The French Renaissance revival in British architecture, 1824-1914, is a history of the revival in secular and domestic architecture of a range of French historical styles (sixteenth- to eighteenth-century), for both interiors and exteriors, beginning with the revived Louis quatorze of the 1820s and ending with the Neo-Grec style, which was associated in the Edwardian era with the Beaux-Arts influence in architectural planning and composition, as well as in education and civic design. Between these extremes lay such revivals as the decorative Francois Premier and the Loire chateau styles; most wide-spread of all was the influence of the Louvre and the hotel de Ville of Paris. This broad scope is partly determined by the fact that architects tended to combine motifs from different periods in a single building, making the isolation of any one revived French style unrealistic, and partly by the continuity possessed by the movement as a whole which paralleled that of Victorian and Edwardian architecture generally. Within a basically chronological framework, the revival is described in its evolution away from a superficial concern for motifs unrelated to the building plan, towards the absorption of Beaux-Arts principles of homogeneous composition. At the same time an investigation of the reasons for the popularity of these particular styles suggests for them a more important role in Victorian architecture than is usually recognised. The sheer volume of output in itself demands attention; but it is argued that in another sense the French styles were literally central to Victorian architecture. Like the Queen Anne movement, with which they were closely allied, they were seen as a compromise between Gothic and Classic and therefore as a possible solution to the problem of a style truly appropriate to the nineteenth century. In addition to such theory, the thesis investigates the relationship (aesthetic and associational) between style and environment, including the reasons for the earlier appearance of the Loire style in Scotland than in England. Matters of patronage, politics, economics and materials are dealt with, while special attention is paid to the literature of the movement. The importance which many Victorians themselves attached to the French styles; the influence of Beaux-Arts principles upon modern architecture; and most of all the spirited excellence of certainin individual buildings make reappraisal of this movement overdue.

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The shortcomings of the ways in which design-related information is conventionally collected and organised into a brief suggest that information and design should not be looked at in isolation of each other but together with all their dynamic dimensions. The first step in the direction of such a total view is to identify every kind of determinant of design and describe their inter-relations. The determinants of architectural design may be listed as follows s a) factors in the spirit of of architectural vocation which individualise designers; b) factors belonging to the collective consciousness of architects as professionals; c) functional/practical aspects of design; d) information on qualitative aspects of design. Conventional studies of design-related information deal exclusively with the functional/ practical aspects, but the development of a valid theory of architect¬ ural design requires that the other three aspects are studied and their inter-relations described. Factors of architectural vocation which individualise architects may be explained in terms of what in psychology is known as 'schematization'. The terra 'schema1 enables us to explore observable patterns or regularities in the predilections and perceptions of architects. When applied to architectural situations the notion of schema shows that the past experience of an architect consistently reveals itself in model solutions of different kinds which can be analysed and classi¬ fied, and the implications of their employment can be established. Under certain circumstances some of these personal models gain the respect of the profession at large and become highly influential in shaping the collective consciousness of the profession. At any stage of architectural development the components of the implicit knowledge embedded in emergent models may be specified. Further, the emergent models when identified and described yield design concepts rich in implicative power. By including the desirable attributes of emergent models as part of a design programme it is possible to increase the effectiveness of the thought process followed by architects. Thus concepts which describe unique qualities of an emergent model provide us with a way of enlarging the traditional notion of information for design. Moving on to consider information on qualitative aspects, past theories of architecture show that 'increasing the effectiveness of functional/practical aspects' and 'creating special effects, enhancing users' interest in the building and producing impact' are the two purposes of the qualitative features of an environment. Any environment can be described in terms of -universal features like elements, relations, abstract qualities such as privacy or monumentality, and actions and events that take place in the particular environment. By combining these disparate entities we obtain a feature/function model of architectural quality and show how it can be used in the process of design and as an evaluative tool. Finally as a last step towards the consideration of information and design in all their complexity, we attempt to analyse how verbally formulated requirements are transformed into architectural solutions. Through an exploration of the role of emergent models and a study of the part played by interpersonal communication between architects, clients and users in the design activity, we offer a theoretical explanation of factors affecting the transformation of written briefs into ideas for buildings. Thus the central concern of this thesis is with the interrelation between factors of architectural vocation which individualise designers, factors belonging to the collective consciousness of the profession, and the underlying rules or laws governing the creation of architectural quality. All the conclusions are theoretical in nature? they attempt to bring together accepted knowledge, facts and research findings on the nature of design, and as such pose problems of evaluation. To overcome these we impose the requirements of agreement with facts, generality, parsimony, consistency and explanatory value on each theoretical conclusion. These criteria, besides being tools of self-criticism, point out difficulties, omissions and achievements of each conclusion and suggest areas of needed research.

