International Journal of Architectural Engineering & Urban Planning
Volume:31 Issue: 1, Jan 2021

Changing and repurposing existing buildings for their continued use was quite common in the past and buildings deemed to be structurally safe were adapted to meet new functions and needs. In modern conservation theory, Adaptive Reuse is an important means of preserving cultural heritage. The main questions asked is what are the priorities and shortcomings of adaptive reuse theoretical references within interior architecture based on comparative study with Nara Document parameters? The research method in this study is of a qualitative, with logical argument as a strategy. The priorities were studied and then the most important weaknesses and drawbacks of these approaches to Adaptive Reuse were analyzed in a comparative study with the Nara Grid by 32 semi-structured interviews with experts in the fields of Architecture, Interior architecture and conservation. The results show four main Adaptive Reuse priorities extracted from the reviewed literature: Host Space Function, Programmatic Approach to New Use, Technical Requirements and Design-oriented strategies and solutions. These theoretical priorities do not negate each other; in fact, they are rather complementary. However, if one of them gains more importance in the process it can lead to many losses. Of their most important disadvantages, the following are worth mentioning:  A physical outlook and a lack of attention to intangible and soft values, a lack of attention to the meaning and characteristics of functions of the building in the past, ignoring the human presence and its needs, ignoring architectural details and interior architecture, lack of interdisciplinary research, and lack of adequate strategies in line with building values. It seems like the issues mentioned above could be avoided and redeemed through an emphasis in conservation policy on fixed feature spaces, semi-fixed feature spaces, and informal spaces in interior spaces, as well as considering human needs and social sciences in the redesign process, and following each priority and approach in the redesign process accordingly.

In addition to its roles in urban settings, color also affects peoplechr('39')s feelings and their assessments about the environmentchr('39')s quality. There are no control programs of building exterior’s color in urban planning policies in Iran. Color design of building exterior is done based on the designer’s taste, regardless of user’s preferences. These issues have caused public dissatisfaction with their visual quality. These factors remind us of the need to pay attention to building exterior color, based on the userchr('39')s evaluation. To evaluate the color of the buildingschr('39') exterior, we must describe and classify its color combination. In color evaluation studies, there is no theoretical consensus on the emotional scales of the color description and the components affecting their assessment and definition, unlike physical dimensions of color. Therefore, the questions which arise are: what are the emotional scales of the color description of building exterior? And What are the components affecting the assessment to define and classify the color combinations of building exterior? In this regard, research aimed to identify and determine components describing and defining the color combination of building exterior as harmonious and contrasting. To achieve this purpose, we have used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. First, content analysis and then Delphi survey was done by 20 experts in design and color. Having analyzed the results through Q-method, three scales, harmony, temperature, and weight, were extracted to classify the color combination of building exterior and several selected building exterior images of each scale. Due to the wide range of topics, we examined only the harmony-contrast in this research. In the next step, we determined components to assess the harmony of the building exteriorchr('39')s color combination through semi-structured interviews with five architects and urban planners. According to the qualitative results, we used the Delphi survey to confirm these components. A questionnaire was prepared based on these components and selected images of the harmony scale in the first survey. Twenty former experts completed this questionnaire. We extracted the components affecting the building exteriorchr('39')s color combinationchr('39')s assessment harmony by analyzing the data through Q-method. Quantitative values were obtained using the color strip method and HSL codes and based on the components. These values defined the harmony-contrast scale of the color combination of the building exterior. Significant components were the difference between the hueschr('39') luminance, the difference between the hueschr('39') saturation, the number of the hues in combination, and the color of openings. The form of openings, the formal composition and details of building exterior, and the area of openings and hues in combination did not have any significant effect on the harmony assessment. Therefore, to describe and classify the color combination of building exterior as harmonious, the color combination of building exterior should have a maximum of two or three hues and the same temperature. The difference in luminance between the hues of the combination should be less than 20%. The difference in saturation between them should be less than 15%.  The color temperature of its openings should be the same as the temperature of other building exterior colors. The color combination of the building exterior as contrasting should have a maximum of two or three hues and different temperatures. The difference in luminance between one hue and other hues should be more than 45%. The difference in saturation between this hue and other hues should be more than 20%.

