Conference Agenda

JAPAN SPECIAL SESSION:

Sustainable arhitecture design with environmental simulation - Introduction of design process with CFD

SUEP. is a Jpanese architectural design firm, design organic architecture to co-exist with nature with digital simulational method such as CFD and thermal simulation. The target of these woks is not only to satisfy the specification of energy-saving, but also to rearize a confortability using natural energy like daylights, natural wind, water, and so on. These trials have a potential to lead new Asian style architecture design with semi-outdoor space in tropical climate.

Architectural Design Education based on Simulation tools: Retrofitting Design Improvement Approach in Tohoku University

This paper explicates development efforts in Tohoku University that are necessary for high capability architect education using versatile simulation tools. In this paper, we first explain the social change toward architectural design in the “Era of Digitalization” and needs transformation for Architects today especially in Tohoku region after having the experiences of March 11th 2011 disaster. We then introduce a study environment and curriculum for Design education from undergraduate to master level program in Tohoku University. Thus, an effort will be exemplified taking a case study of each student’s design project of an adequate improvement process using CASBEE index and simulation tools that can facilitate effective communication and interaction between junior architect (Laboratory of Design students: LDS) and junior engineer (Laboratory of Built Environment Engineering students: LBEES). The relevancy of so-called Retrofitting Design Improvement Approach (RDIA) will be exemplified based on different building types and various simulation index of each student’s design projects. Such developments are expected to achieve new levels of architect education standard and connectivity between designers and the engineers for wide range of sustainable design project. The outcome will serve as a solid basis for the primary design training to larger urban scale of high performance Smart City design project in the future.

Cultivating of Human Resources Capable of Utilizing Simulation: Attempt of Design Studio at University

At the University of Tokyo, we held a design studio annually, and we train all the students to master various simulation tools and compile their proposals. In addition, we hold design proposals for students who recognize proposals that actively use simulation tools with other educational institutions. Through these attempts, we aim to cultivate human resources superior in simulation utilization.

Learning Ecological Knowledge from Traditional Japanese Villages and Architecture Using Simulation

This paper demonstrates research and local practices in Japan to learn ecological knowledge from traditional Japanese villages and conventional architectural typologies through environmental analysis using computational simulation, and showed that we can experience and learn the traditional knowledge, which our ancestors established over a long period of time, in a short period of time using computational simulation.

CUHK SPECIAL SESSION:

Residual Thinking: Reclaiming Hong Kong’s Lost Urban Spaces

Hong Kong is an extreme city: extreme consumerism set against intense urban inhabitation, radical authenticity juxtaposed to severe topography, whichever way you read Hong Kong there are never any half measures.  Compiled to this vertiginous density, Hong Kong is an amalgam of conditions, that came into existence due to a hostility settlement between China and Britain over the trading of narcotics, and developed from a “barren rock”, into a 7 million plus metropolis with the 8th largest trading economy in the world.  Throughout its history, Hong Kong has always adapted, mitigating territorial as well as political situations to produce a concentrated and vertical city.  Residual thinking relates to interpreting our present urban environment for what it really is, vis-à-vis the convergence of natural and artificial forces that jostle for control. From the Latin “residuus”, meaning left over, the word residual has become synonymous with a number of terms that describe the status of our contemporary city: non-spaces, anti-spaces and vacant spaces.  The residual condition, it can be argued, has become the common lexicon through which we discuss and read our urban environment, a different form of waste that relates to the opportunities, not problems.

Architectural Interventions in the Informal City:On-site upgrading strategies for BaSECo Community

As Architects we have the opportunity to work in different spatial contexts and urban environment. Since ancient times the search of the genius loci, or spirit of place constitute an essential aspect to create meaningful buildings and places inspired by cultural, climatic, geographical, political, and topographical conditions. Often these local conditions could be difficult to interpret requiring additional efforts to understand a particular urban context, as is the case of informal settlements where the organic pattern of their urban structure is based on several social actions and spontaneous processes. The scope of this article is to describe the preliminary stage of a research project focused on the upgrading strategy of the informal community of BaSECo in Manila. The information derived from this research seeks to understand the ways in which this informal settlement works so as to establish an alternative urban regeneration strategy which is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable, offering a model for other informal settlements in the Philippines.

Reinventing Wood: The Body, Materials and Their Relationship in Chinese Houses

The DNA of Chinese houses is embodied in the way we used to treat wood. To be specific, the concept of vernacular dwelling in China, are perfectly represented by the long history of utilizing wood as the principal building material for the Chinese houses. Moreover, it reveals the basic principle of being in harmony with nature, which proved through the relationship between the human body and wood. More than a material, wood was a metaphor of a living body with its own soul in the eyes of Chinese people, presenting the value of the Chinese dwelling traditions. Although few wooden houses could be found in today’s China, the first impression of the Chinese house is still characterized by its wooden structures with the joint system. We have to admit that the historical wooden houses no longer fit in the present situations because of the deforestation and increased living demands under the modern conditions. However, the potential of the wood as a sustainable building material should never be underestimated. Since the severe shortage of wood resources has been relieved, the value of wood is worthy to be reinvented through reconnecting the relationship with the human body in the context of modern China.