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The potential of energy-conscious traditional design of dwellings has been recognised with its direct and sometimes sophisticated response to local climatic conditions in recent years. Courtyard forms, which provide heat, light, ventilation and other functions for buildings surrounding it, are found in many high density urban environments around the world. This current study focuses on one of the solutions which can contribute to embodying the energy-conscious tradition. As an issue of how buildings respond to the different climate arises on a global scale, emphasis is placed on regional urban courtyard housing, for which design proposals are made, with special reference to Seoul, Korea (latitude 37.34° N). Apart from acting as climatic modifiers through solar access, courtyard housing forms can offer spatial and visual amenities to otherwise monotonous urban plan buildings. The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the relationship between courtyard design and solar radiation in a densely built housing development. The parametric study examines the possibilities of varying housing layout factors in courtyard design, such as housing density, plot dimension, housing development scale and housing orientation, thereby suggesting guidelines for suitable ranges of the design parameters of courtyard housing. By these means, a density objective in urban area can be achieved with certain parameters with a potential to form energy-conscious courtyard design. Solutions for optimising the use of solar energy in courtyard housing layout in future housing development are categorised into (1) efficient layout planning, which include the range of optimum use of the housing layout factors and storey height under land use policy, and (2) passive courtyard housing form, which respond to urban housing layouts. Implications of the design strategies for planners, designers and local authorities are then outlined, including design guidelines.

This research investigates the different ways of using daylight in schools in the warm-dry climate of Iran for natural illumination while avoiding overheating and glare. It also reviews different approaches to day lighting design and recommends an integrative approach which takes the typological approach as a basis for designers and the phenomenological approach as an evaluative method to assess and promote the experiential aspects of daylighting. This research identifies two main ways by which daylight is admitted in warm-dry climates. The first approach, diffusion, is basically admitting the harsh sunlight by filtering it through to the interior. There is either an exterior element such as foliage which acts as a filter for harsh sun rays or the specific design of the building envelope and window screens perform a similar function and filter the light. The second approach, reflection or using indirect daylight, is an appropriate day lighting strategy in this climate. The experimental and observational studies in this research address two issues. The first part is concerned with different general and specific factors influencing reflected lighting in schools. The second part addresses how this research can inform architects to design better daylit schools in such a climate. Building orientation and configuration in the larger scale, as well as specific factors such as shading devices, daylighting systems, surface features, etc. can considerably affect reflected daylighting. This research suggests that room shape and its geometrical features, especially its height, has a significant effect on the reflected day lighting of a room. On the basis of findings from various case studies, it also recommends the use of lightshelves, clerestories, porticoes and courtyard configuration in order to improve the reflected daylighting performance in school design. Finally, a set of guidelines for daylighting design in schools in the warm-dry climate of Iran is proposed as the outcome of the research.

