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The rationale of this study is to investigate the relationship between the design characteristics of atrium office buildings and the performance of the occupants leading to organisation effectiveness. A central theme is to understand the spatial configuration of the accommodation within and surrounding the atrium space and how this affects office worker behaviour. The background to this study was established through a comprehensive literature review that considered what is known about knowledge worker performance and workplace productivity and how these are measured from a behavioural perspective. The literature review established that there was a need to better understand the behaviour of office workers within the entire office building setting and presented the hypothesis of whether the particular design qualities of an atrium office design could enhance worker performance and organisational effectiveness by facilitating co-worker connectivity, a sense of community and employee well-being. Five office building and their occupants were studied during the research period using a mixed methods case study methodology which employed questionnaires, interviews, drawings, surveys and observations. Two of the office buildings were occupied by the same organisation and formed the foundation study. Crucially one of the office buildings had an atrium and the other did not. The comparative analysis resulted in several emerging themes that influenced the behaviour of the office workers within the atrium office building. These themes were then further tested in three subsequent case studies performed in owner occupied atrium office buildings of a similar size but with contrasting atrium designs and with occupants involved in different work purposes. These studies resulted in the derivation of several key design characteristics and spatial relationships that appeared to impact on worker performance and organisational effectiveness and which can be employed by designers and investors of office buildings towards the development of facilitating work environments.

The study reaches an understanding of the boundaries that a society can set, for the provision of comfort conditions using energy efficient building skins in prisons. The aim is to establish the role of facade design in attaining a possible balance between the provision of a humane environment for inmates that would help in rehabilitation efforts on one hand, and the penal system on the other. This study examines the factors that affect the balance between the costs to society of such comfort in energy terms, against rehabilitation. The study provides guidelines to establish this balance in design of prison facades in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Emphasis will be on variables that have impact on the design and configurations of building skin. In Western societies, the reform policy in the 18th century produced a new kind of architecture associated with it at that period (Evans, 1982). Prison architecture was part of the punishment regime. The effects of the indoor environment on the inmates and their physical and psychological comfort were not considered (Peters, 1995). The main role of the buildings was to operate as a punishment symbol not only to the offenders, but also to put fear into everyone passing by them (UNSDRI, 1975). The special configuration of the prison buildings of the 18`h century was therefore manifested in the patterns of the indoor space as well as the facade design (Pearce, 1995). Modern concepts of penal theories emphasise the rehabilitation of the prisoners (Lenci, 1977). It is believed that the contemporary institutions should focus more on the effect of the building environment on the individual (Christopher, 1990). Consequently, the contemporary design of prison buildings is to foster a more positive environment. This is mediated by the creation of an environment that is proactive rather than reactive (Spens, 1994). A positive and healthy environment is essential for the inmates' rehabilitation. In order to achieve this goal, comfort is a main concern. The question of comfort in prisons is complex. Large numbers of quantitative and qualitative variables have been identified. This study traces and investigates the development of penal theories, in order to identify the importance of such variables for rehabilitation of inmates. A historical review was essential to fully understand the forces that shaped the development of prisons. The review includes development of prisons in different societies and discusses the penal systems in those societies. The analysis of the historical development of prison buildings also revealed the importance of facade features that reflected the penal theories of certain times and of certain societies. The thesis takes prisons in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a case study. The UAE prisons have moved through different phases of development. The new policy of the Ministry of Interior emphasises the need for rehabilitation and improving the conditions of the inmates. A prototype design has been developed as a model for all prisons in Abu Dhabi. The new design, with its improved environmental conditions, has significant implications on energy consumption with the increase in area per inmate and the introduction of air-conditioning. Emphasis on comfort as one of the main design factors will affect the layout of prisons, the design of the building skin, and the services provided. The proposed prototype is simulated using thermal simulation modelling software in order to understand the thermal performance of the facades. Alternative scenarios, based on prison and design theories and new facade technologies, are developed and compared to the proposed prototype. The thesis concludes with a discussion on the role of facade design on the sustainability of prison buildings taking into account the social, environmental and technical related variables. The thesis argues that the phrase sustainable facade design has always referred to the introduction of appropriate facade configuration in order to achieve energy efficiency. In prison buildings, however, a typology driven by cultural values and social theories, socioeconomic factors have great impacts on the sustainable design of prisons' facades. Hence, achieving sustainable prison facade design is conditioned by coupling social aspects of prison buildings with technical energy saving measures.

