School playground design: a projective approach with pupils and staff

This paper presents original findings from a project for the landscape improvement of two primary schools' grounds using a Projective technique developed at Heriot-Watt University by Aspinall based on the work of Kelly (1955) in Personal Construct Psychology and Peled (1990) in Ecoanalysis. Pupils and staff at both schools were invited to respond to photographs of possible playground scenes and indicate how design elements important to them relate in spatial and functional terms. The study reveals significant differences between pupil and staff responses and between girls and boys. It demonstrates the value of the Projective techniques used compared with more conventional participatory design exercises. Pupils' needs and desires are complex and as much activity-based as artefact-based. The study confirms the inadequacy of existing playgrounds and the potential for designing much more child-responsive improvements for the future.     

A projective approach to designing with children

The paper is based on the application of projective techniques to a design project which was the result of a competition initiated by the local education authority. Personal Construct Psychology and Ecoanalysis are used to investigate the largely tacit understanding of a public garden by 10-11 year old children. The results of the investigation were developed into a garden design which won first prize in the competition.     

A participatory design approach to information architecture design for children

A design process that involves the participation of children should effectively elicit the needs of child users by considering characteristics such as their age-appropriate levels of cognitive ability, shyness, language skills, and motor-sensory capabilities. Since the 1960s, a variety of methods and guidelines have emerged specialising in children. Participatory design deals with the problem of enabling users to participate in the design process and with the task of generating ideas by means of generative toolkits and workshops. Hence, participatory design enables designers to look at problems from a child's standpoint and, simultaneously, deal with childhood traits such as shyness and immature language skills. This paper introduces two participatory design toolkits: namely Info Block and Info Tree. These toolkits enable users to build information architecture (IA) that can, firstly, reflect their cognitive characteristics and, secondly, elicit user needs with respect to the information architecture design of children's websites. In a case study, the toolkits were used to evaluate the usability of the Yahoo!® Kids (Korea) directory. The results show that the information architecture of children differs from that of adults in depth, breadth, and clarity of contents and logicality. Finally, suggestions are made to improve the usability of children's websites.     

A new way of developing semantic differential scales with personal construct theory

Measurement is a fundamental issue in management research. However, traditional scale development methods have the drawback of mixing researchers' bias with the scale design. Based on Ding et al.'s (2007 Ding, Z. K., Ng, F. F. and Cai, Q. Y. 2007. Personal constructs affecting interpersonal trust and willingness to share knowledge between architects in project design teams.. Construction Management and Economics, 25: 937–50. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) exploratory work, a new way to develop semantic differential measurement scales is proposed and tested with a survey in the context of the construction industry. The purpose is to provide researchers and practitioners with a new method to develop semantic differential scales for measurement while the bias from their own perspective can be reduced. The reliability and validity of semantic differential scales according to the new method are tested with SPSS and Amos 6.0. The results show that the generated semantic differential scales with this method have high reliability and validity. The new way to develop semantic differential scales offers researchers and practitioners one more choice of scale development. The general application of this new method to other contexts is yet to be tested.     

MIP approach for designing heating systems in residential buildings and neighbourhoods

In this work, a mixed integer linear programming (MIP) approach for the optimal design of energy systems in residential buildings is presented. The optimization model considers the economic criteria of the guideline VDI 2067. The objective of the MIP is to minimize the annual costs which comprise the investment as well as demand- and operation-related costs. Conventional boilers, electrical heaters, combined heat and power (CHP) units, heat pumps (HPs), photovoltaic (PV) systems and thermal storages as well as local heating networks (HNs) are defined as options. The investigation on a building level shows that a boiler is the economically optimal solution for small buildings, followed by a HP unit. In multi-family buildings, both boilers and CHP units hold an economical advantage over HPs. For apartment buildings, CHP is identified as the economically optimal system. In the neighbourhood analysis of six buildings, the solver establishes a local HN which allows for both economical and CO₂-emission reductions.     

从传统文化走向现代设计

中国传统文化博大精深,积淀深厚,独具风采,中国传统的哲学理念对世界的影响也很深远,但在现代设计中并没有显示出优势.笔者从如何认识传统文化与现代设计的关系,以及如何传承优秀的传统文化,使其在现代设计中的应用更为广泛和深入等方面入手,提出要多角度、全方位地建立多元互补的设计构想,采用多种方式,融合传统文化,增强现代设计文化厚重感,以延伸设计理念和增强视觉感染力.     

无顶建筑式设计手法构建户外空间的若干思考

立足于无顶建筑式设计手段进行户外空间设计,重点探讨了户外空间的合理构建途径,意图通过该研究提高户外空间使用率,并鼓励人群的到访,从而让空间形成交流的媒介,成为建筑的室外延续。     

A participatory product design process with children with autism spectrum disorder

This study aims to explore the ways of involving children with autism in participatory product design processes. Due to the impaired skills of children with autism, a key aspect of the process is to gain an understanding of the nature of the disorder and how these children interact with their social and material surroundings as well as their daily life problems. Considering this, a case study was conducted with children with autism, their parents and teachers, and also industrial design students in a public special education centre in ?zmir, Turkey. The design task was to reconsider the conventional trampoline design with respect to the needs of the sample group and the special education centre as well as the benefits it provides. The task was based on the patterns of behaviours, actions and movement. Observations, interviews and questionnaires were carried out, as well as collaborative meetings and discussion meetings. Through the case study, the findings provided insights into conducting a participatory process with children with autism, the roles of the participants, and the interaction and communication among them. Furthermore, participants’ attitude towards participatory design, the potential benefits of the design process, and innovations to benefit children with autism were explained.     

