Scholarly Works, School of Architecture

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Research articles, presentations, and other scholarship

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Psychology or Physiology? Choosing the Right Color for Interior Spaces to Support Occupants’ Healthy Circadian Rhythm at Night
Jalali, Mansoureh Sadat; Gibbons, Ronald B.; Jones, James R. (MDPI, 2025-07-28)
The human circadian rhythm is connected to the body’s endogenous clock and can influence people’s natural sleeping habits as well as a variety of other biological functions. According to research, various electric light sources in interior locations can disrupt the human circadian rhythm. Many psychological studies, on the other hand, reveal that different colors can have varied connections with and a variety of effects on people’s emotions. In this study, the effects of light source attributes and interior space paint color on human circadian rhythm were studied using 24 distinct computer simulations. Simulations were performed using the ALFA plugin for Rhinoceros 6 on an unfurnished bedroom 3D model at night. Results suggest that cooler hues, such as blue, appear to have an unfavorable effect on human circadian rhythm at night, especially when utilized in spaces that are used in the evening, which contradicts what psychologists and interior designers advocate in terms of the soothing mood and nature of the color. Furthermore, the effects of Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) and the intensity of a light source might be significant in minimizing melanopic lux to prevent melatonin suppression at night. These insights are significant for interior designers, architects, and lighting professionals aiming to create healthier living environments by carefully selecting lighting and color schemes that support circadian health. Incorporating these considerations into design practices can help mitigate adverse effects on sleep and overall well-being, ultimately contributing to improved occupant comfort and health.
Rediscovering Shixue: The Point-Notation as Social and Intellectual Signifiers Under the Institutional Censorship of Imperial China in the Eighteenth Century
Zhao, Tianming (2025-06-13)
The late seventeenth century saw a golden era when the scientific technique of perspective, as a gift from the Scientific Revolution, expanded its territory to China via French missionaries. Among them, Giuseppe Castiglione (1688–1766) is the most successful one who not only served as the court painter in China but also collaborated with his Chinese apprentice Nian Xiyao (1671–1738) in publishing the first Chinese treatise specializing in perspective—Shixue (1735). Modeled after Andrea Pozzo’s Perspectiva Pictorum et Architectorum (1693–1700), Shixue has long been overlooked for its novelty, along with its unique semiotics of point-notation. Hence, the scope of this research is aimed at rediscovering Nian’s uncanny style of point-notation in Shixue as a silent response to Chinese institutional censorship. After the interpretation of the concealed orders within these point-notations, it is safe to conclude that Nian composed Shixue into both a poetical anthology and his autobiography to some extent.
Enhancing Place Attachment Through Developing Public Open Places: A Cross-Cultural Study in Gold Coast, Australia
Ghasemieshkaftaki, Marzieh; Dupre, Karine; Campbell, Jennifer; Fernando, Ruwan (MDPI, 2025-01-24)
Urban studies research has increasingly focused on placemaking and place attachment in public open places. While several studies have explored how immigrants interact with these places, this study investigates how cultural differences affect immigrants’ place attachment, providing a deeper understanding of inclusive urban design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 students from India, Iran, China, and Australia, in Southport, a preferred neighborhood for immigrants on the Gold Coast, Australia. NVivo software was used to analyze the data and extract themes. The findings highlighted that, despite universal factors such as natural environments and social opportunities, cultural factors are crucial in shaping individuals’ experiences.
