Soffeh
Year:2017 | Volume:27 | Issue:78 |Papers Count:7

Providing suitable environmental conditions for educational buildings has always been critical because of the negative influence of thermal and visual discomfort on students’ learning and performance.Unsatisfactory conditions mostly caused by overheating and glare due to the presence of direct solar radiation, could be compensated by appropriate window configurations. Since occupants are obliged to sit in designated positions in classrooms, spatial analysis of the thermal and visual field are necessary in addition to temporal evaluations. This paper applies both spatio-temporal thermal and visual comfort metrics, to assess the effect of window design on comfort by dynamic simulations in a typical classroom model in Tehran’s climatic condition. In addition to comfort the primary energy demands have also been assessed in different window types. Presented graphs can be used to select the optimum window based on the desired window-wall ratio and orientation. According to results high performance windows with high LSG provide spatio-temporal thermal comfort in all orientations considering a WWR of less than 35%. However, spatio-temporal visual comfort is not achieved without external shadings except in the north-facing windows. Results show solar-control coated glazing (low SHGS) with high VT can be used as an alternative to solar shadings, wherever exterior shading is neither permitted, nor possible.

As they are mainly focused on the environmental side of sustainability, a concentration on green certificates’ credit systems risks neglecting the bigger picture. From this point of view, it is necessary to develop key credit criteria and define a framework for key measures in a way that the triple aspects of sustainability are assessed in a balanced manner in ranking. The aim of this research is to propose measurable, key credit criteria to correspond with all three aspects, in order to update current ranking systems. In order to do so, and after determining the objectives of sustainable building based on the three aspects of sustainability, and the recognition ofkey criteria through a worldwide study of eight ranking systems, the credit criteria were tested against the three measures in order to spot overlaps and shortages. On that basis, seven key criteria were recognised: energy, water, sustainable site, materials, waste and pollution, internal air quality, and the development and management of new systems. Of those, the two latter cover social parameters, and the five former cover environmental ones. Furthermore, five complementary measures were recognised: education and awareness of sustainability, and protection of physical resources covering the social parameter, and initial, consumption and recycling costs covering the economic parameter. These were referred to in the research but were not found among studied tools. A total of 12 key economic, social and environmental criteria are, therefore, proposed to form a basis of environmental building assessment, in order to update and develop ranking systems.

Despite recent disputes about the necessity of the two fields of urban design and landscape architecture, a search in literature, researches and activities of both disciplines shows that the two point to common concepts, that can be the basis for their cross-fertilisation. “Green Infrastructure” is one of their common concepts. This research aims to explore commonalities of the applications of this concept in academic education in the two disciplines, taking advantage of their coexistence in the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University. The research adopts a descriptive-analytic methodology. The first step is a study of the literature related to applications of green infrastructure concept in design products in the two disciplines focusing on final design studio projects and dissertations.The next step moves on to comparatively analyse the data from the first step.The findings show that although there are apparently discrepancies in their agendas, there are commonalities of aims and experiences in the achievements of studio courses and dissertations, which can make grounds for cross-fertilisation of the two disciplines.

In recent years urban development approaches based on public transport (Transit-Oriented Development) have attracted attentions.Despite the emphasis on the term ‘public transport’, rapid transport systems and their proximity alone is not enough. In this research complementary public transport principles and measures in these approaches are studied, including the changing attitudes in design, compactness, population density, mixture of uses, interconnected street networks, cycling networks, and pedestrian networks.Assessment methods based on these approaches and published by the International Institute for Transportation & Development Policy are then explained.Bearing in mind differences in the physical, economic, and social context of our case study with those of new approaches’ origin, original assessment measures are investigated. Also, to clarify the application of the proposed method in Kooy-e Nasr district, data related to each measure are collected from both the field studies and documents and then analysed. According to results, the district has scored less than half of the full score, and does not, therefore, enjoy desirable conditions. Despite the district having suitable compactness and population density, the quality of pedestrian and cycling network is way below desirable. The method used here can undergo a localisation of measures’ details and then be applied to other Iranian urban districts.

One of the most important concerns of urban and regional planners is how to fairly distribute space between activities. Multiple intervening factors complicates their efforts to find a balance between demands and resources. This is undoubtedly even more crucial when it comes to valuable lands such as coastal, forest, and agricultural lands and the like. The appropriation of public spaces such as coastal lands or lands of national value, particularly in coastal suburban areas is equally seen in the developed and less developed countries. However, and despite apparent similarities, there are differences between societies both in the essence and the way planning and law-making systems deal with it. Using a qualitative method as well as analysing documents and collected data, and also coding semi-structured interviews with informed activists, the present paper attempts to first offer a typological framework for exclusive spaces in the studied area, and then an analysis of strengths and weaknesses of planning and law-making systems to monitor and control these processes. In order to do so, 27 planning documents belonging to a 70-year period (1928–2017), together with laws, regulations, and national and regional bylaws were investigated. Also, 12 semi-structured interviews were arranged with informed locals. The outputs show that there are two types of exclusive spaces in the area: those formed by economic powers and those formed by political powers, structured respectively around consumption and culture discourses. Furthermore, in circumstances under which the formation of exclusive spaces is older than mechanisms of planning and law-making, the institutions controlling these mechanisms struggle with implementation issues, sectorianism, and conflicting laws and prioritisation of institutional over public interests.

The planning of spatial development through distributional equality in urban spaces provides realisation mechanisms for social equality. At the core of spatial equality is an attention to equal distribution of essential urban facilities, which in turn requires simultaneous attention to both spatial and non-spatial access criteria; in other words to ‘actual access’ based on real needs, on top of potential access based on density and conglomeration criteria. The aim of this research is to find analysis methods for spatial equality in Ardebil through an integrated assessment framework, with an emphasis on the concept of spatial equality. Furthermore, and in order to also taking actual demands into account, a mechanism is defined to combine demands by various age and educational groups using the access criterion. In order to do so, the four districts of Ardebil are assessed using new geographical analysis methods including improved two-stage influence domain method to assess potential spatial access to public transport, and three-stage influence domain method to assess potential access to educational, healthcare and cultural facilities, as well as multi-criterion spatial assessment methods and statistical analysis. The findings confirm that in terms of integrated spatial equality, the city’s District 1 is of higher deprivation rate-both in potential and actual demand. The output of this integrated model can easily be demonstrated and interpreted to support the decision-makings of urban planners.

The entrance is the pivot between the inside and the outside, where the communication between the two is regulated. The northern entrance of the Muzaffarid Madressa has been introduced as one of the ten entrances of the Isfahan Jame Mosque. The entrance space is part of a complex Muzaffarids structure; due to numerous changes and adaptations, what can be seen today is an ambiguous space. The aim of this research is to shed a new light on the ambiguity surrounding this space and understand its past historic developments using precise field surveys, the analysis of existing structures, the study of related texts, and a comparative approach. The findings of this study indicate that compared to the nine other entrances of the Jame Mosque, and based on the existing evidence, elements such as pishtaq, portal, door, corridor and vestibule are missing here. There are also several other openings as well as a pair of stairs in the adjacent outer walls; and the distance between this entrance and the northern passageway of the mosque include evidence indicating that this space has changed over time, from an internal connection to an external gateway associated with the northern passageway.