No description available.

Although increasing stair use among adults with sedentary occupations can provide an accessible means of integrating moderate physical activity within daily work routines, there is little evidence-based information available to guide architects on how to design buildings that promote stair use. This study examined the relationship between stair use and a broad range of features of the physical environment within 10 buildings. Based on a review of the literature, a thematic framework (Appeal, Convenience, Comfort, Legibility and Safety) was developed for identifying the features of buildings that may influence stair use. Three methods of investigation were used to examine the relationship between stair use and variables of the five themes and their constructs. Buildings users were surveyed for their reasons for both single and multi-level route choice. The results indicated that reasons associated with convenience and legibility of route had greater influence on route choice than appeal, comfort or safety. Stair and elevator use were measured in the ten buildings along with variables that operationalized the thematic framework. Regression analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between stair use and the operationalized variables of the thematic framework. The results of regression analysis indicated that stair use was associated with 8 key spatial variables of convenience and legibility (travel distances from stair to nearest entrance and to the elevator; percentage of total building area or total occupant load attributed to each stair; physical accessibility of each stair; area of stair isovist; number of turns from the stair to closest entrance and to the most integrated path). Most local environmental features of stairs such as lighting levels and views were not statistically influential. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that three variables (effective area of each stair, area of stair isovist, and number of turns required between the stair and the most integrated path) explained 53% of stair use. A graphic analysis of the arrangement of the 8 key spatial variables within the ten buildings indicated that buildings with high overall levels of stair use optimized the key spatial variables in respect to the location of stair(s) within the building floor plan.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 340-381). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.L.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

The evolution of human beings is marked by adaptation. The ability to adapt to and manipulate our environment is one definer of intelligence, and ours is unique among life on Earth. Since moving off of the African Continent, humans have migrated to inhabit every part of the Earth. Human existence and perpetuity in the universe depends upon the success of this adaptation, and inevitably, migrating off of this planet. The technological advances being developed today will change our way of life, and enable people to travel to and live permanently on the Moon and Mars. This study involves the architectural design and construction of a completely programmable permanent Martian settlement in the year 2050. Previous studies and proposals for Martian architecture rely mostly on existing technology. The first people are not expected to reach Mars until 2030, and new and emerging technologies will radically affect the designs being considered today. Technical challenges constrain designers of space architecture today, and scientific developments will solve many of these. This study seeks to explore how new technology can positively affect the architecture of the future, affording more comfortable and livable space on Mars. With a construction date of 2050, this project differs from others by benefitting from the next four decades of profound technological advancement. Leading Futurist Raymond Kurzweil predicts that the technological singularity is within this time frame, and that the 21st Century will, “Witness on the order of 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate of progress) (Kurzweil, Law of Accelerating Change).” This thesis theorizes that nanotechnology will enable the deployment of a completely self-constructing and programmable permanent Martian settlement designed from a series of spatial modules. The anticipated results include a modular system of architectural spaces, and an increased awareness of the architectural benefits of emerging technologies as they relate to future space architecture.

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

The notion of information space (iSpace) is that a collective context of transmitters and receivers can serve as a medium to share, exchange, and apply data and knowledge between a group of human beings or software agents. Inhabiting this space requires a perception of its dimensions, limits, and an understanding of the way data is diffused between inhabitants. One of the important aspects of iSpace is that it expands the limits of communication between distributed designers allowing them to carry out tasks that were very difficult to accomplish with the diverse, but not well integrated current communication technologies. In architecture, design team members, often rely on each others' expertise to review and problem solve design issues as well as interact with each other for critic, and presentations. This process is called Collaborative Design. Applying this process of collaboration to the iSpace to serve as a supplementary medium of communication, rather than a replacement for it, and understanding how design team members can use it to enhance the effectiveness of the design process and increase the efficiency of communication, is the main focus of this research. The first chapter will give an overview of the research and define the objectives and the scope of it as well as giving a background on the evolving technological media in design practice. This chapter will also give a summary of some case studies for collaborative design projects as real examples to introduce the subject. The second chapter of this research will study the collaborative design activities with respect to the creative problem solving, the group behaviour, and the information flow between members. It will also examine the technical and social problems with the distributed collaboration. The third chapter will give a definition of the iSpace and analyze its components (epistemological, utilitarian, and cultural) based on research done by others. It will also study the impact of the iSpace on the design process in general and on the architectural product in particular. The fourth chapter will be describing software programs written as prototypes for this research that allow for realtime and non-realtime collaboration over the internet, tailored specifically to suit the design team use to facilitate distributed collaboration in architecture. These prototypes are : 1. pinUpBoard (realtime shared display board for pin-ups) 2. sketchBoard (realtime whiteboarding application with multisessions) 3. mediaBase (shared database management system) 4. teamCalendar (shared interactive calendar on the internet) 5. talkSpace (organized forums for discussions)

No description available.

No description available.