My interest in this particular subject, involving the analysis of design and architectural proposals for the Olympic city, derives from an earlier MPhil study, completed in 2001 (see section 3.1.2). My PhD research gave me the chance to further my investigation in this subject and focus on the role of Olympic design and architecture and the analysis of the material that describes the aesthetic character and language of host cities. By writing this thesis, I have connected, the Olympic city subject with critical theory involving issues of modern cities’ changing urban, social and cultural identities, reflected in their represented image, and I have also used methods of visual analysis. Within the course of the last ten years of my research in this field, I realised that there is a research gap in the investigation of the visual identity of different Olympic cities. This research gap consists of a lack of research that attempts a critical review of the role of Olympic architecture and design since the first Summer Olympic Games in Athens 1896 and also a lack of examination and critical analysis of the visual (and descriptive) material available in the Olympic cities’ archives. More specifically, this analysis involves questions about: - the production of a ‘visual identity’ (i.e. information about the producer of this identity, the design criteria and influences, such as technological and ideological); - the relationship of this identity with the surrounding urban, social and cultural environment: ‘what knowledge is being deployed and whose knowledge is excluded from this representation’ (Rose, 2007, p.259); 10 - the changes in how this identity is communicated and perceived (changes in the audience, in the perception of the event as a spectacle, in media and in the means of communication involved). My research journey, from the gathering of the necessary material to the writing up of this thesis, has involved a historical review of archives from different sources (libraries, organising committees and the press). It has also involved a review of theories that facilitated the interpretation of the Olympic city development as a visual identity, placed within a historical and sociocultural context. Methodologically, therefore, this study is a synthesis based on both the gathering of secondary data and also critical theory on art, design and architecture and on cities’ urban and social development. The work of the following researchers has been especially useful in exploring many of the thesis’ arguments: theorists such as Walter Benjamin and Ernst Bloch who are concerned with the modern city development; David Harvey, Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard and Zygmunt Bauman, who examine the transformations in twentieth century social and cultural conditions (modernism and postmodernism); and also Sharon Zukin, Kevin Robins, and Anna Klingmann, who examine the social and cultural transformations in contemporary urban development. In this study, I also focus on the idea of transition and, therefore, on Olympic city examples that have made an immense effort to create a visual identity or alter the ways that people visually experienced them. I have been particularly interested in case studies that, with their design and architectural ideas and the ways they visually communicated the identity of a place, contributed to the transition of the Olympic city in its development as a visual identity. I suggest that, in addition to the examination of the Olympic city development as an urban plan (changing in size and scale and engaging with new technologies) and also as an international event (emerging to a mega-event), there is another type of development in Olympic design and architecture that is worth exploring, that of the Olympic city as a visual identity. 11 The original ideas in this thesis have to do with the development of the Olympic city as a visual identity and, therefore, with: - the analysis of visual material (photographs, maps, plans, pictures from the press and posters) and written material (from the Official Olympic reviews, the press, books, letters and speeches) having to do with Olympic cities since the Summer Olympic Games in Athens 1896. - the analysis of this material by interpreting the characteristics (design criteria, and priorities, who takes decisions and who is the image maker) behind each Olympic city’s design and architecture proposals. This analysis considers the promoted urban, social and cultural profile of the host city, but also considers any alternative (different from the represented) urban, social and cultural identity of the host city. - the selection of examples from the Olympic cities' visual identities that best represent the Olympic city as a transition from the modern to the postmodern era, based on characteristics from these visual identities that have faded, altered or been abolished and also characteristics that have been emphasised and promoted. Many of these characteristics changed the contemporary shape and represented profile not only of Olympic cities but also of cities in general. - the critical analysis of the role of design and architecture in the representation of an Olympic city, reflected in the characteristics of its visual identity.

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This thesis concerns Parliament Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated to the west of the Houses of Parliament (or New Palace at Westminster) and to the north of St. Margaret’s Church and Westminster Abbey. This urban space was first cleared at the start of the nineteenth-century and became a “square” in the 1860s according to designs by Edward Middleton Barry (1830-80). It was replanned by George Grey Wornum (1888-1957) in association with the Festival of Britain (1951). In 1998 Norman Foster and Partners drew up an (as yet) unrealised scheme to pedestrianise the south side closest to the Abbey. From the outset it was intended to erect statues of statesmen (sic) in this locale. The text examines processes of commissioning, execution, inauguration and reaction to memorials in this vicinity. These include: George Canning (Richard Westmacott, 1832), Richard I (Carlo Marochetti, 1851-66), Sir Robert Peel (Marochetti, 1853-67; Matthew Noble, 1876), Thomas Fowell Buxton (Samuel Sanders Teulon, 1865), fourteenth Earl of Derby (Matthew Noble, 1874), third Viscount Palmerston (Thomas Woolner, 1876), Benjamin Disraeli (Mario Raggi, 1883), Oliver Cromwell (William Hamo Thornycroft, 1899), Abraham Lincoln (Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1887/1920), Emmeline Pankhurst (Arthur George Walker, 1930), Jan Christian Smuts (Jacob Epstein, 1956) and Winston Churchill (Ivor Roberts-Jones, 1973) as well as possible future commemorations to David Lloyd George and Margaret Thatcher. Parliament Square has consistently been characterised as a “sacred”, memory-laden site. It is analogous to a public park. In the thesis it is envisioned as a ‘stage at the theatre of state’ and dramatic moments of authorized celebration and unsanctioned behaviour are narrated throughout the text. Occasions of official rite and ritual are accordingly paralleled by irreverent irruptions, concluding with the ‘Reclaim the Streets’ protests of 1 May 2000.