TeleAbsence: A Vision of Past and Afterlife Telepresence
Ishii, Hiroshi; Pillis, Daniel; Pataranutaporn, Pat; Xiao, Xiao; Noh, Hayoun; Li, Lucy; Algargoosh, Alaa; Labrune, Jean-Baptiste (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 2025-01-16)
This paper presents our vision of TeleAbsence, extending the concept of telepresence to the past and the afterlife to address the vast emotional and temporal distance caused by the memory of loved ones who drifted apart and faded away. Instead of explicit and literal representations of loved ones, TeleAbsence describes poetic encounters with digital and physical traces left by the absence of others. TeleAbsence fosters illusory communications to conjure the feeling of being there with those no longer with us without using synthetic or generative representations and utterances. Our vision is deeply inspired by the Portuguese concept “Saudade”—the “desire for the beloved thing, people, place, and moment, made painful by its absence.” We present our vision through five design principles: presence of absence, illusory communication, the materiality of memory, traces of reflection, and remote time, grounded in historical and cultural contexts. We present exploratory narratives to illustrate these principles and the concept of ambient co-presence using poetry, phone, piano, and pen as mediums. We discuss challenges and opportunities for future work, including representational strategies to depict lost loved ones, ethical issues, and the possible extension of TeleAbsence to historical public figures.
"I WANT": Agency and Accessibility in the Age of AI
Borunda Monsivais, Luis; Gipe-Lazarou, Andrew; Meng, Na (2024-06)
"I WANT access to public buildings and technologies"; "I WANT all stairs to have railings"; "I WANT there to be a talking pedestrian sign"; "I WANT curbs to be more noticeable"; "I WANT technology that is dedicated to the blind". Young, vision-impaired learners from across the world, participating in our team’s human-centered research and participatory design initiatives, express an impassioned desire for agency and inclusive space making. Utilizing these statements as a foundational element of the participatory design process, our work continues to explore the intersection of AI and inclusive space-making, the methods employed through human-centered research and computational techniques such as machine learning and app development, and the potential contributions of these interventions to a more accessible future. This paper presents a two-part investigation into the role of advanced technological interventions and participatory design in shaping the future of architecture and design. Part 1 explores the outcomes of AI assistive device research centered on the voices of future professionals. This phase involved interviews and focus group discussions with blind and visually impaired individuals, designers, and computer scientists in an ongoing human subject research, leading to the creation of an AI-driven navigation app. Part 2 anticipates the deployment of working prototypes derived from these participatory design processes during [Affiliation Placeholder]'s annual Blind Design Workshop, in which more than a dozen young people with vision-impairment participate each spring. Its itinerary includes analog exercises in drawing and model-making (using material samples and wax sticks on Braille graph paper), guided tours of multi-sensory learning spaces across [Location Placeholder], accessible training in the production of 3D-prints and embossed drawings, and mentorship from practicing design professionals of the vision-impaired community, culminating in a final presentation and group critique of accessible design proposals. The workshop is a unique career exploration experience in architecture for individuals with vision impairment, designed to empower them with the understanding that they can have agency in the space-making process by giving them a voice and teaching them to architect their ambitions for the future. The synergy of AI and architecture presents profound opportunities to propel young, vision-impaired individuals from passive observers to active participants in crafting inclusive environments. Our paper discusses how innovative approaches to research and learning can seed future generations with the goal of harnessing AI for social impact in design and substantiating their role as the vanguards of a more accessible world. The outcomes of this study hold the potential to shape pedagogical strategies and industry standards, contributing to a profound reimagining of inclusive design education and practice.
The Effects of Low-Impact Development Best Management Practices on Reducing Stormwater Caused by Land Use Changes in Urban Areas: A Case Study of Tehran City, Iran
Rostamzadeh, Sajedeh; Malekmohammadi, Bahram; Mashhadimohammadzadehvazifeh, Fatemeh; Arsanjani, Jamal Jokar (MDPI, 2024-12-27)
Urbanization growth and climate change have increased the frequency and severity of floods in urban areas. One of the effective methods for reducing stormwater volume and managing urban floods is the low-impact development best management practice (LID-BMP). This study aims to mitigate flood volume and peak discharge caused by land use changes in the Darabad basin located in Tehran, Iran, using LID-BMPs. For this purpose, land use maps were extracted for a period of 23 years from 2000 to 2022 using Landsat satellite images. Then, by using a combination of geographic information system-based multi-criteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) method and spatial criteria, four types of LID-BMPs, including bioretention basin, green roof, grass swale, and porous pavement, were located in the study area. Next, rainfall–runoff modeling was applied to calculate the changes in the mentioned criteria due to land use changes and the application of LID-BMPs in the area using soil conservation service curve number (SCS-CN) method. The simulation results showed that the rise in built-up land use from 43.49 to 56.51 percent between the period has increased the flood volume and peak discharge of 25-year return period by approximately 60 percent. The simulation results also indicated that the combined use of the four selected types of LID-BMPs will lead to a greater decrease in stormwater volume and peak discharge. According to the results, LID-BMPs perform better in shorter return periods in a way that the average percentage of flood volume and peak discharge reduction in a 2-year return period were 36.75 and 34.96 percent, while they were 31.37 and 26.5 percent in a 100-year return period.