A city which is developing is a successful city and one which is not is considered to be an ailing, shrinking city. In the past, cities faced many demographic changes caused by wars, natural disasters and epidemics. Nowadays, cities experience huge demographic changes, too. In this regard, urban shrinkage is defined as long-term population loss which leads to decline in a city or a city center. Urban suburbs also have a significant effect on transitioning the population from cities to suburbs; this study aims to analyze the attractions of Abouzar town in Mashhad as a suburb and study its relationship with urban shrinkage. Methodology of this study is descriptive and analytical and data are gathered through scientific sources and using a questionnaire. The population of the study consists of the inhabitants of Abouzar town who had left Mashhad and taken residence in this town. Using PASS software package, a sample size of 350 was determined. The questionnaire data were analyzed suing SPSS22 software package and Smart PLS was used for modeling. Analysis of the attractions of Abouzar town revealed that social status, with 5 indices, has the most influence on the attraction of Abouzar town. Moreover, Spearmanchr(chr(chr('39')39chr('39'))39chr(chr('39')39chr('39')))s test showed that a significant positive relationship exists between attractions of Abouzar town and leaving the city.

Over the last two decades, the focus of studies on the spatial organization of urban systems has shifted noticeably from classical theories such as “the central place theory” to utilizing novel theories based on the network essence of intercity relations, such as “the central flow theory”. This field of urban research, which has emerged under the term “external urban relations”, has developed through integrating contributions from many disciplines. However, different methodological traditions and interdisciplinary contexts in which the research is conducted are leading to ambiguity in how we understand and measure intercity relations. This study systematically reviews and analyzes the body of this new literature. It does so by innovatively employing a scientometric mapping approach, which is a combination of bibliometric and citation network analysis methods. This review is based on a publication set of 145 papers published on the subject since 1995. The number of publications covered by the Web of Science (WoS) shows a significant increase in the most recent years. The current study identifies 20 papers as playing a pivotal role in the evolution of the literature on urban external relations. Furthermore, the results revealed five conceptualizations before the 1990s at the classical theories era, along with two renowned conceptualizations during the 1990s (the transition decade), which have had the most impact on changes in the metamorphosis of theoretical fundamentals. The present developments are influenced by a wide range of various concepts, methods, and empirical approaches. Two different subfields (schools) of thought known as “world/global cities”, and “polycentricity” are identified by systemically integrating traditional top-down and bottom-up review methods. Their different aspects were also discussed.

Designers rely much heavily on experience. Previously, it was assumed that particular developmental experiences are correlated with creativity which develops over time and with experience. The aim of this study is to explore whether design expertise definitely improves the creativity of design idea in architectural design. To test the hypothesis, some architectural designers at different levels of expertise, from novice students to expert architects, participated in a design task. The novelty and quality of design ideas were evaluated as the signs of creativity. The results indicated that there are significant relations between design expertise with the quality, but not with the novelty of design ideas. The expert designers preferred to find ideas that have practical solutions to the design problem, but novices looked for original ideas. We concluded that design experience influences the creative ideation, but have different effects on various aspects of design creativity.

An efficient road network remains among the topical issues in the international urban development forum. This is because roads link interrelated land uses, in addition to connecting them with the contiguous metropolitan areas, thus a key contributing factor for an accelerated socio-economic uplift. To sustain this, planning standards that delimit urban road reserves are usually prepared and enforced through development control to ensure that roads are maintained for their intended purpose. This study through a case study was, therefore, undertaken in Kisii Town, Kenya, to investigate if the unauthorized developments on road reserves are regulated. It correspondingly tests the hypothesis that there is no statistically significant difference between the planning standards used in regulating road reserves and observed compliance by developers. The study was steered by the public interest theory of regulation targeting residential developments which were proportionately and randomly drawn from the seven neighbourhoods. Data were collected using a high-resolution satellite image and a questionnaire. Data analysis relied on GIS, t-test, logistic regression, and linear regression. Research findings demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the approved planning standards and the extent of compliance by developers, signifying that the County Government of Kisii did not undertake adequate development control. Non-compliance was mostly heightened by the developers’ unawareness of the building plan approval process and inadequate inspection during construction. This study deepens the international debate on development control by spatially and statistically illuminating how the extent of compliance with the planning standards that regulate road reserves may be empirically analyzed.