects, while teachers pay more attention to student
processes and outcomes
Comparativity
(25) Considered more broadly the “mode transitions” required
to accommodate different types of thinking at different [76]
stages of the design process by using comparative studies
of student outcomes

(26) Interviewed 28 design instructors to examine the method

Design studio Interview of creativity and its use in the design studio, and suggested [49]
set-up a more structured approach needed for the design studios

Historical (27) Used the historical theory of typology as a structured

framework, including frame definition, conceptual design, [62]
theory
and detailed project development
Structuring the (28) Explored the relationship between individual cognitive [77]
Pedagogy design process styles and creative performance

(29) Proposed a conceptual model focusing on the role of

metacognitive processing in design training programs to [78]
improve the generated design process and creative
Metacognitive outcomes
process
(30) Emphasized that creative design thinking can provide
metacognitive insights that include interpersonal skills, [79]
creativity, and digital skills that are strongly explained by
design thinking variables

(31) Explored reflections on experience that create meaningful

Self-reflection learning to enhance creativity, interpreted learning as [80]
behavior, and revealed that reflective practice trains
students’ creativity

Enhancing (32) Explored an educational approach to supporting creative

Super-cognitive problem solving consisting of integrating activities related
creativity [59]
development to creative thinking strategies to encourage
super-cognitive development

(33) Examined how a conceptual mix of virtual scenarios can

Active exposure be used to enhance and train divergent thinking while [81]
dealing with a variety of unfamiliar and unexpected
design situations

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Table 5. Cont.

Themes Categories Subcategories Description Articles

(34) Designers using problem-driven design strategies manage

to produce the best results in terms of a balance between [82]
overall solution quality and creativity

(35) Design thinking creates a highly reflective creative process

Problem-solving that allows students to review and critically think about
their design process to create a deeper understanding of [83]
the evolution of design thinking as a
problem-solving activity

(36) The design process sometimes begins with solutions that [84]
are not problems

4. Discussion
This study focused on the latest trends in creativity conducted in the context of archi-
tectural design studios. Architectural design studios are employed in the most practical
courses in architectural education in which students acquire practical and theoretical
knowledge and learn how to transform that knowledge creatively into their own spatial
designs [27,85]. This study demonstrates that architectural design studios develop an
understanding of the entire design process, which stimulates students’ creative thinking.
Teaching methods for creative design provide a holistic explanation of the key education
related to teaching creativity in the context of architectural design studios. Creativity in
design studios emerged from well-studied research themes that included Creativity, Idea
generation and development, and Pedagogy in design studios. Each theme included cate-
gories which included Creative criteria and Creativity evaluation, Reasoning pattern and
Representation tools, Design studio set-up, and Enhancing creativity and Problem-solving.
The overall themes and their categories are presented in Figure 7.

Figure 7. The overall themes and categories of the 36 selected articles.

In this study, How can creativity be evaluated in students’ work in the design process?
What are some effective educational tools in the design studio that support the creative
design concepts? and What educational practices are found in design studios to enhance
creativity? founded for answers to the initial research questions. Based on the answers to
the research questions, some issues to be considered for enhancing creativity are identified.
First, according to recent studies, some interesting issues were found regarding the
definition of creative criteria, including divergent thinking and typologies in design stu-
dios. In the context of the evaluation of creativity, we confirm a wide range of uses that
stimulate students’ creativity, such as self-evaluation, metacognitive processes, structuring

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architectural processes, third elements, and metaphorical typologies. The approach to

enhancing students’ creative thinking consists of integrated activities related to creative
thinking strategies. It emphasizes that creative thinking is the ability to be trained and
developed over time [68–70].
Second, creative design strategies are a special type of design process that generate
innovative ideas and creative artifacts in design [3,4]. Idea generation is possible because
of the identification of new visual cues supported by interactive conversations established
by designers between available external sources and internal representations of analogy
and metaphorical reasoning patterns. It is suitable for use with advanced representation
techniques. However, it is also recommended that the structure that supports activities be
increased, despite individual reflection and perception of students. This may include the
types of stimuli used to improve ideation, the background knowledge needed to support
ideation, or the representation of ideas and concepts. Information can relate to users and
contexts as well as stimulation and background technical information. How the tools and
information used to manage them are manipulated afterwards is a key concern identified
in this category. For a successful path through creative processes, students are required to
reflect on their processes and explain them clearly in the work.
Last, design studios are highly constructivist, and instructors use a learner-centered
approach rather than a teacher-centered approach. This constructive and open-ended
approach is consistent with recent studies, and the teaching methods are more effective in
enhancing higher-level learning outcomes [86]. Particularly, architectural education is a
unique area that requires creativity, drives innovative ideas, and constructs cognitive recep-
tive procedural perceptions that enrich creativity. Teaching methods for creative design
deal with issues related to teaching creativity in the context of architectural design studios.
These issues stem from the nature of the creative process and lead to a loss of potential
for students to learn creativity. In such cases, transforming the teaching methods of other
subjects to promote creative learning outcomes is likely to cause similar problems for both
instructors and students. These findings reveal problems that can arise when teaching
methods lead to creative learning outcomes. Nevertheless, participation in conferences
and educator networks and partnerships with certification bodies can facilitate the sharing
of best practices and innovations for curriculum development and help implement these
more broadly in the future.

5. Conclusions
The study examined the scientific flow of publications and citations over time and
revealed prominent publications, prolific journals, research areas, authors, countries, and
organizations related to creative thinking in the architecture design studios. Several biblio-
metric techniques, such as performance analysis and science mapping, were identified to
investigate academic production, collaboration, and research topics. The review from an
initial pool of 658 articles resulted in the analysis of 36 articles according to the main themes
of creativity in design studios, which broadly reflected the issues of enhancing creativity in
design education.
This study explored the characteristics of publications to contribute to the literature
on creativity in design studios and to understand the developing research trends in this
area. This study provides a solid foundation and contributes to related fields so that
researchers may gain a comprehensive perspective, identify knowledge gaps, and derive
fresh ideas for future study. We have specified examples of research in areas of immersion,
presence, and social presence. However, many other areas, including architecture, will
benefit from creativity in design studios. As our consideration of creativity continues to
evolve, results from academic disciplines such as neuroscience, psychology, and sociology
will inform future cognitive models and tools that support collaborative creative design
activities. In terms of pedagogy, these new concepts and approaches could be constructed
and developed in a way that is practical, feasible, and beneficial to the application of
architectural design studios. The topics and issues presented in this study are intended to

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provide the foundation for these surveys and to support the next generation of creative
educators and architects.
As with other types of study, literature reviews have limitations, and many are related
to the quality and quantity of original research and the quality of systematic considera-
tion procedures. This type of review aims to provide an objective view of the literature,
but there are areas where subjective decisions may be affected by bias, such as source
selection and thesis review. In this study, the nature of many studies on the subject of
creativity in architectural design studios meant that thorough examination and review
were needed to reach full agreement on strictly relevant paper pools. While many studies
have explored creativity, the literature related to the role of creativity in architectural design
studios is relatively limited. This required additional searches for sources based on the
researchers’ experience, as well as reinforcement of the optimized search string used in
WoS databases. This was a resource-intensive and time-consuming task that required high
levels of motivation and persistence.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, E.J.P. and S.L.; methodology, E.J.P. and S.L.; validation,
E.J.P. and S.L.; formal analysis, E.J.P. and S.L.; investigation, E.J.P. and S.L.; writing—original draft
preparation, E.J.P.; writing—review and editing, E.J.P. and S.L. All authors have read and agreed to
the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) grant funded by the
Korean government (MSIT): No. 2022R1G1A1003553.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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 buildings
Article
Application of Advanced Building Techniques to Enhance the
Environmental Performance of Interior Components
Magdalena Celadyn 1, * and Waclaw Celadyn 2

1 Faculty of Interior Design, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, 31-157 Krakow, Poland
2 Faculty of Architecture, Cracow Technical University, 31-155 Krakow, Poland; [email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: This paper discusses the impact of advanced building techniques, in tune with selected
building materials and their physical attributes, applied to complete constitutive interiors components
on these components’ environmental performance and aesthetics. There is an understanding of
technological practices as essential for the effective management of the design process; still, the
creative introduction of advanced building techniques is not commonly recognized by interior
architects. The objective of the research is to indicate the possible multidimensional consequences
of the analysis of materials’ physical attributes and the consistent application of advanced building
techniques to complete interior components. The basis for this study formed the design concepts of
aesthetic functionalism, place attachment, and a content-context model of the association between
interior components and the building fabric. Some theoretical frameworks were used for a qualitative
evaluation of interior components of selected cultural facilities completed in the last decade in Poland.
Citation: Celadyn, M.; Celadyn, W. The performance of these components was measured in the function of applied innovative building
Application of Advanced Building techniques and specified building materials. Research findings have proved the impact of building
Techniques to Enhance the techniques on the performance of interior components as instruments to increase interior functional
Environmental Performance of
use, formal uniformity, and aesthetic cohesion of buildings and their inner spaces, as well as the scale
Interior Components. Buildings 2021,
of multisensorial effectiveness.
11, 309. https://doi.org/10.3390/
buildings11070309
Keywords: architecture; interior design; advanced building techniques; interior components; aes-
thetic functionalism; sensorial experiences
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński,
Agata Bonenberg,
Wojciech Bonenberg, Marco Lucchini
and Hernan Casakin
1. Introduction
Received: 31 May 2021 The process of designing the built environment, and specifically buildings as the most
Accepted: 15 July 2021 substantial part, has become “more technically challenging” ([1], p. 70). The understanding
Published: 17 July 2021 of technological practices is essential to the development of a quality design in the built
environment, and the design itself requires a creative integration of technology based
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral on both aesthetic and scientific judgments, being equally important factors assuring its
with regard to jurisdictional claims in successful application [1]. While the new technologies extended the range of building
published maps and institutional affil- materials, “new manufacturing techniques enhanced the performance characteristics and
iations.
broadened the spectrum of unique aesthetic properties” ([2], p. 2) of building materials
and products.
Buildings remain primarily physical artifacts [3] identified by the materials, allowing
designers to explore the geometric patterns of space, as well as making associations and
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. stories which communicate to the end users of inner space ([4], p. 186). The built envi-
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. ronment, including buildings and their interior spaces, can be conceptualized as being
This article is an open access article made up of substances (e.g., steel, wood, glass) and surfaces (e.g., floors, ceilings, walls) [5].
distributed under the terms and In this framework, the multifaceted arrangements of substances and surfaces are named
conditions of the Creative Commons
layouts that provide occupants with affordances as the function-associated perceived
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
properties of inner spaces. Therefore, the designers’ efforts should be focused on broader
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
analyses continued throughout the design process, and combine studies on forms and
4.0/).

Buildings 2021, 11, 309. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11070309 407 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2021, 11, 309

shapes, as well as research on two interrelated elements-substances and surfaces [6]. The
creative application of building materials to these surfaces, specified as “constitutive interior
components” [7], encompassing suspended or integrated ceilings, raised floors, partition
walls, space dividers, multifunctional structures and cladding, assures the fulfilment of
the bottom functional requirements, and conditions multifaceted experiences of users on
the cognitive, aesthetic, as well as emotional level. Innovative and justified introduction of
materials into the structure of components should express a “new technical and cultural
atmosphere, within which the transformation of matter is taking place” instead of being ex-
clusively focused on the designing and manufacturing of “limited number of sophisticated
materials developed in a few advanced applicative areas” ([8], p. 18).
Architects and interior designers frequently anchor their attention exclusively to the
visual quality of designed objects [3,9,10]. Meanwhile, the anticipation of the users’ mul-
tisensorial experience and its stimulation through careful selection of building materials
are a valuable and inspirational part of the design process; therefore, they should be en-
compassed by architects and designers [11]. The built environment and the atmosphere
of a space are nothing if not multisensory [10], offering the users’ complex experiences
including visual, sound, olfactory, as well as palpable to building materials’ texture and
temperature remaining “two of the key attributes of tactile sensation” [3]. The building
materials, complemented with advanced building technologies and related manufacturing
techniques to complete interior components, contribute to the complex delivery of emo-
tional and cognitive experiences to perceivers. This issue imposes on architects and interior
architects the necessity for constant improvement of the knowledge on technical aspects
of the architectural design process, exploring aesthetic dimensions, and experimenting
with physical attributes of materials, building technologies and techniques. Regarding the
environmental impact of selected construction methods, the selected building technologies
and materials should respond to functional, and formal demands, as well as environmental
requirements, as they “condition technical durability” ([12], p. 24) of buildings. The adap-
tation of durable building materials and construction techniques to the intended use of the
object, as well as the introduction of separable structural segments are becoming, therefore,
a means to assure the optimisation of the design process in relation to the building life
cycle assessment [13]. The compliance with the demands for environmental sustainability
of design requires rational choices from architects, including technologies and techniques
that remain “compatible with natural processes and living systems” [1].
The study on the relationship between functional requirements, high environmental
performance of interiors, formal concept on the one hand, and building techniques to
accomplish the objectives on the other, proves that technical solutions remain essential for
building interiors’ “aesthetic functionalism” ([14], p. x). The quality of spatial functional
proposals, therefore, depends on the creative exploration of the possibilities of building
techniques and the analysis of materials’ physical parameters. Given that materials possess
“inherent poetry that is interconnected with human experience” ([2], p. 10), they are to
“assume a poetic imaginative quality in the context of an architectural object”, if they occur
in a meaningful situation [15]. Materials strengthen the design concept while offering
opportunities for users to interpret it and to express meaning. The users’ perception of
objects’ materiality is influenced by a variety of materials’ distinctive physical attributes,
including texture, and finishing methods. Place-perception “experienced through all senses
in a four-dimensional manner” ([16], p. 517), although subjective and associated with
individually inherited cultural behavioural patterns, is intensely stimulated by “spatial
juxtapositions and material treatments” [17] being aligned with abstract design concepts.
The combined consideration of structural achievements, technical details, spatial ef-
fects, as well as formal composition, usually discussed separately by architecture critics [14],
conditions the modification of interior architectural design to accomplish formal and func-
tional cohesion, enhancing the functional use of interior spaces while providing users
with multisensory experience to build up the topophilia [18], understood as individually
developed and emotionally-based reception of the space.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 309

The above mentioned issues have not been sufficiently analyzed, and a multifaceted
approach to them is absent in the current literature; especially relative to interior archi-
tectural design. This situation motivates an examination these problems from a lens of
practicing architects and researchers trying to entrance this issue within the framework of
the created method of systematization.
The paper examines the interior components’ performance, with emphasis on func-
tional use, formal uniformity, and aesthetic cohesion, in the function of building materials
jointly analyzed physical and sensorial attributes, as well as applied advanced building
techniques. The main objective is to investigate the connection between the creative integra-
tion of innovative building techniques, associated with structural engineering, acoustical
engineering, or material sciences, demonstrated within inner space planning and design of
multifunctional constitutive interior components, and the validation of design decisions
exploring the area of aesthetic expression of inner spaces.