Scenic Assessment Methodology for Preserving Scenic Viewsheds of Virginia, USA
Miller, Patrick A.; Sim, Jisoo; Powell, Leighton; Crump, Lynn (MDPI, 2024-07-08)
The non-profit organization Scenic Virginia is dedicated to identifying and showcasing the state’s scenic landscapes. Recently, the state incorporated a “scenic” element into its new Conserve Virginia land conservation strategy. Consequently, there is a need for a standardized assessment tool that both citizens and professionals can use to identify and evaluate the scenic value of publicly accessible viewsheds in Virginia. This paper outlines the rationale behind developing a scientifically robust protocol, which is based on an extensive literature review and photographs from Scenic Virginia’s annual photo contest. The protocol serves as a scenic assessment tool designed to encourage local citizen participation in identifying significant scenic resources in Virginia. Local communities will utilize this new tool to help them identify and evaluate their scenic assets. The protocol was reviewed by a panel of experts, and its implementation is currently underway.
From the City to the Shopping Mall and Back Again: Design and Control in the Memphis Mid-America Pedestrian Mall
Keslacy, Elizabeth M. (2024-07-03)
Victor Gruen viewed the shopping centre as a perfected form of the city, one which brought together commercial, civic, and social activities without the undesirable aspects of the downtown central business district. The privately owned shopping centre offered an alternative to congestion and scarce parking, its highly regulated spaces omitted panhandlers, protestors and unruly youth. In response to the loss of business effected by suburban shopping malls, cities across America transformed their downtowns by installing pedestrian malls that closed streets to vehicular traffic and instead provided landscaping, fountains, and benches to create a more pleasant shopping environment. While the urban designers of pedestrian malls often cite historic European cities as their dominant influence, this paper investigates the extent to which their design and regulation was in fact shaped by the suburban shopping mall itself. Examining the Memphis Mid-America Mall designed by Gassner, Nathan and Browne and constructed in the mid-1970s, I reveal how the city sought to impose the spatial order, aesthetic regulation, and behavioural restrictions first developed in the shopping mall on the urban pedestrian mall in an attempt to curtail the freedoms associated with public space in favour of the restrictions of what legal scholars describe as quasior pseudo-public space.
Human-Centric Lighting Design: A Framework for Supporting Healthy Circadian Rhythm Grounded in Established Knowledge in Interior Spaces
Jalali, Mansoureh Sadat; Jones, James R.; Tural, Elif; Gibbons, Ronald B. (MDPI, 2024-04-17)
Over the past 300 years, scientific observations have revealed the significant influence of circadian rhythms on various human functions, including sleep, digestion, and immune system regulation. Access to natural daylight is crucial for maintaining these rhythms, but modern lifestyles often limit its availability. Despite its importance, there is a lack of a comprehensive design framework to assist designers. This study proposes an architectural design framework based on the review of literature, lighting-related codes and standards, and available design and analysis tools that guides the creation of lighting systems supporting healthy circadian rhythms. The framework outlines key decision-making stages, incorporates relevant knowledge, and promotes the integration of dynamic lighting techniques into building design. The proposed framework was presented to a group of design professionals as a focus group and their feedback on the relevance and usability of the tool was obtained through a survey (n = 10). By empowering designers with practical tools and processes, this research bridges the gap between scientific understanding and design implementation, ensuring informed decisions that positively impact human health. This research contributes to the ongoing pursuit of creating lighting environments that support healthy circadian rhythms and promote human well-being.
