School of Architecture + Design
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Browsing School of Architecture + Design by Department "School of Architecture and Design"
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- Better by Design? Architecture, Urban Planning, and the Good CityKnox, Paul L. (Virginia Tech Publishing, 2020-10-09)The design professions—architecture, city planning, landscape architecture, and urban design—share a great deal in terms of intellectual antecedents, professional ideals, and praxis. In particular, they share a commitment to creating better cities—whether at the scale of buildings, neighborhoods, or city-regions. But who decides what constitutes a “good” city, and how should such an ideal be implemented? In Better by Design? Paul Knox explores the intellectual roots of the design professions, showing how architects, planners, and other designers have traditionally interpreted their roles and implemented their ideas in cities across North America and the UK. Drawing on his long record of research and award-winning publications on the social production of the built environment, Knox offers a critical appraisal of their ultimate effectiveness in achieving the goal of creating and sustaining good cities.
- Democracy, discourse, and design: Cape Town’s (re)turn to public spaceTomer, Sharóne L. (Cambridge University Press, 2020-09)Public spaces had been central to Cape Town’s colonial planning and spatial order, but became marginalised in the twentieth century under modernist planning and apartheid policy. As apartheid came towards its close, architects and planners began to champion public space as a way of addressing the city’s deficiencies. Books, articles, and policy documents were written celebrating public space as a humanist device and vehicle for democracy. The City of Cape Town’s emerging Urban Design Branch instituted a major public space program: the Dignified Places Programme. This paper traces the history of public space as a terrain through which political aspirations, whether of domination or contestation, have been asserted in Cape Town. The paper will argue that at the end of apartheid, a public space turn occurred which reflected the specificities of post-apartheid democracy, in both its aspirations and limitations.
- Epistemological Framework for Computer Simulations in Building Science Research: Insights from Theory and PracticeKalua, Amos; Jones, James R. (MDPI, 2020-10-22)Computer simulations are widely used within the area of building science research. Building science research deals with the physical phenomena that affect buildings, including heat and mass transfer, lighting and acoustic transmission. This wide usage of computer simulations, however, is characterized by a divergence in thought on the composition of an epistemological framework that may provide guidance for their deployment in research. This paper undertakes a fundamental review of the epistemology of computer simulations within the context of the philosophy of science. Thereafter, it reviews the epistemological framework within which computer simulations are used in practice within the area of building science research. A comparison between the insights obtained from the realms of theory and practice is made, which then interrogates the adequacy of the epistemological approaches that have been employed in previously published simulation-based research. These insights may help in informing a normative composition of an adequate epistemological framework within which computer simulation-based building science research may be conducted.
- Factors predicting older Adults’ attitudes toward and intentions to use stair mobility assistive designs at homeTural, Elif; Lu, Danni; Cole, D. Austin (Elsevier, 2020-03-16)Home modifications that increase stair accessibility of existing housing stock are significant for older adults who want to age in place. This sequential mixed-methods study investigated older adults’ attitudes toward and intentions to use currently available stair mobility assistive design features, and explored which factors influence these attitudes and intentions to use. The data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of community dwelling 50 + adults from Southwest Virginia (n = 89) and a focus group (n = 15) in 2018. The survey questionnaire was based on a modified version of the Technology Acceptance Model, and focused on three stair mobility assistive design products representative of varying costs, and a range of mobility challenges: half-steps, StairSteady handrail, and stairlift. Ordinal regression analyses indicated that perceived usefulness consistently predicts older adults’ attitudes and intentions to use the three examined stair mobility products. The other factors associated with attitudes and willingness to use the products are dependent on some degree to the examined mobility device. Older age and presence of others in the household negatively influenced attitudes toward stair mobility products. Product aesthetics/unobtrusiveness, fear of falling, and person-environment fit are the three themes emerged from the focus group data analysis as the factors that most influence community dwelling older adults’ attitudes and intention to use stair-mobility assistive features. The findings have implications for design professionals, as they underscore the need for avoiding an institutional look in residential designs, specifying products with high customizability for user needs and preferences, and involvement of users in the decision-making processes.
- Mainstreaming environmental education for architects: the need for basic literaciesGrant, Elizabeth J. (Ubiquity Press, 2020)What are recent architectural graduates perceptions about the level of knowledge required of interns entering architectural practice and suitability of architectural education? Research is presented that examines recent alumni’s engagement with environmental sustainability while in school. Two aspects of their educational experience are surveyed: their readiness for sustainable design work and their familiarity with the benefits of reusing existing buildings. Recent alumni of the Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design were asked to explain the areas of practice for which they were best and least prepared, to identify additional educational topics they would have found useful, to name the key purposes and priorities of the discipline of architecture, and to articulate changes they wished to see in schools of architecture. The results point to a current pedagogy where the tacit and explicit knowledge that is critical to the adoption of sustainable approaches to design of new and retrofit structures is undervalued in architectural education. Suggestions from the literature and strategies to ameliorate this situation are presented.
- Public Access: A Driver for Preservation and Discovery of Datasets at a US Land-Grant InstitutionOgier, Andrea; Petters, Jonathan L.; Pannabecker, Virginia; Settledge, Robert; Grant, Elizabeth J.; Harden, Samantha M.; Griffin, Julie; Walters, Tyler (2019-08-24)Public access to federally funded research data ensures preservation and discovery of datasets to promote translation of research evidence into meaningful outcomes. However, historical policy and concerns regarding making data publicly accessible impede realization of implementing public access to data. These concerns include worry over the treatment of intellectual property, the cost (in time and money) of making research publicly accessible, and the danger of accidentally releasing human subjects data. To overcome these issues, a Public Access to Data Committee was established at a public university in rural southwest Virginia. In this paper we review the history of federal public access provisions, share goals, and describe the committee’s process to ultimately engage faculty and administrators in this critical link from research to practice.
- Safely and Actively Aging in Place: Older Adults’ Attitudes and Intentions Toward Smart Home TechnologiesTural, Elif; Lu, Danni; Cole, D. Austin (SAGE, 2021-01-01)As smart technology use is growing in residential environments, research on how such technologies can provide opportunities for safely and actively aging in place by integrating physical activity into daily routines and reducing sedentariness is scarce. This study investigated older adults’ intentions to use and attitudes toward currently available smart home technologies that could contribute to safe and active lives in and around home. The focus was on four representative technologies: smart lighting, smart door locks, smart fire prevention devices, and smart home systems/home automation. This paper presents the results of a sequential mixed-methods study comprised of online and in-person surveys (n = 129), and a focus group of community-dwelling older adults, aged 50+ (n = 15). Ordinal regression analyses indicated that perceived usefulness consistently predicts older adults’ attitudes and willingness to use smart home products. While smart fire prevention devices were viewed most favorably due to their potential safety benefits, perceived affordability significantly influenced older adults’ intentions to use them in their homes. The focus group findings underscore technology skepticism, privacy concerns and return on investment as significant determinants of attitudes toward the smart design products. The study has implications of designers and manufacturers by providing insights on how to prioritize smart home technology integrations to homes.