2. Materials and Methods

The bases for this study were the following selected design theories and schemes:
1. Model of the relationship between interior components considered as content, and its
context shaped by a building’s envelope and structure. It is based on the framework
within the urban scale [19], modified and aimed to assess objects’ interconnection in
architectural scale;
2. Aesthetic functionalism concept [14] analyzed through the paradigm of purposeful-
ness (identified by the authors with timeliness and materiality as complementing
ideas) defined by the balanced presence of distant requirements of environmental
efficiency and symbolic expression; this model was adapted to the scale of inner
spaces and their components as appropriate to accomplish jointly these demands,
with emphasis on the advanced individually developed building techniques;
3. Place attachment model [20,21] aimed at the description of the interconnectedness of
individuals and their immediate environment organized by interior spaces and their
components, and discussed in relation to the impact of space user’s multisensorial
experiences on their acceptance of space.
The theoretical framework built around these above-mentioned concepts was then
verified with comparative case studies of interior spaces of cultural complexes completed
in the last decade in Poland. The exemplary objects chosen for the analysis presented an
innovative approach to the application of advanced building techniques in the shaping
of interior spaces and their components. Inspections made on site along with the visual
qualitative data, complemented with technical information shared by the designers and
consultants involved, served to prepare diagrams to assess the multifaceted influence of
the techniques applied and physical properties of building materials on interiors and their
components’ performance.

2.1. Building Technique—Means of Defining the Formal Coherence of Interiors and

Building Fabric
The scheme by Tschumi, originally made to define the relationship between the
architectural form, influenced by its content, and its multidimensional context [19], identified
indifference, cooperation, and conflict. For this study, the initial model was adapted to
verify the quality and type of multifaceted dependence between interior spaces and their
components on one side, and the building structural elements and shell on the other. The
selected constitutive interior components expressed their form derived from the content,
whereas the building structural elements and building envelopes formed contexts. Interior
components that were questioned in the study combined the structurally developed and
multifunctional inner walls, as well as suspended ceilings.
The framework developed to assess the associations between these two objects re-
spected the following criteria:

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Buildings 2021, 11, 309

1. Functional, referring to the possibilities of endorsement of the building’s and its

interiors’ performance;
2. Formal with the focus on the accomplishment of aesthetic use;
3. Socio-cultural, making connotations to local building practices, material traditions,
and behavioral patterns.
The possible levels of these interactions between interior components and building
fabric becoming the context regarding advanced building technologies, materials’ charac-
teristics, and technical solutions to complete objects—all being factors that stimulate the
quality of design, which were categorized as follows:
• Coherence, understood as endorsement of the level of building functional use, as well
as an exposure of formal uniformity, to influence the multisensorial experience of the
built environment and thus intensify the sense of topophilia [18];
• Irrelevance, demonstrating the autonomy of design concepts applied to inner spaces
and their spatial context defined by the building shell, its structural solutions, formal
appearance, as well as reduced mutual interactions on the formal and aesthetic planes;
• Contrast, present in a juxtaposition of form and material, evoking disturbing emo-
tional, cognitive, or aesthetic dissonance;
• Inconsistency, provoking malfunctioning of the object or misunderstanding of the
overall design concept.

2.2. Building Techniques—Means of Assuring the Cohesion of Spaces’ Functional Use

and Aesthetics
The purpose of an interior space and its components can be identified by the presence
of two supplementing and mutually strengthening characteristics situated at the opposite
sides. These were assigned by Grabow and Spreckelmeyer originally to the purpose
of a building, considered as a spatial-functional entity [14]. Environmental efficiency,
interpreted as an aesthetic and technical response and achieved with the leading concept
of the building understood as an “extension of the technologies they contain” ([14], p. 15),
is to be balanced with the symbolic appearance of objects. Transcending practical concerns
offers the occupants a spectrum of existential, emotional, and mental meanings.
It is justified to discuss this question of cohesion between the functional and aesthetical
aspects of designed objects, environmental efficiency, and symbolic expression, respec-
tively, in regard to the shaping of inner spaces and their components, and in particular
the techniques applied in view of their completion. Creative introduction of advanced
technique methods to shape inner spaces and their constitutive components affects these
components’ functional use in its complexity. The material concept should be developed
alongside the overall design since materials remain an integral part of the creative con-
cept [13]. The well-considered use of building technologies, building products, as well as
materials support the materialization of the design idea [13]. Building materials can be
revitalized and transformed with the implementation of modern construction technologies,
and therefore they can be offered a “new lease of life simply through introducing new
manufacturing and production methods” ([4], p. 193).
The main criteria of evaluation of the quality of relations between interior compo-
nents and building fabric, in function of the introduced technical solutions, combine the
following:
1. Responsiveness/awareness in terms of the building’s and inner spaces’ environmental
performance, in accordance with prior assumptions;
2. Physical comfort of the users gained through the optimization of parameters of the
indoor environment quality, particularly acoustical characteristics;
3. Symbolic content demonstrated through selected building materials and techniques
to shape the components of inner space, chosen to intensify an overall building’s
formal and aesthetical statements.
The possible levels of interaction existing within each of the proposed criteria groups
include the following:

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Buildings 2021, 11, 309

• Endorsement, meaning the practice of environmentally oriented activation of interior

components obtained through the modification of their structure or surface with
building techniques;
• Moderation, observed in balance within the treatment of components as multifunc-
tional interior architectural design instruments, as well as a means for multidimen-
sional formal interpretation;
• Insignificance, proving the designers’ insufficient efforts in considering environmental
contextualization of designed components as an integral design criterion, or lack of a
consistent vision of the formal and aesthetical appearance of the building fabric;
• Contradiction, providing the observer with conflicting information provoking cogni-
tive confusion or emotional dissonance as to the object’s functionality.

2.3. Building Techniques—Means of Expansion of Users’ Experience and Support of

Place Attachment
The creative exploration of technology and technic solutions in interiors provide the
replacement of the immediate persuasion of “tiresome and soporific uniformity of experi-
ence” ([22], p. 76) with a long-lasting and simultaneously stimulating experience, as well as
multisensory interactions, that leads to enhancement of user’s self-experience. Moreover,
the introduction of innovative building techniques and the exploration of material physical
attributes fulfill the functional and formal requirements, while representing the necessary
“supportive background for human activities and perceptions” [22]. The critical opinion
by Spence [23] that echoed Williams’ [24] statement that “aside from meeting common
standards of performance, architects do little creatively with acoustical, thermal, olfactory,
and tactile sensory responses” ([24], p. 5) remains still relevant, even regarding the design
of public buildings’ inner spaces.
Introduction of advanced building technologies and techniques allows to extend the
strictly technical interpretation of applied solutions to create a physical setting. The creative
exploration of the possibilities of building techniques and their introduction to complete
interior components is an approach to make significant changes to visitors’ perception.
Design concept endorsed with creatively implemented building technology and selection
of building materials offers the inner spaces end-users’ multi-sensorial experiences, while
forming emotional bonds with their immediate physical environment. While “the interface
of interior space is composed of building materials” the texture of these wall finishing
materials is becoming “an essential aspect of the building environment perception and
quality evaluation” [25]. The innovative implementation of manufacturing processes to
shape components is a potential driver to influence the multisensorial experience of the
built environment and thus intensify the topophilia [18]. The end users of inner spaces
develop meanings, which being attached to objects or environments and aroused through
the developed modes of communication, affect occupants’ perceptions and subsequently
established interactions [26].
The exploration of technical aspects by designers throughout the interior architectural
design contributes to the built up of this specific meaning-making process, which is essential
for the acceptance of architectural objects. This practice is supportive for the forming of a
relationship of visitors with a specific setting, and sets the foundation for place attachment,
defined as the cognitive and emotional connection of an individual to a particular scenario
or environment [20]. The place attachment scheme involves “positively experienced
bonds” [21] developed from the behavioral, affective, as well as cognitive connections
occurring between individuals and their social-physical environment. These relations,
identified by Riley as primarily associated with the meanings of and experiences in a
place [27], and involving both functional and meaningful aspects of space [28], should be
examined through the interior architectural design process.
We assume that the exploration of materials’ physical properties and the range of
application of advanced building techniques to complete objects contributes to the support
of the design theory of place attachment. In particular, this can be applied to the “third
place theory” [29,30] that originally considered the concept of community buildings as

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social places, meeting places, or public space. Cultural facilities, apart from their primary
functions and great scale events, offer unlimited access and provide visitors with adjacent
spaces (e.g., libraries, galleries, bookstores, conference spaces, and reading rooms) suit-
able to conduct different forms of culture-related activities. They allow participation in
various occurrences (e.g., exhibitions, soirees, courses, lectures, presentations), and active
engagement in other forms of social-cultural communication. They all can be treated to
some extent as informal space for public gathering or public meeting centers for partici-
pants sharing some common ground, relative to how people experience interactions and
sensations within the space. The appearance of culture center interiors, when thoroughly
characterized using innovative building technologies, is to strengthen the place attachment
model based on people’s emotions and feelings, positive and negative experiences or
effects, and satisfaction.
The persuasive role of building techniques in the built-up of associations of interior
components, as well as buildings, can be analysed regarding the following factors:
1. Provision of sensorial stimuli understood as introduction of technical measures to
deliver and strengthen interior occupants’ sensorial experiences, including visual,
light, tactile, as well as sound;
2. Formal soundness, to establish objects’ identity through the exploration of technical
aspects of design proposals, differing in scale, range, as well as modes of application;
3. Materiality, based on the intensive and deliberate exposure of manufacturing tech-
niques and building materials’ physical characteristics, being interior components’
technical attributes, as well as the means of their formal expression.
The levels of possible interactions between identified elements within this group of
criteria combine the following:
• Intensiveness, describing the high concentration of applied building techniques to
exploit their physical appearance as a means to fulfill function-related requirements;
• Multiplicity, meaning the application of different technical solutions appealing to
objects’ emotional as well as cognitive perception;
• Ambiguousness, revealing the weakness of chosen design and manufacturing tech-
niques that result in the absence of observers’ emotional or cognitive response, as well
as weakness of a design concept;
• Confusion, providing observers with mixed reactions that result in their psycho-
physical dissatisfaction, misunderstanding, or final rejection of the overall design
concept.

2.4. Building Techniques in the Evaluation of Interior Components’ Performance

The emphasis on the technical aspects of the building interior environment, in par-
ticular the experimental approach to building materials’ usage in the shaping of interior
components, demonstrates the architects and designer’s ability to incorporate both archi-
tecture art and architecture science into the design process. The application of advanced
building techniques to complete interior components is becoming a measure of recognition
of these components’ multifunctionality. This is demonstrated through their active role in
an enhancement of interiors’ performance, or in an encouragement of the occupants’ mul-
tisensorial experience and denotation of inner spaces, when interior architectural design
instruments are structurally integrated with the main building’s elements.
Table 1 illustrates a theoretical framework for further qualitative evaluation of the
impact of building techniques on the environmental and aesthetical performances of inner
spaces. The questions proposed for further examination comprise the following: (1) areas
of relation including the patterns of multifaceted content-context dependence between
interior components, defined through technical solutions, and the building as a spatial-
functional-formal-socio-cultural entity, use functions and aesthetics functions, as well as
users’ perception complemented with development of sense of place attachment; (2) criteria
assigned to the evaluation of interaction between selected factors; (3) possible levels of
interaction within each criterial group.

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Buildings 2021, 11, 309

Table 1. Interior components’ performance in function of building materials’ attributes and ap-
plied advanced building techniques. The selected area of relation, criteria and levels of qualitative
evaluation.

Area of Relation Criteria Levels of Interaction

Coherence
Functional
Multifaceted content-context Irrelevance
Formal
dependence Contrast
Socio-cultural
Inconsistency
Endorsement
Responsiveness
Functional use Moderation
Physical comfort
Aesthetics Insignificance
Symbolic meaning
Contradiction
Intensiveness
Provision of sensorial stimuli
Users’ perception Multiplicity
Formal soundness
Place attachment Ambiguousness
Materialism
Confusion

3. Building Techniques as a Means to Improve Interior Components’ Performance and

Aesthetics—Case Studies
The issues considered can be further elucidated by appropriate analyses of a set of
exemplary significant buildings epitomizing the impact of various technologies on multi-
faceted performance of their interior components. We selected four cases to be studied
in this regard. Their selection was based on the principle of public buildings of great
importance for the local community in terms of their exclusive function, symbolic aspects,
local architectural features, and aesthetic values. Their most important features in view of
the problems analyzed in this paper seem to be acoustic characteristics, sensorial issues,
place attachment attributes and some other related parameters. Each of the cases addresses
these issues in a similar way, but with various technical means.
The following subsections include analyses of the relationship between the exercised
building technology, building techniques, materials’ characteristics, formal composition
of interior spaces, and their aesthetic integrity, as well as interiors’ perception by the
occupants.
Critical review of inner spaces and their components was based on case studies of the
selected cultural facilities and comprised the following issues:
1. Category of the introduced building technology comprising building product charac-
teristics, materials’ physical features;
2. Range of application of particular building technologies and technical solutions to
form the components of interiors;
3. Area of support of the functional use of a building and endorsement of interiors’
performance, understood as the capacity to fulfil primary and secondary functional
requirements, achieved through structural and material solutions;
4. Multitude of sensorial and cognitive experiences of the users of interior spaces;
5. Implication of the applied technique on the interiors’ formal and aesthetic definitions.
These detailed issues were then interpreted and summarized in tables supporting
the conclusive assessment of the associations between building technologies and interior
components in terms of interconnectedness between interior components and the building’s
structure, cohesion of inner spaces’ functional use and aesthetics, as well as the range of
users’ experience stimulating the growth of place attachment. The buildings selected for
the research contain a multitude of different spaces due to their size and special functions.
This study analysed only these which are principal in terms of dominant functions.

3.1. Case 1: CKK Jordanki Congress and Culture Centre, Toruń

Innovative technique named picado (“chopped”), was conceived by Fernando Menis
and initially introduced in the Magma Arte and Congresos in Tenerife completed in 2005.

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This novel building technique is based on mixing thick reinforced concrete with other
building materials (e.g., brick, volcanic tuff) and following process of hacking off the outer
surface of the product used as a finishing layer (Figure 1). As the architects had indicated,
the picado construction technology exercised in this project presented an attempt to search
for a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional brick [31].

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1. CKK Jordanki Congress and Culture Centre, Toruń, 2015, arch. Menis Arquitectos. (a) Interior cladding
with concrete-brick conglomerate panels. Source: https://pl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plik:Auditorium_of_Conference_
and_Cultural_Centre_%22Jordanki%22,_Toru%C5%84,_Poland.jpg (accessed on 31 May 2021) , photo by M. Sulik. (b)
Exterior wall cladding with picado technique, (photo by M. Celadyn). (c) Exterior view. Source: https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Centrum_Kulturalno-Kongresowe_Jordanki_w_Toruniu92.jpg,photo (accessed on 31 May 2021)
by Mateuszgdynia.