Encapsulated Masculine Dreams: The Cultural and Material Impermanence of the Nakagin Capsule Tower
Ishida, Aki ("Ion Mincu" University Press, Bucharest, 2023-03-15)
Work Activity Pattern and Collaboration Network: New Drivers for Workplace Space Planning and Design
Tagliaro, Chiara; Zhou, Yaoyi; Hua, Ying (Wiley, 2022-07-17)
Information about the users’ work activity patterns is essential for office space planning and the design of organizations. However, it is not clear yet what factors can be used for predicting work activities, especially at the group level. In this study, we found that work activity patterns of groups are associated with the workgroup’s job function and their location in the organizational collaboration networks. Two hypotheses were tested through a survey conducted on a sample of 188 managers from an Italian utility company. The participants were asked about (1) the percentage of time different groups (based on job function and demographic composition) spent doing individual, collaborative, and mobile work; and (2) how network connectivity affected individual versus group work. The results showed that workgroups with different job functions spent different percentages of time on individual, mobile, and teamwork. Communication network connectivity is not significantly correlated with the amount of time spent on individual work, but statistical evidence confirmed that it plays an essential role for the assessment of the amount of work time spent on teamwork, even more than job functions. By investigating the factors affecting collaborations between groups, we advanced the research on work activity in large companies in order to complement existing studies that mostly addressed work activity patterns at the individual level. How information about collaboration networks can be utilized for space planning and flexible work arrangement policy-making is also discussed, in light of the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered.
Social Network Analysis: Studying Social Interactions and Relations in the Workplace
Zhou, Yaoyi (Routledge, 2023-09-14)
Examine an Intelligence Education Framework of Landscape Architecture (EFLA) Based on Network Model of Technology in Landscape Architecture (NMTLA)
Ge, Mengting; Kong, Jie; Yang, Qiuyi; Chen, Mingze; Wang, Wenji (MDPI, 2023-07-19)
The discipline of Landscape Architecture (LA) is currently expanding its disciplinary boundary. The supporting Technology in LA (TLA) is always evolving and optimized to solve environmental problems. Considering the uncertain classification of the current LA knowledge for education and the importance of technology in LA education, a refined education framework of LA is needed. This research first established a Network Model of Technology in LA (NMTLA) using Network Analysis (NA) and expert interviews. Then, this research proposed an Education Framework of LA (EFLA) based on the NMTLA. To build the NMTLA, this research identified 23 key categories of TLA through content analysis of secondary research. Then, the expert interview and network theory were used to analyze and visualize the relationships among the categories. By examining the degree centrality, closeness centrality, and betweenness centrality of different TLA, this study developed an EFLA which summarizes the twenty-three categories of TLA into four domains: core techniques, applied technologies, integrated technologies, and specific technologies. This study also proposes a series of suggestions for how to apply different categories of TLA in today’s and future LA education. The proposed NMTLA and EFLA in this research can contribute to the development of future LA higher education. They also can potentially address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in LA education and industry. However, the scope of this study is currently limited to LA education in the USA, which could be expanded to include a worldwide perspective in future research. To enhance the validity of the conclusions, a larger sample size for interviews should be employed in further studies.