This research aims to investigate how an understanding of ecological behaviour in certain living systems can inform the design of the built environment. The main hypothesis that this research raises is that an understanding of living systems' organisation and behaviour can contribute to further development of the sustainable design discourse. It is therefore within the scope of this research to offer an analysis and appropriation of ecological principles into the design field, with a specific focus on the built environment. The research commences with an overview of some ecological principles, as they are manifested in natural living systems, continues with an evaluation of current sustainable architecture discourse and its possible drawbacks, and concludes with a suggestive application of the ecological principles into architectural design. It is assumed that by being exposed to ecological principles of behaviour, architects and designers may begin to appreciate their importance and relevance to the design disciplines, and especially to architecture, which functions as a built, environmental interface between natural and behavioural processes, and for this reason - should arguably be able to reflect both. This research aims to provide a methodology for the application of certain ecological principles into the built environment by viewing architectural principles as an interface between people and nature. Therefore, the ecological principles will be applied to the relationships between already existing natural processes on site and the people that interact with them ('the users'). The architectural system, then, becomes a platform on which these relationships are manifested.

The regeneration of decaying housing is becoming paramount in meeting the current international demand for new dwellings within the sustainable agenda. Medium-rise housing is proposed as ideal as it meets the planning guidance's desirable densities and for its social and ecological sustainability possibilities through the landscape. Yet, having few medium-rise housing areas regenerated with a sustainable-oriented landscape approach, the amount of research undertaken in this area is limited. Therefore, the present study addresses this gap in knowledge by studying the short- and long-term contribution that may be made to inform future regeneration of housing. The research investigates a regenerated case study in Sweden and another one in Germany which were assessed for social and ecological sustainability through a set of indicators, a survey, observational records, and semi-structured interviews. Afterwards, the applicability of the results was tested through a survey in an additional case study in Mexico where no regeneration has taken place. It was found that the arrangement of landscape was essential for encouraging socializing and the respondents' design preferences were similar despite cultural differences. It was observed that robustness and interpersonal distancing were most important for socializing whilst visual richness and mystery were clearly favoured by respondents. Interestingly, it was also revealed that involving in ecological improvements facilitated residents in knowing each other. However, it was found that perceptions and unclear ideas of sustainability as well as poor collaboration among stakeholders resulted in poor management of initiatives and a reduced participation of residents. Based on these findings, the study makes design recommendations for landscape designers as well as proposing regeneration and operational guidelines for planning, managing, and maintenance. Further research is required to document more regenerated housing areas to enable sustainability issues to be more generally applied.

Architectural design studio is an active educational site: it is not only to be defined as a visible space; it is also a way of thinking and learning. Within its physical and virtual qualities, there seems to be the presence ofunique peer cultural signifying practices that are influential to the learning and social process ofthe design students. Nevertheless, there is a lack of knowledge concerning this intriguing and invisible phenomenon. This study is an attempt to investigate this phenomenon by unfolding its hidden manifesting elements and their relationships to the multiple events of design and social cognition. At the same time, this investigation will examine its possible benefits for the learning of design among students both at the personal and interpersonal level. This study also attempts to identify the fundamental differences between studio peer culture and other cultures, in different fields of study. It is considered as a useful approach by looking at this phenomenon from a different point ofview to verify its possible significant influences. A multiple-strategy that combined qualitative and quantitative approach for comparative measures was employed in this investigation. Such a strategy allows for the triangulation of results and findings in order to provide a richer picture of the cultural phenomenon being studied. The unfolding process began with qualitative investigation by using individual interviews to identify possible shared commonalities among the studio learning peers. Following this investigation was a focus group study that involved participants who had dual learning experiences in the design studio and other learning environments. Subsequently, a survey study was formulated based on 'constructs' identified in earlier findings. This was for the purposes of comparative and quantitative investigation oflarger samples. From the various stages of investigation, several interesting findings were revealed. There were notable commonalities shared among the design studio peers. Findings indicated that they had particular ways of learning and socializing with their peers. These were manifested in the form of meaningful words, models ofreferences, non-verbal behaviours and intrinsic values. These shared commonalities were further exemplified by findings from the comparative investigation. The findings revealed that studio peers had fundamental differences in the way they construed their learning, situational and social events in comparison with peers from different learning environments. One of the key contributions ofthis study is the provision of a more meaningful approach to understanding studio peer culture and its influences on design learning. This may also serves as an observational tool for design learning process and development.