In CKK Jordanki Congress and Culture Centre in Toruń, an architectural competition

winning project completed in 2015, the architects proposed two types of picado techniques
contributing to the advantageous acoustic parameters of selected interior spaces, including
concert hall, lobby. The first type of picado consisted of prefabricated panels made with
rushed red brick, reclaimed from a local factory, and then reused to shape the three-
dimensional interior cladding, melted into the thick reinforced concrete. This conglomerate
was to improve the sound diffusion inside the building. The conglomerate of volcanic
reddish stone from China and reinforced concrete introduced by the architects to form the
second type of panes, was supposed to assure the appropriate level of sound absorption
and control of reverberation time in the concert hall. To control efficiently the parameters
of reverberation time and sound intelligibility within the main concert hall, the architects
developed a system of mobile suspended panels (measuring from 80 to 140 sq. m, weighting
from 11 up to 20 tonne, and changing their position above the stage from 3 to 5 m in height).
These modules, accomplished similarly to the picado technique, were to adjust the space
geometry and volume according to the actual functional needs.
Therefore, different acoustic requirements were fulfilled in this space to cater to
concerts of symphonic or chamber orchestras, operas, and theatre performances. The
studies on the hall’s acoustic parameters, conducted throughout the design interactive
process, influenced the formal and aesthetic appearance. The plastic properties of concrete
allowed control of the geometry of the concert hall volume and sound reflections reaching
the listeners. According to the architects, the optimization of acoustic parameters was

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accomplished due to the specific quality of the construction technology of “chopping the
surface of the brick with concrete mix” [32].
The building technology defined the cohesiveness of building interiors and multilay-
ered sculptural envelope of the building, where precast concrete along with the concrete-
clinker brick conglomerate were vastly exposed. The porous, robust surface of the cladding
layer provided occupants, especially those gathered inside the building, with an intensive
haptic experience. The rough surface of concrete panels exposed through the interiors,
along with the modules of conglomerates, due to their monolithic representation fulfilled
the sense of topophilia [33], understood as the correlation of an individual’s subjective
and emotional perception of the territory and its material character [18]. Introverted inner
spaces intensified the visitors’ experience of a void surrounded and dominated by massive
enclosures. The architects underlined “the isotropic properties of concrete and stone: carv-
ing, hollowing, grooving, forging, shifting figures–decomposing in order to highlight the
labyrinth properties” [34] while shaping interiors of the building.
This complex confirmed the value of Menis’ work as a sensorial and tactile archi-
tectural intervention that was strongly based on materials and their textures [35]. The
innovative construction technique exploring brick as a structural and cladding material
became itself a creative commentary on the architecture of the past. The construction tech-
nology, with reference to the local building practice and cultural heritage of Toruń, became
a means to decode the local traditional architecture. Moreover, traditional building materi-
als and construction techniques were reinterpreted by the architect in an unconventional
way oriented toward the reduction of the negative impact on the natural environment [35]
achieved by an efficient resource management strategy in the architectural design process.
The qualitative evaluation of the area relation determined in function of the application
of building techniques to shape interiors of CKK Jordanki Congress and Culture Centre in
Toruń illustrates Figure 2.

Figure 2. The qualitative evaluation of the area relation determined in function of the application of
building techniques within the main criteria group. Case study: CKK Jordanki Congress and Culture
Centre, Toruń.

3.2. Case 2: International Congress Centre, Katowice

International Congress Centre in Katowice, completed in 2015, was another commer-
cial building realized as part of the Sphere of Culture, the project of revitalization of a
postindustrial area previously occupied by the mining facility named Katowice (Figure 3).

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(a) (b) (c)

Figure 3. International Congress Centre, Katowice 2015, JEMS Architects. (a) The sound absorbing wall cladding in the
multifunctional space, (photo by A.K. Kłosak); (b) fragment of the main hallway, (photo by M. Celadyn); (c) main entrance,
(photo by M. Celadyn).

The architects described their project as the “rectangular structure that is intersected
by a canyon” [36]. The main role of this artificially formed trench was to link the main
entrance courtyard with a historical route leading to the settlement of the historic district
of Katowice. This architectural concept is noticeable in a negative cave-like volume of the
ground floor main lobby. From this circulation area, an access to the multifunctional space,
speech auditorium, meeting rooms, and auxiliary spaces is allowed.
One of the most characteristic features of the multifunctional space, which is intended
to host fairs, congresses, concerts, and meetings, are finishing concrete panels with the sole
use of sound amplification (Figure 3). These were developed as concrete structural wall
inner cladding, as well as sound diffusion elements covering the lower part of the walls.
They were part of the acoustic concept of this space aimed at the control of reverberation
time at low frequencies and elimination of audible echoes. Prefabricated concrete diffusers,
proposed and analyzed by the leading acoustic consultants archAKUSTIK, finally took the
form of vertical zigzag-shaped precast concrete panels measuring 250 cm height, 4.75 cm
depth and 50 cm width [37,38].
The concrete wall cladding elements were supplemented with sound-absorbing com-
posite modular panels. These were made with a 25 mm finishing layer of wood-wool
(Heradesign) painted in black and 50 mm thick mineral wool, mounted on a supporting
steel structure. Additionally, a void of 60 cm wide was left behind the panels to enhance
the performance of the absorbing modules. These sound absorbing panels were installed
above the concrete wall cladding, as well as beneath the ceiling, leaving a void of approx-
imately 400 cm where, along with the HVAC installations, additional acoustical baffles
(Rockfon) were placed to prevent the occurrence of possible excessive reverberation in this
closed area.
The technical proposals made by acoustic engineers relative to technical solutions to
optimize acoustic performance, confirmed the high absorption capacity and substantial
contribution to the indoor environment quality of these technical proposals. The support
of acoustic consultants was crucial to fulfil the functional requirements and assure high
performance, while confirming formal and technical consistency. The building techniques
and products made their appearance as interior architectural design instruments to demon-
strate the complex tectonic of interior spaces. Moreover, the design solutions concerning

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interior constitutive components through their uniform structure and finishes, allowed
maintenance of the stylistic homogeneity of the building inner spaces of different volume
and functions.
This formal and aesthetical uniformity was accomplished with modular panels made
with a mesh as a coating material and means to control the acoustics parameters of the
space. These panels were vastly introduced in the speech auditorium and the main hallway
to cover the ceilings and parts of the walls, becoming the most distinctive interior spaces’
attributes. In multi-layered aluminium mesh the finished panels introduced into the
interiors is a reminiscence of the transparent building envelope. A steel mesh painted in
black was mounted on a supportive structure in front of the south facing glazed facade to
avoid overheating of the interiors caused by solar thermal radiation. Therefore, the metal
mesh along with the rough surfaces of concrete cladding became the most exposed building
material to fulfil the multifunctional demands and to outline the formal appearance and
aesthetic identity of the building envelope, as well as interior components.
The qualitative evaluation of the area relation determined in function of the application
of building techniques to shape interior of multifunctional space in International Congress
Centre in Katowice illustrates Figure 4.

Figure 4. The qualitative evaluation of the area relation, determined in function to the application
of building techniques, within main criteria group. Case study: International Congress Centre,
Katowice.

3.3. Case 3: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra House, Katowice

The seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, completed in
2014, was the first building that had been realized within the program of revitalization of
the post-industrial area in the city center, becoming part of the Axis of Culture (Figure 5).

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Buildings 2021, 11, 309

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 5. Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra House, Katowice, 2014, arch. Konior Studio. (a) The inner precast
concrete cladding of the main concert hall. Source: M. Charciarek [33]; (b): The inner cast concrete layered wall of the main
lobby, (photo by M. Celadyn); (c): Main entrance. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katowice_05.15_
NOSPR_2.JPG (accessed on 31 May 2021), photo by M. Mróz.

The multilayered shell of the main concert hall volume, being a separate structure
set in a multifunctional atrium, introduced innovative building technologies to respond
to the functional requirements of the main music hall, providing the audience with a
high quality experience [39]. The main concert hall’s acoustic parameters met all the
highest standards that were applied by the world-renowned acoustic consulting firm
Nagata Acoustics. The design of the main concert hall exercised initially the traditional
shoebox spatial configuration, then transformed into an adapted vineyard type. This was
executed by increasing the width of the hall beyond a typical shoebox shape and adding
audience seating around all sides of the stage. The latter assured reduction of the distance
between the audience and the stage, “thus increasing the sense of intimacy from visual and
acoustical perspectives” [40]. The multilayered enclosure of the main concert hall consisted
of the following parts: (1) spherical, dyed-in -mass, monolithic cast concrete on the shell
adjoining the atrium with a visible timber-like relief of the formwork; (2) acoustic insulation
with mineral wool; (3) cladding with precast undulated concrete panels on the inner side of
the concert hall, to assure appropriate acoustic parameters (i.e., reverberation time, sound
absorption, diffusion, audibility, intelligibility sensed in every part of the space).
The first proposals, as to the shaping and finishing of the enclosures, were based on the
results of computer-aided simulations. Software applications Rhinoceros and Grasshopper
allowed the control and shape of the space geometry, convert abstract figures to form
separate segments to be obtained on CNC machines. The technology of microshaping was
introduced to shape the structural concrete assuring appropriate reflection of high and
medium frequency sounds. Negative reusable formliners were developed to pour in-situ
mortar and form modular panels of 3 m height and 1.5 m width [41]. The necessary contin-
uation of a wave-like 5 cm deep relief pattern present on each module, was achieved due
to the precision of the elastic elastomer formliners. The final recommendations, concerning
technical solutions to optimize acoustic parameters were prepared by Nagata Acoustic
collaborating with the acoustic engineering office Pracownia Akustyczna Kozłowski re-
sponsible for the overall acoustic concept [42]. These advices were based on the results
of investigations conducted with the use of a physical realistic model of the main concert
hall, that was realized on the scale of 1:10. This model combined the building products and

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materials specified to structure and finish the walls, miniatures of chairs, statuettes of the
audience, as well as mobile acoustic panels mounted above the stage. Physical tests carried
out with specialist equipment allowed empirical verification of the initial proposals (i.e.,
geometry of the hall, building technology, specification of materials) that were based on the
parametric modelling software indications. The expressive curtain-like inner cladding made
with self-compacting pigmented concrete panels played an essential role in the acoustic
design, assuring desirable sound reflection and diffusion. Technical and physical aspects
of the project did not dominate the interior architectural design. Fluidity and apparent
softness of the concrete drapery provided guests with ambiguous impressions concerning
the interior components materiality. Solid curtains, with their strong vertical articulation,
allowed the visitors to explore visual as well as tactile qualities of this interior component.
The concrete panels, meticulously developed and irregularly folded, complemented the
listeners’ aural sensations with multi-sensorial experiences, featuring timeless structures
resounding with music. Concrete, being the commonly introduced high-quality finishing
material, proved its versatility, adding to the interior components an expressive touch. The
roughness of the outer layer of the concrete enclosure of the concert hall, as well as its
anthracite color were purposely applied by the architects. These were to connotate the
local tradition of mining industry and building techniques of timber formworks, and thus
to put the building into a wide social-cultural context.
The qualitative evaluation of the area relation determined in function of the application
of building techniques to shape interior of the main concert hall of the Polish National
Radio Symphony Orchestra House in Katowice illustrates Figure 6.

Figure 6. The qualitative evaluation of the area relation, determined in function to the application
of building techniques, within main criteria group. Case study: Polish National Radio Symphony
Orchestra House, Katowice.

3.4. Case 4: Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Polin, Warsaw

The most spectacular space of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, POLIN,
Warsaw, conceived by Lahdelma and Mahlamäki Architects and completed in 2013, is
the main lobby area, where advanced building technology, as well as architectural design
methods act in a coherent manner. The shape of the passage was finally defined by
the architect only when the project was almost finished with a perfectly organized floor
plan [43]. The rigid building volume of a rectangular prism was interrupted by a freely
drawn inner passage (Figure 7), where the whole dramatism of the building interior was
hidden [44].

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Buildings 2021, 11, 309

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 7. Museum of the History of Polish Jews, POLIN, Warsaw, 2013, Lahdelma and Mahlamäki Architects + Kurylowicz
and Associates. (a) Enclosure of the main entrance hall made with shotcrete, (photo by M. Celadyn); (b) main entrance hall,
photo by M. Celadyn); (c) main entrance (photo by M. Celadyn).

The noticeable contrast in geometry of the building volume and lobby space is even
more spectacular in terms of technology applied to conceive the passage. The concrete
spraying application technique was chosen to form double-curved and full height inner
walls that were to surround the main entrance area. Three-dimensional walls surfaces
followed the principle of “combining the load-bearing structure and the skin into one
tectonic self-supporting element” [45]. Dividers were to enclose the entrance hall and span
two main parts of the building that was assigned a role of a city multifunctional center for
research, exhibition, education, and culture. As Mahlamäki indicated, the main entrance
enclosure presumably was “the biggest uniform, geometrically double-curving surface that
has ever been realized” [46].
The engineers actively participated in the process of developing the most appropriate
technology allowing to conceive this curvilinear 26 m heigh wall proposed by the archi-
tects. Construction work was preceded by defining the geometry of the wall panels with
AutoCAD and Rhinoceros application software that followed the scanning of the initial
freehand sketches prepared by Mahlamäki himself. Design team efforts were oriented to
replace the conventional wall construction made entirely of reinforced concrete, with a
unique solution based on a three-layer concept, as more suitable to reproduce the desirable
organic shape of the wall [47]. The primary steel structure was made with vertical pipes
(dia. 273 mm), horizontally braced, and formed into a grid by means of secondary steel
pipe profiles (dia. 100 mm) [48]. This skeleton construction was then complemented with
the layers consisting of double-breasted steel supportive components and flexible beaver-
boards with fixed reinforcing mesh on top of them to copy the undulating surface of the
enclosures of the hall. The first layer was based on rounded quartz aggregates and Portland
cement, and the second layer with white cement supplemented with closely matched
coloring sprayed repeatedly on the formwork formed the 50 mm thick final coating of
the two structurally developed dividers. The plastic expansion joint strips were removed
and replaced with a fireproof silicone material, whereas the control joint strips left in the
concrete structure reflected the grid wall pattern [45], becoming a naturally conceived yet
sophisticated architectural detail.
The innovative and technically supported shaping of the building main entrance
confirmed concrete’s versatility and strength. The building technology based on structural

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dry-mix shotcrete and architectural through dyed shotcrete, exercised to form a high pas-
sage enclosed with irregularly folded walls, allowed realization of the primary architectural
concept. This idea was to accomplish a metaphoric visualization of the Red Sea parting
for the Jewish exodus from Egypt, as well as to symbolically refer to the drama of the
Holocaust.
The qualitative evaluation of the area relation determined in function of the application
of building techniques to shape main entrance hall of Museum of the History of Polish
Jews, POLIN, in Warsaw illustrates Figure 8.

Figure 8. The qualitative evaluation of the area relation, determined in function to the application of
building techniques, within main criteria group. Case study: Main entrance area, Museum of the
History of Polish Jews, POLIN, Warsaw.