A Discrete Choice Experiment to Elicit People’s Preferences for Semi-Arid Riparian Corridors: A Multinomial Logit Model
Bogis, Abdulmueen; Kim, Mintai (2023-05)
The aim of this study is to examine public preferences for urban riparian corridors in arid regions using simulation and visual quality analysis scenarios. Ecological landscapes are often subject to trade-offs with aesthetic landscapes that include micro and macro environmental factors such as manicured landscapes. It is suggested that there is a preference for aesthetics in landscape design; however, it is unclear how laypeople prioritize aesthetics over different ecological factors in landscape scenes. This study uses a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) to elicit the preferences of current or former residents of Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia, for multiple landscape scenes. The method combines ecological landscape characteristics (adopted from the QBR index) found in the study area in Jeddah and aesthetic characteristics commonly suggested in landscape design projects. Participants in this study were exposed to a set of illustrated landscape scenes, including various aesthetic and ecological elements configurations. Participants’ choices revealed the influence of their ecological and aesthetic values. Results show that people may prefer unmaintained ecological landscapes if minimal design interventions were provided. This will prevent trading off the ecological unmaintained landscape with aesthetically maintained landscapes within the study area. This study will help researchers and landscape architects advance visual preference research further into the domain of empirical studies. It presents a new powerful technique to elicit the preference of an individual element in landscape scenes, which improves the precision of community-based decision-making.
Hierarchical Structures, Computational Design, and Digital 3D Printing
Borunda, Luis R.; Anaya, Jesús (International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 2022-12)
Current advances in construction automation, especially in large-scale additive manufacturing, highlight the vast potential for robots in architecture. Robotic construction is unique in its potential to reproduce highly complex structures. To advance the question of how rapid prototyping techniques are adopted in large-scale 3D printing of forms and structures, this paper presents computational methods for the design and robotic construction of cellular membranes. This research presents a comprehensive morphological model of structurally differentiated cellular membranes based on the theoretical biology model of hierarchical structures found in natural cellular solids, and, more specifically, in trabecular bone. The morphological model originates from a system of forces in equilibrium; therefore, it presents the geometric homology of a static tensional system. This research offers a methodology for the design and manufacture of meso- to large-scale triangulated geometric configurations by discrete design methods that are suitable for the robotic fused deposition of lattices and their architectural implementation in the automated manufacturing of shell structures. First, this paper explores how a form can be digitally created by geometrically emulating a given static system of forces in space. Second, inspired by the complex mechanical behavior of cancellous bone, we apply hierarchical principles found in bone remodeling to characterize discrete units that conform to continuous trabecular-like lattices. We study the geometry, limitations, opportunities for optimization, and mechanical characteristics of the lattice. The computational design methods and additive manufacturing techniques are tested in the design and construction hierarchical structures.
Geppetteau: Enabling haptic perceptions of virtual fluids in various vessel profiles using a string-driven haptic interface
Sagheb, Shahabedin; Liu, Frank Wencheng; Vuong, Alex; Dai, Shiling; Wirjadi, Ryan; Bao, Yueming; Likamwa, Robert (ACM, 2023-02-26)
What we feel from handling liquids in vessels produces unmistakably fuid tactile sensations. These stimulate essential perceptions in home, laboratory, or industrial contexts. Feeling fuid interactions from virtual fuids would similarly enrich experiences in virtual reality. We introduce Geppetteau, a novel string-driven weight shifting mechanism capable of providing perceivable tactile sensations of handling virtual liquids within a variety of vessel shapes. These mechanisms widen the range of augmentable shapes beyond the state-of-the-art of existing mechanical systems. In this work, Geppetteau is integrated into conical, spherical, cylindrical, and cuboid shaped vessels. Variations of these shapes are often used for fuid containers in our day-to-day. We studied the efectiveness of Geppetteau in simulating fne and coarse-grained tactile sensations of virtual liquids across three user studies. Participants found Geppetteau successful in providing congruent physical sensations of handling virtual liquids in a variety of physical vessel shapes and virtual liquid volumes and viscosities.
Demonstration of Geppetteau: Enabling haptic perceptions of virtual fluids in various vessel profiles using a string-driven haptic interface
Sagheb, Shahabedin; Liu, Frank; Vuong, Alex; Dai, Shiling; Wirjadi, Ryan; Bao, Yueming; Likamwa, Robert (ACM, 2022-10-29)
Liquids sloshing around in vessels produce unique unmistakable tactile sensations of handling fluids in daily life, laboratory environments, and industrial contexts. Providing nuanced congruent tactile sensations would enrich interactions of handling fluids in virtual reality (VR). To this end, we introduce Geppetteau, a novel string-driven weight-shifting mechanism capable of providing a continuous spectrum of perceivable tactile sensations of handling virtual liquids in VR vessels. Geppetteau’s weight-shifting actuation system can be housed in 3D-printable shells, adapting to varying vessel shapes and sizes. A variety of different fluid behaviors can be felt using our haptic interface. In this work, Geppetteau assumes the shape of conical, spherical, cylindrical, and cuboid flasks, widening the range of augmentable shapes beyond the state-of-the-art of existing mechanical systems.