Arrangements are also considered for providing other ways of deploying in situ natural turfgrass in multi-use stadia. These methods are not dependent on long-term advantageous environmental conditions. Some of these arrangements can also provide for the exchange of turfgrass playing surfaces for those are hard wearing. The details of these arrangements are complemented by case studies. Implementing some of these other arrangements may negate the need to incorporate strict environmental standards in stadia design

My research explores the early to mid-twentieth century architecture of the Public Works Department (PWD) in Nigeria. It does this by examining official colonial records, PWD surviving buildings and architecture professional records. By adopting these three strands of investigation, the research aims to better understand the department’s building operations, building types and designs, and the composition of its architectural personnel. More importantly, the research aims to demonstrate that a study of Nigeria PWD architecture significantly contributes to wider debates on tropical imperial architecture and Nigeria’s colonial architecture. There has been a host of previous literature on empire and its influences on architecture in the tropics, with a number of these studies examining the PWD in some former imperial environments. However, Nigeria’s imperial architecture literature is mostly limited to the country’s late colonial tropical modernist works, while the PWD remains largely un-researched. The only previous work found on Nigeria PWD architecture, is Davidson’s 1957 The architectural works of the ministry of works, Western Region, Nigeria. This focuses on drawing approvals, the architectural staff strength, and the building output and climatic design factors employed. But this is all presented in a two page article that provides very limited insights. Are the issues raised in Davidson’s study all there is to PWD architecture in Nigeria? Other emerging questions will be - what comprehensive building operations did the department undertake? What were the building types constructed, and was climate the only design consideration? Who were the architects, why had they worked there at the time, and what was the relation to Nigeria’s early architectural profession? To answer these questions and obtain the insights needed to build on Davidson’s 1957 study, the research methods employed are - archival investigations, to source official colonial records; fieldwork, to track down surviving PWD buildings; and unstructured interview so as to obtain a veteran’s account of working in the department. The data obtained is analysed in the three sections of PWD building operations, PWD building output and PWD architectural personnel. The main findings which emerge therefore are that, (a) although PWD building operations were being implemented at all levels by colonial officials, the native administration level imbibed significant native operational inputs; (b) Although PWD buildings were mainly initiated to serve colonial administrative purposes, the designs largely portrayed architecture as a vital tool for improved tropical health; and (c) although PWD architects were perceived as agents of a grand imperial building scheme, in reality they had functioned more as professionals taking up practice opportunities. On the whole, the mainstream arguments have mainly stressed the PWD’s role in imperial building agenda. However, the findings of the research indicate and also further the argument that within this wider agenda, the PWD also operated in what may be termed as localized agendas. While this better addressed the practical realities of working, building and living in the colonies, it also aimed to limit certain colonizer-colonized barriers.

Buildings account for about 40% of global energy consumption and contribute 30% of all CO2 emissions. This research project investigated extant office building development in Abuja, Nigeria with a view to establishing typical energy performances. Energy end uses were critically analysed to identify energy saving potentials. The research evaluated design variables that can be used to facilitate low energy building design and determine enhanced performances in the Nigerian and regional context. The research initially adopted a case study approach that involved fieldwork surveys and walk-through energy audits in which 22 office buildings were investigated belonging to four performance based categories developed for the research. Also, based on a building inventory survey form developed for this research, building information obtained included the buildings physical components, energy use management and energy end uses. This enabled typical energy performances of the office building categories to be deduced using three widely used indicators; the Energy Use Index (EUI), the Energy Cost Index (ECI) and the Carbon Emission Index (CEI). Also, disaggregated energy end use showed an average distribution pattern of air conditioning, lighting, equipment and building services in the ratio 59%, 15%, 43% and 4% respectively. This showed the potentials of energy savings by reducing cooling load. With the aid of computer based simulation (using IES-VE software) the research further evaluated the impacts of nine architectural design variables (identified from design guidance for low energy buildings as well as design recommendations for tropical climates) on building energy consumption using simplified models of the case study office building categories. From all these, an impact hierarchy of the design variables was deduced and the appropriate low energy design strategies were developed. This showed potential energy savings of up to 20% was achievable. Also benchmarks for enhanced building performance targets for all the categories were proposed for the furtherance of a sustainable built environment in a developing world context.