4. Discussion
The analyses of the three areas considered extensively in this research and referring to
the four selected buildings have been visualized in the form of relevant graphical presen-
tations in Figures 2, 4, 6 and 8. The comparison between them and the summary results
indicate that in the area of relation named as Multifaceted content-context dependence, out-
comes are very diversified. The biggest coherence in functional, formal, and socio-cultural
assessment criteria was found in case 1, and the highest discrepancies in this area are
characteristic of case 3. The traits of cases 2 and 4 are less identifiable and less coherent.
Within the second area relation recognized as Functional use, Aesthetics, the results
are better identifiable. Very consistent moderation was found in the case of three buildings:
1, 3, and 4. Case 4 shows some discrepancies in its characteristics.
The third area relation was identified as user’s perception, place attachment features
multiplicity in cases 3 and 4, and the highest intensiveness is in case 2. The most valued is
the result relative to case 1, which represents the highest intensiveness within multiplicity.
This building should be considered as the best implementation of contemporary technical
means to obtain an appropriate multi-faceted response to the issue of the most valued
characteristics of contemporary interiors.
The qualitative evaluation diagrams relative to every single case of the presented
buildings can be superimposed to finally indicate the actual state of mutual relations of
the analyzed issues. To do so, it is useful to apply the same adopted scheme in which to
introduce the relevant characteristics of every studied building.
The resulting Figure 9 shows the summary of the prevailing traits for the whole
set of cases. The analysis of all data in the diagram revealed that in the first area no
cases fall within the traits: contrast or inconsistency. The second area comprises only one

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insignificance and no contradiction. Within the third area, there is no ambiguousness and
no confusion.

Figure 9. Summary of singular characteristics of four selected cases in the three examined areas of
relation.

The research indicates a very diversified impact of implemented technical means

on the technical, environmental, esthetic, social and symbolic features of the analyzed
significant buildings. This statement encompasses an extensive set of features, but other
more concise related characteristics contained in Table 2 are also supportive and useful in
deducing and confirming the final results of this research, which is the confirmed impact
of the basic technical means, including implemented building material and its texture
characteristics on the technical performance and place attachment characteristics of the
analyzed buildings and their internal spaces.

Table 2. Comparison of the influence of building techniques on the environmetal performance of public building interiors
in terms of their technical, aesthetic, and symbolic features.

Case Study Texture Technical Function Place Attachment

Material
Public Building Characteristics of Textured Surface Symbolic Source
CKK Jordanki Congress
irregular, broken line of reference to local historical
and Culture Centre, concrete and brick sound diffusion
section profile brick material
Toruń
indirect reference to façade
International Congress zigzag-shaped sound amplification striped, black steel meshed
concrete panels
Centre, Katowice repetitive vertical strips and diffusion panels reminiscent of coal-
mine walls
Polish National Radio irregular arrangement
reference to coal mine
Symphony Orchestra concrete of repetitive triangular sound diffusion
black scraped walls
House, Katowice strips
Museum of the History undulating rough
historic tale of Jewish
of Polish Jews, Polin, concrete-shotcrete surface with fine sound diffusion
dramatic events
Warsaw exposed grains

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5. Conclusions
The study was intended to be meaningful for the theory and practice of interior
architectural design, which is presently very modestly representative of valuable contri-
butions in terms of the design methodology based on a scientific approach to solving
related problems. This research paper has provided an inquiry on the interior components’
performance in function of building materials’ attributes and applied advanced building
techniques. The analysis combined physical appearance, as well as multifunctionality
of these components in relation to the innovative methods and techniques introduced to
implement advanced building technologies. It proved that technical solutions remain es-
sential for building interiors’ aesthetic functionalism. The paper indicates that the creative
development and following introduction of innovative building techniques, demonstrated
within the inner space planning and the design of multifunctional constitutive interior
components, supports and validates design decisions in many aspects. The proposals rec-
ognizing building materials characteristics and acknowledging the potentials of building
techniques, enable fulfilment of fundamental functional demands, while exploring the area
of aesthetic expression of inner spaces to influence the users’ perception, encourage their
multisensorial experiences and to form the sense of place attachment. Research findings
have proved the impact of building techniques on the performance of interior components
as instruments to increase interior functional use, formal uniformity, and aesthetic cohesion
of buildings and their inner spaces.
The results of this research study indicate that the progress in the integration of
architectural and engineering disciplines with the art of creation of inner spaces can
be achieved through extensive exploration and innovative implementation of building
techniques. In particular, the designers’ experimental approach to building materials’ usage
in the shaping of interior components is to demonstrate the architects and interior architects
ability to incorporate both architecture art and architecture science into the design process.
The outcomes of the conducted study indicate the necessity for the further corrections
in interior architectural design methodology, both in the currently executed educational
framework and professional practice. These improvements should evolve toward a con-
sistent employment of advanced building techniques, to accomplish interior architectural
design requirements, examined as means to assure: (1) formal coherence of interiors and
building fabric; (2) cohesion of internal spaces’ functional use and aesthetics; (3) expansion
of users’ experience and support of place attachment. The enlisted design determinants are
significant factors of the interior components’ high environmental performance concerning
the optimisation of indoor quality parameters. The efficient management of building
materials, as well as implementation of unconventional building techniques, proving the
multifaceted approach to the creation of the indoor environment, remain substantial factors
to strengthen the position of interior architectural design discipline within the integrative
design process.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, M.C.; methodology, M.C. and W.C.; investigation, M.C.;
writing—original draft preparation, M.C. and W.C.; writing—review and editing, M.C. and W.C.;
visualization, M.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Data is contained within the article.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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41. Clark, R. Available online: https//:www.reckli.com (accessed on 3 February 2021).
42. Pracownia Akustyczna Kozłowski. Available online: https//:www.akustyczna.pl (accessed on 10 January 2021).
43. Juzwa, N. Pragmatism or emotion? The sources of architectural form. In Defining the Architectural Space: Rationalistic or Intuitive
Way to Architecture; Kozłowski, D., Ed.; Cracow University of Technology: Cracow, Poland, 2018; Volume 1, pp. 59–64.
44. Juzwa, N.; Świerzawski, J. Creative construction and simplicity of form. Proc. Creat. Constr. Conf. 2019, 16, 102–107.
45. Januszkiewicz, K. Curvilinear structural envelops in current architecture. Archit. Civ. Eng. Environ. 2017, 1, 11–16. [CrossRef]
46. Mahlamäki, R. Available online: https://www.dezeen.com/2014/11/07/jewish-history-museum-warsaw-lahdelma-mahlamaki-
first-finlandia-prize-for-architecture-2014/ (accessed on 25 January 2021).
47. ARUP. Available online: https://www.arup.com/projects/museum-of-the-history-of-polish-jews (accessed on 14 January 2021).
48. Czajka, W. The Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Shotcrete 2013, 15, 12–17.

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Article
Evaluating the Color Preferences for Elderly Depression in the
United Arab Emirates
Chuloh Jung 1, *, Naglaa Sami Abdelaziz Mahmoud 2 , Gamal El Samanoudy 2 and Nahla Al Qassimi 1

1 Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Art and Design, Healthy & Sustainable Built
Environment Research Center, Ajman University, Ajman 346, United Arab Emirates; [email protected]
2 Department of Interior Design, College of Architecture, Art and Design, Healthy & Sustainable Built
Environment Research Center, Ajman University, Ajman 346, United Arab Emirates;
[email protected] (N.S.A.M.); [email protected] (G.E.S.)
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: The elderly are more prone to develop depression from physical, psychological, and economic
changes, and 25.7% of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) elderly population suffer from depression.
Color therapy is a widely accepted treatment to solve the depressive symptoms of the elderly.
The color preference of the Seniors’ Happiness Centre—in Ajman UAE—a residential space for the
elderly, could improve the quality of life, including depression symptoms. This paper explored
the relationship between the color preference of the resident bedroom space and the depressive
symptoms. As a methodology, using color images as stimuli, the physiological and psychological
responses of the 86 elderly participants to the proposed color preference of the resident bedroom
interiors—observed through a viewing box to simulate 3D space perception—were compared and
analyzed to investigate the relationship between the color preference and depression by a survey with
the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Electroencephalogram (EEG) measurement. The results
Citation: Jung, C.; Mahmoud, N.S.A.;
showed that the elderly’s preference for warm colors is higher than that of cold colors, and each room
El Samanoudy, G.; Al Qassimi, N. needs a different color scheme because the elderly, 65 and above, have different visual characteristics.
Evaluating the Color Preferences for There was no significant difference between the left and right alpha wave values of the prefrontal
Elderly Depression in the United cortex of the participant group. The main reason is that the brain waves are minute electrical signals
Arab Emirates. Buildings 2022, 12, 234. and appear different from person to person. The color scheme on one side of the wall with increased
https://doi.org/10.3390/ saturation seemed to improve depressive symptoms effectively. It was found that psychologically,
buildings12020234 healthy elderly reacted positively to the single-color scheme of the Blue cool color, but elderly with
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński, depression reacted well to the contrast color scheme of the Blue-Yellow/Red cool color. This study
Agata Bonenberg, Wojciech will serve as critical data to propose more color preferences for the Seniors’ Happiness Center suitable
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini for the elderly by studying the response to more diverse colors in the UAE.

Received: 16 December 2021

Keywords: color scheme; elderly with depression; color preference; interior design; residential space
Accepted: 15 February 2022
Published: 17 February 2022

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral

with regard to jurisdictional claims in 1. Introduction
published maps and institutional affil-
According to the United Nations, all the countries in the world are experiencing a
iations.
dramatic change in the age structure of their population, driven by longer life expectancy
and decreased fertility [1]. On a global scale, there were 727 million persons over 65 years
in 2020. By 2050, the projected global number of older persons will be over 1.5 billion.
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. This means that those 65 years or over will increase from 9.3% in 2020 to 16.0% by 2050 [2].
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. In the United Arab Emirates, the percentage of elderly persons, 60 years and above, in 2000
This article is an open access article was 5.1% and is expected to reach 23.6% by 2025 [3]. The United Arab Emirates has a
distributed under the terms and population structure in which UAE nationals make up 11.6% while expatriates make up
conditions of the Creative Commons 88.4%, and many expatriates were born in the UAE or lived for many decades [4].
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// As human become old, their physical functions deteriorate, and they suffer from
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ various age-related chronic diseases and exhibit anxiety and depressive symptoms [5].
4.0/).

Buildings 2022, 12, 234. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12020234 427 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 234

Older people are more likely to develop depressive symptoms due to stress from physi-
cal, psychological, and economic changes [6]. Even those who previously suffered from
depression are more likely to recur [7]. Compared to epidemiological studies in the MENA
regions, which demonstrate depression rates ranging from 13% to 18% [8], 25.7% of the
UAE elderly population suffer from depression (20.2%) and anxiety (5.6%) [9]. Depressive
symptoms are one of the most common mental disorders in old age. Hence, studies should
prevent and manage depressive symptoms in old age [10]. Early detection in the United
Arab Emirates is difficult because the elderly feel uncomfortable going to the hospital
independently and feel reluctant about mental health problems [11]. Negligence of the
depressive symptoms will delay recovery and lead to suicide [12]. It has been reported that
it is beneficial to combine non-drug therapy with antidepressants to improve depressive
symptoms [13]. Different color routines could be partially a factor that affects the body and
the psychology of a person, and it might be used to solve psychological characteristics such
as depression, but not from direct physical exposure to it [14]. For the mental health of
the elderly, the color might make them feel secure and willing to live if it is selected based
on their individual preferences [15]. When creating elderly residents, designers should
consider that the color preference should have characteristics different from ordinary adults.
The elderly prefer colors associated with their cultural backgrounds, while the young select
colors with different perspectives, trends, or moods [16]. The color cognition and cultural
aspects affect the color selection. In that case, it is possible to create an interior environment
that improves the quality of life and recovers depression symptoms [17].
This study aimed to find out the difference in response to the color preference of
the residential space concerning the depressive symptoms of the elderly inhabitants. For
this purpose, according to the degree of depression in elderly residents 65 years or older,
the physiological and psychological responses to the Seniors’ Happiness Centre’s color
preference were compared and analyzed to investigate the relationship between color
preference and depression using prepared colored image stimuli, representing their own
resident room’s picture.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Elderly Depression and Color Therapy
The elderly face various problems that they have not experienced before with aging.
In old age, adverse events such as the decline in physical function, loss of social status,
anxiety about death, and demise of a spouse affect depressed emotions [18]. In the elderly,
hopelessness leads to depressive, negative psychology, including low self-esteem, social
atrophy, pessimistic despair about the future, death, and suicidal thoughts [19]. Aged
people usually have some symptoms of sadness, and depression is a common mental
health-related problem in the elderly. Unfortunately, the level of knowledge held by
healthcare professions in its diagnosis and treatment is now significantly below that which
would be ideal [20]. Physical aging induces miserable symptoms in the elderly and causes
depression, a negative psychological state accompanied by psychological problems, and
decreased physical function. Depression in old age makes the daily life of the elderly
difficult due to the feeling of helplessness [21]. Unlike other age groups, depressive
symptoms in the elderly are more pronounced than atypical symptoms and complaints
of depressed emotions, with physical symptoms and cognitive decline. Anxiety and
depression individuals are more inclined to choose a hue of gray to describe their feelings.
Therefore, it is difficult to diagnose, and it is often mistaken for another disease and receives
inappropriate treatment [22].
Recently, active color therapy research was conducted in psychology and medicine.
Art therapy has been reported to help people with various illnesses, including depression.
Chromotherapy, or colors to heal, was practiced by several ancient cultures, including
the Egyptians and the Chinese. Chromotherapy is also known as light therapy or colorol-
ogy [23]. Therefore, color therapy, derived from the same principle, has been proven to
advance depression treatments positively. Color therapy can provide psychological balance

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by stimulating the five senses with color to obtain a psychological therapeutic effect and
affect metabolism [24]. In particular, colors treat depressive symptoms as effectively in
the psychological stability of depressed people. Psychopathological processes are thought
to be a significant component in color preferences, in addition to the impacts, as men-
tioned above, of colors on mood [25]. Depressed humans have a significantly lower retinal
response and sensitivity than healthy humans, leading to the same result as removing
color vibrations, which is the cause of continuing depressed emotions, which aggravates
depression [26]. As such, colors are closely linked to depressive symptoms, so it is essential
to control the color of the interior bedroom environment for residents to avoid depressive
symptoms [27].