Hierarchical Structures Computational Design and Digital 3D Printing
Borunda, Luis; Anaya, Jesús (International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 2022)
Current advances in construction automation, especially in large-scale additive manufacturing, highlight the vast potential for robots in architecture. Robotic construction is unique in its potential to reproduce highly complex structures. To advance the question of how rapid prototyping techniques are adopted in large-scale 3D printing of forms and structures, this paper presents computational methods for the design and robotic construction of cellular membranes. This research presents a comprehensive morphological model of structurally differentiated cellular membranes based on the theoretical biology model of hierarchical structures found in natural cellular solids, and, more specifically, in trabecular bone. The morphological model originates from a system of forces in equilibrium; therefore, it presents the geometric homology of a static tensional system. This research offers a methodology for the design and manufacture of meso- to large-scale triangulated geometric configurations by discrete design methods that are suitable for the robotic fused deposition of lattices and their architectural implementation in the automated manufacturing of shell structures. First, this paper explores how a form can be digitally created by geometrically emulating a given static system of forces in space. Second, inspired by the complex mechanical behavior of cancellous bone, we apply hierarchical principles found in bone remodeling to characterize discrete units that conform to continuous trabecular-like lattices. We study the geometry, limitations, opportunities for optimization, and mechanical characteristics of the lattice. The computational design methods and additive manufacturing techniques are tested in the design and construction hierarchical structures.
Work Activity Pattern and Collaboration Network: New Drivers for Workplace Space Planning and Design
Tagliaro, Chiara; Zhou, Yaoyi; Hua, Ying (SAGE, 2022-09-01)
Information about the users' work activity patterns is essential for office space planning and the design of organizations. However, it is not clear yet what factors can be used for predicting work activities, especially at the group level. In this study, we found that work activity patterns of groups are associated with the workgroup's job function and their location in the organizational collaboration networks. Two hypotheses were tested through a survey conducted on a sample of 188 managers from an Italian utility company. The participants were asked about (1) the percentage of time different groups (based on job function and demographic composition) spent doing individual, collaborative, and mobile work; and (2) how network connectivity affected individual versus group work. The results showed that workgroups with different job functions spent different percentages of time on individual, mobile, and teamwork. Communication network connectivity is not significantly correlated with the amount of time spent on individual work, but statistical evidence confirmed that it plays an essential role for the assessment of the amount of work time spent on teamwork, even more than job functions. By investigating the factors affecting collaborations between groups, we advanced the research on work activity in large companies in order to complement existing studies that mostly addressed work activity patterns at the individual level. How information about collaboration networks can be utilized for space planning and flexible work arrangement policy-making is also discussed, in light of the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered.
Community bonds in new working spaces of a small town
Tagliaro, Chiara; Zhou, Yaoyi; Hua, Ying (Routledge, 2022-08-26)
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has created dramatic changes in people’s ways of living and working. Flexible working arrangements have become widespread and encourage more distributed work practices in countries where they were formerly less common. In the US, the abandonment of densely populated areas for less dense areas has been increasingly common since the COVID-19 outbreak. After nearly a year of remote work because of the pandemic, 31% of Americans, also including young people, prefer to live in rural areas and 17% in towns (Gallup, 2021), looking for nature, a relaxed pace of life, and a comfortable community atmosphere. This chapter explores how new working spaces (NWSs), including coworking spaces, maker spaces, and incubators in small towns have been impacted by COVID-19 and it discusses their future after the crisis.

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