市场细分与建筑设计

通过对市场经济下市场细分的概念和标准的论述，认为市场细分对我国的建筑设计有重要的启示：要重视大众参与，组建动态联盟进行协同设计，避免因设计市场的细分而变细小，注意地域文化对建筑的影响等。     

Learning histories as an ethnographic method for designing teamwork in healthcare

ABSTRACT

Designing for teamwork in healthcare requires a thorough understanding of the working context and routines of the different user groups involved. This paper presents a design project in the context of child oncology in which we demonstrate the use of a newly developed ethnographic method for design research called the learning history method. The results of this design research project demonstrate that the method provides the designer with a clear path to gather in-depth insights into the needs and wishes of different users and their interactions, while maintaining flexibility in execution. Moreover, the results also show that the proposed tangible outcomes of each design research step focuses high-quality feedback loops between the designer and the different users.     

如何加强设计阶段工程造价的有效控制

简述了工程造价控制的概念意义,分析了设计阶段的工作现状及存在的问题,针对设计阶段工程造价的有效控制提出了几点建议,并对其进行了详细阐述,从而有效地控制工程造价。     

A gaming approach to networked infrastructure management

Operational decision-making processes for networked infrastructure management often occur as a multi-actor planning problem, implying these are based on negotiations between different stakeholders in addition to available system quality information. As such, does more accurate data about actual structural condition lead to other or better decision-making? A serious game is introduced, Maintenance in Motion, aiming at investigating the influence of information quality on rehabilitation decisions, for single- and multi-actor decision-making. Players manage drinking water, gas, sewer and street infrastructures. They are to balance their individual goal, cost-effectiveness, with their team utility, increasing overall infrastructure quality to minimise failure while minimising overall public costs. The game design, calibration and solution space are presented.     

心理、环境、建筑风格——在“青岛市老干部活动中心”方案设计中的探索

本文叙述了设计方案的设计构思及建筑风格的产生过程。本文通过对设计方案的介绍,对以下几点体会进行了总结:一对使用者心理的调研,与环境的结合,以及对青岛地方风格的探索。     

蓄冰空调工程设计的经验

蓄冰空调的目标是移峰、省钱、节能及使用户满意，实现这些目标就要贯彻整体化设计原则；应特别注意空调部件与系统技术之间的密切配合；选择确切代表实际系统的空调负荷曲线，选择适宜的控制软件和优化运行模式；扩展对蓄冰空调应用对象的认识。     

福建省建筑节能设计分析软件的开发与研究

本文针对（霞热冬暖地区居住建筑节能设计标砟盼等标准，开发了福建省建筑节能设计分析软件，介绍了该软件的设计构想、依据，以及软件的工作流程和功能实现。     

缀条式压弯格构柱设计优化

压弯构件的截面设计一般采用试凑法和逐次逼近法。通过公式推导,优化了缀条式压弯格构柱的设计方法,可简便快捷地设计出合理的截面。通过实例分析,对优化方法进行了验证。结果表明,优化方法设计的截面能较好地满足缀条式压弯格构柱的稳定性。     

怎样获得一个建筑涂料好配方

美国开发新产品的程序可缩短开发周期、尽快找到最佳配方,对于在工厂或实验室工作的工程师、化学师们都具有重要参考价值。     

A performance-based approach to design reinforced-earth retaining walls

This paper describes a pseudo-static approach developed for geosynthetic-reinforced earth (GRE) retaining walls, calibrated against given levels of wall performance defined by specified values of earthquake-induced displacements. The GRE walls generally show a good performance under severe seismic loading due to the capability of reinforcements to redistribute the deformations induced by the seismic actions within the reinforced zone. This can be achieved by promoting the activation of internal plastic mechanisms involving the reinforcements strength, providing that they are characterised by adequate extensional ductility. In the proposed procedure, the seismic coefficient k to be used in a pseudo-static calculation is assumed equal to the internal seismic resistance of the wall k_c^int, related, through the kinematic theorem of limit analysis, to the maximum strength demand of geosynthetic reinforcements. The seismic coefficient is then calibrated against given levels of seismic wall performance, defined by threshold values of earthquake-induced displacements that result by the temporary activation of plastic mechanisms during severe seismic loading. Permanent displacements induced by earthquake loadings are evaluated through empirical relationships based on a parametric integration of a large number of Italian seismic records and are expressed as a function of the critical and the maximum horizontal accelerations. A procedure is finally proposed to conceive a reinforced-earth retaining wall with an internal seismic resistance lower than the external one, so that a prescribed level of seismic performance and the activation of internal mechanisms are ensured during severe seismic shaking.     

A methodology for optimally designing fibre-reinforced laminated structures with design variable tolerances for maximum buckling strength

A procedure to design symmetrically laminated structures for maximum buckling load with manufacturing uncertainty in the ply angle—which is the design variable, is described. It is assumed that the probability of any tolerance value occurring within the tolerance band, compared with any other, is equal, and thus the technique is aimed at designing for the worst-case scenario. The finite element method is implemented and used to determine the fitness of each design candidate, and so the effects of bending–twisting coupling are accounted for. The methodology is flexible enough to allow any appropriate finite element formulation and search algorithm to be substituted. Three different tolerance scenarios are used for the purposes of illustrating the methodology, and plates with varying aspect and loading ratios, as well as differing boundary conditions, are chosen to demonstrate the technique, and optimally designed and compared.