2.2. Aging and Color Scheme for Residential Space

As people age, they experience several changes caused by aging. Visual acuity gener-
ally weakens after the age of 60, and vision yellowing occurs [28]. Due to vision yellowing,
the recognition ability of short-wavelength-series colors is significantly lowered compared
to long-wavelength-series colors [29]. Due to the deterioration of the color recognition
ability, it is necessary to create an environment that considers the characteristics of the
elderly residents, such as giving a difference in brightness or increasing the brightness [30].
Color is an environmental stimulus that humans perceive and stimulate more strongly
than form [31]. For the elderly, color can complement the deteriorated sensory function
and give a sense of psychological stability when constructing information about the en-
vironment [32]. Therefore, the color plan of the elderly resident’s interior bedroom must
consider the preferred colors and physical changes due to aging. In general, low-saturation
colors, often used in Seniors’ Happiness Centre in the United Arab Emirates, are a risk
factor for the elderly who have a weakened ability to perceive colors [33]. When people
become old, their color vision deteriorates. A process known as ‘brunescence’ occurs when
the crystalline lens ages, allowing the hue to become yellowish and saturated.
There is also a study finding stating that the elderly prefer vivid and colorful colors
and that as one of the precautions for the color planning of the elderly’s interior bedroom,
a friendly and soft atmosphere should be created by using warm colors as a whole [34].
Perception and preferences for hue, chroma, and lightness are influenced by age, and color
vision disparities caused by inherited color deficits have directly impacted color preferences.
Similarly, color vision restrictions caused by lens brunescence should directly impact color
choices. Although some researchers have indicated that color selection differs between
older and younger individuals as the young follow trends, more recent investigations
have discovered that color preference, psychologically, varies between older and younger
persons [35]. Therefore, it is necessary to give changes and diversity in consideration of
visual characteristics a stable and comfortable atmosphere in the color plan of the Seniors’
Happiness Centre for the elderly.

2.3. The Depression Symptoms and Color Reactions by Electroencephalogram

In recent years, the investigation of emotional and mental processes and relationships
using brainwave characteristics has increased in various fields [36]. An electroencephalo-
gram (EEG) is a way to measure a human’s various biological signals and is used as an
index to judge psychological reactions and emotions [37]. The measurement of brain waves
occurs in all areas of the brain and depend on the frequency band standards: delta waves
(δ, 0–4 Hz), theta waves (Θ, 4–8 Hz), alpha waves (α, 8–13 Hz), beta waves (β, 13–30 Hz),
and gamma waves (γ, 30–50 Hz) [38]. Alpha waves are fundamental neurophysiological
waves that reflect the brain’s stable state (conscious, creative, relaxed, and light medita-
tion). As it is less affected by brain waves in other areas, the alpha wave has been used
to measure emotional stability for a long time [39]. An EEG is used to diagnose and treat
depressive symptoms, and it is possible to discriminate the depressed state through the
resting EEG [40]. It is an objective measurement method for depressive symptoms, not
differences due to subjective depressive symptoms or simple mood changes [41]. The brain

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waves’ simple mood changes—for example, depression—are usually accompanied by the

asymmetry of the frontal cortex alpha waves. The activation of the left frontal cortex is
associated with pleasant and positive emotions, and the activation of the right frontal cortex
is associated with depressive and negative emotions [42]. The left/right activation of the
frontal cortex grasp feelings of pleasure, discomfort, and depression. Neuroscience, the
difference in EEG asymmetry between the depressive and regular groups, can be used for
clinical diagnosis.
Brain waves help analyze and judge reactions and emotions to colors through ob-
jective numbers. For instance, in previous studies regarding depressive symptoms, the
red color symbolized vitality and had a therapeutic effect [43]. Therefore, psychological
therapy effectively treated depressed patients in red interiors and excited patients in blue
interiors [44]. The color’s uses, in this case, with high brightness, saturation, and warm
colors, bring excitement, and low brightness, saturation, and cold colors bring a sense of
calm. As such, color and human physiological reactions rely upon psychological reactions,
and both reactions and emotions can be measured through brain waves [45].

2.4. Research Method

As shown in Figure 1, the conducted literature review and research contribute to un-
derstanding the physiological reactions of the elderly to the color of their interior bedroom.
In the literature review, previous compared studies on the psychological characteristics of
the elderly, their reaction to color, and the color planning of similar centers for the elderly
have led to concrete discussion [46]. The authors established the survey research plan and
the survey targets based on the literature review results. In addition, they determined the
measurement variable and the survey tools for the progress of the research. The selection
of the study participants focused on the elderly aged 65 years or older who had no color
perception and brain disease problems. The participants recruited were 86 voluntary el-
derly residents with the cooperation of two Seniors’ Happiness Centers, Mushairaf Area
and Al Jurf Area, in the Ajman region of the United Arab Emirates. Each of them signed
a consent form requesting their names’ privacy and refused to take pictures while pro-
ceeding in the experiments. The survey participants were classified into two groups, an
ordinary range group (group A) and a group showing depressive symptoms (group B)
using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) test. A psychological evaluation of the color
image of the interior bedroom was conducted through a questionnaire survey using a color
image-emotion evaluation tool and an EEG measurement experiment. The survey research
was conducted from January to December 2020 while maintaining social distancing, and a
total of 80 responses were used for analysis (Table 1).

Table 1. Classification of investigation targets.

Level of Depression
Participants Total
Group A Group B
60s 10 (17.5%) 3 (10.0%) 13 (14.9%)
Age Group 70s 34 (59.6%) 19 (63.3%) 53 (60.9%)
80s and Above 13 (22.8%) 8 (26.7%) 21 (24.1%)
Male 28 (60.9%) 18 (39.1%) 46 (52.8%)
Gender
Female 29 (70.75%) 12 (29.3%) 41 (47.1%)
Total 57 (65.5%) 30 (34.5%) 87 (100.0%)

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Figure 1. Research process: objective, literature review, methodology, analysis, result, discussion,
and conclusion.

2.5. Investigation Tool

2.5.1. Elderly Depression Assessment Tool
The degree of depression or simple mood change of the residents was evaluated
using Yesavage, Brink, and Rose’s Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) [47]. There were
30 evaluation entries used in this study, and each statement can be answered simply by
using ‘Yes/No’. The total score ranged from 0 to 30, where the higher the score, the
more serious the depressed state. In this study, the collected answers that range between
0 and 14 points were group ‘A’, and the answers that range between (15–30) points were
group ‘B’.

2.5.2. Single-Color Response Measurement

A color chart is indispensable to understand and investigate the participants’ prefer-
ences for level of color (Preferred, Non-Preferred, and Self-Representation Colors). Thus,
based on the Munsell system, the authors created a palette of 10 essential colors (Red
(R), Yellow (Y), Green (G), Blue (B), Purple (P), Yellow/Red (Y/R), Green/Yellow (G/Y),
Blue/Green (B/G), Purple/Blue (P/B), and Red/Purple (R/P)), in addition to three achro-
matic colors (White (W), Black (B), and Neutral Gray (nG)) to make a 60 cm × 90 cm
hardboard, as shown in Figure 2.

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Buildings 2022, 12, 234

Figure 2. Palette of ten essential and three achromatic colors (source: authors, based on the Munsell
system-licensed file under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license, 2021).

2.5.3. Color Scheme of Resident Interior Bedroom

The suggested color scheme for the resident interior bedroom was the warm colors
and their contrast as cool colors, based on the psychological and emotional response
standards related to the cultural background [48]. The decisive warm hues selection was R,
Y, Y/R, and G/Y, while the cool hues selection was complementary of the warm selections,
B/G, P/B, B, and P. The range of choices considered the significance of the warm and
cold colors to verify their effects on depression or mood change in previous studies [49].
In addition, the elderly had a lower short-wavelength transmittance due to their visual
characteristics [50]. Consequently, using a single-color scheme as a concept aimed to reach
psychological stability and contrast colors to create change and diversity [51]. Therefore,
the study used a single color (as a front wall: Yellow, Yellow/Red, Green/Yellow, Red,
and Blue.
Additionally, the study used a contrast color (as side wall) for the specific single colors,
as follows: Yellow-Purple/Blue, Yellow/Red-Blue, Green/Yellow-Purple, Red-Blue/Green,
and Blue-Yellow/Red (Figure 3). The achromatic color used was single Grey. The range of
brightness and saturation was customized as Vivid (V) tone, which is the range of medium
and high saturation, and very pale (Vp) tone, which is the range of high brightness and
low saturation (Value 5, Chroma 5), considering the characteristics of interior color and the
effect on the EEG. The color application range considered the focal color for the front wall
of the interior bedroom, which is visually recognized most, and the secondary color for the
sidewall, in the very pale state to blend with the elderly visual conditions (Figure 3). The
target residential space was a resident interior bedroom (40 m2 ) of the Seniors’ Happiness
Centre, and the samples were produced with the Photoshop program (Color Picker to
simulate the Munsell Colors) based on an actual picture from their interior’s rooms. It is
worth mentioning that the color mode used was CMYK for calibration so that the color
values of the selected Munsell were the same on the screen display and when printed
in reality.

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Figure 3. The 11 samples of the stimuli of indoor space color scheme each has two versions except
Neutral Gray (source: authors, based on an actual elderly room, 2021).

2.5.4. Physiological and Psychological Response Measurement

The physiological response to color was measured using two channels of Neuro
harmony S. Two gold-plated dry electrodes were used to measure the EEG in the left and
right frontal cortex. Fp1 (left) and Fp2 (right) of the frontal cortex were set as the active
electrode, Fpz as the ground electrode, and the ear cortex as the reference electrode [52].
The occipital cortex is the area that primarily acquires visual information in the
cerebrum, and the prefrontal cortex is the cortex that understands the acquired color
information and is involved in decision-making.
In this study, the EEG value of the prefrontal cortex was used for analysis. The EEG test
focused on the experimenter; for accurate data, the first and last stimuli were designated in
gray, and stimuli were given for 10 s each. Each color image was stimulated for 20 s, and
a gray sheet was displayed for 10 s between color images to reduce the influence of each
other (Figure 4). It was calibrated using (Figure 5) Spyder4 Express [53]. According to a
particular sequence, the experiment was conducted by maintaining a stable state in the
same interior environment where natural light and external noise were blocked. Six pairs
of adjectives were placed at the ends of both directions, and a 5-point Likert scale was
constructed and evaluated to respond to the participant’s thoughts. Three was ‘neutral’,
2 and 4 were ‘slightly’, and 1 and 5 were ‘extremely’.

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Figure 4. The EEG measurement procedure sequence shows the experimental duration.

Figure 5. The EEG measurement tools, by authors.

3. Results
The classification of the 86 participants—where 48 were from Mushairaf Area and
38 were from Aljurf Area—was group A (53 (male = 25, female = 28)) and group B (33
(male = 19, female = 14)). The elderly aged 70 and above were very high, with 63.75%
(51 residents), 15% (12 residents) in their 60s, and 21.25% (17 residents) in their 80s or older.
The distribution of gender was 52.5% (44 residents) for males and 47.5% (42 residents)
for females.

3.1. Color Preferencing

The response between residents with depressive symptoms and healthy residents
was evident with the single-color preference showing no difference. In this study, the
difference between the color preferences of group A and group B was identified, using
10 chromatic basic colors of the Munsell system and 3 achromatic (Figure 1), to Preferred
and Non-Preferred colors, and the Color which Represents them.
As a result of analyzing Preferred colors in (Table 2) and the statistical analysis of the
results in Figure 6, group A showed a somewhat higher preference for cool colors to warm
colors in the order of ‘Blue’ with 13 (26%) and ‘Yellow pale’ with 7 (14%). The result is
consistent with previous studies showing that the preference for colors is related to the
country’s environment and the cognitive responses of the elderly [54]. For the reason of
their preference, participants answered the following for ‘Yellow’: ‘passive’ and ‘makes the

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heart happy’; ‘Blue’: ‘bright color’ and ‘is always my favorite color’. Nine people (30%) had
‘Blue’ and four people (13.3%) had ‘Yellow’ as their preferred color in group B (Figure 6).
For the reasons of their preference, they answered the following for ‘Blue’: ‘sea color’ and
‘it feels good’; ‘Yellow’: ‘the color is deep’ and ‘it is the sand color’.

Table 2. Participants’ preferred color, non-preferred color, and representative color.

Selection/Participants R Y/R Y G/Y G B/G B P/B P R/P W nG Black Total

2 5 7 5 4 3 13 4 3 2 2 0 0 50
Group A
4 10 14 10 8 6 26 8 6 4 4 0 0 100%
Preferred 2 3 4 1 3 2 9 3 1 2 0 0 0 30
Color Group B
6.7 10 13.3 3.3 10 6.7 30 10 3.3 6.7 0 0 0 100%
4 8 6 6 11 5 20 7 7 4 2 0 0 80
All
5 10 7.5 7.5 13.75 6.25 25 8.75 8.75 5 2.5 0 0 100%
2 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 11 14 50
Group A
4 4 6 4 4 6 4 4 4 6 4 22 28 100%
Non-
Preferred 5 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 2 2 2 6 8 30
Group B
Color 16.6 0 6.7 0 0 6.7 0 3.3 6.7 6.7 6.7 20 26.6 100
1 0 5 0 0 3 2 3 6 5 4 17 28 80
All
1.25 0 6.25 0 0 3.75 2.5 3.75 7.5 6.25 5 21.25 35 100
2 2 10 9 6 3 14 1 1 1 1 0 0 50
Group A
Color 4 4 20 18 12 6 28 2 2 2 2 0 0 100%
which 2 0 4 2 3 0 6 4 3 1 2 1 2 30
represent Group B
6.7 0 13.3 6.7 10 0 20 13.3 10 3.3 6.7 3.3 6.7 100%
them
4 2 14 11 9 3 20 5 4 2 3 1 2 80
All
5 2.5 17.5 13.75 11.25 3.75 25 6.25 5 2.5 3.75 1.25 2.5 100%

As a result of the analysis of Non-Preferred colors, the ratio of achromatic colors such
as ‘White’, ‘Black’, and ‘Neutral Grey’ was high in both groups. The result is consistent
with previous studies that showed that the Non-Preferred for ‘Black’ is high. Group A
had 14 people (28%) in ‘Black’ and 11 people (22%) in ‘Grey’. For Non-Preferred reasons,
‘Black’ responded with ‘despair rises’, ‘hopeless’, and ‘dark and gloomy’; and ‘Neutral
Grey’ responded with ‘be ambiguous’, ‘dull’, and ‘not clear’. Group B had 8 ‘Black’ (26.6%)
and 6 ‘Neutral Grey’ (20%). For Non-Preferred reasons, ‘Black’ had ‘dark’, and ‘Grey’ had
‘ambiguous’ and ‘sneaky’.
As a result of the analysis of the colors representing themselves (Table 2) (Figure 6),
group A was in the order of 14 ‘Blue’ (28%), 10 ‘Yellow’ (20%), and 9 ‘Green-Yellow’ (18%).
For selection reasons, ‘Blue’ had ‘clear and calm’, ‘clear’, and ‘unconditionally good’;
‘Yellow’ had ‘bright color’ and ‘looks good’; ‘Green-Yellow’ had ‘stable color’, ‘positive’,
and ‘fresh’. Group B had 6 ‘Blue’ (20%), 4 ‘Yellow’ (13.3%), and 4 ‘Purple-Blue’ (13.3%).
In the case of ‘Blue’ as a reason for the selection, they answered, ‘to be blue’, ‘to be seen
well’, and ‘to be bright’. Group A showed a high proportion of cool colors representing
themselves compared to the preferred color. Group B showed various preferences and
choices for the preferred color and the color representing themselves, regardless of the
distinction between gender.

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Figure 6. Statistical analysis showing the number of ‘Preferred’, ‘Non-Preferred’, and the ‘Color
Which Represents Them’ participants, as provided in Table 2.

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3.2. Psychological Response

Figure 7 shows the evaluation results—using the Likert Scale—of the psychological
response to the stimuli of the eleven residents’ interior bedroom color scheme images. As a
single cool color, the evaluation results for the color Blue were generally similar between
group A and group B. For the color Yellow, the average of group A came in the second
selection as it was ‘bright’, ‘warm’, ‘clear’, and ‘active’. The color Green/Yellow in group A
had a lower average of ‘clear’ than group B. For the color Yellow/Red, the average of
group A for ‘clear’ and ‘active’ was higher than that of group B. For the color Neutral Grey,
the average of group A’s ‘cloudy’ and ‘static’ was somewhat higher. The color Red, in
Group A, had ‘dark’ and ‘dull’, while the color Yellow/Red had ‘warm’ and ‘dull’.

Figure 7. Psychological response to interior space colors based on 1–5 Likert scale.

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For the contrasting color scheme, the averages of group A and group B for all emotional
adjectives were generally similar, and it was found that the average of ‘static’ in the group
was high. In the case of Yellow/Red-Blue and Green/Yellow-Purple, the average of ‘dark’
and ‘cool’ was high for cool colors, and the average of ‘dark’ and ‘warm’ was high for
warm colors. In the contrasting colors, Yellow-Purple/Blue, Red-Blue/Green, and Blue-
Yellow/Red, group B’s average ‘dull’ and ‘static’ were somewhat high.
As for the achromatic color-matching image, the average of ‘bright’, ‘warm’, and ‘clear’
of group B was somewhat higher, and there was no difference between groups for the other
‘static-active and ‘dislike—like’. The achromatic color-matching image found that, overall,
all adjective vocabulary was evaluated close to ‘selection 3’.
An independent sample t-test was conducted to analyze the difference in the response
of ‘pleasure’ to the color-matching image concerning depression symptoms (Table 3). There
was no significant difference between groups except for the achromatic color-matching
image in the response score of ‘pleasure’ for the 11 color-matching stimuli images. In both
groups, the score of the cool-color B (M = 3.39, SD = 1.19) was highest, whereas the warm
color R (M = 2.62, SD = 1.23) had the lowest score. Looking at each group, the averages of B
(M = 3.50, SD = 1.15) for group A and Y/R (M = 3.31, SD = 1.28) for group B were slightly
higher. On the other hand, the averages of achromatic color (M = 2.78, SD = 1.22) in group
A and (M = 2.60, SD = 1.23) in group B were slightly lower. However, a graph representing
the mean response and SD of ‘Pleasure’ for stimuli color images resulted in a t-test of 0.96%
(there was no significant (n.s) difference between the groups (p < 5%)) (Figure 8).

Table 3. The score of ‘Pleasure’ for stimuli color images.

Group A Group B Total t-Test

Color Type
M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) Result
Yellow 3.40 (1.20) 3.21 (1.23) 3.33 (1.21) −1.642 (n.s)
Yellow/Red 3.38 (1.13) 3.31 (1.28) 3.36 (1.18) −0.947 (n.s)
Green/Yellow 3.34 (1.15) 3.17 (1.23) 3.29 (1.21) −0.454 (n.s)
Red 2.86 (1.21) 2.55 (1.18) 2.76 (1.22) −0.921 (n.s)
Blue 3.50 (1.15) 3.17 (1.25) 3.39 (1.19) −1.068 (n.s)
Yellow-Blue 3.14 (1.20) 2.52 (1.35) 2.93 (1.28) −1.029 (n.s)
Yellow/Red-Blue 2.85 (1.21) 2.55 (1.18) 2.76 (1.22) −0.929 (n.s)
Green/Yellow-Purple 3.00 (1.15) 3.00 (1.22) 3.00 (1.17) −0.973 (n.s)
Red-Blue/Green 2.80 (1.22) 2.42 (1.17) 2.62 (1.23) −0.878 (n.s)
Blue-Yellow/Red 3.14 (1.17) 2.62 (1.32) 2.83 (1.20) −0.929 (n.s)
neutralGrey 2.78 (1.22) 2.60 (1.23) 2.82 (1.22) −0.858 (n.s)
M: mean, SD: standard deviation.

Figure 8. Graph of the mean response and standard deviation of ‘Pleasure’ for stimuli color images.

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3.3. Physiological Response

An EEG measurement is a precise test, so out of a total of 80 survey residents who par-
ticipated in psychological characteristics analysis, ten residents in group A (male = 6 people,
female = 4 people) and ten residents in group B (male = 4 residents, female = 6 people), a
total of twenty residents were selected, and the analysis used the measured results. As a
result, the ‘male and female’ ratio was 50.0%, while the ‘age’ ratio was 50.0% (10 residents)
in their 70s, 35.0% (7 residents) in their 80s and over, and 15.0% (3 residents) in their 60s
(Table 4).

Table 4. Classification of investigation targets for EEG.

Level of Depression
Participants Total
Group A Group B
60s 2 (20.0%) 1 (10.0%) 3 (15.0%)
Age Group 70s 4 (40.0%) 6 (60.0%) 10 (50.0%)
80s and Above 4 (40.0%) 3 (30.0%) 7 (35.0%)
Male 6 (60.0%) 4 (40.0%) 10 (50.0%)
Gender
Female 4 (40.0%) 6 (60.0%) 10 (50.0%)
Total 10 (100.0%) 10 (100.0%) 20 (100.0%)

According to the color samples, the observation and the measurement showed a
change in alpha wave of 8~13 Hz. Alpha wave (α) signals of the left (Fp1) and right (Fp2)
prefrontal cortexes were collected to analyze the EEG signal for the degree of depression
and color-matching images. Alpha waves are brain waves that represent positive and
negative emotions in human emotions. As an EEG is a fine electrical signal, it may not be
statistically significant, but the difference can effectively identify the emotions. The formula
for analyzing the alpha wave asymmetry value (valence value) is as follows: prefrontal
alpha wave asymmetry = Fp1(a) − Fp2(a) (Fp1(a): left frontal cortex, Fp2(a): right frontal
cortex, a: alpha wave). The Mann–Whitney test compared the alpha wave asymmetry
values of group A and group B, a nonparametric test [55]. Table 5 shows the alpha wave
asymmetry values for each group’s eleven color-matching images.

Table 5. The score of ‘Pleasure’ for color images stimuli.

Group A Group B Total

Experimental Colors z-Value
M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)
Closed Eye 0.66 (0.49) −0.41 (0.35) 0.38 (0.96) −3.782
neutralGrey 0.63 (1.28) −0.41 (0.35) 0.95 (1.93) −2.268
Yellow 0.81 (1.33) −0.20 (1.90) 1.10 (1.51) −3.326
Yellow/Red 0.79 (1.20) −0.07 (1.14) 0.38 (0.96) −3.326
Green/Yellow 0.70 (1.17) −0.51 (1.20) 0.98 (1.80) −2.297
Red 0.61 (1.07) −0.08 (0.54) 0.82 (1.49) −3.628
Blue 0.90 (1.24) −0.14 (1.39) 0.60 (0.93) −3.024
Yellow-Blue 0.86 (1.32) −0.53 (1.22) 0.52 (0.86) −3.232
Yellow/Red-Blue 0.84 (1.19) −0.13 (1.20) 0.38 (0.96) −2.797
Green/Yellow-Purple 0.60 (1.25) −0.54 (1.53) 0.31 (1.43) −3.366
Red-Blue/Green 0.59 (1.25) −0.41 (1.28) 0.76 (1.10) −2.177
Blue-Yellow/Red 0.89 (2.10) −0.05 (0.64) 0.76 (1.11) −3.781
Valence = Fp1(a) − Fp2(a) (Fp1(a): left frontal cortex, Fp2(a): right frontal cortex, a: alpha wave).

There was a significant difference in the valence’s average values for Group A and
Group B; Group A had a positive response, and Group B had the majority of negative
responses (Table 5). When the eyes were closed, the valence value was 0.66 (SD = 0.49) in
group A, and −0.41 (SD = 0.35) in group B. In group A, the valence values of Neutral Gray
(M = 0.63), B (M = 0.90), Y/R (M = 0.79), and R-B/G (M = 0.59) were lower than or similar

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to the closed eyes values. In addition, the valence values of all other color-matching images
were higher than those of the closed eyes. In group B, the values for all color-matching
images except G/Y-P (M = −0.54) and achromatic (M = −0.41) were higher than when the
eyes were closed.
Group A had the highest valence value for B cool similar color (M = 0.90, SD = 1.24),
and the valence value for the similar cold color of B-Y/R (M = 0.89, SD = 2.10) was high.
In group B, the valence value of the R-B/G warm contrast color (M = 0.41, SD = 1.28) was
highest, and B and Y/R-B (100) were in order. Overall, group A had a high valence value
for warm and similar color images, whereas group B had a high valence value for cold and
contrast color images, indicating a significant difference in emotional response for each
color image. SD was high, representing an increase in alpha brain wave amplitude in the
occipital area in the depressed group, which means increasing the functional level and the
ability to reduce symptoms of depression.
The analysis target was to detect the positive and negative emotional responses
through the asymmetry values of the frontal cortex’s left/right alpha wave to the cool
color-matching image. The frequencies of single and contrast images showed prefer-
ence to the single color in both groups. In general, participants of group A experienced
positive emotions even when viewing color-matching images compared to group B. The
single cool color Blue showed better acceptance where Group A accepted it entire-ly, but in
Group B, only eight experienced positive emotions. Unlike cool colors, warm colors showed
significant differences. Group A negatively evaluated Red and its con-trast Red-Blue Green
with nine and eight participants, respectively. Group B evaluated six and ten negatively for
the red color and its contrast, contrary to the Yellow color (Figure 6), respectively.

4. Discussion
This study aimed to find the significant differences in psychological and physiological
responses to the color image of the resident’s interior bedroom according to the degree of
preference response in the elderly population. However, there is a limit in proposing as
authentic an interior as possible of the Seniors’ Happiness Centre color scheme by applying
a simple color scheme and expression technique so that the elderly over 65 in the UAE do
not have difficulty in evaluating the color scheme of a three-dimensional residential space.
In response to the UAE social change, which is gradually becoming older in the future,
it proposed reducing and avoiding depression, a severe elderly disease, by preparing
an interior bedroom in the Seniors’ Happiness Centre color scheme that considers the
psychological characteristics of the elderly.
First, as a result of investigating group A and B’s preferred colors (Figure 9), it was
discovered that group A had a strong preference for cold colors, while group B had a
modest choice for bright colors based on their eyesight. The results of group A are not
consistent with the results of the previous studies that the elderly’s preference, in the
far eastern country, for warm colors is higher than that of cool colors—such a result is
associated with the cultural color cognition [56]. The UAE elderly spent their lives primarily
on the seaside (blue) and the desert (yellow). In addition, the sea represents the expansion
of life as it produces their essential food source [57]. The results of both groups are different
to the results of the previous studies that college students of different age groups prefer
achromatic colors as the degree of depression increases. Such a result can be interpreted
as a characteristic of the elderly who prefer bright colors compared to other age groups.
In other words, it can be seen that the elderly have different characteristics from ordinary
adults in terms of vision, and a differentiated color plan is needed in the elderly space [58].
As a result of examining the non-preferred colors of groups A and B, both groups A and
B showed high dislike rates for achromatic colors such as black and neutral grey. It can
be seen that both the regular group and the depressed group have a low preference for
neutral colors such as grey and negative perceptions of black [59]. Among the achromatic
colors, black and neutral grey are highly unfavorable, and black and neutral grey require
attention when planning the color of residential spaces. As a result of examining the colors

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representing group A and group B, the ratio of cool color was high, and group B showed a
low difference according to the color temperature.

Figure 9. Single color vs. contrast color scheme—positive vs. negative emotions frequency’s analysis.

Second, it was found that there was little difference in the vocabulary of psychological
adjectives for color-matching images according to the degree of depression except for a
few items. Such an outcome can be interpreted as having similar psychological reactions
to the spatial color image in the case of the elderly regardless of the degree of depression
or simple mood change and representing emotions. The mean value of the SD scale for
‘pleasure’ for the color-matching images of group A and group B differed in the achromatic
color-matching image. The single-color score of the cool colors of both groups was high
(blue), and the score of the warm color single color was lower (yellow). Looking at each
group, the average of the cool color contrast B-Y/R in the B group and the warm color

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similar color Y-P/B in the A group was high. Both groups had high psychological reactions
to cool colors, so it can be seen that a color plan taking this into account is necessary.
Third, there was no significant difference between the left and right alpha wave values
of the prefrontal cortex of group A and group B. This is considered because the brain
waves are minute electrical signals and appear different from person to person. However,
measuring the valence value for the color-matching image showed significant differences
depending on the group. Group A responded positively to the single-color scheme of the
B cool color, and group B responded positively to the contrast color of the B-Y/R cool
color. Thus, there was no difference in the prefrontal alpha waves of the two groups, but
there was a difference in the asymmetry of the alpha waves representing emotions, so it is
possible to grasp the subjects’ preference for color-matching.
The cultural background and the cognitive responses were found to significantly
impact the colors’ selection, where single is better than the contrasting [58]. Contrary to the
studies performed in Western countries, the cool colors were the preferred colors, especially
the sea color, for 26% for standard group A and 30% for depressed group B. The sand color
in the warm colors came next in their preferred colors and self-representation by 20% for
group A and 13% for group B.
Furthermore, the positive and negative emotions matched the color selection. The
correspondence of results proves and accentuates the results of this research.

5. Conclusions
This paper investigated the relationship between the color preference of the resident
bedroom space, using color images as stimuli, and the depression symptoms using physio-
logical and psychological responses. Understanding the difference in response to the color
image of interior resident experimental rooms for color planning of the Seniors’ Happiness
Centre considering the psychological and physiological reactions of the elderly aged 65
or older in the UAE was a key target. The participants were classified into group A and
group B according to the results of the Geriatric Depression Scale and representing the emo-
tional or mood change (GDS) test. Psychological and physiological responses to the single
color and twelve color-matching images of the two groups were measured using stimuli
images and then analyzed. As for the color-matching image, twelve models were produced
from one achromatic color (Neutral Grey), single and contrast colors of warm colors (Yel-
low, Red, and Yellow/Red), and cool colors (Blue and Green/Yellow). The psychological
response to the color image was the average value of the semantic. Furthermore, different
method scales composed of adjectives of the color image and the physiological response
were measured and analyzed for the prefrontal cortex’s EEG alpha wave asymmetry value
using a five-point Likert scale.
As mentioned above, psychologically, group A responded positively to the single-
color scheme of the Blue cool color, and group B responded positively to the contrast
color of the Blue-Yellow/Red cool color. Physiologically, group A responded positively
to the single-color scheme of Yellow as a warm color, and group B responded positively
to the contrast color scheme of the B-Y/R cool color. Thus, group A showed a common
reaction, psychologically and physiologically, favoring a similar color scheme of (Blue)
cool colors. However, it can be seen that group B, psychologically, showed a positive
response to the contrasting color through their preference for (Yellow/Blue), a warm hue-
contrasting color, and they selected the cool hue-contrasting color (Blue-Yellow/Red),
physiologically. Following this result, it will be possible to develop an alternative color
scheme for residents’ interior bedrooms that can be applied in practice. The color scheme
on one side of the wall with increased saturation seemed to avoid depressive symptoms or
represent emotions effectively.
Future research will propose a more varied color scheme suitable for the character-
istics of the elderly by studying the response to more diverse colors. Furthermore, the
physiological data of such an investigation need to increase in scope and study to obtain

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appropriate and reliable conclusions. Such a section enables future research linking the
color physiological effects on the elderly within a greater variety of interior spaces.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, C.J., N.S.A.M., G.E.S. and N.A.Q.; methodology, C.J.
and N.S.A.M.; software, N.S.A.M.; validation, C.J., N.S.A.M. and G.E.S.; formal analysis, N.S.A.M.;
investigation, G.E.S. and N.A.Q.; resources, C.J. and N.S.A.M.; data curation, C.J. and N.S.A.M.;
writing—original draft preparation, C.J.; writing—review and editing, N.S.A.M.; visualization, G.E.S.;
supervision, N.A.Q.; project administration, G.E.S. and N.A.Q.; All authors have read and agreed to
the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: The study was conducted according to the guidelines of
Ajman University Research Ethics Committee.
Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement: New data were created or analyzed in this study. Data will be shared
upon request and consideration of the authors.
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to express their gratitude to Ajman University for APC
support and Healthy & Sustainable Built Environment Research Center at Ajman University for
providing great research environment.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Article
Optimal Design and Verification of Informal Learning Spaces
(ILS) in Chinese Universities Based on Visual
Perception Analysis
Yuzhen Chen 1,2 , Jinxiu Wu 1, *, Yamei Zou 1 , Wei Dong 1 and Xin Zhou 1

1 School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

2 School of Architecture, Xiamen University Tan Kah Kee College, Zhangzhou 363105, China
* Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +86-138-5167-3898

Abstract: As the focus on higher education in China gradually shifts from rapid development to
an emphasis on quality, the need for campus environments to become facilitators of education has
gained increasing attention. The accelerated development of information technology has also led to
tremendous changes in both teaching and learning methods, with informal learning taking on an
increasingly important role. Furthermore, the development of human sensing technology, especially
visual perception technology, has brought in new opportunities for the research and optimization of
informal learning spaces (ILSs) in universities. This paper focuses on the ILS in Chinese universities
by exploring optimal design approaches based on visual perception analysis. Through research
and field investigation, this paper proposes revised theoretical research of classifications and spatial
elements of ILS in universities more applicable to the architectural study of space. This paper
also explores practical optimal design methods with two case studies and makes experiments with
wearable eye trackers to study the users’ perception in these spaces before and after optimization.
The optimal design is made from the aspects of physical space, facilities, and environment. Visual
Citation: Chen, Y.; Wu, J.; Zou, Y.;
perception experiments and quantitative analysis were used to obtain a higher level of experimental
Dong, W.; Zhou, X. Optimal Design
and Verification of Informal Learning
accuracy than the previous studies and thus to study the real feeling of users in spaces. By these
Spaces (ILS) in Chinese Universities means, the effect of the optimized design was verified and the relation between users’ perceptions
Based on Visual Perception Analysis. and the spatial environments was explored for further improvements to optimal design methods.
Buildings 2022, 12, 1495. https:// This article can provide theoretical and practical references for campus space optimization research
doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101495 and design, especially for ILS on university campuses.
Academic Editors: Oleg Kapliński,
Keywords: informal learning space (ILS); visual perception analysis; wearable eye tracker; optimal
Wojciech Bonenberg, Agata
Bonenberg and Marco Lucchini
design and verification

Received: 19 July 2022

Accepted: 13 September 2022
Published: 20 September 2022
1. Introduction
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral The accelerated development of China’s economy after the reform has provided
with regard to jurisdictional claims in unprecedented opportunities for the development of universities. In 2019, the number
published maps and institutional affil- of enrolled students in China’s universities reached 38.33 million, which ranked it first
iations. in the world [1]. The number of universities was 2824, ranking second in the world. The
development of Chinese higher education has entered a new stage with the development
model shifting from incremental development to stock optimization [2]. In the new stage,
informal learning space (ILS) becomes as crucial as the teaching space since Chinese
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
universities are paying more attention to the cultivation of students’ comprehensive ability.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
While the way of cultivation is no longer limited to teaching in classrooms; dialogue,
distributed under the terms and
seminars, communication, contemplation, and even rest have become significant ways to
conditions of the Creative Commons enhance students’ abilities. However, research shows that both the quantity and quality of
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// ILS in Chinese universities need to be improved [3–8].
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ Research on ILS began with a qualitative discussion at a theoretical level, covering the
4.0/). influencing factors, student behaviors, and their satisfaction with the space. For example,

Buildings 2022, 12, 1495. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101495 447 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

Buildings 2022, 12, 1495

Ahamd A. Alhusban assessed students’ needs for ILS through questionnaires and studied
ways to meet these needs through corresponding guidelines [9]. Descriptive statistics and
Pearson correlation coefficient was applied to analyze the data, and the results revealed that
interrelationships among all campus urban design principles have a strong positive linear
relationship. Moreover, Xianfeng Wu studied the relationship between ILS design points
and behavior patterns through field research and questionnaires [3]. Six significant design
characteristics influencing the use of ILS was identified in this study, including comfort,
flexibility, functionality, spatial hierarchy, openness, and other support facilities. Shirley
Dugdale [10] proposed an “informal learning landscape” for campus planning by integrat-
ing both formal and informal learning spaces. He highlighted the criticality of learning
activities and human interaction and suggested that campuses need to create a participatory
architecture to support these communities of learners. Maheran et al. [11] investigated how
ILS on university campus outdoor spaces can enhance students’ academic performance.
This study suggested that it is important to take the outdoor classroom into consideration
during the campus landscape design, as it affects students’ activities such as learning,
educating, meeting, exploring, as well as relaxing. Ran Ranjin et al. [12] investigated the
relevance of informal learning behaviors to campus open spaces through field behavioral
observations and provided recommendations for space regeneration design, highlighting
the importance of informal learning behaviors in the design of spatial regeneration. Tian
Yang [13] explored the relationship among “Information, space, and people” in research
on three types of ILS in college libraries in the United States. This study emphasized the
construction of diverse learner-centered spaces. Among them, the most famous research is
Lennie Scott-Webber’s research theoretical framework of ILS and its design guidelines [14].
She stressed that as higher education undergoes dramatic changes due to changes in peda-
gogy and technology, which are reshaping the needs of learners, the planning, design, and
use of learning spaces must change. Therefore, previous studies have carried out some
theoretical research on the optimal design of ILS, and several research have concluded that
it is important to strengthen the interaction between ILS and learners, emphasizing the
importance of the human experience created by ILS to the design effect. However, there is a
lack of ILS classification methods applicable to architecture space research, and few studies
have focused in-depth research on the relationship between the spatial elements of ILS and
users’ feelings on it in a quantitative way. This affects the application of the theories and
methods in the practice design of ILS.
On the other hand, the rapid development of new technologies has contributed
significantly to the depth of human perception research [15–18]. Among them, visual
perception, as an essential part of human perception, is one of the most important ways
in which humans perceive space. For example, ETH Zurich optimized the signage design
and space organization in Frankfurt Airport with help of data collected from subjects
wearing eye-tracking devices [19]. Dr. Nikhil Naik et al. at MIT used “Streetchange”,
a machine learning technology that provides a visual approach to urban space design
and street image research to assess and analyze the elements in urban space that affect
perception [20]. Dr. Alexander Erath et al. from the Future Cities Lab at ETH Zurich
built a highly realistic virtual reality environment by combining 3D modeling and traffic
simulation techniques. Although most of the previous literature presents the use of new
technologies of visual perception in urban public spaces and streets, the study by Lebrun,
C. points out that people’s visual perception of architectural space is not related to the
type of building, but depends mainly on landscape elements [21]. In addition, Małgorzata
Lisi’ nska-Ku´snierz’s research shows the applicability of eye-tracking in assessing the
visual perception of architectural works and points to its potential for the disciplines of
architecture and urban planning [22]. The eye-tracking technology helps to accurately
establish the relationship between the user’s visual perception in space and the spatial
elements so that the spatial components of ILS can be studied and optimized accordingly
to promote its use. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce human perception technologies
into the campus ILS research.

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Different from traditional theoretical studies of ILS, the above-mentioned research has
brought new opportunities for the design of ILS, especially for the interaction between users.
Some researchers have tried to apply new technological tools (visual perception) in urban
public areas and streets [23,24]; however, little research has been applied to the optimal
design of ILS. Therefore, based on the problems found in the extensive investigation and
literature review, this paper proposes revised theoretical research for classifications and
spatial elements of campus ILS more applicable to architecture space study. This paper also
explores practical optimal design methods for campus ILS and verifies the effect of optimal
design with the help of new technologies. The visual perception technology represented by
the wearable eye-tracking device is introduced to collect data on users’ feelings in ILS at a
much higher level of accuracy than in previous studies and thus improve the quality and
efficiency of optimal design. The methodology in this paper can provide theoretical and
practical references also for other campus space research.
This study aims to investigate the optimal design and verification of ILS in Chinese
universities using visual perception analysis to solve existing problems and promote usage
by both faculty and staff.
The objectives of this study are as follows:
• To verify the effect of optimal design of ILS on visual perception experiment and
quantitative analysis.
• To study the relationship between users’ visual perception and spatial elements for
further optimal design methods.
• To propose practical recommendations to enhance the use of ILS in Chinese universities.

2. Methodology
Based on the above objectives, the framework of this research is as follows: Firstly, a
theoretical analysis of classifications and spatial elements of ILS was presented through
research and investigation. Secondly, two case studies are made to illustrate the research
and optimal design methods. Eye-tracking data before and after the optimal design were
obtained through visual perception experiments [25], and quantitative analyses were
conducted to study the relationship between users’ visual perception and spatial elements
and thus verify the design effect. Finally, the optimal design method for ILS in Chinese
universities is summarized and enhanced.
The research framework of this study is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Framework of the research.

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2.1. Litterateurs and Investigation

2.1.1. Litterateurs and Classification
While U.S. higher education had impressive success in its nearly 400-year history, the
planning and design of learning spaces on U.S. campuses also reflect a more programmatic
approach to formal learning and learning. As today’s teaching methods and campus
spaces are changing, variation in learning spaces is inevitable. For this reason, Weber
proposed a four-quadrant theoretical framework to support those learning behaviors
in informal learning environments. The quadrant theory framework consists of four
quadrants, Private/Alone, Private/Together, Public/Alone, and Public/Together, as shown
in Figure 2a [8]. The advantage of this theory is that it covers all types of behaviors and
spaces that occur in ILS. Nevertheless, the drawback of this theory is that it does not reflect
the ambiguous and transitional ILS. Based on the problems that emerged from this theory
and preliminary study, this paper further broadens and optimizes the theoretical study to
make it more applicable to the study of architectural space.

(a) (b)

Figure 2. Classification of ILS in universities. (a) Weber’s four-quadrant theoretical framework.;

(b) The framework for classifying ILS in this paper and the 11 ILS investigated in Southeast University.

This paper suggests a revised theoretical framework to support engaged learning behav-
iors by dividing ILS into four categories from the spatial and perceptual dimensions as the
vertical and horizontal coordinates of the four-quadrant framework, which are Private/Alone
(Individual learning), Private/Shared (Group learning), Public/Alone (Learning in the crowd),
Public/Shared (Group learning), and Public/Alone (Open group learning).
(1) Private/Alone (Individual learning): closed and smaller private spaces with defined
boundaries, usually found in the library, with students’ static behaviors.
(2) Private/ Shared (Learning in groups): private spaces with defined boundaries and
moderate scale, usually located inside academic buildings or libraries, with student
groups’ relatively dynamic learning behaviors.
(3) Public/Alone (Learning alone in the crowd): open spaces usually located in public
areas, such as study rooms in libraries, gray spaces, etc., with students learning
behaviors changing according to the atmosphere of the surroundings.

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(4) Public/Shared (Group learning): open and more functionally complex spaces usually
located in cafes, normally with student groups’ dynamic learning behaviors, and
some of them also connect with outdoor spaces.

2.1.2. Field Investigation

An extensive study of ILS in universities was conducted in Nanjing, with a total
of 61 cases of field investigation on 11 campuses. Considering the representativeness of
the case study and the convenience of subsequent experiments, this paper focuses on
the Sipailou Campus of Southeast University for an in-depth study. The reasons were
as follows:
Firstly, Southeast University was established in 1902 and is one of the earliest and
most prestigious universities in China, and Sipailou Campus is the oldest campus of
Southeast University. During its 120 years of development, it has formed a campus space
and architecture with both a long history and contemporary development and has a
strong representation of almost the entire process of the construction and development of
university campuses in modern China.
Secondly, the School of Architecture of Southeast University, which is located on this
campus, is one of the top three architecture schools in China and has the top experimen-
tal facilities in the field of architecture, and the advanced experimental conditions are
conducive to the subsequent experiments and research.
A total of 11 cases of ILS in Sipailou Campus, Southeast University were studied
and classified in Figure 2b. Then, case studies and optimal design were made for two
spaces: the first-floor cafe (Public/Shared) and the third-floor terrace (Public/Alone) in the
building of the School of Civil Engineering of Southeast University. These studies aim to
cover the most frequent types of public ILS in the investigation and contain both indoor
and outdoor ILS.

2.1.3. Spatial Elements Study

In field investigation, it is shown that ILSs in universities are composed of three ele-
ments: physical space, facilities, and environment. The former two can be directly perceived
through visuals, while the latter can be mainly perceived by visuals and/or feelings.
(1) Physical Space: the material elements of space, including the location, size, enclosure,
material, color, etc.
(2) Facilities: the elements to help with space functions, often in the form of furniture and
equipment, and linked with users’ behavior.
(3) Environment: Including landscape and the physical environment. The landscape
environment emphasizes the natural and artificial environments both indoor and
outdoor. The physical environment refers to the thermal, optical, and acoustic envi-
ronment, etc., influenced by material elements. Environment analysis based on visual
perception in this study involves only the landscape environment.

2.2. Case Studies and Optimal Design

2.2.1. Case Studies
Two spaces were chosen in this paper to make case studies in the practice project of
optimal design of the College of Civil Engineering building of Southeast University. They
were the first-floor cafe as the typical case for the “Public/Shared” type and the third-floor
outdoor terrace for the “Public/Alone” type. The reasons were as follows: First, it was
discovered in former investigations that the number of public ILS in the universities was
much more than that of private ones and was used much more frequently. Second, both
interior and exterior ILS should be covered.
(1) The first-floor cafe (Public/Shared):
The cafe on the first floor was optimized from the original activity center and the
adjacent sub-foyer, as shown in the red area in Figure 3. Before optimization, the original

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activity center was separated from the sub-foyer by a wall. Investigation showed that the
activity center activity was used frequently, yet the sub-foyer was always empty. The main
problem with this space is the lack of facilities for people to stay in.

(a) (b)
Figure 3. The first-floor cafe before optimization of t. (a) Original plan. (b) Photo.

(2) The third-floor terrace (Public/Alone):

As shown in Figure 4, The third-floor terrace is located adjacent to the public rest space
and is one of the few spaces in the building where faculty and students can have access to
the landscape. However, it was shown in the investigation that there are many problems
with this space, such as no facilities for people to rest, and not being open enough to the
adjacent spaces. So, students seldom stay there.

(a) (b)
Figure 4. The third-floor terrace before optimization. (a) Original plan. (b) Photo.

2.2.2. Optimal Design

Based on the research on the elements of ILS and the problems found in the field
research, optimal designs in two case studies were made from the following three aspects:
physical space, facilities, and environment. The aim of optimal design was to solve the
existing problems and promote the usage by faculty and students.

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2.3. Visual Perception Experiment

Aim for exploring a much more efficient optimal design method, eye-tracking data
from images of the space before and after the optimal design were obtained by visual
perception experiment. Being able to capture the visual dynamics of the subjects, the
eye-tracking device was used as the main tool for data collection in the experiment. Then
the quantified data were analyzed to reflect the real feelings of the subjects in space and
thus to check the effectiveness of the optimal design.

2.3.1. Data Collection and Processing

(1) Collecting the typical images before and after optimal design in the case studies.
(2) Making visual perception experiments by utilizing Tobii Pro Lab for quantitative
analysis of the perception data of subjects before and after optimal design. Enough
valid visual perception data are collected with a wearable eye-tracker and various
indexes are selected.
(3) Comparing the visualization results before and after the optimal design by the pro-
cessing and analysis of eye-tracking data.

2.3.2. Visual Perception Experiment

(1) Subject setting: refer to previous relevant experiment procedures, this experiment was
performed a total of 18 times. According to the criteria with a sampling rate greater
than or equal to 80% [24], finally 11 sets of valid data were obtained from six subjects.
(2) Stimulus material: images of ILS before and after optimization.
(3) Experiment procedure:
Step 1: once the subject entered the digital laboratory and took their seat, they put on
Tobii Glasses 2 (Figure 5a) and performed the first eye-tracking device calibration under
the experimenter’s instruction.

(a) (b)

Figure 5. Visual perception experiment. (a) Wearable eye-tracker Tobii Glasses 2. (b) Experiment in
the digital laboratory.

Step 2: after successful calibration, the experimenter provided the subject a cue and
started playing the stimulus material, which the subject watched for one minute.
Step 3: after the first viewing, the experimenter ended the data recording. The subject
then proceeded to the second and third viewing under the experimenter’s instructions.
Step 4: after the third viewing, the subject removed the oculomotor and left the laboratory.

2.3.3. Eye-Tracking Index Selection

Researchers used the Tobii Pro Lab to make quantitative analysis according to eye-
tracking distribution maps, the heat maps and gaze plots, in which the following eye-
tracking index was chosen, are shown in Figure 6. In addition, various spatial areas were

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defined in both photos and perspectives before and after optimal design, which contributed
to creating the areas of interest (AOI). Then, after drawing the target area of interest when
analyzing the stimulus material, the following eye-tracking indexes were selected for visual
observation: total fixation duration (TFD), the average fixation duration (AFD), the time to
first fixation (TFF), the total glance duration (TGD), the average glance duration (AGD),
and the glance count (GC) as shown in Table 1. With reference to the study of human
visual perception when reading, the six indexes were classified into “visual observation
“(TFD/AFD/TFF) and “visual search” (TGD/AGD/GC).

Table 1. Eye-tracking indicators and meanings 1 .

Indicator
Eye-Tracking Concepts and Indicators Definition Meaning
Abbreviations
The total Total time spent gazing The longer the time, the
TFD
fixation duration within a given AOI more attractive the AOI is
The longer the time, the
The average duration more informative or
The average
AFD of all gazes within a difficult the AOI is to
Visual observation fixation duration
given AOI understand, or the more
attractive the AOI is
The time from the
The shorter the time, the
The time to the beginning of a time
TFF easier the AOI is to engage
first fixation interval to a fixation on
the subject at the beginning
the first AOI
The duration between
The longer the time, the
the end of the last
richer the information in
fixation before entering
the AOI is, the more
The total an AOI (including the
TGD difficult it is to be
glance duration entry saccade 2 ) and the
understood, or the higher
end of the last fixation
the relevance of all parts in
within that AOI (before
Visual search the AOI is
the exit saccade 3 )
The average duration The longer the time, the
The average
AGD of all sweeps within a more invalid the search of
Glance Duration
given AOI the AOI is
Number of sweeps for The higher the number, the
The glance count GC an AOI occurring in a longer the subject’s search
time interval process on that AOI
1Tobii Pro Glasses 2 Product Description (WWW Document), n.d. URL https://nbtltd.com/wp-content/uploads/
2018/05/tobiiproproductdescription.pdf, accessed on 1 April 2022; 2 Saccade: central concave vision moves
rapidly from one point to another in the oculomotor area. 3 Entry Saccade: the eye movement before the first gaze
point in the target AOI. Exit saccade: the eye movement after the last gaze point in the target AOI.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Optimal Design
3.1.1. Case 1: The First-Floor Cafe (Public/Shared)
The optimal design was made according to the three spatial elements. As shown
in Figure 6. Firstly, for the physical space, the solid wall of the student activity center
was changed to transparent glass to make the space brighter and create multi-level visual
communications. While the sub-foyer took utmost advantage of the original windows, the
materials used in this space were mainly wood to make people feel much warmer. Second,
in terms of facilities, furniture such as chairs, seats, and drinking fountains were added to
meet faculty and students’ needs for seating and communication and thus attracted them
to stay for group learning. Third, for environment, artificial light was added at the top to
ensure the quality of the light environment.

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(a) (b)

Figure 6. The first-floor cafe after optimal design. (a) Optimized plan. (b) Rendering of the space
after optimal design.

3.1.2. Case 2: The Third-Floor Outdoor Terrace (Public/Alone)

The optimal design was also made according to the three spatial elements. In terms of
the physical space, as shown in the red area in Figure 7, the addition of the door ensured
direct access from the rest area to the terrace. As for the facilities, various types of seats
were added, and the materials of which were chosen according to the exterior environment.
As for the environment, some seats were integrated with artificial light and greenery, which
not only enhanced the comfort of users but also offered nighttime lighting.

(a) (b)

Figure 7. The third-floor terrace after optimal design. (a) Optimized plan. (b) Rendering of the space
after optimal design.

3.2. Visual Perception Analysis and Verification

3.2.1. Case 1: The First-Floor Cafe (Public/Shared) for Open Group Learning
A comparison of the eye-tracking heat maps before and after optimization in Figure 8a,b
showed that the size and number of red and yellow parts were much larger and more
numerous than before. The green parts were dispersed over the entire picture, even in the
black area outside the image before optimization; shifting to be more convergent, it was
mainly concentrated in the horizontal direction after optimal design. This means that the

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number of viewers’ visual attention points in the first-floor cafe increased after optimization,
the visual order was no longer aimless, which demonstrated the space became more attractive
after optimal design.

(a) (b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 8. Distribution of eye-tracking data of the first-floor cafe. (a) The heat map before optimization.
(b) The heat map after optimization. (c) The gaze plots before optimization. (d) The gaze plots
after optimization.

A comparison of the gaze plots in Figure 8c,d indicated the viewers’ visual order. For
instance, most of the dots were concentrated on furniture after optimization rather than
scattered on every object. Before optimization, the eyesight initially started from the objects
in the space, and facade 3, then moved to other spatial elements, and finally returned

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to the objects. After optimization, people’s eyesight mostly started from furniture 1 and
continued to stay on the various facilities. Larger and more widely distributed dots indicate
that the optimized space had more ability in attracting people.
The classification of the AOI was shown in Figure 9. The corresponding eye-tracking
data were then derived, and a comparison between the spatial elements before and after
optimization can be obtained in Table 2.

(a)

(b)

Figure 9. AOI division before and after optimization of the first-floor cafe. (a) Before optimization.
(b) After optimization.

(1) Visual observation (TFD, AFD, and TFF)

In terms of the total index, the TFD of facilities after optimization was higher than
before. It was proved that increasing the number of furniture (tables and chairs) can provide
people a clear understanding of the spatial function and thus strengthen the recognition of
the optimized space.
As for the average index, the AFD of facade 2 and facade 3, which were the main
elements of the space, was higher after the optimal design. It meant that variation in
the transparency of the facade by changing materials can contribute to building a more
attractive space. Moreover, the AFD of the facilities was lower after the optimal design,
which meant that the optimized facilities can efficiently convey the functional information
of the space.

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When it came to the observation sequence, the TFF of facade 1, the top, and the
bottom of the physical space increased after the optimal design while the TFF of the
facilities decreased. This proved that after the optimal design of the materials of the spatial
facade, users paid less attention to the spatial elements that were not directly related to
their activities.

Table 2. Comparison of eye-tracking data of the first-floor cafe before and after optimization.

TFD AFD

TFF TGD

GC AGD

(2) Visual search (TGD, GC, and AGD)

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After optimization, it appeared that the TGD and the GC staying on facilities were
more than those before optimization, with less difference between the TGD of physical
space and facilities. This showed that the visual attention and level of each component of
the space were almost the same, leading to the unity of the space.
As for the average index, the result indicated the difference between the AGD of the
physical space and the space facilities shrank after optimization. Thus, it demonstrated that
increasing the furniture types can enrich the space hierarchy, helping with the understand-
ing of the space, and reducing the abruptness and discordance in the space. A comparison
of eye-tracking data of the first-floor cafe before and after optimization is shown in Table 2.

3.2.2. Case 2: Public/Alone: Learning Alone in the Crowd: The Third-Floor Terrace
As seen in the comparison of the eye-tracking heat maps in Figure 10a,b, the area
and amount of red and yellow parts of the diagram showed an obvious increase after the
optimization. Whereas visual attention which was previously concentrated in the center of
the image now distributed horizontally after optimization. Overall, the amount of visual
focus attention points on heat maps for the terrace increased after the optimal design.

(a) (b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 10. Distribution of eye-tracking data of the third-floor terrace. (a) The heat map before
optimization. (b) The heat map after optimization. (c) The gaze plots before optimization. (d) The
gaze plots after optimization.

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A comparison of the gaze maps in Figure 10c,d showed that most of the origin points
were focused on objects, which represented the users’ visual position mostly in the center
of the space. The dots were mostly concentrated on the landscape and facilities after
optimization, with order of dots indicating the subjects’ visual order. As for gaze order, it
started from the sky and then shifted to other spatial elements, and finally returned to the
facilities repeatedly. The results indicated that the size of the dots is related to the duration
of the gaze time. So, it was shown that the optimized exterior space with natural landscape
and facilities was more attractive.
The classification of the AOI according to spatial elements is shown in Figure 11. Eye-
tracking data were then derived, and a comparison between the spatial elements before
and after optimization can be seen in Table 3.

(a)

(b)

Figure 11. AOI division diagram before and after optimization of the third-floor outdoor terrace.
(a) Before optimization. (b) After optimization.

(1) Visual observation (TFD, AFD, and TFF)

In terms of summation index, after optimization, the TFD of total observation time of
facilities was more than that before optimization, and the TFD of environment and physical
space was less than that before optimization. The TFD gap between the three types of
material spatial elements was reduced. It proved that after the spatial elements were sorted
out, the various spatial elements in this space became more homogeneous.

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Table 3. Comparison of eye-tracking data of the third-floor terrace before and after optimization.

TFD AFD

TFF TGD

GC AGD

As for the averaging index, the AFD in the facility increased after optimization. It
proved that the addition of the seats required for the ILS helped to complete the space.
For the observation sequence, after the optimization, the TFF for the surrounding
environment increased. This proved the decrease in the influence of the surrounding
environment on users’ attention after the optimal design.
(2) Visual search (TGD, GC, and AGD)

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In terms of summation index, after optimization, the TGD and the GC of facilities were
more than those before optimization, and the difference among the three spatial factors
was reduced. This proved that the integrated design of greenery and seating improved the
visibility of facilities and attracts users to stay.
In terms of the averaging index, the difference between the AGD of the physical space,
environment, and facilities was reduced after optimization. This proved that the spatial
elements work well and created a harmonious and natural atmosphere. A comparison
of eye-tracking data of the third-floor terrace before and after optimization is shown in
Table 3.

4. Conclusions
The ILS in universities is receiving more and more attention as China’s higher educa-
tion enters a new stage with the development model characterized by stock optimization.
Based on Weber’s four-quadrant theory and field investigation, this paper proposes a
revised theoretical research of campus ILS classifications and spatial elements more appli-
cable to the study of architectural spaces. Then, two case studies were made to explore
optimal design methods from the three spatial elements of physical space, facilities, and en-
vironment. Visual perception experiments using visual perception technologies were made
to verify the effect of optimal design by studying the relationship between users’ visual
perception and spatial elements for further improvements to optimal design methods. This
paper draws the following conclusions:
(1) For the optimization of ILS in universities, it is worth paying attention to the physical
space, such as size, enclosure, richness, transparency, and other elements of the
space. For example, the facade can be homogenized to lower the impact of visual
interference of facade information to users. Removing the unrelating elements on
facades can reduce the excessive visual attention of users. Hence, if the facade applies
the materials with complicated context, it should be placed in a larger space to make
the space more identified. Besides, adjusting the colors and materials on the facade is
suitable to establish an active and vivid space. It is also helpful to optimize facilities’
number, location, and accessibility. Besides, facilities can be combined with landscape
elements to create a natural atmosphere.
(2) Visual perception experiments and quantitative analysis demonstrate that the quality
of ILS after optimization is much improved. Comparisons of both visual observation
factors (TFD, AFD, and TFF) and visual search factors (TGD, GC, and AGD) in the
two case studies show that optimized space (exterior space with natural landscape)
and facilities were more attractive.
Due to resource and time constraints, there are some points in this paper that need to
be improved:
(1) It is also necessary to increase the sample size of subjects and to study two other
types of spaces, namely the spaces of Private/Alone (Individual learning), and Pri-
vate/Shared (Group learning), to further refine the experimental design and overall
study content.
(2) The verifying process can be supplemented with questionnaires and other methods to
better understand users’ feelings.
(3) The perceptual data in this study, especially for human visual perception, need more
technical means and more types of human perceptual data, such as EEG, to obtain
more comprehensive and integrated analysis results.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, J.W. and Y.C.; methodology, Y.C.; software, Y.C.; vali-
dation, Y.C.; formal analysis, Y.C.; investigation, Y.C.; resources, J.W. and X.Z.; data curation, Y.C.;
writing—original draft preparation, Y.Z.; writing—review and editing, Y.C., W.D. and J.W.; visualiza-
tion, Y.Z.; supervision, J.W., W.D. and X.Z.; project administration, J.W. and Y.C.; funding acquisition,
J.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Funding: This research was funded by RESEARCH PROGRAM OF NATURAL SCIENCE FOUNDA-
TION OF CHINA, grant numbers 52078113, 51678123, and 52078117.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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